Even if the chants of "We are the 99%" has diminished from last year many unemployed/underemployed are still pondering what the core issues are for Older Workers in today's job market.
Following are 8 Realities That Affect An Older Job Seeker. What can you add to this list?
1) A basic lack of available jobs.
2) A mismatch of current work skills to available jobs.
3) A bias against hiring and keeping older workers.
4) Continued movement of job's to the lowest cost provider including India, Asia and Eastern Europe.
5) A lack of willingness for older workers to take jobs that may be significantly less in pay and status then their previous positions.
6) The burden of a financially leveraged legacy with mortgages, car payments, credit cards and college tuition's.
7) A lack of federal, state and local political will and/or agreement to help working class people to regain their footing including: freeing up capital for new businesses development, publicly financed job creation and appropriate skills training.
8) The increased concentration of wealth with the top 1% resulting in a less broad distribution of wealth that could stimulate local businesses.
Thanks you. I think that you are generally on the mark, though pointing the finger at government for not creating publicly financed jobs and for funding appropriate skills training is 100% not the problem, because government doing these two things is 100% not the solution.
ReplyDeleteFirst, governments have an unblemished record of not creating sustainable, economically valuable job programs. Their bias is to pander to organized jobs like construction lobbies and unions to garner future votes.
Same story with training programs. As if the government could foresee the training and skills needs of the future economy with accuracy! Well, they tried that in the Soviet Union; how well did that work out?
Google CETA; this was a Federal training and employment program in the 70s. Same objectives as you describe; almost a complete failure.
Much better that governments take the same money and fund start-up companies. Entrepreneurs create most of the new jobs each year. There are organizations all over the USA that could provide the expertise to evaluate funding applications from start-ups and award grants based upon open, economically rational criteria. This is also consistent with your statement that government is not doing enough to free up capital for new businesses development.
There are currently over 3 million unfilled jobs in the US. The reason is your #2. Worker skills do not match available work. The solution? A one-year government subsidy to any company willing to take on long-term unemployed and give them one year of education or training to fit an available opening. Unemployed cannot afford thousands of dollars for training when they can't know if it will pay off with a job. Cash-rich companies can. http://www.dailymarkets.com/stock/2011/03/16/invest-in-cash-rich-companies/ or just google 'cash rich companies.' And yes, distribution of financial wealth is certainly a factor when the top 5% own 72% while the bottom 40% own 0.3% of the wealth. Most unemployed have no savings and few prospects of moving out of poverty except finding a decent job. Who decides to "create jobs" by making new investments? The individuals that own the companies. Not the government, not the unemployed. Earnings in inflation-adjusted dollars for the bottom 40% are now 90% of what they were in 1970, yet the top 5%'s earnings have increased 33%. Since the Bush tax cuts were enacted, the top 400 individuals' earnings increased 31% to $349 million just in the one year that figures are available (2006-2007). Do they really need more tax cuts before "creating jobs?"
ReplyDeleteI don't think that CETA was a complete failure, as I have personally known people who got a start in their blue collar careers through that program. If you look back at the depression of the 1930's, government created quite a number of jobs when the private sector showed during the Hoover administration they were not able to meet the demand. Having said this, I am not sure that the government is in the best position to single-handedly take us out of the current hiring mess, given the shift to a global economy. I know many who have commented that thier places of employment are in the black, but have no plans to add to their workforce, instead they continue to stretch thier current resources. There seems to be little sense as to why this is the case, but it seems to add to the lack of available jobs...
ReplyDeleteWhat worries me about this is the title:8 Realities That Effect Older Job Seekers. This is a sign of poor editing. According to the AP Style book:
ReplyDeleteAffect, Effect
Affect, as a verb, means to influence.
Affect, as a noun is best avoided.
Effect, as a verb, means to cause.
Effect, as a noun, means result.
I agree with those commenting to this point, at least since 1940, the government's inability to start up a successful jobs program. While the interstate system was a definite plus, its like has not returned. Many people today have college degrees and would not want to have that education wasted driving a skip loader or a dredging machine, regardless of the merits and necessity of such jobs.
Our country will not survive and thrive if we rely on Goverment to create jobs. What we need is for govt of move out of the way and stop hindering businesses. I dont mind cutting loopholes that lead to companies like GE paying no taxes etc. Remember govt is not meant to create our wealth but protect our freedoms and lberties.
ReplyDeleteLike most who espouse those "get rid of government" nonsense, you have no idea what it would mean to you and your family if government "got out of the way for business." Look at economic comparators available from the world bank database. Where regulation is highest and most common is in countries like Sweden, Canada, Switzerland, Japan, the US, etc. Where it is the lowest, businesses have free-reign, and where new regulations are rare is in countries like the Sudan, North Korea, Iran, Afghanistan, Libya, Cuba, and other places you wouldn't want to visit, much less live there.
ReplyDeleteLet's not all blame it to the government, we could do something about it find out how in career confidential, it has helped me and i am sure it could help you guys as well. http://bit.ly/Ixhmvz
ReplyDeleteI have accepted that i had a lower paying job so my choice is between working in a supermarket or office I apply for both.
ReplyDeletekish1820 This is bad advice, referring a link that leads desperate job seekers to a site that requires payment to help find a job. This woman is a con artist. There are plenty of community resources out there that will help you with your job search. I am so upset with those who take advantage of older professionals who are unemployed.
ReplyDelete