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| Global warming will destroy many industries. I think solar energy is a safe investment for the long term. |
Looking forward a few years or decades I think we may be looking at significant changes in a few major industries. As a small investor I feel like flotsam and jetsam being tossed around in a storm. The big decisions about the success of companies are made by the corporate investors, the big fund managers who buy up the shares and sit on the boards of directors. And the worst kinds of investors are these "activist" investor guys who demand that companies make changes in the name of "profitability". They are just highway robbers looking for quick infusions of cash.
Three industries that are about to change radically are the Automobile Manufacturing sector, the Utilities (Energy and Power) sector, and the Financial Investing sector. I think that last one is ironic. Let me explain what I see that leads me to these conclusions.
The automobile manufacturing industry has to cope with two new challenges: global warming and drone technology. The need to get away from burning carbon fuels is forcing us to look at alternative ways of powering vehicles on the highway. The electric vehicle is finally coming back into focus. We have vastly improved the technologies for storing and using electricity to power motor vehicles. But we're not quite there yet.
And unfortunately if the Republican Party and President Trump have anything to say about the matter we may never get there. I wonder what kind of world they want their grandchildren to live in because they don't have much choice left about what kind of world they will pass on to those grandkids. Time is running out on global warming and the sooner we get away from burning trees and fossil fuels, the better.
But the other challenge facing the automobile industry is the threat of hacking. Hackers can already break into car computer systems for just $20. They can activate the braking systems and create mayhem in other ways. And this is just the dawn of the age of car hacking. We don't know what they'll be fully capable of. All we know is that the Internet Of Things was founded on a complete lack of security and systems integrity. Your refrigerator will spy on you and your car will try to kill you.
Not only are there threats of hacking, but also threats of privacy. As Google and other companies push ahead with their plans to create driverless cars or self-driving vehicles a whole new range of privacy questions are opening up. Are we ready for a highway Internet of drone vehicles that know everything about us and which can be hacked? I am not.
People are already too good at digging up dirt on the Internet. What are we supposed to do when we carry our dirt around with us? Seriously, in what universe did these technology company gurus grow up because in this universe we have thieves and charlatans running around stealing everything they can. How easy will it be for a hacker to crack open your car's computer and steal your home address, your network logins, and maybe you bank account information? I don't want to find out.
The Energy Sector is already undergoing a huge revolution. The renewable energy sector is creating jobs 12 times faster than the rest of the United States economy. For some reason this is the industry that Donald Trump wants to put out of business because it's threatening the coal industry's jobs. I always thought the coal mine owners were trying to increase their profits by hiring fewer miners. But we'll Make America Great Again if we stop creating all these alternative energy sector jobs and pretend that coal miners are the most important group of workers in the country.
Wouldn't it be better for everyone around if the federal government helped bring new industry to the counties where coal miners are losing their jobs? What? Is that "big government"? What a shame.
There are benefits to using coal. Those benefits may never entirely go away. But we need to move beyond our dependence upon non-renewable carbon-based fuels. We need to create alternative sources of power that don't harm the environment. I freely admit that wind power is not good for the environment. Our windmill farms are killing thousands of birds and bats every year. That is going to cause problems in the future. We have to find ways to protect the flying animals that normally cross paths with giant machinery.
Even so, we'll be better off by finding ways to retrain coal industry workers so that they can lead productive lives and bequeath a healthier, happier world to their grandchildren. If the Republican Party wants to get on board with sensible energy and employment policies then great. Otherwise we need to vote them out of office and move on.
Finally, there is the Financial Services Industry. There is more going on there than I can possibly explain in one sitting. What concerns me is the investment sector.
Investing is like playing craps at best. You don't really understand the game and the odds are stacked against you anyway. Small investors get screwed right and left.
One of the ways we get screwed is the high bar to entry. There are times when I don't have any extra money to invest, so I miss the boat on riding some great stocks up. This happens to me most of the time because like I said, I am a small investor. I'm only referring to the size of my bank account.
I am glad to finally see a small but growing list of companies that cater to small investors.
These kinds of investment strategies are long overdue. Micro investing at least makes it possible for us to build up portfolios of stocks and funds that have a chance of accruing some value. But there is more work that needs to be done in this sector.
What I still see as a problem is the lack of voice for the small investor. We need to find a way to give small investors a means of countering the idiot activist investors who want to destroy companies by selling off their assets and forcing layoffs. I am looking at you, Carl Icahn, and all the guys you mentored. I would never invest in one of Carl Icahn's funds. Not directly. The guy loses money like Donald Trump. He is obviously getting rich off of trading fees or some other "fund manager" secret that you and I don't make money from.
We need better policing of the financial service industries. I don't want to see the banks get back all the power they had over consumers. We're finally seeing some payback with Wells Fargo and some other big banks that overcharge their customers (especially the poorest customers). We're just barely recovered from the housing industry collapse that led to the Great Recession. You know, every time I think of big banks I ask myself how they have actually done anyone any good?
As a society we have some hard choices ahead. All I can say to America's conservatives is that if you keep chipping away at our social services and individual freedoms the way you have been for the past generation, you'll eventually find yourselves living in a toxic, impoverished country that hates you. That's not a happy place to aim for. And that's not the kind of world you want to bequeath to your grandchildren.
We need to invest in industries that are good for the environment, create jobs for people (not machines), and which are friendly to small investors.
