Why America Isn't Working | 7 Million Men Were Crushed

Coming up next, the next installment in my why America isn't working series, how seven million men have been crushed, and then we'll detail the skilled trade jobs that are most in demand you better pay attention, let's go. Welcome to the Ken Coleman Show where we help you win at work so that you're winning in the rest of your life, work is good, work is necessary, and so here we go, the next installment in a series that I've created called why America isn't working. Today we're going to talk about the seven million men who aren't working, able bodied men research from economist Nick Eberstadt revealed that 7.2 million men, prime working age, this is between the age of 25 and 54, these men are not working and even worse, they're not looking to work, they're not looking to work, they have literally taken their ball and they've gone home, men, able bodied, 25 to 54, not working, not looking to work, how do we get here? In 1953, 98% of men in that same age range, 25 to 54 had a job or were looking for one, and that number has begun to erode ever since. Even worse, as we dive into Eberstadt's research and I have, I went down the rabbit hole, the vast majority of these prime age men are spending around 2,000 hours a year on screens, their phones, their iPads, their computers, television, playing video games, God only knows what else they're doing, they're not doing housework either, the data shows they're not pulling their weight around the house, if they've got a woman in the house that's working for them and that's what's happening, or others are working for them and supporting them, well they're not helping out with housework, they're not caring for the children, they're not volunteering and adding value, now why does this matter? Well, number one, we have a real work problem in America, it's why I'm doing this series in our economy, you think, well, Ken, this doesn't matter, it doesn't matter to me, yes, it matters to you, I'll tell you how it matters. We now have about a job and a half available as in a listing for every person who is actually saying their unemployed, keep in mind, these 7.2 million men I'm talking about aren't even on unemployment, they're not even showing up, they've just ghosted everybody. So when you have more jobs available, then you have people who are willing to work, guess what happens? Demand for workers increases, come on, you guys starting to catch up with me now, fifth and sixth grade, you learn this, hopefully, when demand goes up and supply is low, we see salaries in wages go up and some of you snowflakes out there go, it's about time we started making more money, but what you don't understand is, yeah, people are making more money, but the cost of everything is going up, how many of you have felt the sting of inflation? There's not a day that goes by that I don't see a headline come across my desk in my show research where more and more people are saying they can't afford to live, six figure earners, living paycheck to paycheck, now a lot of that is personal responsibility because you can't be patient, you can't wait on something and so you went and bought a car, you can't afford, you went to a school, you can't afford, you buy all kinds of crap, you can't afford, that's why credit card debt is at an all time high, some of you think that I'm being unkind right now, I'm actually not, I'm being honest. So when we have this gap in 7.2 million men not working, guess what? It's driving inflation up and keeping inflation around. These are the facts folks, I don't care about your feelings, I'm going to share the facts and this is a massive economic problem and that affects you. Don't stick your head in the sand on this stuff because this affects more people than we probably realize more on that in a moment. The other reason this matters is that the souls of men are dying. The data shows that men who aren't working or looking for work are spending less time doing anything productive as I covered earlier. So they're not helping and more importantly, the discouragement leads to depression and the depression leads to all forms of distraction. So how did we get here? I'll tell you how we got here. In the 70's we really began to start looking down our nose on trade jobs because of the marketing message between the government, their lobbyists, so you got politicians that are lobbyists and the higher education industry, they started realizing there's big money in these Pell Grants and the Pell Grant Program led to the student loan program. And the student loan program led to a lot of politicians going, we can make some money here. And so they started marketing the message that a college degree was the best way to success. We began to glorify the degree. So let's look at the degree data, shall we? Research shows us that women are more likely to have four year college degrees compared to men. And we know that up until this point and gladly the numbers are beginning to change, but because of the over emphasis on the value of a degree, the employer started to go, well, I'm not going to hire you if you don't have a degree because somehow you're less than which is all a bunch of crap and a message from the pit of hell. And now we're beginning to see that the degree doesn't matter much. Thank God. Because we're bringing more and more Americans back into this discussion that you are as good as somebody who hasn't agreed because by the way, nobody gives an absolute crap where you went to college last time you went to the doctor. Did you ask the doctor where they went to school? Grad school? No, you didn't. And here's the reality. Up into this point, and I believe it's changing, I think the data will continue to change, a post-secondary education came with better employment prospects, which means better paychecks. And women account for more than half of America's college educated workforce according to Pew Research Center. So all of this discouraged men who didn't have a degree. They were told in high school, get a degree to be successful. Maybe they didn't want a degree. Maybe