I'm pretty sure most here have seen the full version of Mike's awesome testimony, but this a short part of it (2 minutes of youtube) that until a couple days ago really did not hit home. 

 My boss is involved with a large chain of banks. He went to a meeting the other day in which they had an economist speak on the current state of things in this region. His main message was that economic recovery and expansion were limited only by the lack of qualified labor. For once it was not hampered by red tape and funding shortages. But simply no one possesses the skills needed anymore to build houses or industrial facilities.

 There is a huge shortage of cdl drivers. Ads all over the place for some time now willing to train and signing bonuses of thousands for cdl drivers and heavy equipment operators. Yet no one there to fill these positions.