Plenty of jobs, lazy Americans just don't want them

[Barefootsies]

Agreed.

Some people look at our 8.1 percent unemployment rate and say, there aren't enough jobs out there. But others say there are plenty, Americans just aren't willing to do them. One of those people is John Stossel, host of "Stossel" on the Fox Business Network.

Stossel did a Fox News special called "Out of Work," where he argues that there are plenty of jobs in the United States, Americans aren't willing to take them. He points the blame on a more-than-generous government safety net.

"We've taught people that in some cases it's easier to be dependent, and you're a sucker if you pound the pavement and work at one of those tough minimum wage jobs," he told host Jeremy Hobson.

SOURCE

[Vapid - BANNED FOR LIFE]

It's a bitch to work in this heat.

[ruff]

I'm a porn webmaster and I'm working for minimum wage so it's not me. I'm not to proud to have a minimum wage job.

[Barefootsies]

I'm a porn webmaster and I'm working for minimum wage so it's not me. I'm not to proud to have a minimum wage job.

At least you are working. That is always a positive. Versus taking government handouts.

[SuckOnThis]

At least you are working. That is always a positive. Versus taking government handouts.

What percentage of people out of work get govt assistance, do you know?

[Sly]

This should be a fun thread.

[CyberHustler]

guess the race...

[GAMEFINEST]

I have a job.

[BlackCrayon]

no one wants to go back to making much less than they were before. most would rather just get the freebees.

[SmutHammer]

Seems nobody has any dignity anymore, People act like they are proud to be on welfare...

[Barefootsies]

This should be a fun thread.

no one wants to go back to making much less than they were before. most would rather just get the freebees.

True dat. Plenty of jobs out there. Many just refuse to take them. While they may not be the "best jobs" in regards to wages, social class, or benefits.... at least you're working and making an effort.

Seems nobody has any dignity anymore, People act like they are proud to be on welfare...

[kane]

The piece is mostly standard issue class warfare bullshit.

There is something to what he is saying. There are a small number of people who would rather be on welfare than work. I happen to know one of those people. That is never going to change no matter how good or bad the economy is. If you want to fix this you have to get rid of all forms of welfare which opens up a whole other can of worms.

Here is why it is mostly bullshit. What they are asking is that people take a step back in their lives. He says himself that most of these jobs are service and retail jobs that pay minimum wage. So let's say you had a job making $55K per year and you lost it due to no fault of your own. So you go on unemployment and will likely draw the max which is about $425 per week. Now you set out to find a job. You could quickly take a job of $8 per hour which means you will actually be making less than being on unemployment (which, btw, has been paid into by your past employers) and your expenses are likely going to go up because you will have to pay for gas or bus fare or whatever to get to this job. You know this is just a temp job to hold you over until you get something better and likely so does the person hiring you even if you fed them some line of bullshit about wanting to make this your new career. In addition to having less money this new job also makes finding that better job more difficult because you have a lot less time to search and will likely have to ask for time off to go to interviews etc.

So if it were you which would you rather do? A. You could stay on unemployment and put all your efforts into either finding a job that paid about what you made before or getting yourself retrained to do a different similar paying job, or B. You can take the job that will pay you less than you earn on unemployment which will put even more hardship on you and make finding the better job or getting the training/education for the better job significantly more difficult?

To me the real problem isn't people staying on unemployment too long. It is that our government often hands millions of dollars in subsidiaries and tax cuts out to companies that move all of their jobs to third world countries so that they can make a few extra dollars. I say they do away with all of that crap and if they are going to hand government money out to any companies/industries it should be those who go the extra mile to keep and create jobs here.

[Barefootsies]

The piece is mostly standard issue class warfare bullshit.

If there were not some truth to it, I would have thought the same.

[IllTestYourGirls]

To me the real problem isn't people staying on unemployment too long. It is that our government often hands millions of dollars in subsidiaries and tax cuts out to companies that move all of their jobs to third world countries so that they can make a few extra dollars. I say they do away with all of that crap and if they are going to hand government money out to any companies/industries it should be those who go the extra mile to keep and create jobs here.

