Americans Who’ll Never Work Again

First Things ^ | 7/8/2010 | David P. Goldman

[Richard Kimball]

Just a few points. To employ someone, what they do has to turn a profit for your business. It's difficult for a low skill individual to create that value. Required social security, insurance, record keeping requirements and worker's comp increases the cost of hiring an individual to approximately twice their actual salary.

Illegals have taken up many of the jobs young people used to do, particularly lawn maintenance type jobs. When I was a kid, I earned my pocket money mowing yards in the neighborhood. I know of few kids who do that now.

Movie theaters, by going to megaplexes, have reduced the number of low skilled jobs. The old movie theaters used to have seven employees for a one screen theater: two ushers, two candy counter employees, a projectionist, ticket taker and a ticket seller. Now a theater with sixteen screens will have maybe twelve employees on duty; one ticket taker, four candy counter, two ticket sellers, four or five ushers and one or two projectionists.

At Walmarts and supermarkets, self-check has one employee monitoring four lines, rather than a checker and a bagger in each line.

At some point, they're going to turn the touch screens at the fast food restaurants around and the customer will place their own order, swipe a card, and won't contact a worker until their order is ready.

Finally, theft and idiotic behavior is more acceptable across the board in society today than it was forty years ago. About fifty percent of the unemployed people listed in this article are people an employer doesn't want on their property at all.

You want this guy working for you at any price?

[linn37]

I don’t use the self checkout. I want someone to ring up my order and bag it. The cost of that is included in my grocerys that I purchase. Plus it keeps the employees in a job.

[Captainpaintball]

Americans Who’ll Never Work Again,

Mel Gibson, as bad as I feel for him, has done this to himself...

[Richard Kimball]

When Katrina hit New Orleans, some of the people who got moved out had been on welfare for several generations. There was one interview with a guy in his seventies who had been evacuated and ended up in Utah. He looked around and said he had NEVER IN HIS ENTIRE LIFE BEEN OUTSIDE OF NEW ORLEANS PARISH. He had difficulty believing the scenery in Utah was real.

I conform to certain standards primarily because I want to keep my job. If the government will provide you the same amount of money as a job but not have any requirements, why would you go through the hassle? I've been continuously employed since I was fourteen. Jobs are a pain in the @ss. I work cause I need the money. If Uncle Sugar provided me money, I'd probably quit working and live how I wanted.

[Richard Kimball]

I use self checkout. Line’s shorter.

[dalereed]

“....a lot smaller percentage of young men today could or would work like that...especially minority men.”

Real simple, either they do or they can lay down in the street and die.

Eliminate welfare!

[Shady]

I would say that I agree with you but they would have to be employed at Job Rate, $68 bucks an hour with full benes.

[rbg81]

Sounds like you got dumped by an overweight white woman.

---

Nope. Been married to the same woman for 24 years—and she is still petite. When my wife and I got married, we bot promised each other that we would stay in good shape and we have both kept that promise. IMHO, the is little that’s attractive about overweight people (men or women).

[radiohead]

<There was one interview with a guy in his seventies who had been evacuated and ended up in Utah. He looked around and said he had NEVER IN HIS ENTIRE LIFE BEEN OUTSIDE OF NEW ORLEANS PARISH.

Heck, you’ve got people who haven’t even been out of town. My mother used to teach elementary school in DC. Every year when they’d got to the Smithsonian or an art gallery, she had lots of students (and a number of accompanying parents) who’d never been to these attractions - in their own town, accessible by bus, and FREE.

[Stultis]

Of course we could, if we wanted, almost instantaneously create huge numbers of new low skill entry level jobs, with one simple policy change — eliminate the minimum wage.

[IbJensen]

What a tragedy. Wonder if the killer enjoyed pornography on the ‘family’s’ computer?

[ladyjane]

That is wonderful. Twenty four years! I hope you will let us celebrate the big 25th anniversary here on FR with you!!

[rbg81]

Well, no—just the family. I am kind of a private person.