The New Non-Working Class

Real Clear Politics ^ | October 6, 2016 | Mona Charen

[2ndDivisionVet]

"He that will not work shall not eat (except by sickness he be disabled). For the labors of 30 or 40 honest and industrious men shall not be consumed to maintain 150 idle loiterers." -- John Smith, 1609

One out of 6 prime-working-age adult males in the United States is not temporarily unemployed, or "between jobs," or "looking for work." No, a huge cohort of men in America is now neither employed nor looking for work. They are just skating by on a combination of girlfriends, wives, mothers and government benefits. Their status, argues Nicholas Eberstadt in "Men Without Work," is a "quiet catastrophe."

Until relatively recently, choosing not to work was a luxury only the wealthy could afford. Everyone else had to keep the wolf from the door (though the temptation to try to live off others has always been with us -- see John Smith above). In the 1950s, 98 percent of prime-age males were working or looking for work (i.e., in the labor force). Today it is 88 percent. Recessions have affected labor-force participation, but the downward trend line has been consistent for decades. Only 15 percent of non-working men cite inability to find work as the reason for their idleness....

[1rudeboy]

Interesting read. If true, higher tariffs on us won’t fix it. ;)

[Monterrosa-24]

I’m in that “looking for work” category since August 15th and it is tough going. There are lots of applicants pouncing on every job.

[Monterrosa-24]

Another factor is that many White males that get civilian jobs at federal places like Fort Benning have disabilities. So if you are a White male that has no disability (Army 80 percent disabled does not preclude a decent 100-yard dash time)is at a severe disadvantage in the Affirmative Action world.

[Edward.Fish]

There are lots of applicants pouncing on every job.

It's so weird, this job-market and economy — I wonder how distorted everything is.

[OrangeHoof]

I’m surprised that drug use/addiction are not a factor in the equation. Drugs render some men simply unemployable. A certain percentage also turn homeless because they don’t want the restraints of responsibility put upon them.

But I LOL at the correlation that the biggest predictor of a man working for an income is ta-da! marriage. You betcha that wife is not going to be quiet if her man seems uninterested in looking for a job. She’ll let him know - subtly or not-so-subtly - that he better get his butt out there and be the economic mule of the household.

Ironically, far more women attend college now than men and women are often more employable for the sort of low-wage low-skill jobs the Obama Administration has left behind after the better jobs moved overseas.

But they have “free” health care thanks to Obama. Yeah, right.

[ground_fog]

yep. it’s depressing to get on LinkedIn and apply..and you see 400 applicants..it used to be about 60. The bigges t fraud going is the economy..it’s bad out there but don’t get discouraged. it’s a mental battle daily not to get down

[Tax-chick]

(Army 80 percent disabled does not preclude a decent 100-yard dash time)

Is it just me, or does that seem odd to you?

[DownInFlames]

We cannot keep drivers. The company I work for is at 100% turnover for 2016.

[central_va]

We cannot keep drivers at the wages we are paying. The company I work for is at 100% turnover for 2016.

Fixed.

[kearnyirish2]

It is amazing how concerned the media gets when white men adopt the habits that many black men have had for 50 years; they demonize them on the one hand then bemoan their withdrawal on the other.

The financial jobs in my area are heavily populated by women; even if men find jobs they have to deal with less-qualified token bosses from “preferred” groups (installed to fend off lawsuits). At my job I see in effect a faux workplace, where a dozen “others” are paid to produce the work of half as many men; I’ve adjusted my workday accordingly.

[kearnyirish2]

I wouldn’t assume the 400 applicants are all unemployed; as companies adjust salaries down to the “new normal” Red Chinese peasant rate, I’m sure many people working in sh!tty jobs are trying to move on to something else.

I hope FReepers searching find something soon...

[2ndDivisionVet]

FReepmail me a resume or what you’re looking for and maybe I can help. I was a career counselor for many years.

[2ndDivisionVet]

OTOH I’m 100% and can barely climb into an SUV or van or climb a set of stairs.

[Laser_Ray]

Yeah, I had a manager at a place I worked at make the same complaint.

Thing was he never made the connection between turnover for bad performance, job abandonment and people fired with at least half the new hires being single minority females with children and a pay ceiling of $10 an hour no matter how good you were or how long you’d been there. I had these facts all confirmed to my face by my own supervisor after I complained that so many of my coworkers were dumb as bricks and needed a robotic boot kicking their a$$ 24/7 to be productive.

So let me ask you...what’s your hiring demographics look like and what are you paying them?

[Tax-chick]

That seems reasonable.

[JimRed]

This addresses the ones who don’t really WANT to work, not the out-of-work-but-looking and taking-temp-job-opportunities-that-come-along guys out there. If it’s easy to get by without working, why bother? is their attitude.