http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3236572/posts
Two years after his defeat, The New York Times has discovered that Mitt Romney had a point.
“Working, in America, is in decline,” The Times reported on Friday. “The share of prime-age men — those 25 to 54 years old — who are not working has more than tripled since the late 1960s, to 16 percent.”
“The United States, which had one of the highest employment rates among developed nations as recently as 2000, has fallen toward the bottom of the list,” the report continued.
Many men, in particular, have decided that low-wage work will not improve their lives, in part because deep changes in American society have made it easier for them to live without working. These changes include the availability of federal disability benefits; the decline of marriage, which means fewer men provide for children; and the rise of the Internet, which has reduced the isolation of unemployment.
…
The resulting absence of millions of potential workers has serious consequences not just for the men and their families but for the nation as a whole. A smaller work force is likely to lead to a slower-growing economy, and will leave a smaller share of the population to cover the cost of government, even as a larger share seeks help.[Emphasis added]
The report goes on to note that many men in their prime earning years “feel less pressure” to find work because they are less likely than past generations to be providing for a family. The New York Times/CBS News polling data which serves as the basis for this report seems, however, to run somewhat counter to this conclusion.
Despite the fact that 64 out of every 100 men aged 25 to 54 who do not work said that they want a job, only 45 say they have looked for work in the last year. 44 say they “Think there are local jobs they could obtain, but they are not willing to take.” 43 claim they are not working because that condition has “been bad for their mental health.” 48 also assert that a physical disability or a major health problem has prevented them from working.
Romney was not alone in being mocked and castigated for expressing concerns over this dangerous condition in America.
“I think this idea that’s been born over last … couple of years that, ‘You know, I really don’t have to work, I don’t really want to do this, I think I’d just rather sit around,’” House Speaker John Boehner said in September. “This is a very sick idea for our country.”
Look to urban regulatory policies. That’s where much of the poverty is generated. These are anti-work initiatives such as “living” wage ordinances, licensing, permitting and educational requirements that lock out certain people. A black male felon, quite normal today, is precluded from working in a host of legal jobs. Why?