“Families sleepin’ in their cars in the Southwest; No home no job no peace no rest; Shelter line stretchin’ ‘round the corner; Welcome to the new world order “

Bruce Springsteen

Growing up in the pre MTV/ BET era we had to actually listen to music versus watching videos. In so doing we inhaled and absorbed the lyrics and melodies of songs. We closed our eyes and envisioned the stories permeating our ears. Various artists became our voices and we became their choirs.

For me one such group was Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. Their songs spoke to the common lives and struggles of the everyday man and woman. Their folk songs reminded us that we were not alone in our challenges and dreams.

Welcome to the New World Order

This line pretty much sums up where Bermuda has been heading since we decided that we want to be globalised. We allowed ourselves to collectively neglect and abandon tourism in the late 1980s and slowly but surely become addicted to IB.

In so doing we traded in island hospitality for the norms of Manhattan and London. Why be a waitress when you can be a receptionist? Why serve drinks when you can sell captives?

It worked out pretty well for a few of us until those educated geniuses on Wall Street figured out a way to rob the entire world.

Since which, the Ivory Towers of Hamilton have become shells of their former selves as company after company has downsized or outsourced to cheaper jurisdictions.

The ones that remain are now demanding more for less from their workers whilst raising the bar for those who desperately seek to work inside the Citadels of Capitalism. No longer will a bachelor’s degree get you inside the door. Master degrees and years of previous experience are now the minimum requirements.

“Foreman says these jobs are going boys and they ain’t coming back”

Due to advances in technology and work processes worldwide, it is estimated that up to Two Billion of these jobs will be phased out within the next 10-20 years :-

•Agricultural workers

•Bar porters

•Computer operators

•Data entry clerks

•File clerks

•Food service managers

•Gas Station attendants

•Meter readers

•Newspaper printing

•Office machine operators

•Postal carriers

•Retail cashiers

•Seamstress

•Switchboard operators

•Tailors

•Travel agents

•Typist

For those of us still in the work force or have children about to enter the work force we have to take a long sobering look at where trends are going.

Last year BTC was purchased. This year BTC is being sold. Recently BAC merged with Universal Electric and XL took over Catlin.

The common trend is that business will march to the beat of increased profits via cutting costs. Gone are the days of loyalty to employees. Welcome to the days of redundancies and severance packages.

At any given day anyone of us could face the chop, regardless of how good an employee we have been. And with that comes:-

•Loss of rents

•Foreclosures

•Inability to send children to university to qualify for high skilled jobs.

Sadly, in our times it is no longer possible to raise a family on one working class salary. Some things are beyond politics and should be dealt with as national importance. The changes in the global economy and our local economy is of national importance.

As we have witnessed recently, we are stronger when are together. WE has to mean us, together, as families, as social groups, as Bermudians. Together, we will make it.

Bruce Springsteen and “Big Man” Clarence Clemons worked together to create a number of masterpieces. Perhaps we can learn something from them?

“Take a good look around this is your hometown

This is your hometown”

Bruce Springsteen