they couldn't afford one. And so they chose blue collar work. And they got in a blue collar work and they didn't get promoted. And the message was, men, you aren't enough if you aren't in a white collar job. And so they began to think that they didn't matter. So what needs to change? To get these men back out of the cave, we got to change the narrative about work. Work isn't something that sucks that you should only do just to make it through the weekend. But it's being supported by anti-work policies from our government. We have more entitlements, more reasons for people not to work than ever before. I would also suggest to you that we need some tough love. This is where you come in. There's a lot of you out there are supporting these very men because you feel like you're supposed to. The Apostle Paul writes in 2nd Thessalonians 310, for even when we were with you, we gave you this rule. The one who is unwilling to work, shall not eat. Captain John Smith and the very first settlement of this great country, the greatest country in the world, James Towne, Virginia borrowed from the Apostle Paul. And he said to the men is they were beginning to start this settlement. If you don't work, you don't eat. So you know what we need to do? You loved ones and friendsy to kick these guys out and say, I'm not supporting you anymore because I love you because I care for you. Go work. And when you work and provide for you, you are going to get better. Pick up America. If you're enjoying the program, I would love your help. If you're watching via YouTube, would you like the video or videos that you are watching? Would you subscribe to our channel and then share a video that you think might encourage somebody or in the case of that last segment, maybe provoke them to act. I'm all good with that. If you're listening via your favorite podcast app, give us a follow, a five star review and share an episode as well. Okay. I am a big fan of the trades and the trades are in great need of talent. And I am going to with everything in my power, continue to bang the bell, sound the alarm, shout from the mountain tops, that the trades in the United States are not just an option. They are a great option, a great option for financial gain and financial freedom. And the trades aren't something we should look down on. And right now, alone, there are 700,000 manufacturing jobs in the United States that are open. And many of them pay or have a short path to making six figures. But nobody's talking about that enough. Parents, you aren't talking about it because you care too much about your own freaking status. Because you want to send your kid to a college and tell everybody, you're a great parent because your kid went to college. Nobody cares. I'm just tired of this. Nobody cares. I nobody cares in the professional world. Once you get out there, once your kid gets out there, nobody cares. The only person that cares is you as a parent and the person who goes and goes and says, well, I went to Clemson. I went to Alabama, nobody cares. I went to Princeton, nobody cares. I went to Columbia, nobody cares. You know what people care about? They care about whether or not you can meet them where they are in this world and when they've got a problem, if you've got a solution and you do a good job, you know what they care about? They care about that. You know what they do when they care about that? And you take care of them? They reward you. They reward you with a certificate of appreciation since rabbi Daniel happened in the form of money and the more money you have, the more freedom you have. That's what we're all after. So here we go. 21, this is from Indeed and they're a great, great company and this is database, okay? 21 skilled trade jobs that are in demand now and will be in demand in the future. Okay, now let's just define a skilled trade because some of you're like, what's that mean? By the way, why do we even say that? I've said this before, I'll say it again. When I have a pipe burst in the middle of winter, do you know who the most important person in my life in Stacey Coleman's life is? It's the frickin plumber. So I don't care if his butt crack is showing. I don't care. I mean, come on. Do you care? No. Not at all. I'll stare at it gladly while it makes my life better. I mean, seriously, we got to start, we got to start glorifying the plumbers, the brick layers, the carpenters, the HVAC repairman, the electrician. These are the people that make our lives better and ain't your congressman. It's your local tradesman and tradeswoman. I'm telling you, let's start calling it like it is. And by the way, not only are they amazing men and women, they've got an opportunity for an amazing life. All right, here we go. Skill trade just simply means they got on the job training or some type of vocational training with a certification, they didn't need a degree and now they're crushing it. Here we go. This is from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. These are in demand positions that will range from 4% growth to 30% growth in the near future. Okay? Well, turn your nose down on these things. I'm just running through where there are opportunities. As I mentioned, as some of you older workers who go, you know what, I retired in COVID and times are a little tight. This is where stepping in in a part-time role, you can make some really good cash. Here we go. Custodian, national average salary is 1188 per hour. I'm not going to hit all 21, but again, this custodial role, I'm going to hit some of these and just unpack them. I mean, again, usually in a very safe environment, climate controlled, go about your task, make decent money, largely left alone as long as you do a good job. Legal assistant, 1567 per hour, they work alongside attorneys with a lot of court case documents and so forth and so on, very administrative. By the way, none of these require a college degree, just a reminder. How about a bus driver? You like driving? You like driving? You like kids? You don't mind a little bit of control chaos. You get up early. You want some freedom in your day, 16, 16 per hour is the national average. How about a welder? And this is just national average. By the way, every time we do a list like this, everybody feels the need to go, I wake, I wake, I wake, I wake more than that. I make more than that. You're wrong. No, this is a national average. Just relax. Would you? This is a national average, 16, 167, 167, 167, 167, 167, 167, 1779 per hour. And again, a nice ladder for growth here. This trade right here, you get in as a skilled tradesman. Do a good job. Got an opportunity one day, own your own business. All kinds of side work too. How about a brick Mason, 2026 per hour? I talk to a guy who runs a brick company and our latest Entry Leadership Summit event, he said, can we need young brick layers, masons? They don't understand. They got an opportunity to make really good money. 