Change is a constant in our lives, and as the speed of change increases, it becomes more challenging to stay ahead of the curve. The days of lifetime employment seem to be a thing of the past. Flexibility, creativity and entrepreneurship are required to stay in the game.
Since the early 70's, it has been apparent that smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles were the future of the automobile industry. The bankruptcy of General Motors is the result of leadership without vision. However, it's the men and women who work in the plants who suffer most. The workforce in the U.S. is comparable to any in the world, but they compete on an unfair playing field. We need a change in how we establish guidelines in a global economy. To produce a product off-shore at $2.00 an hour, and then bring it back to the U.S. and compete against products made here is unfair. The cost of health care alone makes us unable to compete against a country that provides its citizens with universal health care.
At Instar Performance, our curriculum has been a resource to assist individuals, organizations and communities in taking a pro-active approach to the changes we're all experiencing. The ability to anticipate the impact of a global economy on the marketplace helps us better prepare for a new reality. When the economy suffers, the purchasing power of the consumer is impacted; this in turn as an effect on the tax dollars collected, which ultimately has a huge ripple-effect on people's lives. It's always our most important services that suffer, i.e. education, health care, and the most vulnerable members of society. We seem to lack the foresight to anticipate the impact that change has on our economy.
Having been a boxer in my early years, it would be like asking me to fight with one hand tied behind my back! There's no "free trade" if it isn't "fair trade." How many more major backruptcies will it take to come to an agreement that levels the playing field for our workers? My empathy is with the workers on the plant floor whose jobs are at risk because of decisions being made in corporate boardrooms, far from the production lines.
Peace,
Gordon Graham
Change Agent
1 comment:
Hi Gord! Your comment about being unable to complete with a country that has universal health care was interesting. Coming from that country of course we see things abit differently. Even as President Obama signed the health care bill, I fear that it is simply not enough. You have confined yourselves, out of fear of the unknown, to being obligated to pay an insurance company's premiums with no limits on what those premiums might look like. Nothing universal there I am afraid. Again the guy on the factory floor is the one that suffers. The guy in the Insurance or pharmaceutical boardrooms are laughing all the way to the bank...yes it's better than nothing but Americans must keep pushing for more, not acting out of fear!
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