Losing the Habit of Work?

I saw Nina Easton yesterday on Fox News talking about her article in Fortune magazine concerning the fact that one in five American men do not work.  That is a huge headline by itself and I found the reasoning offered for the statistic even more interesting, at first...  But I have my questions ...  Easton seems to partially refute her own conclusion in the first paragraph.

Has anyone in Washington noticed that 20% of American men are not working? That's right. One out of five men in this country are collecting unemployment, in prison, on disability, operating in the underground economy, or getting by on the paychecks of wives or girlfriends or parents. The equivalent number in 1970, according to the McKinsey Global Institute, was 7%. [snip]

... fearsome fact that 4.3 million Americans have been jobless not just for months--but going on years? We are in danger of losing a generation of work-habituated Americans, especially men--and lawmakers can't see their way past November, 2012.

This is a conversation that goes beyond a stubbornly high 9.2% unemployment rate and last week's unnerving news that company layoffs are ticking up again. While we all know there is a job shortage, employers are increasingly talking about a "talent shortage" -- they can't find qualified workers even for the jobs that are available. "We found that 30% of companies surveyed had openings for six months or longer, and can't find the right person," says Susan Lund, research director for the McKinsey Global Institute.

With slack demand, companies can afford to be pickier about who they hire...

 Easton goes on to name corporations and the problems they are having, mentions some that have training programs, some that don't, other studies, then she returns to the crux of the matter:   Are our public policies contributing to the rise of millions of Americans who lose the habit of work? ... And does unemployment insurance  and disability insurance discourage immediate job searching?  That answer is YES.

And then there is federal disability insurance, where the percent of American adults collecting checks has doubled since 1989 -- even though the American population isn't any less healthy, or more mentally disabled (the fastest growing disability claim). "It is difficult to overstate the role that the [disability program] plays in discouraging…the ongoing employment of non-elderly adults," concludes a study by MIT's David H. Autor and the University of Maryland's Mark Duggan.

If that's not enough to grab the attention of political leaders, here's a 10-year peek into the future of the U.S. labor force if current trends continue: A continued expansion of workers collecting income from disability rolls plus another four million high school dropouts--on top of today's 15.4 million.

The truth is that the welfare state has ruined a portion of our American work force. We can blame our politicians for this, and we can demand changes.

The excuse that there are not enough trained workers may be true, but it does not need to be so.  In this nation there is no excuse for someone to be untrained. 

Every college and university has satellite campuses in small towns across the nation.  There are vocational/technical training schools.  In most high schools vocational and technical training is available to students, a non-college curriculum for those who do not plan to attend college after high school or who are talented in those fields.

I heard one person on Fox say it is no longer possible for someone to take a blue collar job, stay in that job, provide for his family and retire from that job.  That is not a true statement, especially when you look at the influence unions have played in the work force over the past years.

As to professional and highly trained jobs, our government offers many tuition assistance programs, there are shcolarships, loans, and any number of organizations that help students.  Our military has helped provide college educations to untold numbers of young adults.

The plain truth is that we have liberal and socialist policies that are anti-business to blame for the situation.  Unfortunately I don't see anything changing until those politicians are removed from office and their policies reversed.  Until those policies are reversed, we can look forward to more mob violence in the United States similar to what is happening in Europe.

Other reading:   Average Teen Unemployment Rate in D.C. is 50.1%, Analysis Shows 

Comments

[GM Roper]

Great post Debbie, the truth is exactly that the powers that be use the unemployed for votes, after all, who wants to pick on the down-on-his-luck American male... so... extend UI long beyond what it was intended to do, and make sure those folks vote to retain those crooks in Washington to keep those checks coming.

[myfoxmystere]

Not only has the nanny state contributed to this, but the constant male bashing has done it as well.

[Layla]

I am sick of the welfare state. I understand that there are some truly deserving disabled people and veterans that are entitled to help - BUT - there are too many men and women tapping the system, women playing madam butterfly and collecting foodstamps for the extra kid. I do not condone kids going hungry, but their parents ought to be out seeking an education to support themselves and thier family and that goes for both men and women.

I am sick of people that do not deserve the free ride taking it and that is exactly what these nanny states do.

