Young, gifted and slack {youth unemployment}

The Economist ^ | 14 Nov 2012 | Domnic Barton

[bbernard]

Two words: MINIMUM WAGE

My teenage son has been trying to get a job well over a year to no avail. He says he would be willing to work for $5 an hour but instead he stuck.

It is actually wearing him out. It is becoming difficult for him as he thinks “why bother trying the answer is going to be no anyway”.

Milton Friedman saw the writing on the wall years ago with this minimum wage. He was right and now our children suffer. Companies can nolonger afford to create entry level positions.

[Cronos]

a Phd in Eskimo studies looking for a job in marketing is not overqualified but stupidqualified... imho

[Cronos]

why not both Stats and calculus and trig?

In fact they should be taught earlier, along with history and perhaps Latin (kids taught Latin seem to do better in Maths)

[OldPossum]

First thing you must have at a very young age (4-5) is a desire on the part of the parents is for their child to have a good education.IF Mama and Papa( where is he, who was he) don't care about their children being educated, the child sure as hell won't care.

I generally agree with you but I don't think it's universally true. It seems to me, though, that there are lots of self-motivated, ambitious people who strive for higher education and success in life despite what their parents believe.

[Chickensoup]

What I have done with my son is this:

there has been no work for the young in my area. So I needed a tileing job, painting jobs and a bricking job done. Big ones. I bought him the tools for the jobs and he learned all the trades. So at 17 he tiles, paints and bricks. My work comes first.
He has all the work he wants.

[bbernard]

Thats all fine and well. He does plenty of chores around our house from cutting tree limbs and landscaping to painting and such. However, this is expected of him in my house and he does not earn $$$$ doing it.

Sorry, we are talking about economics here not parenting.

[willyd]

I was about to suggest the same thing. He could look online for the free classified ads in his town. Place an ad that says:

HOME MAINTENANCE - Most Jobs $25 - $75 and then a list of the $25 and the $75 jobs

Then a phone number. There are about 25 free classified sites for any town. Re-posting the ads each day in the morning should generate business.

I know its not as fun as emailing a resume to a Monster Board ad like everyone else on the planet...but work is work. Single mothers need pictures hung, bushes trimmed, trash removed, garages cleaned out, snow blown, lawns mowed etc... plus it shows a prospective employer initiative...something that is much more rare than a college degree these days.

[1010RD]

Correct and it isn’t just at government run schools. Government sets the curriculum standards by law and by purchasing power. It’s hard to get around the behemoth’s reach.