Comment by shakna
20 hours ago
The Mechanics Institute, where craftsman learned and offered their wares in my town, was founded in 1801.
Its still here, today.
I wouldn't dismiss an industry based on business failures. The restaurant industry still exists, despite it being almost a guarantee that you will fail.
There's also stores with hand-knitted clothes and bears, sculpters and painters.
Yes, all of these are niche - but they survive because they embrace a different business model.
>> Its still here, today.
Because it is a different business, to teach people. So many places are teaching nice things that could help little to get a job with living wage.
It's not a university or TAFE.
The teaching they do is conferences - they host archeology, psychology, and engineering mini-conferences and talks, today. Whilst also being one of the biggest libraries in the town.
This isn't somewhere handing out a bunch of useless Certificate IIs. Its somewhere you need a degree to even get in the door.
Their primary income is actually from trade unions - almost all of them rent their office out of the building, because of its established connections to everyone who knows something. And all members get access to the library, equipment and most talks. (Though not the rat warrens that still run under the town from the gold rush.)
America and a bunch of western developed countries are about to experience first hand why immigrants go to their countries. I find some of the comments here funny, they don’t have the imagination on how bad things can really get.
I wouldn't know. Been 25 years since I lived in South America. I live in one of those western nations - Australia.