Economics from someone who knows nothing

I just read another headline about the economy... Dollar drops lower, Feds to take more drastic measures. Well, that's probably not an exact quote but you get the idea.

Sure the recession ended last year, there isn't any fear of a double dipper, unemployment is down.... Good grief, do we really believe all that sunshine?

I've been saying for sometime that, yes I'm going to get opinionated about something I have absolutely no schooling in - well I did take econ101 in college - and no real experience talking about, jobs are the key to the recovery. I'm not the only one saying it, it's just that the people in the know that are saying it just don't believe themselves. I'm talking REAL jobs, not seasonal jobs that will be gone when the trees change from one color to many or the other way around. Not jobs that pay 30% of the pay that one someone just lost. Not jobs that have no benefits like the last one that someone had. I'm talking about honest to goodness REAL jobs that someone can earn a decent comfortable living at for themselves and their family.

Then I got to thinking. Honestly, I was signing up for online banking and they told me I'd have to come to the brick and mortar (really?) to finish the sign up. Kind of surprised me that I couldn't complete the application online, but no big deal I'm at the drive thru every week anyway. Sure it's a big deal! Someone actually holds a job at that bank. If I could do it all online, they probably wouldn't have that job, or maybe it wouldn't be full time.

So (follow me, I get off on tangents. I'll try to pull it all back together) are we shooting ourselves in the foot. We keep talking about doing everything online, banking, shopping, communicating, even working. We want to bag our own groceries, pump our own gas, even check out ourselves at the hardware store! All those things we used to have someone else do for us in the past. I've even mailed in meter readings before, just so some one could send me a bill that I can now pay online.

Just think about it, every time we do one of those things we put someone out of work. Honest, hard, silver dollar paying work.

Next time I'm at Lowe's, I'm going to wait in line for the real teller. Next time I get groceries, I'm going to a place where they have someone that bags them for me and maybe even takes them out and puts them in the truck. Gas, well there aren't any full service ones left but I can at least walk in and pay the cashier instead of paying at the pump. Banking, I'll still check my balances online and maybe look at a statement or two, but bill paying is going by snail mail and a check.

Convenience? I like it as much as the next person but I just think the price is getting too high.