Creators, Servers, and the New Job Market
Andy Kessler has a provocative column today in the Wall Street Journal. Yes, we're suffering high unemployment because the government has placed so many taxes and regulations on business--ObamaCare, anyone!--that hiring actual human beings is really, really expensive. But the economy is also undergoing some fundamental changes. To wit:
Forget blue-collar and white- collar. There are two types of workers in our economy: creatorsand servers. Creators are the ones driving productivity—writing code, designing chips, creating drugs, running search engines. Servers, on the other hand, service these creators (and other servers) by building homes, providing food, offering legal advice, and working at the Department of Motor Vehicles. Many servers will be replaced by machines, by computers and by changes in how business operates. It's no coincidence that Google announced it plans to hire 6,000 workers in 2011.
Andy continues to break down the service economy still further--he mentions "sloppers," "spunges," and "slimers"--as a guide to the kinds of jobs that will disappear next. Here he is on one more category:
Thieves have a government mandate to make good money and a franchise that could disappear with the stroke of a pen. You know many of them: phone companies, cable operators and cellular companies are the obvious ones. But there are more annoying ones—asbestos testing and removal, plus all the regulatory inspectors who don't add value beyond making sure everyone pays them. Technologies like Skype have picked off phone companies by lowering international rates. And consumers are cutting expensive cable TV services in favor of Web-streamed video.
Thieves. If, like me, you live in California, the public employees unions will likely spring to mind.
Any other examples you'd care to suggest?
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Comments:
Aug '10
Re: Creators, Servers, and the New Job Market
This seems to be very similar to what the neo-Austrians are calling the Garett Jones economy, in which most workers build organizational capacity and are thus more fixed cost than marginal cost. This has a lot of interesting implications, one of which is that demand for "servers" should be less cyclical than demand for "creators." There are also lots of fun implications for price theory, since it challenges the idea of an unproblematic "marginal cost."
Also, it's funny on the "thieves" as my professional contacts are all aghast at the impunity of the state of Wisconsin suggesting that public servants serve the public rather than the other way around. In the last 24 hours I've seen several posts on my favorite academic blogs, gotten an email bulletin from AAUP, and another on my departmental listserv.
May '10
Re: Creators, Servers, and the New Job Market
Hmmm, the term "Rent Seekers" does come to mind...
I wonder if we could lump much of "Higher Education" into the "Thieves" category. And of course there is a big effort underway to move health care into this category. It is the one booming sector in this long recession.
Oct '10
Re: Creators, Servers, and the New Job Market
Oct '10
Re: Creators, Servers, and the New Job Market
Smaller scale: Our neighborhood after-school crossing guards can be routinely observed sitting in their cars (when no children are present to usher) to the tune of $25/hr.
Unless kids can't understand that moving cars will smush them, drivers can't understand their ability to turn a human being into a street mural, stop signs and crosswalks exist for artistic purposes and thus provide inadequate protection, and the implementation of crossing guards has dramatically reduced the rates of local vehicular child-slaughter...
There is thievery afoot
Nov '10
Re: Creators, Servers, and the New Job Market
Peter Robinson: Thieves. If, like me, you live in California, the public employees unions will likely spring to mind.
Any other examples you'd care to suggest? ·
Ethanol producers, green energy advocates and producers, General Electric and all other crony capitalists, K-12 school teachers, domestic sugar industry executives, tobacco lawyers, class action lawyers, auto insurers, companies that make and sell traffic cameras, the entire DUI industry, MADD. Just to name a few.
Edited on February 17, 2011 at 6:56pmOct '10
Re: Creators, Servers, and the New Job Market
Might these be the seeds of thought for a new style of Class warfare...Hmmm
What would be your title in this arrangement...
Oct '10
Re: Creators, Servers, and the New Job Market
Sorry, double post...
Edited on February 17, 2011 at 7:09pmAug '10
Re: Creators, Servers, and the New Job Market
What we need is an appealing politician who can open up a sharp divide between the "producers" and the "parasites", and turn the former against the latter. Given those two categories, it's hard not to see an awful lot of what the government does in a bad light.
May '10
Re: Creators, Servers, and the New Job Market
I read that column last night. I'm not a Luddite but, I think that information technology and automation is going to be very hard on America's future standard of living. We seem to be doing such a poor job of educating anybody these days - fewer and fewer are prepared for the kind of creative work that will remain and lower-skilled serving work will be increasingly automated.
