Terminal Decline?Doubtful.The American Renaissance

[Aman A.K.A. Ahamburger]

oh, we could do this all day.....

  How true. I know I don't intend on letting the truth go unheard anytime soon.  Calm and collected my friend. 

[Aman A.K.A. Ahamburger]

As socialism dies what takes it's place is jobs.  It's that simple, and the Jobs In a Ripple-Out Economy Come From Oil, Gas, Coal, and Then the Cloud.  This can be seen in place such as California where they are going to eliminate their deficit because of America’s biggest oil field.  I find it very interesting how "ideals" can be changed when the harsh reality of the situation sets in, I guess it's not such a bad thing if Declaring energy independence for a brighter future comes from the natural gas oil patch after all. 

It's also interesting to note that U.S. states inch closer to pre-recession prosperity while I'm sure that lots of that has to with Small Towns Get Boost From Oil, Gas as Wealth Shifts Away From Cities, it also has to do with Why Ford Is Adding Thousands Of New U.S. Manufacturing Jobs. It's not just Ford, Nike is also expanding manufacturing lines in the USA, and why not? Made In Loudoun: A Case For U.S. Manufacturing.

The biggest part of all of this oil and gas expansion along with A homecoming for US manufacturing however, is that the Trade deficit on course for surplus.

Terminal Decline? Doubtful. The American Renaissance. 

[Aman A.K.A. Ahamburger]

There was a great study about U.S. Manufacturing done by MIT, it really shows how much 3D printing is going to help bring US manufacturing back.  I have to say that I do find it funny that a large group of MIT students and their profs missed that one in their report though. 

 The other big thing that I just wanted to point out was that US Manufacturing Workweek Reaches Highs Similar To Levels Seen During WWII, which means that there is more manufacturing jobs on the way. Pretty impressive for something that apparently doesn't exist anymore and can't really be pulled off according to a recent MIT study...

   

[Aman A.K.A. Ahamburger]

One of the big fears right now is that all of this money that has been printed will cause interest rates to rise in a fashion similar to the 1980's, and that there is nowhere for all this money to "go".  However, the issue with this train of thought ignores the fact that unlike the 1980's, there are structural changes happening in the USA that require massive amounts of money to be invested in projects that will provide jobs that the USA was, in fact, losing during the 1980's.  This is, in fact, closer a trend that took place during the industrial revolution of the late 1800's, only this time the common man will benefit from the influx of money along side of the business world.

Just like in the late 1800's, in the 1980's the business world were the ones really benefiting from the growth of capital.  This time around there is no where to offshore to, so money has to be spent on building a strong foundation to support everyone servicing their own economies. Aside from increasing manufacturing in the west, the evidence of this "urban renewal" trend can be found in growing inner city businesses, urban farms, and big philanthropic actions; and that is why what we are living through is truly an American Renaissance. 



Boeing to invest $1 billion to expand South Carolina 787 factory 
How Walmart Plans to Bring Back ‘Made in America 
US home building is surging, but job growth isn't <------ More workers about to come online very soon thanks to capitalism and business.
Urban farming invigorates Detroit neighborhood 
Ford records record sales of natural gas vehicles 
Foreign manufacturers bringing jobs to U.S.(Labor and energy costs among charms attracting companies to build plants) 
U.S. Petrochemical Production, Exports to Expand, says ExxonMobil Chemical President 
How ‘Made in the USA’ is Making a Comeback  
Apple to Assemble Macs in Texas, Set to Manufacture Parts Across the U.S. 
Food Companies See (Big) Growth in the Inner City 
100 fastest growing inner city businesses 
GE and Manufacturing Institute Expand Skills Training Program for U.S. Veterans 
Hire U.S. military veterans to work in Canadian oilsands, headhunter suggests  
Organic Farming for US Veterans 
A Big Push for Mandatory Personal Finance Classes in School 
11 More Donors Sign the Giving Pledge 
Philanthropy: The New Hollywood Brand 
Mark Zuckerberg Finds Giving Spirit, Donates $500 Million To Silicon Valley Community Foundation 
Columbia's B-school gets $100 million gift

