Gradually degenerating into ignorance and complacency.

Tuesday, April 04, 2006

French II (econ course)

It was interesting that you pointed out 4% unemployment, but where? I'm was noting complete unemployment with my lampooning statement of, “care for fries with that”, but rather that the jobs available are hardly equitable to development of the person. A graduate with a B.A. or B.S. or Masters shouldn’t be relegated to a lower paying job because of a shortage of jobs in their relative field or reasonable salary level. While a person working at McDonalds might make $15,000 a year, $18,000 tops, that is hardly substantial. It will allow them to survive, but hardly thrive. Take areas that have an abundance of service jobs, say … like this town. Manufacturing, soon to fade away anyway, left a while ago. Medicine is neat, but the nursing staff is underpaid for the number of hours and patient load underscores that.
The USA could do great things with its wealth, but it is spent in … other ways beyond the scope of a voter’s capacity to elicit change. Granted, some monies and expenditures are well beyond the understanding or allowable knowledge of Citizen A, but funding bovine orgasm research (kid you not) is no a legitimate use of money. Non-criminals, I purpose, need jobs more than ex-cons. Yet, there are placements for recently discharged ex-cons.
Presently, the 35+ white male is disposable in the general business workplace. There is no inherent value to them, they are the downtrodden now. They are the less-chosen. I'm not writing that they are uncommon, but are more readily replaced by those not fitting the category of 35+ white male. So the person is “downsized”. Competent, yet not wanting or capable of starting his own company, where does he go? He, like others in other ‘categories / meeting other criteria’ take jobs in other fields, generally at a pay cut, restarting – fewer benefits.
The French students want, what others want – secure, safe, well-paying jobs. They aren’t running around, rioting because they can’t even get a job selling pants or shoes, but rather that they can’t get entry level into jobs that are secure – unlike corporate America seeking fresh new ideas. The French, I understand, have unions that allow the dinosaurs to exist, sometimes crushing out better suited species (persons). That system is flawed. Our system of getting new, fresh ideas works, but downsizing so many people, who usually go to lesser-paid service fields in poor on corporate America’s account.

Stats are one thing – 4%. So what? How about a real, valid, reliable breakdown of national, regional, state, and city employment. I'm less interested in unemployment, but rather where the workforce is … demographics. Would there be a large number of white males 35+ in service industries here? I wouldn’t know where to get it, but it CERTAINLY is more meaningful than a number of 4. Four answers a numerical question, which I'm not asking.

1 comment:

MR said...

I just attempted to post a lengthy response to this, but when I submitted it, it went to a "cannot display this page" and the BACK button yielded an empty canvas. Gone.

Here's the cliff's notes:

"YOU said the U.S. had the same problem"
"uh-huh"
"then *I* said 4%"
"uh-huh"
"then you said it was the QUALITY of the jobs"
"mm-hmm"
"then *I* said 'well I guess you're really up $hit creek.'"
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#uck the #rench.

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You make your own destiny. You take the get-dirty job to get access to the ladder. 4% is never a bad thing, you have to be IN the workforce to advance. If there are college students too proud to get their hands dirty to inject themselves into the workforce as a starting point, then they are holding themselves back. I did mind-numbing computer operator crap to get my job. Printed and delivered reports.

[this time I copied it to the clipboard]