> The question is not how do we create living-wage jobs for the American worker, the question is how do we get the American worker to quit his job and start a business
Quite a bit, to be honest. Think about the response on social media to a post where a person starts a new company to one where a person announces he has a new job. The latter usually has more comments than the former.
The narrative in America is still largely influenced by the post WWII and baby boomer eras. Go to school, find a job, work for a few decades, retire, and travel the world. Starting a business is considered risky. These need to change. The reality needs to be accepted by many people (including myself). Working for someone else is just as risky, if not more, than working for yourself. After all, you can put in a huge amount of effort, and find yourself on the street due to some exec's whim to reorg. Entrepreneurship is risky since the vast majority of new businesses fail, but the point that needs to be made is that each failure is a step in the process that leads to success.
Additionally, we need to reduce the message of consumerism. Think about it, after work and family, most people will sit on the couch and watch TV, rather than do creative or hard work. I do know the value of mental and physical relaxation, but the average American spends 5 hours watching TV. (how the hell do they find that much time?) If people took even an hour of that, and dedicated it to creative work or self improvement, they'd be in much better shape, mentally, physically, and emotionally. But that requires effort, and it's easier to live vicariously through others via some reality TV show.
Quite a bit, to be honest. Think about the response on social media to a post where a person starts a new company to one where a person announces he has a new job. The latter usually has more comments than the former. The narrative in America is still largely influenced by the post WWII and baby boomer eras. Go to school, find a job, work for a few decades, retire, and travel the world. Starting a business is considered risky. These need to change. The reality needs to be accepted by many people (including myself). Working for someone else is just as risky, if not more, than working for yourself. After all, you can put in a huge amount of effort, and find yourself on the street due to some exec's whim to reorg. Entrepreneurship is risky since the vast majority of new businesses fail, but the point that needs to be made is that each failure is a step in the process that leads to success.
Additionally, we need to reduce the message of consumerism. Think about it, after work and family, most people will sit on the couch and watch TV, rather than do creative or hard work. I do know the value of mental and physical relaxation, but the average American spends 5 hours watching TV. (how the hell do they find that much time?) If people took even an hour of that, and dedicated it to creative work or self improvement, they'd be in much better shape, mentally, physically, and emotionally. But that requires effort, and it's easier to live vicariously through others via some reality TV show.