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Quote of the week- “You think people care what you think, and then you care less
what people think, and then you realize no one cared, anyway. ” -Tom Brady
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Common Sense
The Progress
Editorial
October 7,2021
From the Staff
Clear thinking about
thinking clearly
In We See as We Be, Jamie Wheal,
who studies and writes on the relation
ship between culture and the brain, dis
cusses about how more and more people
fall for wackier and wackier theories.
He notes in the post, “So it's not just a
case of intelligence, or education, profes
sional accomplishment, or access to qual
ity information that's making the
difference.”
He theorizes that more of us are jump
ing on strange bandwagons because “we
grab the ones that feel truthiest.”
This same theme was featured in a
more concrete form in the Sunday New
York Times where Robert J. Shiller, an
economics professor, cautions investors
to be cautious as the markets are clearly
overheated, noting that prices of stocks,
bonds and real estate “have never been
this overpriced simultaneously in modem
history.”
Shiller writes that no single simple
reason can explain the irrationally high
prices. But one increased factor is the
hype, “contagious narratives that excite
the imagination.”
In short he argues that one story about
an individual making a killing flipping
houses or through cryptocurrency has
more impact, relative to boring financial
reports, than ever before - especially
with all the forums to discuss it.
Back to Wheal’s theory, people like
stories and they will latch on to one
closely matching what they already think
- or better said, what they want to be cor
rect.
Wheal goes on to outline several
major categories of where the thinking
follows patterns into misinformation
rather than clear thought.
Among those types, the title describes
them well: The Anti-Establishment
Rebel; The Preening Narcissist; The
Loyal Foot Soldier and The Guilty Lib
eral.
He notes there are plenty more and al
most no one would fall into one category
100 percent. We are all some combina
tion of those and others.
Wheal does an excellent job of de
scribing the different types and it’s well
worth further reading (Google We See as
We Be Jamie Wheal).
When perusing the descriptions, it’s
easy to immediately start identifying
which of your colleagues and family fall
into which thinking trap. “Yep, old so-
and-so is 100 percent a preening narcis
sist.” Or, “That sure does explain why
mom keeps talking about that horse de-
wormer to cure COVID.”
But rather than using the list as a mi
croscope, use it as a mirror.
Harder but more beneficial is which
do you/we fall into?
Where are we grasping for truthiness
rather than looking for reality?
Not always pleasant but it’s well
worthwhile to consider how we consider
things.
Tell us your thoughts with a letter to the editor. E-mail to news@pickensprogress.com
See letter submission guidelines on the Letters to the Editor page or call us 706-253-2457.
Ponderings of a Simple Man
By Caleb Smith
Simple Man Column not
available for this week.
WEATHER
By
William
Dilbeck
HI
LOW
RAIN
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Sept.
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Oct.
1
78
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Oct.
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76
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Oct.
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Oct.
4
74
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OTHER VOICES
Solving Georgia's Labor Crisis
By Chris Clark, President
& CEO, Georgia Chamber
Across our state, work
force shortages persist, im
pacting every industry and
size of business. And though
we have witnessed an un
precedented global pan
demic, this war for talent
existed long before 2020 as
employers began to experi
ence mismatched skill sets in
their job candidates.
COVID-19 accelerated
this trend, forcing many to
retire, resign or reprioritize
and this only served to exac
erbate this skills shortage
gap. At the same time, Geor
gia has seen unmatched years
for economic growth and re
mains the top state in the na
tion in which to do business.
With job opportunities
continuing to come to Geor
gia and workforce shortages
at our doorstep, addressing
this short- and long-term
challenge becomes a high
priority for continued pros
perity and mobility.
The Georgia Chamber and
the statewide business com
munity are acutely aware of
COVID-19's impact on our
economy and businesses.
While some closed, many
survived only to face higher
operating costs, diminished
revenue, increasing inflation
and worker shortages.
