MAY 12, 2021 – Yesterday I noticed a few doors down, a parked van belonging to a plumbing outfit named, “Weld & Sons.” I couldn’t remember the last time I’d seen a business name that included “Sons” or “Brothers” (or “Bros.”). Back in the day—my day, anyway—you’d see a lot of trucks, stores, and commercial signs bearing the business name, “So-and-So & Sons, Inc.” or “Such-and-Such Brothers, Co. Inc.” (Occasionally, “Ltd.”; LLCs (“limited liability companies”) hadn’t yet been invented.) The builders of my parents’ house in 1961 were the “McNeil Brothers.” As I remember, there were four of them, all on the job together. The oldest, whom everyone called “Mac” (of course!) was the boss.
The rarity of some plumber guy (assuming “Weld” is a guy; if “Weld” of “Weld & Sons” is a woman, we’re talking a non-existent past) going into business with his sons reflects several fundamental changes in our society since . . . ancient times.
In the first place, when I was a kid, families with half a dozen kids—and statistically, half of their number being boys—was not uncommon. For a plumber-dad or carpenter-dad, he’d have a built-in labor force starting 17 or 18 years out. And after the old man retired, the “Sons” would become “Brothers” and carry on the business. Today, large families are far fewer.
In many quarters, “Sons” and “Brothers” have been rarified by another factor: big box competition. “Roll-ups”—the consolidation of smaller enterprises within a fragmented industry—and mergers and acquisitions have long been a strategic imperative of American enterprise. Expansion of market share, volume purchasing discounts, and expense take-outs from economies of scale have driven many “Sons” and “Brothers” out of business, and enhanced the profitability and dominance of large, public companies in many business sectors.
Superimposed on all of this, of course, is the phenomenon of globalization—or more precisely, of China becoming an economic powerhouse.
Is the demise of “Sons” and “Brothers” a good thing or bad? If you’re an American consumer demanding more for less, you have to say “good.” If you’re a plumber with three brothers or five grown sons to support, you’ve got to say, “Maybe not so good.” And if you’re concerned about our oceans becoming seas of plastic from all the cheap stuff being manufactured, packaged, shipped, consumed, and ultimately discarded, you’d call the loss of “Sons” and “Bros” quite bad.
But all this is child’s play compared to what’s now upon us: the age of AI, which, in time, will eliminate people altogether from the traditional work force. A writer like yours truly will take a virtual walk down a virtual sidewalk in a virtual neighborhood and see a driverless van parked outside a virtual house. The van will bear the sign, “Real Plumber – Your Solution to Real Problems.”
The writer will then compose a reminiscence and transfer it by telepathy to nano-chips implanted among subscribers. The piece will note the rarity of “real” and recall the halcyon days when businesses were run by . . . people.
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© 2021 by Eric Nilsson
