The First Four Years Are The Hardest… [open letter to Mitt Romney]

mikeroweworks.com ^ | September 3, 2012 | Mike Rowe (host of "Dirty Jobs" on the Discovery channel)

[thecodont]

“We need people who see opportunity where opportunity exists.”

Blessings to all those with dirt under their fingernails.

Go Mike!

Thanks for posting this.

[Rumplemeyer]

bump

[grundle]

I’m glad you liked it. He did this one compilation episode of “Dirty Jobs” - I think it was called “Dirty Innovators” - which made me think he has a genuine love of capitalism.

[thecodont]

He did this one compilation episode of “Dirty Jobs” - I think it was called “Dirty Innovators” - which made me think he has a genuine love of capitalism.

May "capitalism" no longer be a dirty word in this country.

[Titan Magroyne]

I had no clue about Mike’s activism or the website. Total respect tho - his show is great.

Go Mike Rowe!

And to TPTB: Would you please pay attention to this guy?

[jocon307]

Thanks for posting it. My daughter LOVES this guy.

I hope Romney reads this and responds to it.

Love the little dis to Obama in the PS.

[wayoverontheright]

I’m an employer, and I know how to fix this.

Eliminate minimum wage laws.

All of them.

Allow employers to employ people who are perfectly willing to exchange a low entry-level wage for training that we will be willing to provide. Training that will take the value of said employee’s labor upward in a short period of time.

Oh, and it would get our kids off the couch, and into the workforce, not to mention provide cheaper products for consumers.

Here’s what we will teach them at a minimum: how to get up early in the morning. How to get up early in the morning and show up. How to show up, on time. How to show up, on time, dressed properly to work. How to show up on time, and become part of a team. How to show up on time, become part of a team that works toward goals. How to show up on time, work toward goals, and achieve them. They’ll learn a skill. They’ll learn while their labor value rises along with their wage.

Want welfare-to-work to work? Eliminate minimum wage laws. We’ll train them. Willingly.

[melsec]

I love this guy! He seems to be everywhere over the past few years - if he is not hosting Dirty Jobs he is doing the voice- overs to such shows as Dangerous Catch etc. I think he produces a lot of these shows too.

Obviously a great work ethic and a big heart.

Mel

[tomkat]

Thanks for this, grundle !

And a very hearty bravo! to Mike Rowe for his yeoman's efforts to remedy this sadly neglected/ridiculed aspect of America !

signed,
an old carpenter

[Jabba the Nutt]

Mike Rowe, a man’s man, a ladies man and a great American. He’s witty and funny as heck too. I hate him.

[DeaconRed]

Mike the FORD Guy. . . . .

[caver]

So, he’s a disgruntled Obama supporter. It took him 4 years to figure out that Obama wants nothing to do with real work.

[jsanders2001]

Before Obama I had plenty of work and had been self-employed for over 10 years earning a good living. After almost 4 years of O it’s been months since I did any real work and I’ve been marketing and calling people like crazy, even written articles to be published in magazines, giving discounts, etc...it’s not like I’m sitting on my can. All of my clients have said they need my services but are being cautious and not spending anymore than they have to until due to the current economy. They are basically waiting to see if Romney will be elected. And The One says our economy is fine. Complete BS. Maybe if I sold Obama swag at the DNC I could make enough to pay my next house payment...sigh

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

So, he’s a disgruntled Obama supporter. It took him 4 years to figure out that Obama wants nothing to do with real work.

I suppose that many people are like Mr. Cathy of Chick-fil-A, and - tho they may as in Mr. Cathy’s case have strong conservative values - actively seek to avoid bringing politics into their business. Well, sending open letters to presidential candidates naturally risks associating your business with a political perspective. Mike Rowe does so here, and he did so in ’08. But here, at least, he is able to say that what he is saying to one candidate he is willing to say to the other. In his mind it’s not about politics, IOW, it’s about doing what he sees as what the country needs.

You and I know, of course, that there is a great extent to which trying to keep partisanship out of an endeavor is a fool’s errand. Because we understand that ”objective” journalists are inherently political. In fact, they politicize everything. Indeed, the defining characteristic of the “liberals” is that they function primarily as critics of those who actually do things - precisely what “objective” journalists do. That’s why “objective” journalists and “liberals” get on so well.

[redfreedom]

“How to show up, on time. How to show up, on time. How to show up, on time.”

As a kid I was raised to leave home for appointments and work extra early to allow for that flat tire or other delay and maintained that ethic to this day.

When I recently worked in western ND where the oil boom is happening, it was rumored a trucking company was paying a $500 per month bonus to those that show up on time. Considering the $500 was but a small fraction of their wages and the work ethic of todays young adults, I believed it.

[fredhead]

Your plan sounds like what I experienced after joining the Navy in 1978. I learned quickly how to get up early, etc. The Navy sent me to school, where I learned electronics, and gave me the experience (20 years worth) that has carried me through all the changes in my career.

[Aevery_Freeman]

You, Sir, are correct!

Minimum wage laws were implemented by unions to support wages for unions.

Actually, high schools help keep kids from being available to compete with union labor - another union plan.

Just some more benefits that unions have provided to "We the People."

[p. henry]

Recently I commented to a friend about the anomaly of double digit unemployment in the Central Valley of California and the inability of growers there to hire enough people to pick the crops. She responded that one cannot expect an unemployed middle manager or administrative assistant to move to Fresno to work in the fields.

Perhaps not, but what about all those unemployed millenials living in their childhood bedrooms we always hear about. Starting when I was 16 and before I learned my profession, I worked as a mover, a kiln chipper, a switchman and hostler helper, a lot staker, and a lathe operator. Several of these jobs were not particuarly pleasant, but they brought in money and allowed me to get on with my life.

Have young people today lost the ability and desire to take the sometimes unpleasant entry level jobs that Mike Rowe is talking about?

[kevinm13]

I hope Mr. Romney responds to the letter to emphasize his focus on new jobs. he did say he was going to do a “Jobs Tour” after elected, unlike 0bama who did an “Apology Tour” after he was elected in 2008.