How Technology effects North America. U.S. Wage Trends

How Technology effects North America. U.S. Wage Trends The microeconomic picture of the U.S. has changed immensely since 1973, and the trendsare proving to be consistently downward for the nation's high school graduates and highschool drop-outs. 'Of all the reasons given for the wage squeeze - internationalcompetition, technology, deregulation, the decline of unions and defense cuts - technologyis probably the most critical. It has favored the educated and the skilled,' says M. B.Zuckerman, editor-in-chief of U.S. News World Report (7/31/95). Since 1973, wagesadjusted for inflation have declined by about a quarter for high school dropouts, by a sixthfor high school graduates, and by about 7% for those with some college education. Onlythe wages of college graduates are up.Of the fastest growing technical jobs, software engineering tops the list. Carnegie MellonUniversity reports, 'recruitment of it's software engineering students is up this year by over20%.' All engineering jobs are paying well, proving that highly skilled labor is whate mployers want! 'There is clear evidence that the supply of workers in the [unskilled labor]categories already exceeds the demand for their services,' says L.United StatesMishel, Research Directorof Welfare Reform Network.In view of these facts, I wonder if these trends are good or bad for society. 'The danger ofthe information age is that while in the short run it may be cheaper to replace workers withtechnology, in the long run it is potentially self-destructive because there will not be enoughpurchasing power to grow the economy,' M. B. Zuckerman. My feeling is that the trendfrom unskilled labor to highly technical, skilled labor is a good one! But, political actionmust be taken to ensure that this societal evolution is beneficial to all of us. 'Back in 1970,a high school diploma could still be a...