2026 per hour, construction equipment, a lot of opportunity here. Your handling, operating large machinery, national average, $20.38 per hour. Tractor trailer drivers, huge need in this area. You like driving and you got a family situation that'll support this, that's key. Tractor trailer driver, 2074 an hour. Crane operator, $20.86 per hour, again, national average according to indeed. Carpenter, 2146 per hour. This is the national average. I can tell you right now, Williamson County, if you're a carpenter, you are making bank. Six figures easy if you're good at what you do. HVAC technician, national average, $23.34 an hour. Diesel technician, $25.22 an hour, home inspector. I've always thought for people that are really good, you know, in notice and details, I just saw Joe, my long term, the guy's been with me forever, Joe, you know, you'd be a great home inspector. And I'm not trying to get you to leave, but I'm saying that like Joe's wired for detail. Joe is very conscientious about details, wise in the work that he's in, but Joe, that would be a great business for somebody who's looking for, you know what? I'm stepping out of the corporate grind, whatever, whatever. If they understand construction at all, the training on this, but now you're going to, your work will slow down and times like this, we're not selling as many houses, but what a great gig, home inspector, you know, you got to just go around and point out everything that's wrong and make your own schedule. That is true, plumber, $25.28 an hour. So notice we have HVAC, $23 an hour, plumber, $25 an hour, carpenter, $21 an hour. And these are just, by the way, these are national averages, diesel technician, these are all people that fix stuff, make stuff, electrician, $25.93 an hour, boiler maker, boiler makers create boilers that hold oils or other gases and liquids. Let me tell you about some of these jobs and why I'm pointing them out. And every one of these jobs, these these traditional traits like this, here's what's happening. And you just go do your research and you question me. Every one of these traits is saying that their good workers are aging out. So there's an opportunity for young people to jump in with a minimum amount of training and step right in and make really good money and see advancement. That's what's key about this. And why I share it, aircraft mechanic, $26.58 an hour, landscape designer, national average salary, $54,000 per year, construction manager, you get into construction in one of these traits, work your way up, national average salary, $77,000 a year. And that again, that's the national average that could go bananas and you end up working for yourself. Folks, here's what I'm trying to say. There's massive opportunity and trades to make money and earn your freedom. Welcome back to the Ken Coleman Show. Let's get to Justin who's now joining us in Madison, Wisconsin. I believe that's the home of the Wisconsin Badgers. Justin, you're on the Ken Coleman Show. Ken, thanks for taking my call. For a full disclosure, I spoke with you and Rachel, two Fridays ago in the Ramsey Show, but a job opportunity and I was calling back and getting more advice from you because I enjoyed what you had to say there. Sure. All right. Well, then catch me up. Catch me up as to what you presented and what I said because I promise you this, I don't remember. So, yeah, so we currently live in Madison, Wisconsin, we're evaluating a job opportunity in Boy P. I.O. and it's a significant increase in pay, and I guess my current situation in Madison that worked for a great company, but I know I'll be limited in a danceman opportunity here. It's not a bad job, but I'm not terribly engaged. Even though I spend most of my career kind of trying to get to this point, I started an engineering, wanted to get into marketing, have gotten there, and now I realize it's maybe not as exciting as I thought it would be. And my wife and I were both from Wisconsin, we have extended family here, my sister and her family, my parents are two hours away, and we really love the community as a great place to live, but we're realizing our roots are maybe deeper than we thought, and it might be harder to leave the thought, but also realize my career might be limited. Well, it is. Let's get right to the point. This is all about the pain of ripping the bandaid off and moving away, but you know deep down in your heart, you need to pursue something else. True or false? True, to really feel fulfilled and you know that you know. Well, of course, I don't want you to not feel fulfilled. You didn't call my show because I'm like, yeah, you know what? I don't mind if you live a life of average, just make it through. So what I'm trying to do is catch up to where we were. So what did I tell you on the Ramsey show? And now that takes us to what? So catch me up. Well, I was kind of on in-to-talk finances there, like hey, we're going to. And so I was more focused on that and what I called in here is you did such a great job of kind of filtering out some of the noise as far as like do you like your job and let's take away the family part, let's take away the salary part, you know, makes you say like, yeah, this job is right for me, but you know, we just think it off top dead center, you know, between this, like