A regular job is increasingly of the past. It is now about knitting together interests and means to earn a living into a mosaic compatible with your life and the economic opportunities rapidly evolving while others may be becoming obsolete/extinct. Labor a Commodity? The unspoken new tenet of employer/worker relations is that there is an excess of labor globally. Labor is viewed as a commodity to be priced like lumber or copper or coffee rather than a human asset with unique attributes. Recent US job data, 200K added, is generally positive news for the US economy, but three factors are more relevant to the future: ---Over 15% of US population is still underemployed and unemployed; ---Large numbers of Americans are dropping out of the labor force; ---Entrepreneurship and innovation is no longer limited to the exclusive and will be the opportunity for many Americans and global citizens rather than the traditional job. Above Chart - looks like a spaghetti dish gone alive - evidences how much deeper current job recession is, and how it appears to indicate a trend of structurally slower return of employment - 2001 recession appears to be already hint of such trend. (Graph Courtesy of 2health.net/ ). Read the two sides of the glass half full or half empty Argument: Glass Half-full - “US Economy & Obama on Rebound, Again?” - diplomaticallyincorrect.org/films/blog_post/us-economy-obama-on-rebound-again-by-ambassador-mo/43431. Glass Half Empty - “Employment Report Not as Good as it Looks” (Incorporating analysis of Daniel J. Mitchell from Cato Institute site) - diplomaticallyincorrect.org/films/blog_post/counterclaim-employment-is-not-as-good-as-it-looks-by-ambassador-mo/43434 When Fruits of Your Labor Are Not a Commodity: The good news is if your work is your passion, this may be a moment of opportunity. Salary may be more of a term of the past while compensation and relationships of qualitative equality are more of the future. The boss is you. This is a critical point for artists, whether film and music or design and writing. Film Annex began as a platform for filmmakers, a notoriously independent minded and thus generally underappreciated group from perspective of earnings, with of course the exception of a few megastars. Many worthy works of art and messages were being buried by the overbearing impact of commercialism on the big scale. Now though it is possible to rationalize projects on more modest financial expectations and thus investments. Frequently, the most expensive investment is your time and greatest resource your imagination. It is the next level of democratizing the “independent film.” The same pattern has evolved in music and the other arts. Writing and punditry may not have been also viewed in context of art, but communication must be art for it to be heard. Even government and corporate authority no longer can just count on screaming into the ever-larger megaphone. They are looking to the individual rather than the employee to frequently be the consultant or adviser. It started as a way to cut employee numbers and benefits offered to such, however it does have its own advantages for the more creative and entrepreneurial artist. This brings us back to our original muted optimism on global/US economic prospects and relative pessimism on “employment”: there is opportunity - it may not be as employee though but as independent contractor with options. Diplomatically Incorrect is modeled similarly to Film Annex and employs the same platform. As an advertising supported methodology, the health of the US and global economy is highly relevant. The volume, diversity and quality of advertisers continues to grow. (For 2011, advertising spending increased across the board, but on the Internet the rise was around three times the overall when incorporating traditional media). The growth of Amazon, NetFlix, Facebook, Apple and Google are all in their own sectors a sign of where the potential is and by all indications it is rather healthy and more to go on the web. International Financial Crisis” Channel - diplomaticallyincorrect.org/c/international-financial-crisis By Ambassador Muhamed Sacirbey Facebook Become a Fan at “Diplomatically Incorrect” Twitter – Follow at DiplomaticallyX