Power to the People!

The following chart shows real annualized power construction spending per capita (October 2013 dollars).


Click to enlarge.

Tack on another $117 per year that will ultimately be passed on to the people (each man, woman, and child).

Hey, maybe it won't appear all at once though, thanks to the Fed's ZIRP providing long-term financing at supposedly super cheap long-term interest rates. That debt could potentially just brew and percolate for a few decades perhaps. So we've got that going for us, which is nice.

Power to the people (slogan)

During the 1960s in the United States, young people began speaking and writing this phrase as a form of rebellion against what they perceived as the oppression by the older generation, especially The Establishment.

With $90+ oil, power to the people has a whole new meaning now of course.

It doesn't look like we can expect much power construction job growth per capita from here. As seen in the chart, real spending per capita is just sliding along sideways at a higher new normal. I guess we'll just have to make it up on fast food jobs.

August 29, 2013
The Fast-Food Restaurants That Require Few Human Workers

"The fight for $15 is a fight against technology, not management — and that's a fight that these union-organized protestors can't win. Instead of securing a bigger paycheck, the less-experienced employees demanding a more than 100 percent pay increase will find their jobs replaced by less-costly alternatives," Michael Saltsman, research director at EPI, said in a statement.

...

Today, Amsterdam's Febo chain of stores feature only vending-machine service for burgers, fries and more. A few employees are responsible for stocking the items behind the machines but way out of customer view, so you can walk up, drop in your coins and get a hot meal after a long night out without talking to anyone face-to-face.

Introverts of the world unite! I say this as an introvert who generally enjoys gallows sarcasm of course. Deep sigh.

Source Data:
St. Louis Fed: Custom Chart