#JobMarket #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #CollegeDegrees #UnemploymentRate It’s been said that a college degree will open more doors than just a high school diploma. But, according to an article by Sydney Ember in the New York Times, there are fewer employers showing up at college job fairs. In fact, the article states, the unemployment rate for college graduates between ages 22 and 27 surged to 5.6 percent at the end of last year. It quotes an analysis from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. That rate outstripped the overall 4.2 percent unemployment rate at the time. “For those who were employed, more than 40 percent held jobs that do not typically require college degrees, the highest level since 2020,” the article reads. The Times story was also published March 26, 2026, in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The job market probably will be in flux for many years to come. With the emergence of artificial intelligence, and other economic factors, jobs will change. The need for people will change. The article also provokes a thought: Though no education is a waste, one will have to think long and hard before committing a lot of money to college in the future. Definitely, if you don’t think you are college material, don’t waste your money, thinking a degree will somehow pay off later. AI can do a lot of things. It can accomplish menial but necessary tasks that seem to waste human time. Robots don’t need bathroom or lunch breaks, vacation time or sick time. Still, there will be a need for humans to repair them when they break down. Machines can copy. They can perform tasks based on past patterns. But, they are no substitute for human intuition, innovation or creativity. Machines also do not need college degrees to perform any tasks. So where does all this leave a young person trying to create an adult life? We’ve gone through uncertain times before. The Industrial Revolution and the invention of the computer changed work for many people. Though some people’s lives radically changed, society survived. This will be another one of those times. We as people may have to rethink how we work, how we make a living and how we advance financially. Progress cannot be stopped, despite the efforts of those who want to take the U.S. back to another bygone era. AI may also change our lifestyles. It will certainly make some chores easier, but it may make other things more challenging. Therefore, it will be incumbent upon us, particularly the younger generations, to rethink how to make a good life. That may mean thinking about whether to go to college. If you decide to go, will the investment pay off? If you have to go into debt to do it, can you pay it off in a reasonable amount of time? And, if you get a job somewhere, how long will it last? What are you going to do when one day you suddenly have lost your job? Despite these potentially difficult decisions, it’s best to stay optimistic. Pessimism and self-doubt can scramble your thought process. Regardless of what you decide, know that AI is here to stay. How can you best live with it? Peter
#vaccines #PolioVaccine #Rotary #polio #RotaryInternational #PurplePinky In an opinion piece, two academics from New York University’s Medical Ethics section touted the success of the polio vaccine, as it comes up against vaccine skeptics now regulating the nation’s health. The piece, published in the April 1, 2026, edition of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, even had a photo of Elvis Presley getting his polio vaccine shot backstage at The Ed Sullivan Show in 1956. Nathaniel Mamo, MA, and Arthur Caplan, Ph.D., rightly say that polio is close to being eradicated BECAUSE of the vaccine, developed by Jonas Salk through research funding by what was then called the March of Dimes. But, what the doctors fail to mention is the role of Rotary International in distributing the vaccine worldwide, as it still does. By Rotary’s count, polio cases are down to a few in Afghanistan and Pakistan. As the academics point out, the vaccine skeptics argue that sanitation has improved enough to prevent an increase in cases. Sanitation has improved, but the poliovirus can easily spread if enough people decide not to get vaccinated. By extension, they may not get their children vaccinated. If the disease spreads, all of Rotary International’s efforts over many decades will not have been wasted, but the progress will be slowed. Certainly, getting all those folks in all those countries vaccinated was no small task. Rotary faced all kinds of obstacles to get the vaccine into people. In fact, on April 28, 2026, Rotary District 6780 in East Tennessee will have its annual Purple Pinky Day. Buy a box of 10 doughnuts from participating Dunkin’ stores for $25, and proceeds will be matched 7.5 times toward the eradication of polio through vaccinations. If you live in East Tennessee and you’d like to participate, contact your local Rotary club to order your doughnuts. If you don’t like doughnuts, you can also donate money to Rotary’s Polio Plus campaign. Those donations also will be matched 7.5 times. The clubs will be taking doughnut