Yes those needs to be cut ASAP, all subsidies. One of the biggest subsidies is welfare. I have seen numbers that show about 50% of all people that work at walmart are on some sort of assistance. Remove those subsidies and people will refuse to work for nothing.

[kane]

Yes those needs to be cut ASAP, all subsidies. One of the biggest subsidies is welfare. I have seen numbers that show about 50% of all people that work at walmart are on some sort of assistance. Remove those subsidies and people will refuse to work for nothing.

Yep, a huge number of the people working at Walmart get some kind of government assistance. Most likely it is food stamps, housing help and daycare help.

I understand that most of these jobs are no meant to be careers, but sadly the only jobs we seem to be creating in this country are either these low paying service and retail jobs or high-tech jobs that require a degree of some sort. So if you were a person who worked for 15-20 years in an industry that has no moved offshore you can either take a shitty low paying job or go back to school (or both). Regardless of what you do it is not going to be a pretty situation.

[ThunderBalls]

Exactly, We need to stop giving money to poor people so we can build more bombs!


GOP senators launch tour warning of defense cuts
http://www.boston.com/business/news/...vHP/story.html

[Rochard]

There are a small number of people who would rather be on welfare than work.

I find it hard to believe that people would want to be on unemployment instead of working. I understand that some people would rather not work, but unemployment at it's maximum doesn't pay enough to cover the rent.

I still remember the video of the black woman in Chicago who was complaining to the news about having her power cut off while in the background was a flt screen TV bigger than I what I own and an Xbox.

[TheSquealer]

Too bad for him. Rule number 1 about lazy people: Lazy people hate being called lazy. Wefare has always been the single most destructive force in this economy.

[Rochard]

I read an article the other day about there being a lot of trucking jobs, but no one wants them. No one wants to criss cross the country while living in the back of a truck.

Two of my local friends are doing this - driving trucks - and they both hate it. They never get to see their families.

[TheSquealer]

I find it hard to believe that people would want to be on unemployment instead of working. I understand that some people would rather not work, but unemployment at it's maximum doesn't pay enough to cover the rent.

I don't think that's true. Depending on your prior income and the state, it can be over 500.00 a week and thanks to Obama, benefits were extended multiple times. I know plenty of personal trainers and management at LA Fitness, 24hr Fitness etc that had a good year and then got fired so they could train for cash as they collected more than enough to pay the rent from unemployment alone. These are people made 80-120k or so a year, which of course isn't typical, just happens to be quite a few people i know.

Ever watch Deadliest Catch? Almost every fisherman in the Bering Sea rakes in cash while fishing and then, because they have seasonal contracts (a new contract is signed by all crew members to fish one season only for liability purposes) and when they get home for vacation, they are "out of work" and collect unemployment. For Washington and Alaska both, I believe the maximum (which most of them qualify for) is well over 500.00 a week, which most collect while filing weekly by phone from Mazatlan.

[2012]

[kane]

I find it hard to believe that people would want to be on unemployment instead of working. I understand that some people would rather not work, but unemployment at it's maximum doesn't pay enough to cover the rent.

I still remember the video of the black woman in Chicago who was complaining to the news about having her power cut off while in the background was a flt screen TV bigger than I what I own and an Xbox.

I guess what I meant isn't so much unemployment but actual welfare. The example of the person I know is a friend of mine's sister. She is a waste of a human being. She is 29 years old and literally has worked about 6 months total. She hasn't worked since she was 21. She got knocked up at 21 and went on welfare. She has been on it ever since. She applied for section 8 housing assistance (she lives with her parents because welfare only gives her a few hundred dollars per month) and got it. They told her that she had to get a part time job and then she could be able to get the housing assistance. This assistance would basically let her get a 2 bedroom apartment for about $100 per month rent. When she heard she had to work to get it she declined it and actually told my friend that she did so because working just isn't for her. The amazing thing was the social worker said she would help her find the job and the government would pay for her daycare if she needed it and give her free bus passes to get to work.She still turned it down.

