Nine Shift

20th Century Vs. 21st Century Blow by Blow

If you want to see a great exchange between the advocates of the last century, and those of this century, take a look at the Comments section at the end of this article.

Classic arguments for and against the new century.  

Employers Should Be Like Scrooge

At the end of the story, Scrooge doubles Bob Cratchett's salary, funds Tiny Tim's health care, and donates more of his profits to charity. 

More employers should be like Scrooge.  Especially in 2015, we need another Henry Ford who in 1915 doubled the pay of his workers.  Ford, called a traitor to his class by other wealthy people, began a long term trend of creating the largest middle class in the world by paying employees more.

My brilliant co-author Julie.  What new discoveries will she come up with in 2015?

 

Thanks for a Great Year!

Thanks to all the thousands of people who heard NineShift this year.

And as Julie and I begin a new effort in the new year, thanks especially to the LERN Board of Directors this year for supporting gender equity in education.

Yes I love hats.

Private Colleges Not Worth the Money

There's something going on here. But what is it?  Maybe a new societal push (welcome) to get more young people a four year college degree?

This is the second or third article I've seen that stresses it doesn't matter where you go to college - - as long as you go to (and "go through"  as our conference keynoter Delatorro McNeal so correctly put it) college.  

Our college student and Julie walking in a Portland park last month.

The Feminists' Final Frenzy

One of the top stories of 2015 has to be the big, and positive, turn in the gender war.

The year began with third wave anti-male feminists continuing to get a favorable reception. But during the summer they attacked President Obama for support more education for society's most disadvantaged population: African American males.  That was the nadir for feminism.  It was also a turning point.

Then during the fall we saw a whole different public reaction.  Those seeing men as different from women got more of voice, and expressed their views more.  A post on the Washington Post suggesting all boys should play with dolls was laughed off the front page in less than 24 hours, the reaction so strong the Wash Post retreated and gave the story a whole new headline.  Time Magazine asked whether the word "feminist" should be retired.  And there was decidedly less support for the third wave feminist bluster. 

The fall also saw some to-the-point and action oriented stories about actually solving the gender pay gap. Instead of bluster and blame, organizations and the media reports about them were devoid of emotion and focused on just solving the problem.  It's not over.  But 2014 might have marked a turning point from the third wave feminists' ideological frenzy to a less emotional and practical approach to solving gender issues in society. Photo: my heroine, second wave feminist leader Betty Friedan, who believed men and women were different, and equal.

Top Story of the Year: Inevitable Becomes Evitable

The top story of the year is the transition of the 21st century from  those things that are inevitable to those things that are evitable - - decided by each nation.

The role of government in society is one such "evitable" or uncertain aspect of the 21st century. Approaches to the new century already diverge among such entities as Canada, the U.S. and the European Union.

The phrase "inevitable becomes evitable" is from F. Scott Fitzgerald's Tender is the Night.  

So far in the new century we have been experiencing those things that are inevitable for all post-industrial societies:  telework, knowledge workers, trains, decline of suburbs, etc. 

But now each nation has to make decisions- - and those decisions can well determine the nation's future prosperity and well being in this century- - that are not inevitable.