The problem, however is that for 99% of Americans “the economy” really means “my economy.” Recent developments going on in “my economy” (meaning each individual’s perceptions) relate very closely to one single development and the subsequent ripples.

It’s about fuel prices, stupid. High oil prices have led to rippling inflation which is putting pressure both on everyday folks pocketbooks and on monetary policy.

Now, it’s customary within the confines of the liberal economic liturgy to talk about stagnant wages, lost manufacturing jobs, and so on. But the sad fact is that ship has sailed. Globalization is wave we can’t protect ourselves from, only surf. Manufacturing is never going to be what it was, and the american workers of today and tomorrow WILL have to compete with equally skilled and highly motivated foreign workers. That’s all there is to it.

So our culture does need to collectively wake up and smell the coffee. Jobs like making cars at $40+/hr plus awesome bennies and a cushy pension? Forget it. That is OVER. I have a master’s degree and work in a relatively white-collar profession, and my compensation is nowhere near what GM workers have received.

It’s well past time for Americans to understand the following: the age when large numbers of relatively unskilled workers did very well for themselves financially was a historical aberration. This period lasted long enough for some Americans to think it was a birthright. Well, it’s over. Finished. Kaput. Tell your kids to pay attention in school, work hard, and develop serious 21st century skills. Reform social institutions around a world where folks may have 5, 10, 15, 20 different jobs in a lifetime. Stop making light of the fact that “hey I was never no good at math and dad did ok…. .”

End rant. :-)