orders through April 9 (April 13 for some clubs), and the clubs will advise you on how you can pick up your doughnuts. If you don’t live in East Tennessee, check your local Rotary club to find out when they will have Purple Pinky campaigns. It’s called Purple Pinky Day because, as people got their polio vaccines, one of their pinkies was dipped in a purple dye to tell those distributing the vaccines that they had been vaccinated. So, the NYU folks are correct. We all should be vaccinated against polio. Science has demonstrated for decades the vaccine’s effectiveness. And, one can thank Rotary International for spearheading the campaign to help those around the world who may not have ready access to the vaccine get it. Polio and other diseases are either preventable, or their effects can be minimized through vaccines that have been properly tested. Those who cast doubt on proven vaccines are doing a disservice to the nation, the world and overall health. But, creating and testing vaccines and making them available may not be enough. Organizations like Rotary have to make it their mission to make sure the vaccines are widely available. If it succeeds in eradicating polio, Rotary undoubtedly will move on to conquering other diseases worldwide. Distributing vaccines is the most effective and efficient way to do that. Peter
#oil #OilMarket #OilPrices #IranWar #GeopolitialForces #EfficientDistributionOfOil The worldwide oil market is both fluid and slick. First, it is fluid because it so depends on geopolitical forces in the world, as the current Middle East war shows. It is slick because it depends as much on how the oil is transported as much as where it is produced. In either case, the price depends on world supply and demand. Middle East conflicts affect supply. How much drivers drive and how the weather affects heating are among the demand factors. Though the U.S. is a net exporter of oil, it still must import oil from Middle East sources. That’s the slickness of the market. Just because we produce a lot of oil does not mean we can distribute that oil efficiently. It’s not easy to get U.S. refined oil to U.S. markets inexpensively. That’s why, for example, the oil produced in Alaska is more economically shipped to Asia, vs. being consumed in the continental U.S. Emmett Lindner explains the oil market in detail in The New York Times. His article was also published March 12, 2026, in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “Refineries in New Jersey, for example, might import oil from Algeria or Nigeria instead of buying it from Texas,” Lindner writes. “Fuel made from imported oil often winds up in U.S. gas stations,” Lindner writes. The type of oil produced in the U.S. tends to be higher quality – light, sweet crude, he said. But U.S. refineries are set up to handle heavy and sour oil. Therefore, it’s often more efficient to sell the sweet crude and buy the heavy, the article says. Here’s the other issue Lindner cites. If the government decided to open up more fragile areas for oil drilling, i.e. government-owned areas in the West, those actions would take time, up to six months, to get online, he writes. All this talk of oil and fossil fuels begs the question: why isn’t the U.S. exploring cleaner, more sustainable energy sources, so we are no longer dependent on geopolitically sensitive oil? The country wax making strides in establishing a clean-energy industry, using solar, wind, electrical even nuclear sources. Politically, the government decided to focus back on oil and fossil fuels which, in addition to geopolitical hazards, also damage the earth more than the other sources do. Remember, when oil prices rise, the already rich oil barons get richer and everyone else gets poorer. For the moment, though, the U.S. needs a mix of fossil fuels and alternative energy, with policies intended to wean the country off fossil fuels eventually. Tower of Power famously sings, “There is only so much oil in the ground.” And, what’s still left in the ground depends almost entirely on a fluid and slick market that can send prices all over the place. The country, and the world, should be aiming for the day when oil and other fossil fuels are NOT the main driver of energy. If we don’t manage this closely, the volatile oil market could one day, when we least expect it, be tapped out. Or, the price could be so high, we may lament on what we didn’t do to secure cheaper, more sustainable alternatives. Peter