Part of her problem is that her parents allow this to continue. They let her live with them rent free and never bother her about getting a job or doing anything with her life so they are enabling this behavior.

So there are some people out there who would rather live in poverty than put forth an effort, but I think the number is pretty small.

[Bill8]

you wingnuts are hilarious. so much hate, so much jealousy.

yet you do nothing. you never actually have any plans, when you were in charge you did nothing useful.

just a bunch of old ladies filled with gossipy venom and girlish siliness.

whats even funnier is you have no shame about this endless whining and the endless doing nothing.

[lucas131]

fat people dont work

[IllTestYourGirls]

I read an article the other day about there being a lot of trucking jobs, but no one wants them. No one wants to criss cross the country while living in the back of a truck.

Two of my local friends are doing this - driving trucks - and they both hate it. They never get to see their families.

There is a name for the group of people who hate their jobs they are called "everyone".

[OG LennyT]

A lot of good banter and opinions in this thread. I wouldn't be too proud to work fast food as long as it paid the bills.. of course, the important thing to consider.. don't live beyond your means :-)

[kane]

I read an article the other day about there being a lot of trucking jobs, but no one wants them. No one wants to criss cross the country while living in the back of a truck.

Two of my local friends are doing this - driving trucks - and they both hate it. They never get to see their families.

It takes a particular kind of person to do that kind of job. A friend of mine growing up's dad was a long haul truck driver. He would be gone for 2-3 weeks then home for a week then gone again. When my friend got into high school he was able to change so he did runs from Portland to Salt Lake each week and was only gone a couple of days then over the summer he would do long haul stuff and on each run he would take one of the kids so they got to spend some time with him and see the country. Still, it was a difficult life.

I know another guy that does this now and he is a weird dude. I'm pretty confident more than one hooker has met her untimely demise in the back of his truck.

[lucas131]

fat people dont work

nothing personal to fat people, i dont work in this hot days too

[JackieRose]

sad but true with the welfare people, I raised 4 kids by myself, and have done just about every job out there, worked at a rally's restaurant, MANY warehouses doing many different jobs so I'm trained in all aspects of warehouse work, i drive a fork lift, cherry picker, you name it I can drive it. But at first when my kids were little I needed extra help and applied for food stamps and housing and got it while going to college and working. And now that I'm older and all my kids are grown and out of the house i don't need to work we run a business online and the olman' doesn't want me to work outside the house. WHICH, is fine by me. After what I have done throughout my life to raise my kids I deserve a little me time. At some point I may go back out in the working world But at this point we live pretty comfortable so there is no need for it. But the help I got while my kids were young i appreciated and I also paid back into the system by working. The sad part is NOW, i see ALOT of young girls getting pregnant in my area and gong straight on welfare, but don't do anything to better themselves. It's pretty sad. The kids nowadays just don't have that drive that we did 20 years ago.

[2012]

My theory is don't have fucking kids and then you're set for life

not hard for you, your one inch wonder is under lock and key

[JackieRose]

My theory is don't have fucking kids and then you're set for life

Yes I suppose that could be true for some, But for me tis too late and all them are grown now, wasn't so hard and I love kids ...if you work hard and take care of them the best you can it's not as bad as a life as some may think the best part of having kids is having grandkids...that's when your life really begins

[tony286]

Unemployment is not a entitlement ,it's insurance u and your employer paid into. Some of those people paid into that for 30yrs. Buts it a better talking point to call them all them freeloaders. Also if u look at welfare it's such a small part of gov spending. Now look at military u want to see real spending. I would like to see stoessel take an $8 an hr job the self righteous douchebag.

[JackieRose]

Control your desires. Perhaps a chastity belt could help?

