“Show Me,” if-you-will, where it’s written that one has to leave Home and Harth just to get a middle management job. Sheesh! Middle management jobs are the ones that are traditionally cut to make room for the “OneWhiteCollar/ManyBlueCollarsBelow” type of scenario.

Why don’t we just work to bring more industry back to the United States, and stop moving just because it’s cheap! A certain level of living has been lost due to this mentality, and it’s high time we started a “Keep Our Jobs At Home” campaign–backed up by both large and small business–and supported by Congress, the Judiciary (with better tariff and trade law that benefits both the local, at-home employee (and business person), as well as overseas investors.)

Expanding the Trades, shortening up apprenticeships, and making Federal Financial Aid available to smaller, trade-specific schools, along with eliminating the “I Look Down On A Trades Person Because I Have A College Degree And You Don’t” type of mentality–the Universities are extremely guilty of this–will do wonders.

Also, keeping University Professors out of deciding what makes for so-called “College Equivalent, credit-hour-like, instruction time before-you-can-call-yourself-a-professional-trades-person is also necessary. University Time should be decided upon by the academicians within a given institution, and hours for the Trades should be decided upon by those leaders within a given profession with the most experience, who know how to teach–and the dynamics of teaching–and know their trade inside and out.

When I read of a college-level program dealing with a given profession that takes less time at the Universities and observe an Apprenticeship program that takes double the time “just because the Apprentice doesn’t go to college (and the credit hour/equivalent studies are biased toward college graduates),” my irritation levels go up. Lets face it, people. Plumbing, as an example, could be set into a one-year certificate program, with in-service updates after that one year certificate is earned. Same for Electricians. Same for Building Contractors.

You either know the math and can apply it, or you don’t. Some specialty stuff might need more advanced training, for for Joe Average Just Trying To Make A Living, the average six to eight year apprenticeship is just overkill.

Support Trades more and keep people at home. To raise families and bring a much-needed solidity back to America.

peace To You All. –Stephen