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Everyone owns a car. All cars break down. Mechanics get no mention. We keep you all rolling. I love Mike promoting the trades, solidarity baby!

Schools took away shop,art and home economics classes! This, in my opinion,was the beginning of the decline! Bring back the arts and creative classes!! Not all children belong in a 4-year college program . I was much better suited for a trade skill and I’ve been gainfully employed for 36 years with zero debt after graduation!

Dr. Phil has been doing great interviews recently! Keep up the good work, Sir!

My husband is a welder. Supposedly we are short on welders but everywhere that says they are hiring never hires anyone! They post online and put out signs but they have had signs/ads up forever and obviously people have applied but they don’t get hired. And then we sit and complain that people need work and places need employees. But they aren’t actually hiring! It’s so frustrating.

Mike Rowe is a great American. He hits the nail on the head. He is absolutely doing something that is going to make a difference.

I take a lot of pride being a tradesman , transforming peoples homes changes their lives so it’s a nice sense of accomplishment because you’re working hard and helping people

My stepson has an IQ of 68. He loves working with his hands doing trade work. His high-school insisted on giving him college prep classes instead of vocational training and he was frustrated and acting out in school. When I tried talk to the school about it I was told to "stop being negative, it's hurting his education." He's now working as a mechanics apprentice and happy with his work. Schools are a scam these days.

If the American dream is living paycheck to paycheck and working until you're dead, then yes, it's still alive.

If I was young again, I would jump on this in a heartbeat. Go for it, you young people ! You will never regret the move.

I'm Gen Z. I've worked with my hands since I was about 12 years old. I bought my first house last year. I've replumbed, rewired, torn down walls, hung drywall, and rebuilt my kitchen, including replacing it's subfloor. I made my home my dream home. I work around kids my age who don't know how to use a drill or a wrench. I feel like an old lonesome soul in my generation for sure. My actual profession is IT. It's a shame my generation doesn't use technology as a learning tool, instead of a gateway to social media spaces. The American Dream can still be accomplished, I'm living proof. I'm also a 6 year military Veteran, without a degree. I have had no financial help whatsoever, like many young people believe you have to have. As long as you work hard for what you have, you can accomplish your dreams Edit: To the nay sayers in the comment section, I do not receive a paycheck from being in the service. I did my time and that's it. My income is strictly from my current job. I don't understand why people think once you have served your country of your own free will, the government is entitled to give you a hand out for the rest of your life, that's not true whatsoever. I'm not disabled... Also I work IT, something the military DID NOT TRAIN me to do. I got certified on my own after I got out. I worked as a janitor until I got certified. Luck has nothing to do with it. You have to work hard and believe in yourself and have a positive attitude, and make good choices

I feel like a big part of the population is ignored, male adults between 40-50 roughly. There are a lot of these people who would be exited to learn a trade but because of their age are overlooked. It’s always focused on kids which is understandable but there are more people besides the kids who a lot of times are too young to know what they want to do and large amounts of scholarships are wasted on them.

I served my country and after I got out I started college at a 4 year school and quickly realized it wasn't for me. I switched to a tech school and now have a very satisfying career fixing medical equipment.

I work 40+ hours at a school district doing maintenence work with my hands. I'm in my mid 30s and the American dream is absolutely dead. I'll never own my own home while paying overpriced rent. If I would have been born in the 60s or 70s I'd have a house, a boat, a family ect. To say it's not dead means your in denial or you've already reached the dream and shame on anyone else who hasn't. Basic arithmetic can prove it's dead. Income- Basic Necessities= your net worth. I make $2,000 a month. Subtract that from my rent, gas, electric, water, groceries, pet food, toiletries ect and im left with about $50 left over every month. We can't fix what we didn't break with no tools provided.

The fact that Mike Rowe is joining Phil McGraw on this new media network gives me more hope I’ve had in years 🙌🌎. I’m heading off to work right now in the best mood!! Thank you so much gentlemen!!!!!!!!

Big problem with society is like during this hurricane, I'm in Beaumont, texas close to Houston. . My neighbor bragged about his 2k dollar tablet and I'm humble and have less tech gear but a generator. Now techie neighbor has no power or ac and crys for help. The price of the tablet would of purchased 4 generators. Americans have been breed to purchase without thought and not think towards the future.

