World Economic Forum Report and the Changing Job Market 2025

The market is changing and adjusting. Keeping on top of some of the changes helps us prepare companies and encourage the learning of skills in advance. Government administrators should also be aware of longer-term trends that come from market shifts. To truly understand the changes in our market you must read widely and investigate some of the market shifts as noted in reports such as this one but also from economic underpinnings that lead to change (i.e. infrastructure, start-ups, and jobs.)

A Few Highlights:

-Top jobs in the report are "Delivery drivers, software developers, building construction workers and shop salespersons"

-39% of job skills will change in the market by 2030.

-Technology will be a big part of change. 

-Creativity, agility, flexibility, curiosity and lifelong learning will become more important (This is why we need online education and that ability to access quality schools. Self-motivated people will use these avenues for growth. There is resistance to online education but it’s important to give access. Metrics and performance are higher than some comparable traditional programs and it fits within long term trends of market need and financial budgets. As with all things there is a balance. These are some of the human capital soft skill needs I have been discussing.)

Future of Jobs Report 2025: The jobs of the future – and the skills you need to get them

The Third Stage-Reconciliation of Hate (Reconciliation Thought Experiment)

We are exploring how hate and social group aggression mixed with corruption and extremism has impacted justice and outcomes. This is a hypothetical thought experiment to understand a model of when hate based behaviors become normalized and different laws and rules apply to different people become the unofficial law of the land.  It helps us shed light on what happens when people are targeted and there are no protections for victims or desire to live by a higher principle. It furthers our knowledge when certain central values are not present in some decisions and the "what if's" of that lack of commitment.

 In the example so far, we have two stages. Stage 1. Default in justice (occurred because of an embedded gang of officials and influence of a cultic social group led by someone who had clear advantage to engage in manipulative behaviors.) Stage 2. Dehumanization where it is clear there are different laws for different people. The crimes were well known while they were being committed and protections were intentionally removed (They were coached on how to engage in such behaviors. Others at different times and places have complained about immunities of some clan members). 

 Stage 3 very well might be Reconciliation. This type of reconciliation is created when social hierarchy is enforced both illegally and legally through corruption, ideology, and intentional misapplication of law. In this stage people come to understand what the social hierarchy looks like and how race, religion and politics create such structures (The very purpose of our nation should be against it.). 

 When clearly there is no one to stand up for the law or for a higher moral order you become sadly conscious of what is and is not true (Remember also that there were other victims out there and the out-group members reported the crimes, and they were retaliated against. Their negligence led to more victims. Nothing works in isolation in an dynamic environment.) Groups can be socialized to accept a lower status if the environment is designed to enforce unwritten rules (The Constitution if applied would find such behaviors illegal.)

We are still left trying to figure out why such hate can occur and be protected. This is where we get back to the dark influence of the clan on local decision making and legal structures. No number of complaints, facts, wake of victims, or violation of social contracts would make much of a difference to those who decided to protect crimes blatantly. 

We learn that there are three things that can help. In the back of your mind mull over that institutional trust in some arenas and solutions have not been brought forward. Maybe they lack perspective and that comes from having easy lives and many things handed to you. It is difficult to see the world that most of us live in.  

 1.) Backstops against hate, extremism, corruption and the poor decisions that come from that. 

2.) Ensure we are hiring people who are going to do more than give lip service to our Constitution.

3.) Strengthen policies to create checks and balances where good judgement has been circumvented in the past (i.e. refusing to investigate legitimate claims, sharing complaints with perpetrators, using taxpayer resources to target others, poor culture, etc.)

 The wrong type of personality in the wrong situation with less than thoughtful decision makers create intentionally challenging environments. This study teaches us that those who have higher orientation toward social dominance also are more willing to dehumanize out-groups. Remember our discussion on a cultic social group managed by dark triad traits. There are no backstops where hate has infected the social fabric.  Social Dominance and Dehumanization

 A few things to consider,

 We can learn how the process works and why supporting our institutions to work on behalf of everyone is important. Thus, the type of people we hire and the type of people we put in those institutions should not be based on poor politics. Let us be thoughtful when we vote and make choices over different candidates. Without that thoughtfulness we run into situations like this where people with ideologies are not qualified to make decisions but are in positions where they can do the most harm. You can reconcile with the world being an unfair place. You recognize your responsibility to make it a little better (It may not do much, but you can try and do what is right and moral where others have failed.). You can draw strength that none of the people who judge you through the lens of hate hold a candle to the good you have done in your life (They just hate because they can't see who they are just under the surface. Hate allows then to avoid looking in the mirror.)

