Where Are All Of The Jobs?

I just heard Charlie Gibson report that in the month of May alone over 345,000 people have lost their jobs. That means, he went on to say, that now there are over 14.5 million people who are unemployed in the midst of the most dramatic economic downturn in the nation's history. The report went on to say that companies were not providing new jobs at a pace needed to keep up with the need for those now unemployed and for those graduates now coming into the marketplace looking for jobs.

As I listened to the report, I couldn't help but think about a book I read over a decade ago written by Jeremy Rifkin entitled, The End of Work. In this insightful work, he chronicled the history of the depression era when America lost its jobs to the the force of automation. As a result, our government had to put America to work. So, the dawning of the public sector was experienced. Rifkin suggested that we were headed for another revolution that would hit white collar America hard. He has obviously been prophetic.

So, what is the answer? The answer is not for government to put us to work. We could not afford it then and we cannot afford it now. The answer Rifkin called for was for us to reinvent ourselves. The answer he suggested was for us to create new value and new opportunity. We would need to find the answers. We would need to look no farther than ourselves and our stories.

I think we need to start talking a new talk. I love to talk to cab drivers across this country of ours. Most of them have come to this country from very difficult situations in other nations. When I ask them what they like most about our country their answer is always the same. They always say freedom and opportunity. We need to listen to them. We nee to challenge one another to think new thoughts. What can we create together? What new services can we provide? What new products can we create? What can we do to create new value? We have to find the answers. We have to recapture the pioneering spirit of our forefathers. It really is our only hope. It is a great hope because it is our heritage. It isn't too late. We just need to quit listening to the bad news. It is time for us to start creating some news of our own, on purpose.