You can have kids at any age. I prefer when I am financially "healthy"

Why control my desires, I'm a healthy woman and LOVE sex...and when you have your children younger you can enjoy the grandkids when your still young and can send them home with chocolate and noisy toys ...Besides, NOW I'm a older woman who can enjoy all the best things in life kids, grandkids, and wealth

Sure it wasn't the best of choices when I was younger, But, Now that I'm older I wouldn't have changed a thing it made me who I am today

[2012]

guess the race...

[Joshua G]

i would like to see john stossel leave his 6 figure part time job, & actually put in a year at burger king at 8 bucks an hour. adjust his lifestyle so that he lives on nothing but 8 bucks an hour. then come back on TV & tell everyone how they should live their lives.

fucking joke. the unemployment system is not the primary problem. Every govt assistance program is abused. rather, many more people are finding themselves in need of safety nets because their job just got sent offshore by tax incentives & by wealthy CEOs who make more profits sending US jobs to china.

stossel is just another right wing stooge trying to blame government for problems created by the inequities borne by unregulated, free market globalism.

[TheSquealer]

Meh

With my FAKE degree, IMAGINED experience, and FABRICATED background I would never be offered a "9 to 5" "normal" job that paid $70,000+ to start.

Fixed!

[bean-aid]

I want to say something positive but I just can't... BF starts threads about how little initiative American's have, yet, he types on a forum about his non accomplishments... i.e. http://gfy.com/showpost.php?p=19014307&postcount=1

carry on toots

[xXXtesy10]

[Boozer]

I think people are forgetting that alot of times a employer will simply not hire a person previously making 50k for a minimum wage job.

[papill0n]

yeah also applies to australia

lazy mother fuckers are everywhere

[venus]

saying people dont want to work if they dont take a min wage job and calling them names and trying to degrade them does not solve the problem with the economy. THe economy's problem is excessive greed by major share holders and board members in these corporations. Making money is good, making more money because you are an excessive greedy bastard at the expense of everyone else is the problem. Most min wage jobs will not hire people full time, also min wage will not support a family. How can somoene who makes min wage go out and spend money on the economy, buy memberships to your websites and so on..they wont. Every penny they make will go on bills.

the problem is the idiots who think min wage jobs are ok for the economy. They want to hide the problems by talking trash about others. People making min wage cannot live beyond their means, no one will give them a loan!!!

[BIGTYMER]

On niteline not long ago they had a couple in their late 20's. They worked only enough to continue to get foodstamps and health care. Didn't look like their life was very bad. Nice clothes, apartment, etc.

[Paul Markham]

no one wants to go back to making much less than they were before. most would rather just get the freebees.

That's it in a nutshell. Many will choose to sit at home and do something there for more money than go out to work for someone else for less.

The problem is something Governments all around the world need to face and solve. Manual, lower down the ladder jobs are disappearing, either to machines or to the Far East. So there's always going to be a level of unemployment. Are the unemployed be left to do nothing or found something to do?

Maybe making the benefit only available to those genuinely seeking employment and raising it to what they would get being unemployed. Maybe a form of land army with people working for the local community. What ever is done it can't be leaving a huge section of society without a future.

Boozer is right, no employer will take someone on who will leave as soon as a better position becomes available. If you're "over qualified" for a job, it can mean you will go find a better job at the drop of a hat.

[Paul Markham]

I guess what I meant isn't so much unemployment but actual welfare. The example of the person I know is a friend of mine's sister. She is a waste of a human being. She is 29 years old and literally has worked about 6 months total. She hasn't worked since she was 21. She got knocked up at 21 and went on welfare. She has been on it ever since. She applied for section 8 housing assistance (she lives with her parents because welfare only gives her a few hundred dollars per month) and got it. They told her that she had to get a part time job and then she could be able to get the housing assistance. This assistance would basically let her get a 2 bedroom apartment for about $100 per month rent. When she heard she had to work to get it she declined it and actually told my friend that she did so because working just isn't for her. The amazing thing was the social worker said she would help her find the job and the government would pay for her daycare if she needed it and give her free bus passes to get to work.She still turned it down.