Patriotism is a sacrifice. Just in case they forgot what patriotism is.......

 "For true patriots to be silent, is dangerous" Samuel Adams

 *This is a hypothetical thought experiment example for learning purposes. Take with a grain of salt. It will have a positive outcome, but we have to work through the ugly. We are moving onto a third stage. We will continue to write this story together so we may learn from it and the good that can come from bad.

 

Study Indicates a Mathematical Model for Muscle Growth

If you want to get in shape it is a good idea to read some of the research on fitness. According to this study that maximizing muscle gain occurs between 30-70% of total capacity of which 70% is seen as more ideal. The other aspect is that muscles start changing and molecular binding that builds muscles happens after a muscle has been under a load for some time. 

Two things I would take from this, 

1. No need for maximum weight but repetition makes a differene.

2. Move slower with weight repititions to give time for the muscle to adjust on a molecular level.

Mathematical model predicts best way to build muscle

I do some fitness training as a hobby so if your interested in a little remote help let me know. I have an actual license in it but don't use it very often. Trying to change that.  

Mirroring Positive Human Rights and Philosophy (Dehumanizing Thought Experiment)

Let us continue to discuss the dehumanizing thought experiment to see if we can further our understanding as a society. This is a hypothetical philosophical discussion for learning purposes. We can explore ideas philosophically without getting too excited about it in a safe neutral place. You would sort of need to follow the thought experiment along for a while to truly understand the deeper points that are being made and the multiple interests and perspectives that come into play. We are seeking to learn from this example and develop a type of model of how such things might happen and under what circumstances. If we are lucky maybe find a few solutions.

 Brief Example: This is an example of where a small group of officials and wider social network dehumanized others. Intentionally false rumors hindered employment, damaged reputation unjustly, encouraged aggression, fostered illegal backroom agreements, etc. to teach out-group members "their place" in society (...often defined often by race, religion or politics). Dark triad traits mixed with a homogeneous social group that is highly exclusionary. (Most of the people are descent but they are sometimes immature and constantly judge each other for value.). Enough blatant mistakes were made that even the most adamant clan supporters couldn't give wink and nod justice anymore without looking bias or corrupt themselves (Internally motivated officials that uphold oaths have moral conscious the others are just making decisions that benefit themselves in some way. Every person on the planet is defined by their genuiness. From religious philosophy we learn about being judged to a mustard seed. This is what they are talking about. Our intentions matter. While I'm not particularly that religious one can learn from different philosophies about the nature of life. Back in the ancient world spirituality and life were interwoven so all philosophies had some moral order associated with them.) The corruption network started to crumble.

This example is clearly an atrocious one meant to bring forward the worst-case scenario. If we even smelt it, thought it could exist in any form then we would certainly make the tweaks and adjustments to improve and correct. We do this because we believe 100% in the institution and 110% in human rights. One must always answer to the other and we know that, so we preserve the functionality and trust of such institutions by always encouraging healthy adaptations. It’s the patriotic thing to do! (Not anchored to race, religion or politics)  

It also brings up the idea of patriotism. Imagine if one’s race and religion determined their Americanism and patriotism.  Those of one race or religion might be assumed by those who lack a higher thought pattern to be more American and worthy of rights without regard to merit when compared to others who may have earned their place many times over (i.e. the free riders and the producers). In such a situation the best of us may be blocked from full contribution because the lowest of us are confused about why this country started. That limits our long term creative and human capital.  

 This is why fundamentally all laws are built on human freedom and human development.  The study below should help us think about how when we treat each other well strengthen the whole through mirroring and social learning (and accountability). If we act with open consideration for all Americans and if our people act similarly, we could launch one of the greatest human capital growth spurts that puts the Renaissance in the pee wee league (Think of new technologies, data infrastructure, remote learning, and movement to a more universal democratic perspective. Just something to think about because adaptations and innovation timelines are shorter. What took the Renaissance generations to do we can do within a single generation. The ones now growing up.) Notice how being a better person, more kind, more positive acts, more patriotic, and more inclusive is the best path to improving societal performance.  Moral elevation mitigates dehumanization of ethnic outgroups

We learn we should always act with integrity with the highest alignment to our shared values.