[Aman A.K.A. Ahamburger]

The financial crisis of '08 shook a lot of people to the core. It allowed the idea of the imminent decline of America to be brought to the fore front.  Lots of "profits of doom" out there became very wealthy overnight, and the idea of making it to 2013 was basically out of the question at that point.  Four years on, almost all of these false profits are having to recant their bold predictions, and some have even gone as far as writing new books.  The trends that they are all writing about now, are the exact ones that I haven been talking about since '08, and are well documented on this board since Dec. 2010.

God Blessed America. Good Sabbath all! 

The Profits of American Economic Decline revise their Thinking 

THE HOT new idea in the post-bust years was American economic decline. Now, it seems to be ... American economic optimism? Fifty-one months after an impressive stock rally began and 48 months after economic growth started, optimism is finally—finally!—breaking out.

You can even hear crowing from Charles Morris, the author of the bestselling crisis book The Two Trillion Dollar Meltdown: Easy Money, High Rollers, and the Great Credit Crash; in June he released a sequel volume—albeit a slim one—called Comeback: America’s New Economic Boom. His cause for celebration? The fracking revolution. The nation’s supply of natural gas locked in shale “is so vast that it has the potential to transform the manufacturing economy, creating jobs across the country and requiring a new infrastructure that will benefit the nation as a whole.”

Another former economic sourpuss, banking analyst Meredith Whitney—who (accurately) predicted the financial crisis and then (inaccurately) predicted a boom in state and municipal bankruptcies—is out with Fate of the States: The New Geography of American Prosperity. Forget the coasts, she argues. The plains and interior, fueled in large part by agricultural and energy resources, are now driving economic growth.

And while in his 2011 jeremiad, The Great Stagnation, George Mason University economist Tyler Cowen said all the low-hanging fruit of productivity and technology had been picked, times have changed. Having tracked continuing technological advances and the slowdown of health-care costs, Cowen is recanting a bit in his new book, Average Is Over: Powering America Beyond the Age of the Great Stagnation, due out in September.

The data generally seem to agree with them. In recent years the U.S. economy has managed to shrug off internal and external shocks, and it is showing every sign of powering through both tax increases and sequestration. The private sector has created nearly 7 million jobs since early 2010. The U.S. economic engine may be revving in a low gear, but it’s not in neutral or reverse, as most developed economies are. And economists have been ratcheting up their growth forecasts for 2014. “When the facts change, I change my mind,” economist John Maynard Keynes is believed to have said. Some economic thinkers, following suit, have reacted to the changing facts by changing their minds too.

[Aman A.K.A. Ahamburger]

Time has a good write up on Edmund Phelps's new book, and I would say he describes the chart above perfectly when he talks about......

Nobelist on America’s Missing Economic Mojo — and How To Get It Back

Phelps goes back to the 19th century, the scene of what economists call The Great Divergence. In America and Britain, and to a lesser extent the countries of Western and Northern Europe, institutions developed, like capital markets and a legal system that allowed for limited liability corporations and bankruptcy, that promoted commerce and risk taking. This was also a time when representative democracy began to take hold, allowing governments to shift their focus from protecting the narrow interests of the aristocracy towards a rule of law which assured the rights of any property owner.

But capitalist institutions and a democratic form of government aren’t the only preconditions for dynamism, according to Phelps. What supported the creation of these institutions was a cultural revolution in which these societies began to move away from what Phelps calls “traditionalist” values to “modernist” ones. Modernist values, Phelps explains,

"include norms like thinking and working for your self and self-expression. These values also include attitudes towards others: readiness to accept change caused or desired by others; eagerness to work with others; the desire to test one’s self against others, thus to compete; and the willingness to take the initiative . . . other modernist attitudes are the desire to create, explore, and experiment, the welcoming of hurdles to surmount, the desire to be intellectually engaged, and the desire to have responsibility and to give orders."

