The y**ng people who would have become plumbers and electricians are now becoming systems analysts and game developers instead. The hours and the pay is better, and those jobs lack the stigma associated with blue collar jobs since the push for college educations starting after WWII and through the 1960's.

Think about it: how many tradesmen say to their sons, "I hope you can follow in my footsteps?" My bet is that, in any given state, the number can be counted on one hand in a year.

So, our first question is, "why is electrical or plumbing, or HVAC, not seen as a career choice for the sons of blue collar men?"

First, it is "snob appeal," the perception that your children are "moving on up," to a higher social strata. "Johnny works with the accounting system at a big bank," dad says with pride. Somehow, wiring that big bank just does not have the same social impact.

Kids pick up these attitudes being expressed by adults, even when the adults are not making overt statements. A keyboard is seen as modern and forward, a wrench is seen as old and backward. Mike Rowe has a lot to say about this, but until we can wrest education away from the teacher's unions, things will continue this way. Soon, within 50 years, every tradesman in the US will have been born in a foreign country. It is already happening in medicine, thanks to lower reimbursements and higher rates of litigation.

No only does perception dictate reality, but symbolism reigns over substance.