@maybenot

> the main promise there was that coal miners will get upward economic movement (how this turned out is another matter), while those grinning at the tech layoffs are explicitly cherishing that this is gonna make them nerds poorer.

master plumbers out there making $300-500k show that a career change doesn't have to make you poorer (I'll ignore the whole apprenticeship scam that forces people to work for ~minimum wage for a stupid number of hours which needs to be ripped out as well)

If we actually wanted to rip out the bloat from tech and also solve the shortages we have in other trades we could do it if we really wanted to. The reform is possible. We just need leadership to remove the artificial barriers to entry that exist in so many places. Another on my mind is licensing for doctors.

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2025/02/government-licensing-schemes-failure/681654/