In Phelp’s view, modernist values contrast with what he calls traditionalist values, which generally prize and promote stability, security, and responsibility to the community. These have been resurgent in Europe since the middle of the 20th century and in America since the late 1960s, he argues, and are largely responsible for the decline in innovation that we’ve seen since then. In the realm of government, for example, this ethos has led to the rise in welfare programs, which Phelps argues dull the incentives of both workers and employers to create an economic environment where work is enjoyed and well-rewarded.

Interestingly, Phelps argues that corporations have been equally energetic about dulling the impact of competition. One measure of the way in which corporate America is more keen to cozy up to Washington than to fairly contend with competitors is the growth of money in politics. According to data from the Brookings Institute and the American Enterprise Institute, candidates for Congress spent more than $1.5 billion on their campaigns, more than eight times what they spent in 1980. Federal regulations have exploded since the late 1960s, with the number of pages in the Federal Register (the compendium of federal regulations) more than quadrupling in that time period. Phelps doesn’t argue that all regulation is bad. Indeed, rules that promote trust by outlawing harmful products can even bolster economic growth. But too often, he says, they’re actually a tool that big business uses to stave off competition.

It makes sense to me what he is saying, and the solution to the chart is simple, really. It's about getting back to the basics of what this country(North America) was built on, mixed with the modern values that everyone is equal under God and should be treated with decency. The best part about the solution, it has already begun...

1st US-made smartphone just as cheap to produce
The US professionals quitting the rat race to become farmers
Living off the land: Homesteading catching on among many young Canadian families

[Aman A.K.A. Ahamburger]

As mentioned a few times on this forum, the military strategy of letting the Mid East use their oil has worked out nicely.Mideast oil power wanes as U.S., others boost production

But the best part about the emerging market service sector and all this "new oil", is how it's leading to everyone serving their own economies; even Bloomberg is starting to report on this topic.

New American Economy Leaves Behind World Consumer

As the U.S. looks set to accelerate, economists from Bank of America Corp. to Morgan Stanley predict it will provide less oomph abroad than it once did, partly because of changes wrought by the financial crisis and recession. The new-look America is focused on greater demand and production at home and taps more of its own energy, paring the need to buy overseas in a trend reflected by the smallest current-account deficit since 1999.

Smaller Contribution

One explanation why the U.S. engine may be slowing overseas is that its share of worldwide GDP shrank to 22 percent this year from 31 percent in 2000, according to IMF data. In the meantime other sources of demand have emerged, including China, which now accounts for 12 percent of global output, up from 4 percent in the same period.

Bank of America’s Reis argues that the “quality” of U.S. growth is changing from the consumption-led boom of a decade ago that aided manufacturers abroad, especially in Asia. While consumption will edge up 2.5 percent next year compared with 2 percent in 2013, Reis says the driver this time will be an 18 percent jump in spending on homes -- good for Canadian lumber producers but not for many other foreign businesses.
Energy Needs

The U.S. also is now less in need of foreign energy thanks to increased domestic output amid the development of fracking, which draws on reserves in shale-rock formations. America churned out an average 7.2 million barrels a day of crude since the start of January, the highest since about 1991, and Credit Suisse Group AG estimates the inflation-adjusted petroleum trade deficit has fallen 54 percent since 2006.

Such trends will boost the U.S. trade position by more than $164 billion in 2020 -- a third of the present shortfall -- as the need for energy imports declines and U.S.-based fuel-intensive industries become more competitive, according to a September study by Lexington, Massachusetts-based IHS Inc. EOG Resources Inc. (EOG) and Pioneer Natural Resources Co. (PXD) are among the Texas-based oil explorers whose stocks have soared this year.

The fresh energy supplies also may combine with competitive labor costs and cash-rich corporate coffers to propel a recovery in manufacturing within the U.S., leaving the country less reliant on goods from abroad. A Citigroup report in May predicted a reversal of the 50-year decline in manufacturing’s share of GDP, including the creation of 2 million jobs.