#messaging #words #phrases #”Average”People #”Different”People “sensibilities Words matter. More importantly, phrasing matters. In political parlance, it’s called messaging. Bill Torpy, columnist for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, discussed this in his September 4, 2025, column. He points out that some in the political arena are trying to talk to people using words and terms they believe express the right sensibilities for every group, but sound elitist to most people. Think “politically correct,” “woke,” and “pregnant people.” The latter, Torpy points out, refers not to just women, but also to women trying to become men, but still can give birth. These are terms that “average” people not only don’t use, but also don’t resonate with them. An old adage goes: why use a 25-cent word when a 5-cent word says the same thing. But, in the case of these terms, they are not just 25-cent words. There are no 5-cent words to replace them, and they talk about concepts that are not part of “average” people’s lives. When one uses them, particularly in a political setting in which messaging can be critical, “average” people completely do not get the message. Those in certain groups, with whom “average” people do not necessarily associate, may appreciate the expressions of sensibility to their situations. But, even the sincerest expression of sensibility does not necessarily win elections. Though “average” people may empathize with one’s sensibilities, they may not need or want to have them communicated. Those callous about one’s sensibilities may be more likely to say things that resonate better with “average” people. A good rule of thumb is: even if you are totally empathic with the plight of people who are “different” from the “average,” use only language you would use at the dinner table. “No Kings” has a ring to it. So does “Make America Great Again.” They are totally opposite viewpoints politically, but people understand what you are saying. And, ANY message about giving certain “different” people an advantage in any selection or review process will completely turn off “average” people who want the same advantage. Remember, in messaging, fairness is debatable. Right and wrong may have different definitions, depending on one’s perspective. The universe of understanding is a melting pot, whether we like it or not. As a warning to those who run for office: don’t give people the impression that you will do one thing, then do the opposite if you win. Be sincere. Mean what you say. But, it’s just as important to say it in terms that both “average” and “different” people understand. Boutique terminology may seem fashionable, but those who mostly wear “working-man’s clothes” don’t care about fashion. In fact, they often resent it. So, whether you run for office or not, speak simply, clearly and remember your typical dinner-table conversations. Failure to do so could have you eating your words. Peter
#parents #parenting #children #ChildRearing #independence #CommonSense A mother complained to behavioral consultant Scott Ervin that her academically talented teen daughter seems to have no common sense. She couldn’t understand how a kid couldn’t apply her book smarts to real-world activities. Ervin basically told the mother that the teen needed to experience the real world without her parents. Ervin discussed the interaction in a column published May 24, 2025, in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. What Ervin is saying is that common sense is not learned in a book. It is learned by trial and error. He’s also saying that common sense cannot be taught by parents, teachers or anyone else. The student has to acquire it independently. This interaction calls to mind the concept of “helicopter” parents, who hover over their children’s lives well into adulthood. In the guise of being “helpful,” these parents end up taking an outsized role in all of their child’s decisions. Also, the interaction brings to the fore the idea that parents have to let go of their children by a certain age. Many children grow up in overly restrictive households, with way too many rules imposed upon them. They have no way to get out to learn common sense. Their “sense” is dictated to them. Children need space to make mistakes. Mistakes are the learning tools for common sense. No parent wants a child to make a fatal mistake, or a mistake they will pay for the rest of their lives. Still, they need some freedom to learn on their own. Parents may not want their children interacting with certain other children, or certain other adults. But, those interactions often turn into positive learning experiences. They could broaden the child’s mind, perhaps beyond the point mom and dad want it broadened. Parents want children to be obedient, not defiant. However, some defiance can be healthy for a child. It can teach them that some of what they are being taught may not be in their own best interest, even if it is in mom and dad’s best interest. As author and leadership expert Andy Andrews has said, good parenting is not raising good kids. It is developing good adults. Being a good adult may mean, in some cases, not being like your parents, as the Dr. Rick commercials muse. The process of growing and maturing must be a healthy combination of good parenting, a healthy bit of independence and exposure to good and bad experiences. Some things that parents view as mistakes can benefit the child over time. Some of what parents view as “accomplishments” can be meaningless, or even detrimental, to the child over time. As Ervin advises, give the child his or her own space and time to learn common sense on their own. They will become better adults for it. Peter
