Over the last 25 plus years we have been ripping apart the core of our economy - manufacturing. And as it has eroded, we've also lost many of the small and medium enterprisers which were the backbone of the local economy.
From the New Economic Institute:
"The men and women of the United States were once builders of boats, weavers of fabric, turners of pots, crafters of furniture, keepers of bees, operators of mills, welders of steel, creators of new technologies, and in general makers of the goods used in America. Entranced by the doctrine of efficiency of scale, bulging corporations merged, closed plants, moved production outside the U.S., and effected a loss of regional manufacturing skills.
We have skipped a generation in the continuity of these skills, but they are still in our cultural memory. Our grandfathers and grandmothers even now relate stories of the local seamstress, butcher, mechanic, mason, distiller, logger, and how together they shaped the complexity of the community. The processes of production were more visible, and young people aspired to fill those positions.
To build stable regional economies in the U.S. and create an example for sustainable development in other countries will require regaining dying skills, especially in production of the basic necessities of food, clothing, shelter, and energy. It will mean rebuilding a manufacturing infrastructure, re-establishing technical schools, and recommitting to the purchase of locally made goods. Jane Jacobs used the phrase "import replacement" when describing this strategy—smaller batches, more jobs, less transportation, greater complexity...A sound goal for a new economy."
It's a sound and timeless formula for real economic success - promoting the well-being and security of the whole.
And with re-skilling comes rebuilding...
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