Researching K-Force (KFRC) over the weekend, I came across this very interesting assessment of the top technology jobs for 2014. The list reveals several truths, all of which should be good news for Americans. In reality though it points to a problem far worse than the notion that a higher minimum wage will close the income inequality gap, and we'll all live happily ever after.
As long as you are one of those folks, lucky enough to still have a job...then you can live happily ever after.
While this latest chapter in politics of envy has gained momentum, it's woefully off-base and extraordinarily dangerous. It's dangerous because it lulls people to a lower common dominator that doesn't represent excellence, yet it's promoted as a system that should shower the least with the most.
There is a real economic boom in America- the Knowledge Economy!
The Entire Country Is The Valley
If someone asked you, from where is the highest demand for knowledge-based workers coming, you would be forgiven for naming a town in California. But these days, the entire nation is the Silicon Valley.
Charlotte, North Carolina has the most demand for these technology jobs, and the pay is a lot more than $15 an hour (see table). The Top-Ten List is far-flung, covering the nation from New York City, to Dallas, Texas, to Madison, Wisconsin, and Tampa, Florida. These skill-based positions are commanding year- over- year pay increases of 7% or more, and on average pay six- figure salaries.
I can only hope there is a Eureka moment among the masses, which seems to be against all odds. Buying into the politics of envy is easy, when in fact what's going on isn't about the greed of the 1%, but the greed of the 99%. People that would be more than satisfied with their own lives and accomplishments are manipulated into hating their lives, as they look at what their neighbor earns, and owns, and has...and then they turn on the television and really lose their minds. It's really heartbreaking. When I was growing up, I was proud my father got up and went to work; we lived in a nice house and had a car.
Any American man would have been proud of such an achievement, until maybe twenty -years ago.
It's not so much that people see their own accomplishments in such a smaller light than in the past, but now they are being told they deserve a piece of someone else's success. Well, boys and girls, there's a pot of gold and rainbows everywhere. You don't have to take from others. On the contrary, you could make great money and add value to society. If you have the right skills, there is demand and there are salaries.
Different Tug-O'-War
While Main Street is being pulled by the nonsense of evenly disturbed success, Wall Street is being pulled by whether the economic recovery is strong enough to justify higher stock valuations once the Fed has left the stage. There are enough players in the market, solely on Fed accommodation, that a sharp move could be in the offing. The thing is, for months it was assumed such a move would be to the downside, yet lately there have been hints that the market wants to rally on good news. In many ways, it's a specious argument, since the Fed must stop buying up crap and even-sell the junk in its coffers. Therefore, it would be nuts for anyone other than market bears to root for bad news.
Be that as it may, the market is nervous, which is not to say, it's panicking; there are signs it's bracing. I'm seeing the hot stocks of 2013 struggle, while blue chips find buyers. Yesterday, Exxon Mobil caught an upgrade from Goldman Sachs, while Big Blue (IBM) surged to its best session in a long time. For me, the most critical aspect of the market is the desire for cash to be at work, whether in high Beta names capable of leapfrogging tall buildings or in slow-movers built for safety. It's not an arrogant market, just one that understands there's a difference between a pullback and the Mother of all Corrections. One's due, the other is predicted by the overgrowing throng of doomsayers.
There are so many preachers of doom that I feel like I'm walking through the streets of some sinful town, cluttered with men standing on crates and soapboxes, shouting about the end being near.
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It wasn't an impressive rally yesterday, but a reminder that money wants to stay in the mix, even if simultaneously giving the nod to those preachers of doom, by bracing for a hit...a small hit.
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