#natalists #babies #children #MothersDay #HavingMoreChildren We just celebrated Mother’s Day. Certain people want more mothers. Or, more accurately, more children. Nedra Rhone, the “Real Life” columnist for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, cites a lot of reasons women don’t have children, or as many children, as some would like. She discussed the issue in her May 8, 2025, column. As Rhone, who happens to be a mother, points out, there are many reasons women don’t have children. She also says that some women may want children, but circumstances haven’t allowed them to have them. In fact, the U.S. population, as is the case with most developed countries, is aging. People are not “replacing themselves” at a rate that keeps the population growing. We want the population to grow for many reasons, including having enough workers to replace those who retire. But this natalist movement appears aimed at creating children that only fit a certain demographic. Immigrants can bolster the work force, and have lots of children, but most don’t match the desired demographic. The elephant in the room, of course, is the cost of children. Rhone points out that it costs about $200,000 to raise a child from birth to age 18. Not everyone has that kind of money, or the ability and opportunity to earn that much. Women are a significant boost to the work force, but the natalists prefer women to stay home and raise children. Again, not every woman has the luxury, opportunity or desire to do that. Then, as Rhone points out, some women don’t really want to bring children into the world as it currently is. What she doesn’t talk about in her column is what happens to children when they become adults. With the cost of living, housing etc. as it is, many young adults cannot afford to live on their own, never mind starting a family. They often live with mom and dad long after age 18. Some are burdened with student debt. Some just can’t find work that pays enough to live independently. The natalist and pro-life movements want children to be born at any cost – even if the mother dies doing so. But, they offer no means to ensure these children are properly fed, clothed, housed, educated and otherwise taken care of. Many other countries do take care of their children. The citizens may pay dearly in taxes for it, but, to them, it’s well worth it. These natalists say they love individual freedom. That is, unless you are a woman of child-bearing age. Would you want to have more children if you live in a place in which your medical providers are severely restricted in how they can care for you during and around your pregnancy? This should not be a matter of debate. People should have the freedom to start and grow families as they see fit – or not. The natalists can do much more to encourage more births by giving women – and men – the resources to be able to work AND tend to families, without unwanted sacrifices. Being pro-life means not only encouraging life’s creation, but also making it easier for both parents and children to sustain a quality of life. Peter
#education #PublicEducation #bathrooms #BookBans #pronouns #SchoolSports It’s tough to improve public education when officials – many of whom are elected – talk more about bathrooms, book bans, pronouns and whether transgender students should play on girls sports teams. No one seems to be talking about things like middle school design, high school size and pupil-teacher ratios, as they had in the past. But, maybe that’s the point. If officials focus on seemingly extraneous issues, public education will go away, and students will be left to fend for themselves in the private school market. Maureen Downey, recently retired education columnist for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, addressed this in her November 26, 2024, column. On the federal level, there’s a push to abolish the U.S. Department of Education. Of course, the states do not want to see the federal education money dry up, but they just don’t want all the regulations that may come with that money. Besides, the bathroom and book-ban talk gets many voters riled up, Downey points out. Regardless of what anyone thinks of public schools, they have to take every kid. Private schools can discriminate about which kids they take. And, if public schools are underfunded, the students are very likely to be less well educated, especially when school officials focus more on extraneous, but provocative, issues more than they focus on student achievement, getting the best teachers and having everything students need to get the best education possible. But, some elected officials don’t necessarily want smart kids. The smarter the kid, the smarter the adults they will become. They may actually see the extraneous issues for what they are, and vote out some of these elected officials. These officials may prefer to simply teach obedience rather than creativity. They see danger in encouraging kids to have minds of their own. These same officials also oppose widespread immigration. If the children we are educating don’t have the smarts it will take to do the jobs of tomorrow, those brains may have to come from other countries. Many highly technical U.S. jobs are held by people with very foreign-sounding names. Some of these are American, but some are not. As Downey points out, 