Underemployed And Hating Life (millions of smart, hard working folks are working dead end jobs)

The Economic Collapse Blog ^ | October 21, 2011 | Michael Snyder

[SeekAndFind]

Today, millions of smart, hard working Americans are flipping burgers, waiting tables or working dead end retail jobs not because they want to, but because they have no other options. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, about 14 million Americans are currently unemployed and another 9.3 million Americans are currently "underemployed".

[forgotten man]

That is why have scar tissue on the inside of my mouth. I bite down to keep it shut.

[donna]

Corporations are just bureaucracies:
"In every bureaucratic system, the shifting of responsibilities is a matter of daily routine. And, if one wishes to define bureaucracy in terms of political science, that is as a form of government - the rule of office as contrasted to the rule of men of one man or of the few, or of the many - bureaucracy unhappily is the rule of nobody. And, for this reason is . . . perhaps the least human and most cruel form of rulership".
- Hannh Arendt

What is American Corporatism?
. . . what kind of economy we really have. I have mentioned before that we increasingly live not in a capitalist society but in a corporatist one, and I would like to flesh out this notion.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1036236/posts

[EEGator]

Where did you work at UF?

[cripplecreek]

Even still, back then, the culture of America was drastically different. Back then if you had the work ethic and right skills, you could move up; these days single mothers with six kids from a variety of lovers gets preferential treatment over single, smart, self disciplined people.

You're expecting people to acknowledge their own part in their fate but few people have the courage to do that.

[EGPWS]

Taxes, regulation, and unionization make outsourcing the attractive choice.

A CEO's job is to do what is best for their company and sadly enough what is best for most companies is to go off shore for the very reasons that you show.

[GlockThe Vote]

1. Both parties have imported tens of millions of low wage people who have driven down wages and taken jobs from teens and those otherwise who couldny do anything else. They have taken the dignity out of manual labor.

2. Both parties have sold this country to the interests of mega-banks and multinational corps.

3. Both parties have been complicit in the Federal Reserve collapsing the value o the dollar.

4. Local Govts are killing taxpayers with insane property taxes and costs to pay for bloated salaries and pensions that are outrageous.

5. Starting up a business and keeping it going is near impossible and a owner faces a myriad of threats from labor lawsuits, torts, etc.

6. Govt has caused energy, food, health care, and education inflation.

Is it any wonder people are pissed off? We have been sold off and left with nothing but debt, chaos, illegals, a dispirited population, and no way out of this short of a near revolution.

[NoGrayZone]

P.S. I work for a small business. We are all “underemployed”. It was either each of us take a couple hours hit, or lay someone off.

Gratefully, we each took a hit and were all able to keep our jobs. I had to cut back on my non-neccesities, but so what.

Our accounts receivables suck as well. I just took a look today at this months AR, compared to last month. Of course our accounts payable is up.

We’re about $30,000 behind last month.

NOT good.

[EGPWS]

1. Both parties

2. Both parties

3. Both parties

4. Local Govts

Lest we forget that we are STILL governed by "We The People" until "We" give up the reins of power.

Until we do we only have ourselves to blame collectively.

[SVTCobra03]

0bama and his puppet masters know all too well that in order to create their Socialist Workers Paradise, they have to destroy the middle class.

[GlockThe Vote]

Everything is going up - E O insurance, fuel, taxes, costs, etc.

Clients are demanding lower prices and getting people to pay has been near impossible.

[ctdonath2]

Describes most of human history.

Humans weren’t any dumber back then, but methinks more of them had little time for cleverness and creativity in light of acquiring the family’s next meal. Kinda hard to write a literary epic or create the next Angry Birds when you’re focused on tilling soil with a stick long before electricity was discovered.

[Jonty30]

Not necessarily.

If you’re doing one of those dead-end jobs, you’re probably working upwards of 100 hours a week to get by, which doesn’t leave much time or energy for improving one’s job skills.

And most employers will think you’re useless if that’s all you’ve done, regardless of how much you shine on the job.

[TruthConquers]

I don’t disagree with any of those points.

What I don’t see mentioned is the fact that our currency, our debt backed currency, REQUIRES that these things be, to keep the system running.

At the root of BIG giverment, is the need for fiat money to create the illusion that the government can take from one, and give to another. The real truth is that they can never do that, with only taxes. It is only with fiat currency can politicians pull this ‘trick’ on the voters.

Limited government is PART of sound money.

REformulate the money, and this will cause government to become small. It won’t have an endless stream of debt backed money to “play with.”

The problem is that government is TOO big, and will fight this with all the corruption it can muster. And it will be by both parties.

[cripplecreek]

If I were king, I would eliminate 100% of corporate taxes, eliminate all but the most necessary regulations, boot the illegals out of the country, and impose right to work laws nationwide.

Call it social engineering if you must but I would also start teaching children from an early age that there is nothing wrong with getting dirty or doing manual labor.

I don't know who said it but I think its a great quote often attributed to MLK but I think its older.

If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.

[ex-snook]

“Taxes, regulation, and unionization make outsourcing the attractive choice.’

---

We have had all those when the economy was great. What we didn’t have is companies searching the world for the cheapest labor, slave, child or otherwise in a place where pollution and worker safety raise no objections.

Our economy has gone into the tank when China was made a permanent favorite trading partner.

[seeker41]

Marston Science Library

[GlockThe Vote]

Oh i agree! I read Creature from Jekyll Island a few years ago and have never looked at things the same way since.

If anyone on this site has not read that book - RRRUUUNNNNN and get it now and it will open your eyes as to WTF is going in this country.

This is why I get upset with people who trash Ron Paul on this site. He is one of the few people who actually talk about the destruction and damage the Fed had done with printing money like crazy backed by nothing.

[RitchieAprile]

If they are young maybe that is true. If not, if lucky they
will have contract gigs that go long term.

Some companies will retain CS (contingent staff) long term to avoid raising the FTE headcount totals.

[NoGrayZone]

Oh Dear Lord, tell me about it. Even our collection agency is having trouble. And when they do pay, it’s $25 a month (on a $900-$1200 balance).

Last year, by boss’s liability insurance more than doubled! Our prices for supplies have gone up, everything is going up, except of course salaries.

NOT that I’m complaining, glad to still be working, for now.

Sorry about your troubles. Sucks right now to be a small business owner.

[Niuhuru]

All six points are certainly why this country has ended up in the mess it is. The wrost part is, there used to be a lot of value and appreciation for manual labor, but now it’s considered the lowest of the low occupations. For the life of me I have no idea on how on earth we will get back on track if people are not willing to get their hands dirty.