I think Mike Rowe and Victor Davis Hanson are the most trusted men in the country

When my son was in middle school & they pushed college. I sat in that meeting & said - well - I don’t have a college education but I also have no student loans, no high credit card debt, my FICO is in the 800+ range, no car payment at the time and have a home. You can be successful with or without a college education. And to this day - I feel like a millionaire with my no debt before retirement plan - that’s more than I can say for most. College is not for everyone & you can still be successful if you have a plan in place.

Let's please talk about the physical toll these jobs take, it's not all flowers and rainbows. I'm not even 40 and am already dealing with it.

You have to admit, it's hard to outsource plumbers and electricians. Every community college in America should dig up a syllabus from high schools from 60-70 years ago and check out the practical things our children were learning. Things like shop, home education, welding, etc., then compare today's syllabuses. Thank God people like Mike & Dr. Phill are bringing this topic to the forefront. Our kids could have good solid futures if they have real job skills.

It is simply a pay issue. I used to be a mechanic but why would I use 30k in tools I had to buy to make $40k a year because labor times are so bad now. My toolbox has wheels and they helped me wheel them 30k worth of tools back to my garage at my house. I got a job in IT making twice what I did as a mechanic without having to spend a single dollar on tools.

The empire is circling the drain.

Thank you very much for this conversion. Anybody can be a doctor or an attorney. Those white collar jobs, that’s basically all they know. One thing. Blue collar workers are what makes America America. Those blue collar workers usually are able to do a lot of different jobs. 🇺🇸🙏🏻 Through Covid we saw that, we NEED ALL PEOPLE. ALL.

An entire generation on ONLY FANS and y'all can't figure out why there aren't workers?

The American dream has become a freaking nightmare. Thanks Washington DC.

When my daughter visited LA schools at age 13 (on a school trip from Australia) - she was surprised when the kids in 3 different schools were on their phones in class and not listening to the lessons. It distressed her...the long term outcomes for those kids.

My husband is blue collar and so am I. We need more highlight on common availability jobs in our communities and what training is actually required. Heavy Equipment and Ag Equipment operators and mechanics. Field mechanics especially. It is attainable and a great career. Mike has visited our local vo-tech college to help and it was great.

Mike row is a straight up G yo!!! 💪🇺🇸🦅💯!!!!

I don't think the question is about jobs or even college, though those are part of the problem. It's when the middle class has been systematically eliminated and continues to be attacked by government/billionaires. It's never been harder to take care of a family and/or buy a house. Even if someone argues "work harder", there's very little upward momentum. We've also cultivated a society that rewards hard workers with more work and less pay.

I got my degrees in physics and mechanical engineering. I started my career in a national scientific laboratory in 1982. In the first hour of starting that job my supervisor, a physics PhD, walked me to the machine shop and told/advised me to treat these people with respect because they were talented and could make or break your career. For the next 30 years, even after I became a supervisor and group leader, I kept going to the shops myself to interact with these valued colleagues. It as one of the things I enjoyed most in my job.

“That's why they call it the American Dream, because you have to be asleep to believe it.” - George Carlin

Almost every job i can find has a revolving door of new hires, they use temp agencies, and once you are eligible for a few raises, they try to figure out how to fire you or run you out. I have worked places that werent even giving raises or training you on a new job, they just had the same guys on the same machine for 5+ years. The best jobs i can find offer zero chance of turning it into a career. I have never been able to afford insurance, and hardly ever buy groceries. I cry at the thought of how I am going to pay bills next month sometimes. If you work 'too hard' you are only criticized and NEVER shown appreciation. This country is PATHETIC. The people are LAZY. And NO ONE CARES.

Problem is most trades unless owning your own company or a contractor and dictate your rates then most companies pay employees trash wages. Why bust your tail for $15/hr 12hr days when you can make more stocking shelves. Start your own company learn a trade.

I want to see more of Dr. Phil live on the street.

I pulled my autistic son out of school because one of the things they were doing him was interrupting what he was doing 6-8 times a day. So he would learn to deal with it. He wanted to finish his assignment & they wouldn't let him. He was acting out from frustration. They were teaching him to do things halfassed

Much respect to Dr. Phil for taking the chance with Merit Street Media and investing his time and resources to create a media platform with honest respectful dialogue about real issues. He's a figure head from the mainstream media complex and could have comfortably stayed there. But MSM has become so bought and phony, gaslighting, fear mongering, straw manning and leaving out important information, and just ignoring topics all together. Which is why they are rotting away. So I appreciate Dr. Phil saying lets look closer, lets have these conversations and maybe examining issues that others might be missing.