Another theme is that U.S. companies are increasingly repatriating production from China and other emerging markets, which lured it with cheaper labor costs.

Moving Manufacturing

Fifty-four percent of U.S. manufacturers with sales topping $1 billion are planning to or considering bringing back factory-lines from China, up from 37 percent in February, the Boston Consulting Group said Sept. 24, citing a survey of 200 executives. It projects that with Chinese wages and benefits rising 15 percent to 20 percent a year, the cost of operating in China will be the same as staying in the U.S. by 2015.

Trellis Earth Products Inc. (TREL), a Portland, Oregon-based producer of bioplastics, said in July it is moving its manufacturing operations to New York state from China, investing $8.3 million and creating almost 200 positions.
“What you see is more companies reshoring and bringing jobs back,” said Harold Sirkin, a Chicago-based senior partner at BCG. “Previous headwinds are turning into tailwinds.”

Metals, Chemicals

A further challenge for emerging markets is that reindustrialization means Americans are again finding it profitable to produce less-sophisticated products such as fabricated metals and chemicals, said Manoj Pradhan, global emerging-markets economist at Morgan Stanley. Those are the very goods that countries like China would have wanted to start supplying to maintain their development.

The growth divide could be reinforced once U.S. companies ramp up capital spending, which Morgan Stanley predicts will grow 6 percent in each of the next two years, compared with 2.25 percent this year. Such outlays are likely to benefit Germany and Japan and perhaps specific sectors such as information technology in India, rather than developing nations as a whole, he said.

The silver lining is that greater competition internationally should force governments to take steps to raise productivity, Pradhan said. The rebalancing of demand around the world also could be welcomed by the IMF, which has suggested an over-reliance on the U.S. for growth helped spark the financial crisis.

“In the long run, this is a win-win,” said London-based Pradhan. “That’s still a long way away, but good news nevertheless.”

[Aman A.K.A. Ahamburger]

The Death of Socialism?



Surprise Services Pickup Shows Overcoming Shutdown: Economy
Apple Will Open a Manufacturing Plant in Phoenix Suburb

[engleclair]

I, for one, am LOVING this American Renaissance.

[Aman A.K.A. Ahamburger]

So hope the high fuel prices keep up and 3rd world countries keep clamoring for higher wages, they want a decent standard of living too.

That will put a crimp in one of the big container companies building super collosal sized ships but their plans are to ship to Europe they better get jobs back to as its not looking good there.

Exactly Pat! I don't get why more people don't see it.

For the fist time in history the better that everyone does, the better everyone does. I was just reading a time article that referred to the American Renaissance and "localnomics." The concept of "localnomics" is that everyone is moving towards servicing their own economies. Where have you heard that before, eh? You can read that one, here.

Here are some good stories about the rest of it...

Small-Shop Hiring Fueled by 3-D Printers to IPhone Tools
Bangladesh violence closes 100 garment factories
Insight: African tech startups aim to power growing economies
China points to social welfare reforms needed for urbanization drive
Struggling U.S. cities hope small projects yield big results

[Aman A.K.A. Ahamburger]

Ah yes, W.Va. manufacturing company changing industry with 3-D printing

[flow5]

The only thing that will save the U.S. is technological innovation. It supersedes the low cost labor force advantage of the emerging markets. I.e., robotics are much more productive than manual labor. And China is a follower - not an innovator.

[Aman A.K.A. Ahamburger]

That is one of the points to the American Renaissance without a doubt flow, I have a write up a robots I will post later...

There are other major trends developing right now on US soil that will also change the face of the country, back into somethimg a little more old school. Millions of acres of land that will be reclaimed for food production(export), remodeling of dilapidated cities, and remigration of people to the emerging markets are all examples of micro socioeconomic trends that point to a better tomorrow.

[flow5]

Farmers are now using drones to conduct periodic surveys on the chemistry of the soil & the health of their crops (disease, nutrients, moisture, etc.).  An agriculture revolution is in the making.

[Aman A.K.A. Ahamburger]

Heck ya flow. And check this out my friend.