56 percent of Georgia students test below proficiency in algebra. Algebra is the beginning of more advanced math, which is and will be required for the jobs of the future. As discussed here previously, there’s a desire to control smart people, including teachers. Discrediting their work, creativity and ingenuity enhances desired political narratives. If children become too smart, they can discredit and disprove those desired political narratives. Therefore, highlighting extraneous issues in education creates the anger the officials want and makes it easier to dismantle public education. So, if these officials succeed, if you have a student with disabilities or other learning issues and you are forced into the private market to educate them, good luck finding a school that will take them. If your child is shut out of the private education market, it won’t matter what bathroom or pronoun that student uses. Peter
#EmptyCans #conversations #talk #interactions “Empty cans make the most noise.” So says the mother of Monica Pearson, retired WSB-TV news anchor in Atlanta, who now works for the station’s sister publication, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. She quoted her mother several times in a column published April 7, 2024, in the newspaper. The reference raises the image of empty cans tied to the rear bumper of a car carrying newlyweds, signifying they are just married. They are supposed to be noisy in celebration. But Pearson was discussing how people with character react in certain situations. Do those who talk the most have the least to say? Or, do those who talk the most have little worthwhile to say? Or, do those who talk the most know least about what they are talking? It’s a lot to think about. If you talk about someone, are you saying things you would not say to their faces? If you talk to someone, are you telling them the truth to the best of your knowledge? If you don’t know the actual truth, do you keep it to yourself until you are certain it is true? Sometimes, we hear or read things from sources that are not reliable. We think they are reliable, but we later find out they are not. If what you later find out is false hurts someone, do you apologize? Then, we sometimes say things we wish were true, but are not. Most of us don’t set out to lie. But, then again, some people do. Most of us don’t talk for the sake of hearing our own voices. Then, again, some people do. Talking about something can take time away of doing the things talked about. Hence, we have the adage “all talk and no action.” The lesson from the empty cans is if you are going to say something, make it constructive or helpful. Don’t say to others what you would not say to the person about whom you are talking. There are situations when it’s best to say nothing at all. In those cases, if you are in conversation, find a different subject, something less harmful, to discuss. In today’s world, one should stay away from certain topics when talking to people that you either don’t know well, or know that such topics may lead to an unwanted argument. Even among friends and family, not every subject should be on the table. We all desire openness in conversation. Openness can be valuable to a person who is, say, trying to work through a problem and needs advice. Openness is always better than deceit, but there are times when conversational parameters are in order. So, speak with clarity, not obfuscation. Choose your words carefully, but don’t choose a lot of words that say nothing. Be a helpful, full can to all with whom you interact. Peter
#inflation #prices #shopping #rent #gasoline #groceries If something costs too much, don’t buy it. That can’t be said for everything, since we all need housing (rents), fuel for cars (gasoline), medication and food (groceries). But, according to Christopher Rugaber, business and economics reporter for the Associated Press, companies are starting to lower their prices because people just aren’t buying their products in the volume they would like, at the prices they want to charge. Apparently, it’s working. Last week, inflation dropped below 3 percent for the first time since 2021. Rugaber’s article on the subject was published August 13, 2024, in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Before Rugaber’s article, McDonald’s reportedly started lowering their prices on some of its most popular items because there were too few diners at many of their restaurants. It showed in their earnings report. It’s good also to remember that government has little leverage in bringing down prices. It can do what it can for things it can regulate, such as bringing down the cost of insulin to $35 for senior citizens. One big lever they have is allowing Medicare to negotiate prices. This has helped bring down the government’s cost for 10 popular drugs. But, what really helps bring down prices is the lack of buyers. It’s simple economics. Set a price, see whether the market will bear it and adjust as the market adjusts. For businesses, particularly small businesses whose product is not an absolute necessity, it’s a much tougher decision. Usually, these businesses know what prices the market