Posted on 05/17/2012 5:28:12 AM PDT by reaganaut1
It is a familiar sight here in the inner-city: young men in the prime of life aimlessly hanging out on stoops at midday, smoking and listening to hip hop music. Government statistics tell only half of the story. One in five American men does not work. It is worse in my hometown of St. Louis where the jobless rate for black men without a high school diploma reached 26 percent last year, and half of all students fail to graduate public high school. Needless to say, that is a lot of young men with nothing to do.
Many of these young layabouts find it unnecessary to work, save on those rare occasions when they need to make a fast buck. Unlike the middle-class suburbs or working class neighborhoods, it takes very few resources to get by in the ghetto. "You would be amazed at the number of persons you can cram into a small non-air-conditioned rental unit," a social worker friend tells me. Their expenses amount to little more than the clothes on their backs, bus tickets, cell phones and cigarettes. This easily can be earned by strolling down to the Temporary Labor Agency and putting in an honest day's work chopping ice or stacking brick, which leaves one free for the rest of the week. Others make a few bucks peddling dope or stealing pipe (a spray-painted sign on a nearby boarded-up building informs would-be thieves that they have already removed all the copper). A few ask for handouts. Many collect Supplemental Security Insurance for real or imagined disabilities.
Even if these aimless youth wanted to work, numerous factors militate against it. Foremost is the lack of good-paying, low-skill manufacturing jobs, the type of work that makes getting off the stoop worthwhile.
(Excerpt) Read more at spectator.org ...
They won’t work but by God they will vote.
Right on - my tagline has been so for quite some time to demonstartae the Biblical truth that the lazy should not eat and that we need to ensure they are stigmatized for it. The WWJD crap they try to use to justify feeding the lazy is not substantiated in the Bible. If they are crippled and have to sit on a mat to beg, take care of them; if not, tell them they are a disgrace 9in a loving manner) and let them know - no-workee, no-eatee.
I’ve got news for everyone — it isn’t just “inner city” men. There are a lot of suburban white men — ages 20 to 40 and of all economic levels — who don’t believe that they are required to support themselves. I have family members in rural Texas — all white as a sheet — who live off disability. My 43 year old brother is an electrician who lays off 4 months a year and doesn’t work, and then looks for money from my poor old parents because he is “having a hard time” during those months. A good friend comes from Appalachian Tennessee and he just shakes his head in shame at how his family spends their time stealing cars and living off disability and scamming the system. This is not a “black” or “inner city” problem. The whole freakin country wants a handout or views scamming the system as a way of life.
Pero, puedo hablar Espanol.
I knew that studying Spanish for six years would come in handy. My father started me in the language early, but he mostly used it to cuss when he hit his thumb with a hammer.
Manufacturing in my city is dominated by immigrants. Most are from Mexico, but you will find a lot of Eastern Europeans, Vietnamese, etc. as well.
A couple of my ex-cons went straight, but the majority had a problem changing their drug dealing ways.
“The drive to earn a living has been crushed by handouts.”
Wrong. I work with this population and the ones with jobs are hateful about those without. Those without are hampered by addictions and the sickness around them.
No point in learning to speak spanish to people who simply refused to speak english despite knowing how.
As one of my American Hispanic co workers told me. “They speak english, just not to you” They spoke english to him because they saw him as “one of theirs”. He wasn’t, he was an American.
That seems like a poetic way of saying "don't need to work to survive."
And then you buy/lease a space. The electric company wants $500 just to connect you. The gas company wants $1000. Your utility bills are automatically higher because you have to pay “business rates”. Then you get to buy all kinds of insurance. Then you get to set up your credit card account and hyperventilate at the fees that come out of your nearly-empty pockets for someone using one of the “rewards cards”.
Hire some employees but don’t forget to purchase all of those stupid signs the government has decreed must be posted in specific locations and can ONLY be purchased through the government. If you’re really lucky, you’ll also get to be responsible for providing their health care coverage or be slapped with a fine.
Then, you get to spend around 20 hours/day trying to get your business off the ground, shunning any kind of a “normal” life. You’re going to miss out on your kids’ activities and family get-togethers and forget birthdays. There will barely be days off, let alone vacations of any kind.
If, after months or years of jumping through hoops and working your exhausted tail off, your business starts to take off, you’ll get to listen to irritated people proclaim, “Well, it must be NICE to own your own business! I sure wish I owned MY own business!”, and be labeled a greedy Republican for trying to keep a small percentage of the profits for yourself.
THE END
The thing that really sucks for black Americans without skills is that those low skill jobs are being done by hispanics who show up on time, and work very hard.
A business I am very familiar with that employs 100+ low skilled workers ($8 hour manual labor) is nearly 80% hispanic workers even though it is located near one of the largest black cities in America.
Not a fan of illegals or guest workers...but I am a fan of their work ethic.
The former owner of this company refused to try to speak any Spanish.
The Foreman spoke very limited English, so they had a bad communication problem.
When I took over I tried to issue all instructions in Spanish.
My Foreman must have felt challenged; he learned a lot more English. He once lamented to me that his son, who graduates tomorrow from a prestigious university, speaks Spanish poorly.
Now, we use both languages. Clear communication is essential to safety and quality.
I do not think of this as a right/wrong issue. I just adapt to the conditions that I encounter, and speaking Spanish has proven to be incredibly valuable.
I use the language frequently at restaurants and grocery stores. It brings a smile when I show respect for their culture.
That said, it is also clear that people who refuse to learn English limit their incomes and careers. I’m sure the younger generation will figure this out.
In my area there is a farmer’s market. The people running the cash register work from 6 am until 6 pm, rain or shine, 100 degrees or freezing. The men hauling in the vegetables work 16 hours a day under the same conditions.
The market has to hire a security guard to sit there all night to keep the layabouts from breaking in and stealing everything. Where does the layabout get the idea he has the right to steal from hard working, productive citizens?
yeah?
You try working when you are addicted and surrounded by people smoking embalming fluid
That is the one problem with some conservatives, they think the underclass is a bunch of lazy bums and they are so frickin superior. You try making a life out of the broken morass at the bottom.
Life is full of choices here in Amrica. A lot of fools keep making choices that lead them to bad outcomes. That is their choice. Those who make such choices shouldn’t expect others to save them from themselves...or to give them the results of their hard word and responsible choices. You made you bed...lie in it.
Life is full of choices here in America. A lot of fools keep making choices that lead them to bad outcomes. That is their choice. Those who make such choices shouldn’t expect others to save them from themselves...or to give them the results of their hard word and responsible choices. You made you bed...lie in it.
Myabe you can't, but you can get clean and/or move away from it. I know people that have done it.
They don't work because they don't have to work so they don't want to work.
Oh they will be more than happy to collect a paycheck, but they don't want to actually work. Actually having to work, Dat be slabery. Been there done that hundreds of times.
They don't want to show up on time, if they even show up at all. They were out late the night before and Da be tired. It's their right not to show up if they don't want to. Having to show up for the job, Dat be slabery.
If you hire them they don't work, you fire them and they collect unemployment.
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