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A 32 hour work week. Americans had to work really hard to get the work week down to 40 hours, and rules of all kinds keep it that way because bosses would LOVE to work you more.
If we could work 32 instead of 40, our quality of life, work/life balance would improve, and more jobs would be created. In many jobs this would not result in a loss of productivity. In many jobs it would IMPROVE productivity.
Lots of people wouldn't choose 32 hours over 40, because of the loss of income, but lots of people would. What if we did have a choice? Benefits allocated based on a percentage of your hours/income. If Healthcare could be addressed, it could work.
No one listens to me.
Yep, heathcare is the 300 lb gorilla in the room, I have co-workers that are still working because they don't qualify for Medicaid/care yet. They have everything else to retire they just cant afford to not be covered and have a bankruptcy level health event with no insurance and cant afford out of pocket coverage.
If it's about getting a decent paying job that pays for a house, car, and a decent life, you just have to be willing to move to places that others don't/won't. For instance, there were low skilled people in Williston, ND making 6 figures right out of high school until the oil bust. Right now there is a $50 billion boom in Lake Charles, LA as 5 LNG plants and a large Sasol plant are being built. Urgent demand for welders, electricians, pipe fitters, etc... Good paying jobs.
If it's about a job relevant to your degree, it has never been the case that you are guaranteed a job in the field you majored in unless you have a law degree, MD, or PhD in something. So sometimes it's just a matter of going back to school.
"Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work." - Thomas Edison
The year 2016 and 17 unemployment rate is devastating. I am a college graduate with a Masters' Degree plus 14 years work experience including experience in my field of major. Jobs are very scarce. Private corporations are hiring college grads and paying them minimum wages for doing specialized work in a technical field and then adding administrative assistance duties to their work. It is very unfortunate and unfair that the future generations have to spend extremely high prices on college education, certifications and what used to be high paying and high demand jobs are paying minimum wages. Let's face it, a person cannot feed themselves, less have a roof over their head in the state of Maryland where the cost of living is extremely high, DMV area and making only $10-11 per hour. Where is the U.S. Dept. of Labor, BLS and Wages when you need them?
If it's about getting a decent paying job that pays for a house, car, and a decent life, you just have to be willing to move to places that others don't/won't. For instance, there were low skilled people in Williston, ND making 6 figures right out of high school until the oil bust. Right now there is a $50 billion boom in Lake Charles, LA as 5 LNG plants and a large Sasol plant are being built. Urgent demand for welders, electricians, pipe fitters, etc... Good paying jobs.
If it's about a job relevant to your degree, it has never been the case that you are guaranteed a job in the field you majored in unless you have a law degree, MD, or PhD in something. So sometimes it's just a matter of going back to school.
"Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work." - Thomas Edison
This^
I hear educated people whining about having a hard time finding a job or being underpaid here is Seattle all the time. I always want to slap them upside their heads and say "go some place where EVERYONE doesn't have a degree."
I don't know why anyone would want to live here unless they were living high on the hog anyways. The cost of living is unbelievable. If you make 40k a year, I don't care how "cool" you might think Seattle is, it's not for you.
Even if the center of your existence is drinking craft beer, protesting and wearing those stupid thick rimmed black glasses, you can do that in Olympia or even Spokane this point and still support yourself. That lifestyle is everywhere in this part of the country. Why live paycheck to paycheck in Seattle when you could go be an unoriginal D-bag with other people just like yourself in a city you can actually afford. I just don't get it.
If it's about getting a decent paying job that pays for a house, car, and a decent life, you just have to be willing to move to places that others don't/won't. For instance, there were low skilled people in Williston, ND making 6 figures right out of high school until the oil bust. Right now there is a $50 billion boom in Lake Charles, LA as 5 LNG plants and a large Sasol plant are being built. Urgent demand for welders, electricians, pipe fitters, etc... Good paying jobs.
