>Those that accepted whatever employment they could get and continued to be productive tax payers are now stuck in that low-income job. However those that either wouldn't accept a lower paying job or didn't strive to are benefitting from laziness. Very sad...
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Tracy;

You do have a valid point. The issue is complex and has many viewpoints. If you have a job you may not care and if you are unemployed your outlook may not be very positive.

Where to begin…

I could spend many hours on this topic. Laziness may not always be the case. Three additional factors worthy of consideration in my opinion are:

1. Minimum required income to survive. Survival is a subjective term. You may have to give up your home, car, family, pension, 401K, IRA, and more to survive.


2. There is a psychological issue with many American workers that, “I am my job”! If you loose your job all is lost. I spent many hours studying this topic in college as well as personal experience.


3. Shock, fear and disbelief. Surely everything will return to “normal”.

I have mentioned that I was an electronics engineer. In 1992-3 I was unemployed. Bush (senior) was running for reelection and in September 1992 was in San Jose. There were 60,000 unemployed electronics engineers in Silicon Valley. When asked what he would do to rectify that President Bush answered, “There are plenty of jobs at McDonalds! Next question”! In addition to engineers many others in the electronics hardware industry were unemployed. Many businesses moved to Austin, Texas.

In 1993 Clinton was President and during his two terms made 76 trips to Silicon Valley to bring together the Academic, business and various government groups together. The reason was simple: What was termed “high unemployment” (over 10%) was hurting our area. Record numbers of people lost homes, went bankrupted and were getting divorced.

What came out of Clinton’s visits to our area resulted in extended unemployment. It was 6 months maximum. An additional six months would be paid if you signed up for training classes at local colleges. I took programming classes. Employers and educators worked closely to help those who were in the program. I commend President Clinton for his action and interest.

Silicon Valley produces 25% of the nations exports. It has economic value to the nation. It is a very expensive place to live. President Bush (junior) has had no meetings or taken trips to discuss the 192,000 lost programming jobs in our area. He has stopped at Moffett Field to collect money for his campaign. His wife was in Atherton (big secret!) last night to collect money for her husbands campaign.

The other night I was disgusted to hear that the unemployment rate in Ohio is so high as well as a 31 percent poverty rate! Imagine the debate going on in Cleveland? What were the feelings of the people of that community? What has the administration done to help rectify this? What has the Administration done to resolve similar issues thought the nation? Yes, there are some retraining programs around the country but not many. A real problem is “where are the jobs”? Add to that “what type of jobs are available”? It is terrible to think that you would receive “retraining” and have no market for your new skills. More than training is needed.

I am sorry that I cannot do justice that this topic deserves, using the Internet. This is not meant to be a political message. It is just a few words comparing three approaches to employment, unemployment and retraining. Perhaps President Bush (senior) is correct – “There are plenty of jobs at McDonalds”! If that is the case then we had better change our way of life.

Tom

P.S. Almost all our furniture was made in North Carolina and it is so well made. It should last for generations. At Costco the other day I saw Thomasville furniture – made in China. As I have been a woodworking nut since I was a kid, I examined the quality. Third rate is being nice. Profit is the motive. I am getting angry at the thought of this topic. It is frustrating to see problems and no solution. Talk about feeling powerless! I will express my personal right to revolution – that is my vote, at the upcoming Presidential election. :)