Mexican economy lures emigrants home

[Aman A.K.A. Ahamburger]

Protecting the heartland so we can make money building the NWO.

Young people drawn to farming by income, job opportunities

[Aman A.K.A. Ahamburger]

When the top realizes they build up the bottom and they are stronger for it, the trend becomes the second leg of a long term trend called, love not war makes more, thanks JC.

Wouldn't ya know it?


Google Capital comes out of stealth with third investment

[Aman A.K.A. Ahamburger]

I know the old saying goes the rich get richer. I guess after we get past what's coming next, we will need a saying for how there are more rich people than at any point in history. Confirming the trend from the first post..U.S. Millionaires Club Grows To Almost 10 Million

[Aman A.K.A. Ahamburger]

Ah yes, thinking back to 2010 and 2011...as some with there 60% accurate "math" were calling for "the death march".. My "nothing but analysis" economic model was calling for a US energy boom and an American manufacturing renaissance..

Crazy at the time because we all "knew" the US was in a depression, and we all"knew" the US was never going to come back...

I guess some economic models ARE better than others, and WAY more reliable than trying to call the economic climate based on monetary FLOWs.

Energy boom to aid U.S. urban manufacturing jobs to 2020: report

[Aman A.K.A. Ahamburger]

The move toward a balanced economy continues.

Ford investing $500 million to make new engine at Ohio plant

[bimetalaupt]

A+++,

If "O" want to make Russia hurt he will have to make the Laws needed to bring the most amount of heavy oil to Texas.  We can mine here in the USA ALSO.   VOLARO HAS THE CRACKER AS DOES THE REFINERY IN BIGSPRINT (ALON).

OBAMA: IT IS TIME TO MOVE ON THE PIPELINES!!

Just a thought,

BiMetalAuPt

[Aman A.K.A. Ahamburger]

Mar 28, 2014 13:52:33 GMT -5 bimetalaupt said:

A+++,

If "O" want to make Russia hurt he will have to make the Laws needed to bring the most amount of heavy oil to Texas.  We can mine here in the USA ALSO.   VOLARO HAS THE CRACKER AS DOES THE REFINERY IN BIGSPRINT (ALON).

OBAMA: IT IS TIME TO MOVE ON THE PIPELINES!!

Just a thought,

BiMetalAuPt

Bruce!

You got that right, ship the oil over there and use the unlimited amount of energy that we can produce here to fill in the gaps. How little amount of land would we need for the algae that would eleimnate the need for conventional oil again?

Check it...

Ewart: Canadian producers eye profits through U.S. ports

As the battle over American crude oil exports heats up, Canadian producers have seemingly found a route to lucrative international prices through U.S. ports. If producers move Canadian crude by rail to U.S. tidewater ports and then onto global markets it doesn't fall under the four-decade-old ban on domestic oil exports in the U.S. and circumvents the issues around pipeline access and price differentials in North America.

[bimetalaupt]

Mar 28, 2014 16:41:57 GMT -5 Aman A.K.A. Ahamburger said:

Mar 28, 2014 13:52:33 GMT -5 bimetalaupt said:

A+++,

If "O" want to make Russia hurt he will have to make the Laws needed to bring the most amount of heavy oil to Texas.  We can mine here in the USA ALSO.   VOLARO HAS THE CRACKER AS DOES THE REFINERY IN BIGSPRINT (ALON).

OBAMA: IT IS TIME TO MOVE ON THE PIPELINES!!

Just a thought,

BiMetalAuPt

Bruce!

You got that right, ship the oil over there and use the unlimited amount of energy that we can produce here to fill in the gaps. How little amount of land would we need for the algae that would eleimnate the need for conventional oil again?

Check it...

Ewart: Canadian producers eye profits through U.S. ports

As the battle over American crude oil exports heats up, Canadian producers have seemingly found a route to lucrative international prices through U.S. ports. If producers move Canadian crude by rail to U.S. tidewater ports and then onto global markets it doesn't fall under the four-decade-old ban on domestic oil exports in the U.S. and circumvents the issues around pipeline access and price differentials in North America.

