The topic began with a discussion of how traumatic it will be to lose so many jobs if the big 3 auto makers are not bailed out.
“With so many failing companies where will people find jobs? Not where they were in the past –nor would you want them from there!”
My comment was this: Darwin’s survival of the fittest in complemented by Joseph A. Schumpeter’s “Creative Destruction” – old orders are replaced with new orders.
Losing jobs rooted in the 20th century is not bad because they give rise to jobs for the 21st century. It happens all the time.
We don’t need more manual labor jobs for farming when we have farming equipment that can increase the productive capacity per farmer- what’s next?
We don’t need more telephone line installer jobs when you can use cellular communication more efficiently – what’s next?
Technologies create new job opportunities we can’t even imagine yet. And they are jobs more suited for the magnificent quality of the human being- mental and creative capacity, not brute force.
The solution is all about entrepreneurship- as it has always been. The nature of innovative entrepreneurial companies is to come up with new ways to do things. That is where the jobs for the 21st century come from.
There is no economic or human value in protecting jobs at dying companies that are not keeping up with innovation. Lack of corporate profit is a clear statement that assets are being wasted- both human and capital. We have bankruptcy laws to protect the customers, vendors and investors; we have safety nets for unemployment as people transition from old jobs to new. And yes, these need to be strong for a dynamic innovating economy.
Do we really want to be a country anchored in the 20th century when the rest of the world is rushing to thrive in the 21st century?
Just as human life is birth, growth, and death, so is corporate life- it’s survival of the fittest.
While some people don’t like change, we know the one thing that is constant in life is change, so let’s get on with it.
Stefania Aulicino, founder and president of CapitalLinkUSA ensures companies poised to take advantage of the current economy get access to all the resources they need- both cash and talent.