Imo this argument is not about the job, but the cost of living, houses and other basics. It's the classic cost of a house in ratio to the avg income, the difference in generations is massive. Not to mention older generations are also feeling the pinch so they cant help their children like they used to. The middle class is dead

Plumber, mechanic, electrician. Are solid. There are so many people I deal with today that are incapable of fixing it. Everyone is wearing pajamas to work😅

We cant fix it because the big guy gets 10%right off the top!

I could not love this more!! Mike Rowe is changing the country for the better!! My son in law drives heavy equipment in a mine ($32 an hour) & he just got a better job driving the same heavy equipment above ground ($45 an hour!) The interviewer asked if he knew anyone else wanting a job because they can't find help.

I think about the parents in the 50's wanting their children to have better lives; not live through deadly disease, a nation in financial collapse, World Wars, etc. Somehow, their grandchildren are mired in materialism and fatalism.

This is absolutely great!!! Thanks guys

Military school with a chosen trade, learning community, teamwork and patriotism.

as a man, having had a good trade, I found what he needs is a good woman that is skilled in managing a basic household, my Lady was multi-talented and the talent she had was learned in home economics and she was very good at it. Basically, in my home I earned the $$ did the chores around and some in the home, it's almost like running a successful business, the best person for each job does the job. In our case we had no challenges in regards of who does what. Teamwork with Love.

A clerk at the local Lowes impressed me time and again with her willingness to go beyond the basics. I suggested she consider applying at the Big Company where my family works. The Big Company HR people would not let her through the filters. Regardless of experience, capacity, or personal recommendations, she was a no-go because she lacks a college degree. If she had a BA in Underwater Basket Weaving, she'd be in. It's a sad state of affairs.

Case in point: We stopped at a gas station to help what appeared to be a distraught lady with a flat tire. Her 18 year old boy steps out of the car. I asked him why he wasnt helping his Mom change the tire. "I Dont Know!", standard answer nowadays. I said no problem, my 12 year old daughter will get you started and show you how. After the first bolt was removed he continued to stand there like a lump of broccoli. He expected us to finish it for him. Told Mom flat out, you better work on your son before its too late and he is 40 years old sleeping in her basement.

Dr Phil for President, Mike Rowe Vice President!

As a retired 20 year ASE certified Master mechanic, I can agree 100% with what he's saying. Just cars alone, are too difficult to fix for the average mechanic. You have to spend thousands of dollars on continuing education and purchase equipment that is proprietary to each automobile manufacturer just to work on them. I actually think silicone valley has cause more harm to the human race than it has helped in so many ways.

Appreciate what you do Mike. Blessings 😘💕💕💕

They pulled shop class out of high schools. I must be getting old cs i didnt know that

Because the problem is, they don't pay a cost of living at all. They are not meeting the standard where people can live on it because there is no respect anymore.

During Covid I realized I’m an essential work, but I’m not economically valuable.

Need to get ALL the Trades in highschool before its too late!! This guy is a saint for real.

The dream is not dead it is just changing everyday.

everyone needs to send this around. take down info and use! TY, Mike!

I have Worked 37 years same field. Paycheck to paycheck. I have nothing to show for it, except a body in pain and nothing to retire on. Own nothing! Thanks to the cost of living. I am living the American nightmare!

This is not just an American issue. I can build your home, from the bricks to the beams, to the plaster to the plumbing to the electrics, to the furniture, fix your car, motorcycle, boat, design, weld, machine, code micro-controllers to desktop and mobile apps to whatever. But now at 55 I am dumbfounded that less and less and less of the younger folk can do what I did before I was the age of 18. They have seen everything via a screen and know everything but have yet done something close to nothing in terms of actual hands-on work. Still I remain optimistic that culture/society will catch up. Mike has the experience and is the voice/vision of an important topic that needs to be addressed.