A+++,

Few if any Cracking units are ready to produce gasoline or diesel from very heavy crude. Also the surplus of methane gas for production H2 , steam , cracking and distillation from the Texas Permian Basin. Just think of the $1 billions USD made from gas that would have been burned at the well head via flares. 

Yes, we can export finished diesel or gasoline.

Just a thought,

Bruce

[Aman A.K.A. Ahamburger]

,

Yes, we should take that billion and make the investment into cracking the heavy stuff. Aside from going back to living in caves, there is literally no outcome from this point where exporting gas and diesel won't be a long term profitable endeavor.

God bless,

[Aman A.K.A. Ahamburger]

Slowly and surely the U.S. Resumes Role as Global Growth Engine

[Aman A.K.A. Ahamburger]

I remember when I started this thread all the talk was about the US headed towards martial law, support by this Gerald Celente guy. Alex Jones and Dr. Paul Roberts were other sources that some kept falling back onto for their dire US predictions.

Now that all that crap has come to pass I see these same people still think they are right, because apparently they were talking about the situation in the East the whole time. Even though none of these clowns laid out a single scenario for the East, aside from, Russia and China are dumping the US dollar for GOLD and coming after the US!

As we can plainly see, China is not coming to Russia's rescue on the Ukrainian "situation", and I will guarantee that China has their eyes on Russia's vast oil and gas reserves.

As far as the continuing American Renaissance goes:

-U.S. economy picked up in most of country: Beige Book
-Tight Job Market in U.S. Cities Prompts Higher Pay
-US manufacturing production up 0.5 pct. in March, led by furniture, clothing and aircraft

[Aman A.K.A. Ahamburger]

Apr 11, 2014 20:08:26 GMT -5 Aman A.K.A. Ahamburger said:

Do people, common people, from all over the world want to live exactly how us common people do here in the western world? HELL YA!!! Which is exactly why I know that what goes on here isn't evil and is, in fact, what is good for the common man. That one single variable is all it takes. The people of the world want what we got and they are fighting and pushing their leaders all over the world to get it! Look at the budding punk scene in Burma. Look at the Democracy movements in China and Malaysia. Look at the protest against Putin(before his iron fist came down) Look at how the women/minority's right movement has been sweeping the globe since in started in the west, a mere 50 years ago.

The common man, or the meek if you will, are the people that JC set up to inherit the Earth. The ones that recognize JC's strength have continued to push society in the right direction. It's the ones who don't give up and won't recognize defeat that have got us to where we are today.

In recognition of what JC did for humanity, I give thanks to God on a daily basis. I would like to point out that the OP in this thread is about staying strong, being brave, and not giving up. On that topic, here are three articles that sum up this thread perfectly. Terminal Decline? Doubtful. It's the American Renaissance!


-Declining America? Fuhgeddaboudit!
-The myths and realities of America's debt

-Why is no one cheering the falling deficit?

Has anyone noticed that the U.S. budget deficit has plunged by nearly $1 trillion since its peak in 2009? Probably not.

It has become a politically inconvenient truth that budget deficits will only grow and never decline, and yet, an astounding $1 trillion dollars has been hacked from the annual shortfall.......

......it certainly has defied conventional wisdom in Washington that wrongly suggested that such a turnabout was even remotely possible.

Recall the prevailing wisdom on budget deficits just five short years ago. This report from the Washington Post, July 24th, 2010, suggests that trillion-dollar deficits would become the norm after "The Great Recession," not the exception:

"The latest forecast from the White House budget office shows the deficit rising to $1.47 trillion this year, forcing the government to borrow 41 cents of every dollar it spends. Contrary to official projections, the budget gap will not begin to narrow much in 2011, because of an unexpectedly big drop in tax receipts … The White House predicted Friday it will not dip below 8 percent until the end of 2012."

Oops! The deficit peaked in 2009 and has been on a rapid downward trajectory ever since.

