Quote:
Originally posted by apechild
Thank you. I feel much better now. 
|
And we're all very impressed by your cleverness. You do clever very well. Now see if you can do compassionate.
I don't think most people expect the government to give them a job. The fact of the matter is that there are enough resources and enough demand for labor in this country for every person to have a job, if those resources are managed correctly. What I hear people saying is that government policy is being misapplied such that it's creating a level of unemployment that is unnecessarily high. We're also talking about underemployment, where people are not able to find jobs that match their skills and abilities. True, they're still getting a paycheck, but they may be earning too much at McDonalds to qualify for some government assistance programs that could help them make ends meet till they find something more in line with their usefulness.
You're absolutely right, there is a population of people that is simply unemployable, for reasons of disability or mental illness or whatever.
However, just anecdotally, I live in an area where high-tech industry got hit very hard, and I know PhD's who looked for work for 6-12 months and were getting beat out for jobs at WalMart and McDonalds because they were overqualified and the managers knew they'd bolt as soon as they found a 'real' job. True, they could search nationwide for jobs, and that's fine if you're single or if your spouse can find a job where you're looking, but it's not great for the stability of families or communities to have to pick up and relocate every time there's a hiccup in the unemployment rate.
I just think your rant is a little off base with reality - there's this myth of the whiny unemployed. Most people I know who have been unemployed have tried their damnedest to get back to work. Most people don't want handouts, they want to support themselves and their families, and will do whatever they can to do that. Before you go spouting off again (and, might I add, sneaking right up to the line with your vitriolic little rant) you might try talking to some actually unemployed people about what they think is owed to them.