If it's about a job relevant to your degree, it has never been the case that you are guaranteed a job in the field you majored in unless you have a law degree, MD, or PhD in something. So sometimes it's just a matter of going back to school.
"Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work." - Thomas Edison
Your numbers are inflated, I knew people who worked in north dakota and people with high school diplomas right out of high school were most certianly not making 6 figures (maybe one or 2 guys who were expereinced drillers with 10 plus years expereince and a high school degree) but most people were 20$ a hour (where you might have got 8$ somewhere else hardly worth what was going on there in the boom. The place was trashed cold and almost no women, for 20/hr no thanks.
It was not the boom people make it out to be when you actually know people who were there, the people making that much without any edcuation or expereince were in the extreme minority thats for sure.
Also you were living in a camper in the northdakota winter so you may not survive it. IF you get a room then all your profits were chewed up. For me I would have had to make 6 figures in 6 months because that place was a hell hole, but in reality the money was no where near that good other than for a very hand full of people.
How much are they paying the welder in LA ... 40/hr whoop dee do, to leave family and friends and live out of a suit case in an extended stay or a camper, companeis are going to have to do WAY better or the skills/brain drain will get worse. Now 120hr and the wife comes along different story. I gaurentee they are not paying welders 120/hr.
The year 2016 and 17 unemployment rate is devastating. I am a college graduate with a Masters' Degree plus 14 years work experience including experience in my field of major. Jobs are very scarce. Private corporations are hiring college grads and paying them minimum wages for doing specialized work in a technical field and then adding administrative assistance duties to their work. It is very unfortunate and unfair that the future generations have to spend extremely high prices on college education, certifications and what used to be high paying and high demand jobs are paying minimum wages. Let's face it, a person cannot feed themselves, less have a roof over their head in the state of Maryland where the cost of living is extremely high, DMV area and making only $10-11 per hour. Where is the U.S. Dept. of Labor, BLS and Wages when you need them?
People will start turning to black market activities to survive, chemists making meth and explosive for the highest bidder. Machinists and welders making untraceable arms, I could go on and on.
If we want our nation to start looking like cold war russia then we just keep doing the same thing. The burtality will also rise because people also wont just lay down for jonny law and once your dealing with highly trained and highly educated people involve in illicit activities things will get ugly real ugly.
Right now dealing with joey dope head is managable.
People will start turning to black market activities to survive, chemists making meth and explosive for the highest bidder. Machinists and welders making untraceable arms, I could go on and on.
If we want our nation to start looking like cold war russia then we just keep doing the same thing. The burtality will also rise because people also wont just lay down for jonny law and once your dealing with highly trained and highly educated people involve in illicit activities things will get ugly real ugly.
Right now dealing with joey dope head is managable.
This is actually closer to the reality (in some parts of the country) then most would dare to admit, even if it's just fancy exaggeration.... LOL
I have a "bad feeling" about that time in the not-to-distant future when AI-powered robots start mass production and mass-automation starts rolling out. Speaking quite frankly; what are large swathes of the population going to do?? We can't realistically re-train billions of people to be robot mechanics and robot repairmen (and doing so would turn the jobs into low-paying McJobs overnight anyways, ie too much supply). It will most likely end badly or with violence, too many desperate/starving people is a recipe for societal unrest.
Is the USA's future a "mirror image" of what countries like Mexico have?? Where it's a highly stratified society of "either you are rich or you are poor"? With no "grey area" or middle class? It seems to be trending in that direction
I think willingness to relocate is a key element to success. Millions of Americans relocated just to survive during the Great Depression.
For better or worse, people now get enough support from the government and successful parents/spouses that you see more and more men opting out of the workforce, although female labor-force participation has still been on an upward trend.
Ultimately it is the success/comfort of our society that enables so many people to be "not in the workforce" ... 50 or 100 years ago, they'd find a job because they needed to eat. Now, they live with their parents or get on a government program and that's how they get by for years or decades, not working, relying on someone else, and we read how unhappy and unfulfilled many of them are...but apparently not so unfulfilled that they find a way to change their situation. How hard or easy that may be to do varies by person, of course.