Rather than being stuck at 8 percent of GDP, the Congressional Budget Office is now projecting the deficit to fall to 2.8 percent of GDP this year, or $492 billion. That's down 32 percent from last year and next year, the shortfall is projected to shrink further, to $469 billion.

[Aman A.K.A. Ahamburger]

A new report on the state of US manufacturing.

U.S. manufacturing: U.S. production costs catching up with China

Another win for the made-in-America movement: A new report found that U.S. manufacturing in the past decade has become much more competitive compared with low-cost manufacturing rivals.

U.S. factories can make goods at the same cost or even cheaper than those made in Eastern Europe, according to a Boston Consulting Group report on Friday. And it is now less than 5% cheaper to make goods in China compared with the U.S.
Global shifts in manufacturing costs can be seen beyond America's borders, the report said. Manufacturing in Mexico is more cost effective than in China, for example, while Brazil has become one of the most expensive manufacturing centers in the world.

These kinds of changes have prompted American businesses to rethink their supply chains in the aftermath of the global recession. Faced with rising wages in China and high oil prices, many are reconsidering the appeal of manufacturing close to home.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Apple Inc. are just some of the companies that have committed to manufacturing some of their products in the U.S.

But Hal Sirkin, a coauthor of the BCG report, said many firms are still making production decisions "on the basis of a decades-old worldview that is sorely out of date."

[Aman A.K.A. Ahamburger]

These articles lay it out nicely.

America's Coming Manufacturing Revolution

But the doomsayers often fail to see the ways in which America is gaining rather than losing global influence. And nowhere is this truer than the manufacturing sector.

Meet the new middle class: robots
...
The impact on employment will be profound. On the one hand, machines could take over many of the most dirty, dangerous and dull jobs, leaving humans with less repetitive, safer and more interesting work....

....Anxiety over worker displacement isn’t new. A century ago, angry workers trashed power looms in frustration at the labour-saving machinery....

..“I don't see this as replacing jobs,” says Prof. Goldie Nejat, who is also developing search-and-research robots that can look for people in rubble following earthquakes. Rather, like computers or cellphones, she says these are new tools to assist workers doing dangerous or stressful jobs....

...Some industries do want to reduce reliance on workers. In Niagara’s horticultural heartland, technology is being developed to eventually replace migrant workers.....

.....Where does that leave the younger generation? These shifts mean skills such as problem-solving, conflict management, resiliency and creativity are ever more important if they are to compete with machines for work. Already, more students are picking robotics as one career option. Schools such as Humber, Waterloo and University of Toronto are boosting capacity in their robotics and mechatronics programs – with virtually all students landing work after graduation.

[Aman A.K.A. Ahamburger]

On top of auto sales and ISM numbers (orders, service and manufacturing), further evidence of a sustained recovery has started to emerge.

Wage Pressure Begins to Build

The improving U.S. jobs market has been marred by stubbornly slow growth in wages, but recent results from companies show the outlook for some workers may be brightening.

A wide range of companies have reported upward pressure on wages in the early months of the year, including asset-manager State Street Corp. STT, coatings manufacturer PPG Industries Inc. PPG and eatery operators Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc.and Darden Restaurants Inc.

Martin Ellen, chief financial officer at drinks maker Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc., projected a $30 million rise in "people-related costs" for the current year, "reflecting both general inflation in our field labor costs" and higher health and benefit expenses. Mr. Ellen told investors he expected to see compensation costs rise more significantly in the third and fourth quarters of the year, with wage inflation pushing employee costs up about 2% and accounting for about two-thirds of the year's total increase.

The comments are at odds with broader economic data—U.S. Labor Department figures on Friday showed private-sector nonfarm hourly wages grew just 1.9% in April from a year earlier—and economists aren't finding much evidence of a strong uptick in wages five years after the recession ended.

Still, executives at more than two dozen large companies—including manufacturers as well as financial and services companies—reported rising wages in significant portions of their businesses, much of it in the U.S., as they discussed first-quarter results.