Why should these arses work when the government makes it easy for them to live for free on taxpaying dollars. I hate it.

My husband and son are disabled - my husband is a vet of the army and sustained an injury while being a medic paratrooper jumping out of airplanes. My son is Autistic.

The above is no excuse for me to live off welfare. Why? Because I have too much self respect. Help for a little while to give a hand-up is fine, but to tap out an already taxed system is a sin! This is why I am getting an education in law. I plan to be working by next year this time. In the interim I am seeking out lawfirms that will give me an internship (even for free) to help out my resume so that when I am job hunting I have what an employer wants.

I do not get these lazy good for nothing people or the nanny states that allow them to become dependent upon them. It is wrong and sickening. It is stealing hard earned money from tax payers.

The states need to quit and start vetting out whom to help and whom does not deserve it. I know where I live now on my block alone there are at least five families on section 8, tanf checks, food stamps, and other amenities from the government. I even reported them because they have cars (one a cadillac) and they sell freakin drugs. And this is where tax payers dollars go - to help the cheats and criminals just do their thieving better. UGH!

[Trestin]

I think one thing that is being overlooked is illegal immigration. The jobs which used to go to untrained people are now being taken by those who will work under the table for much less.

[Bloviating Zeppelin]

That we can no longer have good Blue Collar jobs is pure and unmitigated BULLshit. If people were motivated to get into various trades, they would realize there are CONSTANTS in ANY economy:

Vehicles still need repair;
Electricians are still required;
Plumbers are still required;
HVAC repair is still required;

I know plumbers and electricians, into their 50s and 60s, who still work because it makes money and because they can't get their kids into the job. They find they are in constant demand.

BZ

[Debbie]

Thanks to everybody for your input and comments, much appreciated.

As to non-professional jobs, I can attest that more technical people are needed desperately.

We can't find a good mechanic, or a good carpenter in our area. The few around that we have used over the years, 99% were hacks, left town, or were wanted by law enforcement for cheating their employers.

A good carpenter could have all the work he wanted, he could pick and choose, that's how in need this area is.

We had to wait almost a month to get downed trees after a storm cleared up, because there was only ONE tree company in the area.

There is a need for good people to do all those necessary things.

[BT]

John Hancock [local talk radio host, WBT 1110] was asking for opinions on whether there should be such lengthy unemployment given to folks - as many as 99 weeks in some states with state AND federal benefits. A man who owns an HVAC company called in and said he couldn't find workers and has been looking to hire for a couple of weeks. The reason he can't find workers is because when they find out what the starting pay is - about $500 a week to start - they decide they don't want the job because they will actually have to work 40 hours a week - and then to have taxes taken out of their check, etc., the take home would be just slightly higher than what unemployment is paying! Those men would rather NOT work and collect unemployment benefits, than collect a check where they HAVE to work for it!

We have made it much, much too easy for far too many people "playing the system." Yes, I agree there truly are some in need - and I think we can all agree that we would be more than willing to pay those people - but for 1 in 5 adult males to be out of a job - because unemployment benefits can be paid for 99 weeks - just short of TWO YEARS! - and with those benefits being almost what they could be making in a full-time actual WORKING job, speaks volumes.

[MK]

So more men are out of work and not interested in work, you can thank decades of feminist culture telling us that men are not important and really not needed. We're told by a socialist, pc-culture that being a useless parasite is not really a bad thing.

So employers can't find employees who are skilled, you can thank the leftist education system for that. I deal regularly with people who can't even write to you and tell you what they actually want. It's so annoying trying to piece together what they're waffling and mumbling about.

Sometimes i just ignore them until they figure out that what they're waffling about doesn't make any sense. Can't read or write or speak properly, but hey, they know all about the gay sex and political correctness though, the really important stuff you know.

[Deb568]

So what's wrong with employers doing their bit for their country and training some unskilled people up, instead of constantly lamenting on about how they can't find any people who are already trained? Just because a particular job needs certain skills doesn't mean people can't acquire those skills oh the job.

[Mick]

There is nothing wrong with employers training unskilled people. ALL employers do it now. But should an employer train someone to "think". You need to start with a couple of basic skills, like reading, writing, and arithmetic. Then you are "trainable". Employers are in the profit business not the training/teaching business.