Technological empowerment is the key

"Much of this disparity is down to globalisation. When the world is changing fast, those qualified to deal with the technology du jour (be it the steam engine or the internet) will earn more than their peers. But the fact remains that not only is inequality at the highest level since the Thirties, the pension and welfare systems set up then for the express purpose of levelling this divide are in an exponential decline, threatening to widen the gulf further."

(British) Middle class families face triple whammy -Telegraph.co.uk

Last night my wife and I had a great conversation about our family budget, especially focused on the idea of my getting a cutting edge smartphone. One thing I brought up is that our employability or entrepreneurial capacity relies on our technological abilities. We must stay current with the innovation edge or we may never be employed again.

"Never be employed again" sounds over the top, but I've seen that very sentence fragment in many economic news articles in the last few months, and the other fragment that accompanies it is "millions in the US".

Here is a surprise: I've been embracing this emerging age for almost two decades. I knew Americans couldn't just keep purchasing Chinese goods with their credit cards forever, and I also knew pollution and crime were on an ascending spiral in some areas and not in others. I prepared -by moving and by learning technology skills.

Others will whine, via blog or newspaper op-ed, about this age of massive die off or enslavement of formerly middle class citizens. Whining doesn't get anything useful when there is a true scramble for dwindling resources (including safe places to live). Legitimacy through innocence may make points with the social justice crowd, but who cares when that crowd's (middle class) rank and file are being pummeled by the same economic decline?

It is a mean age I've anticipated for a long time, and I don't plan on losing. Others will pray to a God or patron saint who cares for the down-trodden, or rant about the gangsters and the corrupt in our halls of power. I will stick to the innovative edge and not expend energy for social justice (at least the type of social justice that mistakes losing and poverty with moral legitimacy).

I, along with my family, will win.