will bear for their finished product. But, can they produce that product at a cost that not only covers what it costs them to make it, but also puts a little profit in their pockets? It’s a struggle for some of these businesses, many of whom are facing labor shortages. When workers are few, they will demand higher wages. Can these businesses keep their workers happy, pay for ingredients that produce high quality products, pay for their workspace AND make a profit? The bigger corporations have more pricing flexibility. If they, like McDonalds, see less traffic in their retail spaces because of prices, they usually can adjust to that more easily. Sometimes that doesn’t work well for some of those who work for them, since labor is one of the places that corporations adjust. In all, reports say that, given the labor shortage, most workers have seen their pay rise. A lot of the things we buy are priced higher to pay workers more. In most cases, workers’ raises are more than the price increases they are paying for necessities. As Rugaber’s article implies, consumers are working hard at changing what markets will bear – whether they realize it or not. So, here are some handy rules for buying: If it is something you need to survive, try to use less of it. (Don’t drive around in a 4X4 pickup truck if you don’t need to haul anything). If it’s something you want badly, but don’t absolutely need, look for bargains. It may not pay to drive five or six miles to save two cents on a gallon of gas, but it might make great sense to shop around if you’re in the market for, say, a big-screen TV. Another rule: don’t long for the days of the pandemic when prices on just about everything were lower because people weren’t going anywhere. The disease was too much of a cost just to have lower prices. (By the way, the air was also cleaner during the pandemic, but that’s a story for another day). Inflation ultimately adjusts when fewer people buy. So, work hard at your job, make as much as you can and try to spend carefully. Also, try to pay yourself first by saving a little of that paycheck for your future. Peter
#FunAtSchool #fun #learning #work #reading Some educators say children will learn better if you make school more fun. Others say that learning the basics, like math, isn’t always fun. Even math experts say that. Maureen Downey, education columnist for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, tackled this debate in her January 30, 2024, column. Think about your days at school. Were they fun? Were they work? Were they a combination of both? Excluding recess and volunteer extracurricular activities, did you have fun at school? Chances are, if you went to a Catholic school, it was all work. Rigor is the best friend of most Catholic educators. Not that kids had NO fun at Catholic schools, but work, and the feeling of work, were the main motivators. Many students, and people in general, read for pleasure. Some educators want to make reading seem like work. It’s doubtful that would encourage young students to read more. There are those who wish to separate work from pleasure. But, wouldn’t you want young students to grow up learning to love, or, at least, like their work? In today’s world, work is often as much a social activity as a job. Creating pleasant work environments helps attract and keep good, productive people. Part of the purpose of schools is to train children to be good employees as adults. If learning in school were more fun, wouldn’t you likely be teaching children to be happier employees? Of course, students must master the basics. They must also learn history, art, music and other creative pursuits. After all, encouraging creativity is the goal of many of today’s workplaces. Creative students ask more questions, and you really want students, and adults, to ask more questions. Then, as a result, find more correct answers. Realistically, school can’t be all play and no work. But, just as employers strive to make their workplaces more enjoyable, thereby more productive, teachers try to find that perfect mix of work, fun and learning in school. Getting students to want to learn is, or should be, as much of a goal for teachers as learning itself. Curiosity is as commendable a characteristic in a student as ambition. What good employer would not want curious and ambitious employees? In addition to curiosity and ambition, we all want students to have good humor – not necessarily be funny, but more to be able to take setbacks with a smile and humility. No employer wants a bunch of angry and disgruntled employees. In past decades, these characteristics were thought to come naturally to kids and, later, adults. But curiosity, creativity, ambition, good humor and many other desirable personal traits can be learned – and taught. Often, to do so, teachers must possess, or have learned those same traits and apply them appropriately to their lesson plans. Sometimes, that involves making school more fun. Like putting medicine on a sugar cube, it may involve disguising work amid that fun. It’s up to teachers, and their administrators, to encourage students not only to learn, but also to want to learn. Peter