Also, there are also people who are stay-at-home parents, which is an age-old occupation that's not part of the formal employment statistics since it's unpaid...and given the cost of child care, it makes sense for many families with young children to have one parent stay home. I think that's reasonable and a valuable pursuit and should be considered or quantified when the workforce-participation rate is discussed, although I have seen no data anywhere to quantify just how many stay-home parents there are out there.
Anyway, I think all of this is a natural consequence of a rich society...successful people can afford to bankroll other individuals...I'm sure we all know people who support a spouse or children or other family members in part or in whole.
You can get a fast food or retail job in almost any major town or city in America at this point pretty easily...so those who are unemployed or not in the work force, it is probably a choice unless they're significantly handicapped or have a significant criminal background. I know no one wants those jobs, but if they needed to work to eat, they would go get one. Many people don't need to work to eat, so they don't go get one. There are also people with black-market jobs, either that are criminal/illegal or that are just off-the-books for tax purposes or so their employer can pay them less than minimum wage or what have you. Or, those people who are in the "gig" economy until they can find a permanent job.
Personally speaking, during the Recession, I took some jobs for which I was overqualified. They were nice enough to hire me despite that. To me, that was better than not working and I actually learned some new skills and quite enjoyed some, but not all, of my different pursuits. I personally think working at a job below your qualifications is better than having a big gap on your resume, but I understand not everyone will agree.
Last edited by ScottsdaleMark; 03-29-2017 at 05:59 AM..
Your numbers are inflated, I knew people who worked in north dakota and people with high school diplomas right out of high school were most certianly not making 6 figures (maybe one or 2 guys who were expereinced drillers with 10 plus years expereince and a high school degree) but most people were 20$ a hour (where you might have got 8$ somewhere else hardly worth what was going on there in the boom. The place was trashed cold and almost no women, for 20/hr no thanks.
It was not the boom people make it out to be when you actually know people who were there, the people making that much without any edcuation or expereince were in the extreme minority thats for sure.
Also you were living in a camper in the northdakota winter so you may not survive it. IF you get a room then all your profits were chewed up. For me I would have had to make 6 figures in 6 months because that place was a hell hole, but in reality the money was no where near that good other than for a very hand full of people.
How much are they paying the welder in LA ... 40/hr whoop dee do, to leave family and friends and live out of a suit case in an extended stay or a camper, companeis are going to have to do WAY better or the skills/brain drain will get worse. Now 120hr and the wife comes along different story. I gaurentee they are not paying welders 120/hr.
I had read articles about truck drivers mainly in ND that were making 6 figures. One was a 20 year old guy. When the oil boom went sour he had to return to WI or something.
As far as Lake Charles, the welders get around $75K (starting out) to $100K (experienced) a year. That is a very very good salary in Lake Charles. You can get a nice 4 bedroom ranch style home for around $150K in a very nice part of town in a good school district for that kind of money and even be able to afford adding a swimming pool to deal with the hot and humid weather.
There are casinos there with 5 star restaurants and entertainers like Travis Tritt, REO Speedwagon, etc... Not the more recent pop bands but at least something to do. There is awesome Cajun food that is out of this world good, fresh seafood, and several TX steakhouses. Plenty of hunting and fishing nearby and canoeing in the Whiskey Chitto if that interests you. Camping/hiking at Sam Houston Jones State Park.
Things are booming in Lake Charles right now, I just was there. Most people from around the country don't know about it, mainly people from MS, AL, GA, FL, TX are there taking advantage of the boom.
If you are willing to move around, there will always be a high paying job for you.
Those are all young peoples jobs. You don't see too many 50 or 60 year olds doing hard labor in the oil fields or welding.
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Underpaid, unemployment