when I think about career and the financial aspect, this is such a no-brainer. It's not even funny. But then when we think about the family side of it and where we may want to, where we think we want to raise our children and the relationships we want our children to have with family, then we're like, we should just stay put. And maybe I can put my head down and grind for 10, 12 years and hopefully, yeah, but it's not. So here's the deal. Who wins in that scenario if you put your head down and stay in Madison for the next 10 to 12 years? Who wins? I'll tell you. Probably my parents. Yes. You know, I always think my kids maybe. Yeah. Okay. Who else is on the win list besides your parents and maybe your kids? I mean, there's a part of me that feels like I win a little bit there. Like I do want to raise my kids. How much of a part, how much of a part of you wins? 50%. Yeah. That sucks. I don't know. The next 10 to 12 years, I got to live with 50% of me winning when I have the choice. Let's flip it for a second. Okay. You moved to Boise. Sure. Who wins? Come on. My career wins. Yeah. And who else financially, like it's better for an entire, you know, immediate family. Great. So your immediate family wins. Who else wins? Come on, man. I'm trying to get you to say it. Who wins? It's not your career. Who wins? You win big. Yes. Yeah. And your family wins big. Yes. Yeah. Is Boise a crappy place to raise kids? No, it's fine. It's perfectly acceptable. Perfectly acceptable. Who loses? Yeah. Possibly no one. Okay. I like that answer. Your mom and dad, your mom and dad lose a little bit because they don't see the grand kids. Yeah. Right. It'll be different for sure. And there's things you'd have to do to mitigate that. But. Yeah. And you know what? Welcome to the real world. So who are we choosing? Are we choosing you and your family because you said clearly they both win you and your family. That's a, that's, that's to me is, that's a one focus. And who wins if you stay? It's really not you. And I wouldn't even say that your family wins that much. I grew up half my life, well, no, that's not true. My entire life, my mom's parents were in Michigan and I was in Virginia. And for the first part of my life, my other grandparents, on my dad's side, they were a couple hours away and then they were, they lived in the same town until I graduated. So that was great. But that's a bonus, not a requirement in my mind. Now I don't get to make that decision you do. But the reason I walked you through the questions I've been walking through is because you have to make a decision not that you can live with. You have to make a decision that you know. You believe it. I think there's a huge difference between I can live with this or I know this is best. And I think that if you make a decision you can live with, you've also decided to make a decision that you'll regret. And I mean, you know, look, you got to fast forward 30 years from now, if God gives you that much time and look back on and go, what would you say in 30 years? What would the 30 year older version of you say about this decision if you didn't take it? And if you go, you know what, I've now decided that 30 years from now, me wants to say that you know what, I found a job that was similar to the one in Boise here in Madison. Now, that's a viable option we haven't talked about yet. Or maybe it isn't viable. I don't know, but I at least look at it. If I was that agonized about pulling my family away to another state, I would say, well, before I fully entertain that, could I do similar work in Madison to what I'm considering in Boise? Is that an option? Yeah, it certainly is. You know, that's, can you find that is the tough part of what are we talking about? What is the work? Um, I guess finding, I guess the compensation piece is one, so finding, you know, so can you, can you line on, you know, job or passion about the compensation piece? Well, what's the work company? What's the job that's, that, by the way, has this job been offered in Boise? Yeah. Yeah. What's the job? It's kind of leading the parts and service organization for kind of a three-state dealer network of construction equipment. Okay. So you're in the construction equipment business and, and, and, and, and how much more money would you make in the Boise job than you're making now? Now, um, conservatively, it's probably $100,000 more, um, this kind of a low ending couldn't have more upside than that, certainly. Yeah, bro, I would already be getting the suitcases out of the, out of the attic. Um, I, I just, you, you love this idea. You're not certain that you can get a job that would pay you $100,000 more in this industry, where you are in Madison. I would be like, hey, mom, dad, listen, I mean, how far is it from Idaho to, to, to Madison, Wisconsin, a Boise to Madison? Anybody want to look that up for me? They'll look that up in the control room. We'll get back to that in a second is I, I'm going to make a point on that as I'm going to push you pretty hard. Do you know the answer, by the way, because I only got about a minute. Yeah. It's a 24 hour drive. I'm in otherwise. Yeah. It's a, yeah. Yeah. But what is driving 24 hours? Yeah. How long do a flight is it? Uh, I'm not sure if I three to four hours. Oh, for crying out loud, tell mom and dad to get over it. It's your life, not theirs. I know you're not going to say it that way, but I think that's what you need to say in private. Do you want to do this or not? Yes or no? You can change your answer later, but tell me right now, do you want to move or not? You, do you want to move? Yes. Then do it. No, it's complicated. No, it isn't complicated. It's actually really simple. Are you willing to have a tough conversation and be a leader and go, I believe this is what is best for my family and that's what we're going to do. Pretty simple, folks. This is the Ken Coleman Show. Thanks for listening to the Ken Coleman Show. For more, you can find the show on demand wherever you listen to podcasts and watch the show on YouTube. You can also find Ken across all social media by following at Ken Coleman.