The middle class is going away. And not coming back. All of those factory and middle management jobs are being replaced by cheaper labor in the one case (offshore or robotics) or by technological and communication efficiencies on the other.
A prediction:
Twenty years from now, there will only be two types of jobs in the United States: Creatives and those in the Service Industry.
Creatives - anyone who creates things with their mind. Artists, yes, but also programmers, designers (graphic/web/product), musicians, directors, etc. The US won't necessarily have a monopoly in this department, but there's enough cultural barriers in many of these fields that it's likely we'll still have a very healthy presence there, at least for selling to the Western world.
Everyone else will be in the service industry - and I'm referring to service jobs that cannot be outsourced, because they require someone local. Waiters, barbers, chefs, trainers, couriers. Nurses and caregivers. And lots of service jobs that don't exist today. Need someone to help assemble the product you just downloaded and 3d printed?
The only jobs that will remain are the ones that we can't outsource to robots or cheap labor.
The US imports a lot of its creatives, and a majority of its creatives when it comes to math and science. If capital moves somewhere else, creatives will move somewhere else.
A prediction: Twenty years from now, there will only be two types of jobs in the United States: Creatives and those in the Service Industry.
Creatives - anyone who creates things with their mind. Artists, yes, but also programmers, designers (graphic/web/product), musicians, directors, etc. The US won't necessarily have a monopoly in this department, but there's enough cultural barriers in many of these fields that it's likely we'll still have a very healthy presence there, at least for selling to the Western world.
Everyone else will be in the service industry - and I'm referring to service jobs that cannot be outsourced, because they require someone local. Waiters, barbers, chefs, trainers, couriers. Nurses and caregivers. And lots of service jobs that don't exist today. Need someone to help assemble the product you just downloaded and 3d printed?
The only jobs that will remain are the ones that we can't outsource to robots or cheap labor.