Look, I'm not talking about any feel-good psychobabble self-image issues. I'm talking about two things: the real, unnecessary, and devastating effects of what's going on out there on individuals who have traditionally been among the most productive and desirable (from a societal viewpoint) citizens, and the national issue of preservation of a vital resource (intellectual capital). I have no idea if those talented people who are unemployed or underemployed would seek any sense of self-worth through their education or vocation. Maybe they do or maybe they don't. What is true is that a good many of them are being thrown out on the street like yesterday's newspaper with little or no prospect for furthering their careers, yet are people who have invested a lot in themselves and in whom our country has also invested significant resources. We should have leaders in business and government who recognize this worth and are willing to maybe do without a fraction of a percentage point of growth in the bottom line, or a few hundred votes here or there from special interest groups, to preserve it.
If I could get people to stop thinking that their "career" is someone paying them to sit in an office for 40hrs a week and start thinking about how they can get people to pay them for being uniquely productive we'd go a long way in this debate.