In Q2 of this year, data
showed that there were at
least 406,000 job openings,
but only 231,000 Georgians
registered for unemployment.
To bridge the gap, creative,
new, and perhaps even un
conventional solutions are
needed to meet our current
shortages.
One strategy, of many
being explored by the Geor
gia Chamber, is that of the
Global Talent Initiative
(GTI). GTI was designed to
take a deeper dive into barri
ers that exist for legal immi
grants at the federal and state
levels. What we found was
that over 87% of legal, for-
eign-bom individuals in
Georgia are of working age,
representing a more expan
sive talent pool than previ
ously identified.
Yet, skills are mis
matched, and education is
needed. So, let's logically put
this picture together. Georgia
already needed talent before
the pandemic. The pandemic
accelerated that need. And
we have an untapped talent
pool of legal citizens that
simply need training to fill
open positions. Ensuring a
path for these eligible work
ers to pursue technical col
lege or a four-year degree
that will place them in one of
these 400,000+ opportunities
is one essential solution to
the talent shortage.
Georgia farmers, technol
ogy companies, small busi
nesses and the hospitality
sector have traditionally ben
efited from these vibrant
worker communities and are
in desperate need of them
today.
Obviously, we want all
things to be legal in our pur
suit for economic recovery
and resiliency. Employing
the whole of this available
workforce also requires tar
geted immigration reform.
Immigrants have already
made substantial contribu
tions to Georgia's economy,
especially in industries most
impacted by the pandemic.
One in ten nurses in Geor
gia is foreign-bom and nearly
twenty percent of home
health aids are also foreign-
bom.
Additionally, nearly
34,000 workers in the trans
portation and logistics sector
are immigrants. Sixty-three
percent of Georgia voters
agree that their contributions
as essential workers make
them critical to the state's
economy.
Unfortunately, there are
legal, foreign-bom individu
als in Georgia who are not
able to fully contribute to our
economy due to our nation's
outdated immigration sys
tem, limited access to an
earned pathway to citizen
ship, and other regulatory
barriers.
These factors limit their
ability to meet workforce
needs, including those in
high-demand industries and
sectors poised for significant
long-term growth. The Geor
gia House of Representatives'
Study Committee on Innova
tive Ways to Maximize
Global Talent is currently ex
amining opportunities to re
duce those barriers and push
our state forward.
Further proposals being
considered by the U.S. House
and U.S. Senate would re
duce additional barriers for
foreign-bom individuals. The
bipartisan Dream Act in the
Senate will provide hard
working young immigrants,
or Dreamers, who undergo a
strenuous application
process, to legally live, work,
and receive access to educa
tion within their home states
as they work toward legal cit
izenship.
With this path in place,
more hard-working individu
als across the country can
legally and directly answer
the call for workforce solu
tions.
As Georgia continues its
recovery, creative solutions
to this long-term talent crisis
have become essential to our
efforts.The pandemic has
challenged all of us to inno
vate, to change and to adapt
in ways that we never would
have even remotely consid
ered or believed to be possi
ble.
The case for legal immi
gration reform and talent so
lutions is no different. The
Georgia Chamber will con
tinue to work with job cre
ators, educators, advocates,
and Georgia's talented work
force to identify more solu
tions and ensure long-term
qualified labor force for high
paying jobs.
Leam more by visiting
www.gachamber.com/foun
dation.
Lawson Self Storage
Al Lawson 1188 Talking Rock Rd
Office 706-253-1188 Jasper, GA 30143
Cell 770-893-7221 allawson3@gmail.com
Brand new
lawn mower engine
Honda Vertical
OHC Engine —
160cc, GCV Series,
7 / 8in. x 3 5 / 32in.
Shaft, Model#
GCV160LA1A1A-
BLK.
Still in box,
bought new but got wrong size shaft.
Should fit lawn mowers,
not wood splitters.
Original cost $225 at Northern Tool
plus shipping. Will sell for $125.
770-894-1709