The Crier

In the Future, We Will All Be Tree Huggers.

Global warmings, off-shoring: Today’s problems could be tomorrow’s opportunities

Eli Walker · The Consul · Feb 12, 2007

We, as students, face a dilemma after we graduate. The older generation expects us to get jobs and provide for ourselves and yet jobs are disappearing. It seems as if every occupation is getting more competitive and less lucrative. Apart from future investment bankers and software engineers, how will we be able to provide for ourselves?

The future seems bleak. Many like to place blame on off-shoring abroad and illegal labor at home. Commentators like Lou Dobbs pitch ideas like the “War on the Middle Class” and politicians propagandize about protecting American rights to labor.

We will be skilled workers. And eventually the baby-boomers will have to retire, leaving a great deal of opportunities.

But, contrary to common belief, these factors do not have a direct effect on us. We are educated by the most reputable university system in the world. Most of us are not looking for jobs that would be off-shored or taken by migrant laborers. We will be skilled workers. And eventually the baby-boomers will have to retire, leaving a great deal of opportunities.

Our economy needs to be reformed. A worker can no longer depend on keeping a job for the rest of his or her life. We need a renaissance of entrepreneurialism. Educated workers need to start their own firms, and secure their own employment. We should take advantage of our free-trade-wheeling government and pursue international business opportunities.

A bolstered industry of entrepreneurialism will be self-sufficient. Self-employed white-collar jobs for college-educated professionals. While some might fail completely, this will produce new positions for marketers, consultants, business processing and other niches. This is a novel concept for preceding generations but a necessity for us.

Our entrepreneurial initiatives should target environmentalism above all else. The signs of success are there. Heavy industry is a dying industry. The American auto industry flounders and sinks. American steel production technology is dated. And all of these industries have gone off shore. At the same time, the environment is increasingly becoming an issue.

As President Bush’s approval ratings decline even lower, environmental protectionist policy gains more significance. The economic opportunities will be abundant.

At some point, America will have to become energy efficient and environmentally friendly. This is inevitable. The transition will then provide employment and profit. It’s an entrepreneurial frontier that is ripe for the conquering. Who’s better qualified than well-educated, ambitious college graduates?

Democrats, especially President Clinton have been pointing to environmentalism as the economic solution from Galilee since President George W. Bush’s first election. For the last six years our energy concerns have been directed towards Middle Eastern oil and filling the oil reserves. This has put a muzzle on those advocating greener policies. Still, popular demand is being heard. As President Bush’s approval ratings decline even lower, environmental protectionist policy gains more significance. The economic opportunities will be abundant.

California is setting the course for states pursuing their own environmental activities. If others follow, jobs will pop up in each self-determinate state. People of our generation are going to be the ones that fill them. As the industry of fixing the environment grows, we will rise to take the reigns. And in the long run, we’ll be okay. The Great American generation that fixes Earth and makes money doing it.

Unless, that is, the money corrupts us.