If you want to get deeper into the philosophy you may want to read a quote by Benjamin Franklin,

 
“History affords us many instances of the ruin of states, by the prosecution of measures ill suited to the temper and genius of their people. The ordaining of laws in favor of one part of the nation, to the prejudice and oppression of another, is certainly the most erroneous and mistaken policy. An equal dispensation of protection, rights, privileges, and advantages, is what every part is entitled to, and ought to enjoy. . . . These measures never fail to create great and violent jealousies and animosities between the people favored and the people oppressed; whence a total separation of affections, interests, political obligations, and all manner of connections necessarily ensue, by which the whole state is weakened.” - Benjamin Franklin, 

Emblematical Representations, ca. 1774 Source: The Complete Works of Benjamin Franklin (New York: G. P. Putnam, 1887), 5:417.

Engels, T. et. al. (2024).  Moral elevation mitigates dehumanization of ethnic outgroups. Current Research in Ecological and Social Psychology, 6 ,SSN 2666-6227, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cresp.2024.100187. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S266662272400008X)

Volunteer Non-Operational Firefighter Committees and Firefighting Jobs (Firefighting and Public Service)

Developing stronger local firefighting capacity is beneficial and leads to property and lives being saved. Sometimes I think about ways to improve firefighting and that can have an impact on local communities. Much of the nation is struggling with recruiting firefighters. This difficulty is occurring at a time when budgets are being constrained, regulations are rising, and global events/natural events are becoming fiercer putting additional stress on current structures. One might consider non-operational volunteer positions as an avenue of expanding the workflow and capacity of departments

Non-Operational Volunteer Positions

The survey Non-operational meaning they don't actually fight fires but engage in support.  indicates that 29% of people have interest in volunteer firefighting (higher than I thought.), appeals highly to 18-34 year olds, and 40 % of people indicated that they would volunteer non-operationally (SalterMitchell Inc., 2015). 

Of particular interest is the categories such as fundraising, safety, prevention, education, new volunteers, recruitment, etc. that are considered non-operational. An idea to ponder. If there is a relatively high interest rate in volunteering, limited gear, but still plenty of room for administrative work and activities such as fund raising then it would make sense in some cases to create non-operational volunteer positions. 

 Such positions are supportive in nature and help raise money, awareness, education outreach (i.e. schools, businesses, etc.) update equipment, etc. thereby strengthening the department, furthering the department's missions, reducing costs, and improving compliance. Many of the duties in fire departments are administrative heavy and that would allow operational firefighters to focus more on training as well as other aspects of the job. Local functionality improves. 

 Consider that you need to fund raise for a new project and you have a team of business volunteers or others that can help create funding opportunities. You may have people who check the equipment, complete the inventory, maintain equipment (i.e. local mechanic that can fix little things. i.e. better light, connect a wire, fix smaller items so it doesn't need to go to a shop, etc.) You should sort of get my point on how all of these things can really help.

Firefighter Jobs:

A local job I found. Someone might want to moonlight this if possible. LinkedIn Open Fire Equipment Representative 

National Testing Center

A lot of military service jobs on USA Jobs Firefighter

Indeed Firefighter Job Search

SalterMitchell Inc. (2015) Volunteer Firefighter Recruitment and Retention Formative Research Results. https://www.nvfc.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/NVFC_Formative-Research_2015_Report_v1f.pdf

Louisville Bridge Over Water-Does it go Nowhere? (Art and History)

As I move pictures from one gallery to the next, I'm listing them for people to see. I'm using Red Bubble to host some of my pictures because I don't have to manage anything once they are up (If it was more than a hobby, I would consider specialty printing but that takes time.) However, I'm using a different site for paintings because they will require me to ship them and handle the order on a one-on-one basis. 

This picture was taken a little while ago.. You can see it in the gallary at Louisville Bridge Over Water

Just because I get curious, and you probably do to (...otherwise you wouldn't read a blog like this. It has a demographic type associated with it, but I haven't yet completely defined it yet.). I pulled a little history so I can learn a little something about the bridge. Kind of interesting. The Many Lives of the Big Four, the “Bridge That Goes Nowhere”

Art board looks pretty good. 

Delta County Board of Commissioners Meeting (1/7/2025)

Watching the county meeting to see what is new. Lots of different committee discussions and responsibiliteis. I like to learn about our local governance and some of the decisions they are making. It should be remembered that governance is a community affair and that each person has a stake in how things turning out. Being informed is one of the  most important civic duties we can engage in as citizens. It leads to good governance. One may have a party or a perspective but ultimately it is the needs of the people that should take precedence. 

-Compensation for participation on committees that is stated upfront is great. Compensation in terms of tickets and such things are ok as long as they are relatively low in value. However, generally there should be a policy on when these should be reported. We have seen in other places where such perks and benefits can impact decision making.