It's really true what's being said here, because nowadays especially in the younger generation they do not want to get a real job that requires physical labor, they want to become KZfaq influencers or go out and just make KZfaq videos or tik Tok videos, that doesn't require a whole lot of thinking or knowledge, I mean if you can take a picture or video then you're good to go! From my 8th grade year until I graduated from the 12th grade in high school I took a woodshop class and I learned how to do framing and building houses or sheds and even furniture, and to this day I still use those skills for my benefit, and I love it just as much now as I did way back then and I am 62 years old! 👍👍👍

I took 3 engineering classes, a culinary class, art, and 4 years of foreign language, and business law. The classes are rare but they still exist.

Mike Rowe is a genius. He showed the world that it's the average ordinary person that goes to work everyday, that the people that makes the world turn. Their the ones that make everyday life possible! Thank you Mike, from one of those people.

In the 90s one could work a regular job and afford a basic apartment utilities and food today you’d need to work 4 jobs. What’s needed is a living wage predicated on the cost of living. I don’t believe they will ever do it.

degreed applicants get discriminated against for applying to labor jobs....cant even get an interview for lowes warehouse...because im over educated....apparently

I watched a video today where this young man said he has a college degree and can’t get hired as a waiter because he is not qualified. Where are these thousands of jobs that can’t be filled?

Little do they know a work ethic starts with the parents at a very young age for the child😢 it sounds good on paper but I’m here for it.

At 45 my body can't work anymore. The dream wasn't real for me. I run a garden now to survive.

I have worked in the trades since 1975 as a carpenter , moved along and went onto contracting and building, I have always enjoyed the hard work . One major point i wanna make is the weather , Ive worked in 100 degree heat and 0 degree frigid cold for hours on end. I have to say some days were absolute agony being outside. So for all of you who think you wanna work in the building trades, you better be prepared to handle those weather conditions . The extremes are brutal , cant just go home , no work no pay , ya gotta hack it

I am 73 years old, comfortably retired, and better off than 90% of Americans. My daughter (47) is a millionaire and my eldest granddaughter (32) is a millionaire and building. We have GEDs, it would be a mistake to think we are poorly educated. We possess marketable skills. A little smart and a lot of work NEVER fails. Note: About half my time spent in a classroom was wasted. Our public school system is failing our youth.

If those jobs paid more people would return to those jobs. If hard work really was rewarded people would work harder. I like the idea but it isn’t reality. At least from my experience.

I worked in skilled trade my whole adult life. Now in sales. We cannot find any younger males with any good skills at all. They all want 30 hour and can't change a light bulb. They also dont want to work more than 8 hours a day. We as a country are doomed.

I haven’t watched the video but I can say that the American dream is not dead but it on life support and will likely pass very soon. Don’t let your 2A go, it’s the only thing we have left.

Younger adults refuse to work outside of an air conditioned office.

I work in a skill job as a sub lunch lady. I love it, and I find joy in it. And I get paid more than I did as a CNA.

Friend just graduated electrical and can't get a job in that field

As a millennial, truck driver since 2009, i wouldnt encourage anyone to ever throw their life away to do this job like i did. I pray this all colapses soon. Not for me but my children. I would rather we build and start new than keep this all going

I live on my sailboat, I have my mini welder and my plumbing tools with me. My yearly cost of living is down to $3500 including everything. I can make, if needed, that amount on one job. I can charge 4 times more than before, people are desperate. But I'm not taking any jobs, I retired 13 years ago when I realized that there is no wife's to marry. Now I'm 53 and I just wanna sail, fish and watch the world burn.

I laugh all the way to the bank today , cause my drafting job in construction was eliminated. But I learned how things went together and moved to the hands on part .

The American dream is what you put in and how smart you are as an individual. I get up at 5am every day, work till 5:30, cook my own food within 30-40 mins, have a demand and high paid job with unbeatable benefits with zero student dent. Anyone can do it but do they? In most cases…..nope! Everyone wants to work in the A/C, get up late, have a high paid job with little to no effort, and wants everything handed to them. That doesn’t exist. People need to learn to invest their time better to get their dream or it’s going to be a nightmare.

Pay people more for trade jobs, stop complaining that the gap is growing when a lot of the contractors know they are heavily underpaying their current trade workers, pay people more and the gap will close.