We're determined to send everybody - whether they are prepared or not - to college to learn - what? To do - what? To be paid by - who?
We're creating a huge population of people with an expensive education of dubious value with no useful occupation to pursue. Kind of like... Egypt?
Re: Creators, Servers, and the New Job Market
Peter, where do we fit in? We're internet entrepreneurs, but we're also mostly content kind of guys. Does that make us "sloppers?"
Jul '10
Re: Creators, Servers, and the New Job Market
"Servers, on the other hand, service these creators (and other servers) by building homes, providing food..."
There's a stunning technocratic arrogance to Kessler's viewpoint. To dismiss the millions of people who produce shelter and food as some sort of lesser drones, in the shadow of their betters who write code, create chips and run search engines literally disgusts me.
It reminds me of Brave New World. Kessler obviously thinks of himself as Alpha class, while those who merely build homes or grow, process and deliver food are the dumb, wood-hewing and water-carrying Deltas.
Edited on February 17, 2011 at 7:40pmSep '10
Re: Creators, Servers, and the New Job Market
I would agree with Kenneth. I don't want to be mean, but this guy sounds a college sophomore who figured out the world, with his buddies over a case of beer.
I might add "Ponzies" to the list of types. These are people and companies with marginally popular ideas (to be kind think tulips), that are hard to monetize, who live off shareholder value and cash flow until the "greater fools" stop showing up to perpetuate them.
Jul '10
Re: Creators, Servers, and the New Job Market
I suspect Kessler and his techno-snob set prefer Chateu Lafite Rothschild. Beer is for Deltas.
Edited on February 17, 2011 at 8:39pmOct '10
Re: Creators, Servers, and the New Job Market
As an effete commoner, I am waiting for the day when the alpha class need someone to build their house, and, not finding a carpenter, discover that they are totally unsuited to do anything other than their narrow profession. LOL
Feb '11
Re: Creators, Servers, and the New Job Market
The Kessler piece is pretty superficial. For example--what about the people that *sell* the software and chips that Kessler waxes rhapsodic about?? In the actual business world, new and improved products frequently emerge from interaction with customers, rather than miraculously springing up in labs all on their own. And how about the people that run the factories, and departments within the factories, that make the chips? Is there something inherently more creative about "running search engines," whatever than means (sounds like a data center operations function to me), than running a machining or assembly department?
Jan '11
Re: Creators, Servers, and the New Job Market
I am a delta. Like a good delta I am content with my lot in life. I strive to get on the main feed but I know no Catholic philosophers. If an alpha feels better thinking his life is superior to mine that is ok with me.
In my alpha days I wrote code. Very satisfying. One day soon a clever developer will design his obsolescence.
Dec '10
Re: Creators, Servers, and the New Job Market
I am a thief.
I steal money, from you. You don't have any choice, it is taken from your paychecks.
I try, not just here, but everywhere, to let people know that I am a thief.
You cannot beat me in court, because I will be better prepared. I will stay up all night, every night and study, while you are putting your children to bed.
My identity is open; anybody can check out whatever horrible things people say about me and this is the point; Where did I lie or say somwthing that was incorrect?
I know, for a fact, where the levvees were built in New Orleans, because I dove them and interviewed people, before they collapsed. My work in New Orleans was completely public record, two years before Katrina.
I am not a popluar person on Ricochet, but it is not because I am not trying to inform Ricochet members, to the best of my ability. Sometimes, I just run out of time.
Nobody, in this country, dives under what I dive under. I dive under bombs and I dive under every disease known to man.
Dec '10
Re: Creators, Servers, and the New Job Market
When you wake up, in the morning, please realize that I dive under your decrepit public buildings Not because there are amazing crabs there but , because I love crabs, There is nobody else, that I know of .anywhere, that will dive beneath your public buildings,
When I swim a river, full of alligators, to get information, which I have done, I need input from ordinary Americans as to how much I could do. I promise, I would be happy just studying crabs..
I really do like studying crabs, so I think we need to get back to that.
Dec '10
Re: Creators, Servers, and the New Job Market
Dude, that was the most seafood centric tirade I've ever seen, or heard about.
I'm not certain if I am for or against whatever it is that you do, but that rant was comment worthy, in and of itself.