Part of her problem is that her parents allow this to continue. They let her live with them rent free and never bother her about getting a job or doing anything with her life so they are enabling this behavior.

So there are some people out there who would rather live in poverty than put forth an effort, but I think the number is pretty small.

Small but growing.

Just a suggestion. If her benefits were on the condition that she had to work in a day care centre looking after working mothers children, then she's getting her money and contributing. Also and maybe more importantly it sets in place a system where benefits are worked for and not an entitlement for doing nothing. So people eventually will expect to work for benefits.

Also limit child benefits for the unemployed to the first three children and watch the number of women with 3 children who planned to get more, for more money, go on the pill.

[kane]

Small but growing.

Just a suggestion. If her benefits were on the condition that she had to work in a day care centre looking after working mothers children, then she's getting her money and contributing. Also and maybe more importantly it sets in place a system where benefits are worked for and not an entitlement for doing nothing. So people eventually will expect to work for benefits.

Also limit child benefits for the unemployed to the first three children and watch the number of women with 3 children who planned to get more, for more money, go on the pill.

The problem is she doesn't want to work in any capacity. She wants to sit at home all day and watch TV and play video games and do whatever she wants. Working in a day care would still be working. She once said, "Working just isn't for me."

[blonda80]

sucks .

[Paul Markham]

The problem is she doesn't want to work in any capacity. She wants to sit at home all day and watch TV and play video games and do whatever she wants. Working in a day care would still be working. She once said, "Working just isn't for me."

Then fine, she does it without benefits. no force is required or applied. Simple choice, contribute towards society for the help from society or don't and not get anything. Her choice.

This will kill the growing cultural problem we have today. When I was her age there was jobs for everyone as the West still manufactured so much. Now those jobs have gone we've seen a change in culture of people not having to work and therefore not expecting to work. And worse is to come. Like Mother, like child. the next generation will be worse.

This article makes interesting reading. http://www.hrea.org/erc/Library/Crit...mployment.html

Some good points.

"The demand for low-skilled workers will not increase in the future, but will decrease or remain static. As a result, we can predict that there will come to be a surplus of unskilled workers in the next decade or two, and that this surplus will prove to be unemployable."

It will IMO grow as the West ships out more jobs to the Third World and automates more plants at Home.

According to experts, companies still in state hands have 30- 50% over employment, that is to say, inner unemployment. Half of everyone's salary returns to the state purse through social security payments and taxation. With such burdens, entrepreneuerialism cannot be competitive. A dynamic economy would ensure that a large portion of the unemployed will find work, and will also increase the amount of money available for social programs."

So take those people who do work out of work, lower their income to base level and who pays for it and what effect does it have on the Home economy? Where does the extra cash come from to fuel entrepreneuerialism and will that movement ensure more jobs at Home?

The private sector is about maximising profits. Salaries are something they will cut if possible and have no intention of increasing. They will outsource to a cheaper country rather than employ people at Home.

Long Term we should not put our future into the hands of the private sector. If I need to explain why, look at Detroit for the answer. Just one example of the private sector chasing the bottom line and the employees over estimating their worth.

It is not the responsibility of the state to take the unemployed by the hand, and lead them to a desk or a machine. As in any market, in the labor market "it takes two to tango." The unemployed worker himself must take steps to improve his situation. Also, people must get used to the fact that, as with every commodity, labor has a market value that can rise as easily as it can decrease. The state's role in the labor market should be to assist the private sector. For people to have any hope for the future, they should have access to loans, not handouts.

Agree and that's where today's system is wrong. We give people the choice, give something and get something back. Give nothing and get nothing back.

[Barefootsies]

The M-Arkham Asylum has made an appearance....

Scaaarrrrrecrow.... scarecrow....

[DWB]

Americans are going to have to get off their high horse, roll up their sleeves like their fathers and grandfathers did before them, and fucking work.

They are not entitled to anything. No one owes them anything. And when they are without work, no job is too good for them, you, or me.

Welcome to the real world.

[Buff]

You'd have to be stupid to work when you can earn the same or more by not working.