I believe the reason trades are so short handed is that it’s not a respected job to have anymore. People that work in trades and build the stuff we need to live aren’t the A & B students of their class. We are the hands on mechanically inclined type of people who weren’t very book smart. No one wants to physically work anymore when you can work in the office or even from home with a more flexible schedule. I’ve work in the trades for 24 years now and never have I heard of anyone working in the office that says I want to work on the floor. There’s a huge separation from those two workers and we need to ask the question why?

So happy that this curriculum will be brought to Western HS. We need all the trades people we can get here in Vegas.

From paying for day care and college, to managing mortgage payments. I'm approaching retirement yet inflation is getting worse. How can I generate more income to retire with at least $3m for long term care? I have about 750k in savings.

Not to mention the IRS taking 40% of everything you earn

I used to work physically demanding jobs. Now I have moderate to severe Plaque Psoriasis, Psoriatic Arthritis, and lyme disease. What should I do now, Mike Rowe and Dr Phil?!!!

We need skills schools they are scarce and that is what America was brought up on was people working owning businesses run by family and inherited on through the family line... Plumbers, air and heating, mechanics, electrical, masons, carpentry, etc... this is what America is about

1 percenters asking other 1 percenters if the American Dream is dead 😅

The problem with construction here in the bay area is it can take 2 hours to drive 30 miles. And for some you don't get paid till your at the jobsite which can be different everyday. So an 8 hour workday turns into 12+ hours a day with the commute. Many of these workers drink alcohol and smoke marijuana to cope with the stress. Others that go to the gym sleep like 5 hours a night which can't be good for the body long term. And when your shift is over your too tired to go out and do anything so part of your life suffers from not enough leisure activities. I had a sense of accomplishment learning some of the trades but over time I burned out and couldn't motivate myself to do the work. For me working local without a commute 4 days a week is ideal.

Two very smart, wise men...love 'em! Don't stop what you're doing Mike & Phil!

Personally myself, Dr. Phil, I think they should put them back in schools put mechanics back in school home economics back in school when I was going to school. The boys would work on the cars in the back young ladies would learn to cook in the kitchen home economics,,,, That way the girls learn to cook and do crafty things. Also put sports back in schools. They’re taking them out and you gotta pay to go now to put your kids in a sporting event. It’s ridiculous. This is upside down.

A plumber might be able to make 6 figures but certainly not easy, maybe with a fair amount of overtime. I’ve been in the building trades for 29 years and have always taken nearly all the overtime ever offered and have never come close to 6 figures

Love that Adam Ray is finally interviewing Mike Rowe

The cost of everything and your pay dont Equal out anymore . I know people in these trades and cant even make it without two jobs they work for a company and do side jobs just to pay bills.

Real men.

ive applied for 400 jobs in 6 months.... barely a call back. mostly third parties that never spoke english looking for auto cad

I have a two year degree in electronics and have been working for over thirty years as a lab technician for a four year university. How ironic.

Some of this is bs. I've applied to some trades as an apprentice, and most jobs want at 2 or more years experience. No one wants to train anymore, and if you do get in somewhere, there's politics and the good ole boy system you have to deal with.

back to apprenticeships with local businesses and tradespeople. Back to normal schooling, no phones and teaching trades again. Also kids need to be taught that only 7% of the enitre country of America are milionaires...the rest of the 300 million are fckin broke or middle class lol and being MIDDLE CLASS with a trade can still be a great life, you dont NEED a ferrari, you dont NEED a giant house, its totally ok to just have the things you NEED like a roof, water and shelter with a bit xtra and still ahve a wonderful happy existance till retirement. You dont NEED to have 100 million dollars in investments to be happy. That a few hundred thousand a year in a trade is a perfectly great life and a trade? is WAY more respectable than a rockstar or an actor or YOU TUBER.....also TEACH SAVING....even if kids have a f ing job at Mcdonalds.

These guys have a lot of good viewpoints but neither of these guys understand inflation. Most of those 10 million jobs pay nowhere near $100k like Mike is talking about.

I’m 37. I’ve worked since I was 11. I have been on my own since 15, fought in two wars and lost my leg before I turned 26. I still could not afford to live in the states. I left in 2016 to live in a cheaper country and it’s made my life so much better. THAT country is the problem. Yes it’s dead.

Dr. Phil, I need you!!!

Our high schools here have classes to teach blue color jobs like Body Tech, Electrician, etc. The company I work for hires those interested in the auto collision industry straight from high school, give the tools, and get them going.