Quote:
Originally Posted by Relentless
What has to happen is people need to come to terms with the fact that our society does not need everyone in it to work. We are able to produce more than we consume with much less than full employment. Take a look at a book titled The End of Work. It's written by a reputable economist who makes the point that we ought to be moving toward a four day work week. It's counter to the strict capitalist notions that engendered the last century... But the fact is that our ability to produce far exceeds our demand and is not affected nearly as much by an increase or decrease in the size of our labor force as it used to be. We are going to have a glut of unemployed people whether everyone wants to work or not and we have no plan to deal with that paradigm.
Being a hard working, educated and conscientious person will not result in a job for many Americans. That trend will rise. We have no plan of what to do with them all...but calling them all lazy and disparaging them isnt going to solve the problem. Ryan and Romney sweeping them under the rug won't be good for the country either.
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Very intelligent post.
The past was factories full of people working for wages. Some able to buy their own homes. Today with automation and importing those days are gone. So we have to realise this and adapt.
The unemployed can't all be soaked up by the service industries, unless you want to walk into shops and see more assistants than shoppers. (Just an example.) Employing people is often the most expensive part of a business.
Community work is one way to employ the unemployed, working for the Government in some form is another way. What we cannot afford to do as a society is create ghettos of poor people who have no future and little money.
So other than the rich in work contributing properly towards them, what's the options?
Yes we need to make sure they work in some capacity, the youth especially, to give them the work ethic. So after time they expect to get up at 7.00, arrive at work by 8.00 and stay till 5.00-6.00.
Doing what?
Looking after the old and incapable. Hospitals, child care for some, teaching, making sure the community they live in is getting something back for supporting them. Yes is will be hard and it will cost those in work money.
Maybe a 1% import tax on all goods shipped into the US.
BUT all the money paid out will flow back in those people going to the shops and spending the money. Who knows with less unemployed people on a very low income, their might be less crime.
Or is looking after your fellow man not "What being an American." means?
The same goes for Europe. What they did wrong was push too much money in the shape of loans to places that could never repay it.
What is needed is the mindset of many needs to change. We have to realise that this is a world economy where the Third World can do labour intensive jobs and sell them for less. That the Third World will not stay doing that, they will rise and be manufacturing and selling products like Apple, Microsoft and yes the financial markets. America and Europe have no given right to stay at the top. No world power ever did.