Sunday
Jul202008
Of SUVs and manufacturing...
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Our children will inherit a different world from the one we grew up in. And today was a reminder of that.
Over the past few decades, the North American economy has been shifting further towards a service-based economy. Manufacturing jobs are being moved overseas and as a result, factories in Canada and the United States are shutting down. It is always sad to hear about hundreds of people losing their jobs. I feel for them and for their families. I feel their despair, especially when it happens in a small town with few other employment opportunities and little in the way of retraining opportunities. This is what happened last year in the town of Smith's Falls when Hershey announced that it was closing its chocolate factory that employed 500 people. Not only is that factory closing, but another major employer is also shutting down, further reducing the employment opportunities for local residents.
We visited the closed factory today. I took the kids to the Chocolate and Railway Festival in Smiths Falls. We went to the Railway museum to check out the trains. And then we went to tour the eerily quiet Hershey Factory and make some purchases in the factory store which is staying open until the end of this year. While waiting in lines to pay for our chocolates, I noticed some nice die cast Hershey chocolate SUVs and told my son he could go and pick one out if he wanted to, motioning in the direction of the wall where they were hanging. He went over and looked for a while and then turned to me and said, "But Mommy, there are only trucks. Where are all of the cars?" I told him that maybe there weren't any cars. And he said "I guess other people wanted the cars and not the trucks so they bought all the cars already". He reluctantly chose one of the SUVs, not wanting to leave empty handed.
He probably didn't have any deep reasons for wanting a car instead of a truck today, but it got me thinking. Thinking about how our generation, until very recently, has always wanted to buy as much car as you can for your dollar, seeking out large gas guzzling souped up SUVs and pick-up trucks, over smaller compact cars. And I think its great that my children's generation will be different. That they will make the choice that is best for the environment (and also for their bank account).
At the same time, I see more hope and more control for my childrens' generation if the economy continues to become increasingly service based. Knowledge-based industries are generally more environmentally friendly than manufacturing industries and they also give the individual worker more flexibility and control. People in the service industries can shift employers more easily or be self-employed, they can work from a distance, they can reeducate themselves on-line through official and unofficial channels. I think that when our brains are our main asset, it provides significant potential for prosperity.
So while I feel sad for those that are losing their jobs at manufacturing plants, I also feel optimistic for the next generation. Optimistic that they won't go through the same thing. Optimistic that they will be able to regenerate more easily, in both environmental and economic terms.
Over the past few decades, the North American economy has been shifting further towards a service-based economy. Manufacturing jobs are being moved overseas and as a result, factories in Canada and the United States are shutting down. It is always sad to hear about hundreds of people losing their jobs. I feel for them and for their families. I feel their despair, especially when it happens in a small town with few other employment opportunities and little in the way of retraining opportunities. This is what happened last year in the town of Smith's Falls when Hershey announced that it was closing its chocolate factory that employed 500 people. Not only is that factory closing, but another major employer is also shutting down, further reducing the employment opportunities for local residents.
We visited the closed factory today. I took the kids to the Chocolate and Railway Festival in Smiths Falls. We went to the Railway museum to check out the trains. And then we went to tour the eerily quiet Hershey Factory and make some purchases in the factory store which is staying open until the end of this year. While waiting in lines to pay for our chocolates, I noticed some nice die cast Hershey chocolate SUVs and told my son he could go and pick one out if he wanted to, motioning in the direction of the wall where they were hanging. He went over and looked for a while and then turned to me and said, "But Mommy, there are only trucks. Where are all of the cars?" I told him that maybe there weren't any cars. And he said "I guess other people wanted the cars and not the trucks so they bought all the cars already". He reluctantly chose one of the SUVs, not wanting to leave empty handed.
He probably didn't have any deep reasons for wanting a car instead of a truck today, but it got me thinking. Thinking about how our generation, until very recently, has always wanted to buy as much car as you can for your dollar, seeking out large gas guzzling souped up SUVs and pick-up trucks, over smaller compact cars. And I think its great that my children's generation will be different. That they will make the choice that is best for the environment (and also for their bank account).
At the same time, I see more hope and more control for my childrens' generation if the economy continues to become increasingly service based. Knowledge-based industries are generally more environmentally friendly than manufacturing industries and they also give the individual worker more flexibility and control. People in the service industries can shift employers more easily or be self-employed, they can work from a distance, they can reeducate themselves on-line through official and unofficial channels. I think that when our brains are our main asset, it provides significant potential for prosperity.
So while I feel sad for those that are losing their jobs at manufacturing plants, I also feel optimistic for the next generation. Optimistic that they won't go through the same thing. Optimistic that they will be able to regenerate more easily, in both environmental and economic terms.
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