Posted on 05/04/2012 6:44:28 AM PDT by C19fan
Nick Gentry will be able to celebrate two major accomplishments this month: He’s graduating from high school and, after a very long job search, he has landed his first job. That Gentry, 18, will be collecting a paycheck makes him a rarity in today's working world. Only about 25 percent of 16- to 19-year-olds currently are working, a drop of 10 percentage points from just five years ago, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
(Excerpt) Read more at lifeinc.today.msnbc.msn.com ...
“Also I am sure lots of middle class parents and higher who pamper their kids. Gone are the days when a teen wanted a car the parent told him/her to get a job to pay for it.”
Here in the northeast those days are long gone; few people have the luxury of pampering their children in the way they did in the “before-times”. Parents worried about buying their own gas can’t afford gas for their kids’ cars (and here in NJ, they can’t afford the insurance either).
To paraphrase Obi Wan Kenobi, “this is not the change you were hoping for.”
IMO your last point is the biggest factor. Middle-class parents today tend to be very overprotective; back in the 1970s it was very common for us to hold after-school and weekend jobs that often involved late hours, but nowadays a lot of parents won’t even let their teens ride public transit alone during the day.
A skill helps. The pool management hired my son for a lifeguard job as soon as they saw he was 18, a citizen, and lifeguard/first aid certified.
It's not just that. Liability is a BIG problem for citizen employment. Also, labor laws. Employers are frightened of US regulations--they can't keep up with all of them. So, even a near-minimum wage teenager has much higher contingent costs.
The last time Democrats raised the minimum wage.. I said this would be the result.
Also, a more useful figure would be the percentage working in, say, mid-June, once they're out of school for the summer. Yes, many 19-year-olds are still in high school.
Even nearly thirty years ago holding down a job was seen as a negative when it cut into time for approved extra-curricular activities. It has gotten worse since then.
The problem is not the only the low skilled immigrants. These l;ow skilled immigrants are still getting paid at least the minimum wage or they are working under the table.
The problem is the minimumwage is too damn high. My teenage son said he would be glad to work for $5.00 an hour. When I told him can’t and explained why he got upset and asked what business was it of the federal government if he and an employer agreed to a $5.00 wage. I said bingo, you are starting to see the problems our country faces. If the minimum wage was relaxed and lowered employers would create more un-skilled positions with pay comesurate with the work being performed.
The minimum wage has squeezed our youth from entry into the work force.
With half of recent college graduates unemployed or underemployed, that high schoolers have job woes is no surprise.
Persisent bad economies are a “feature” of countries with oppressive governments.
Big governments = small people.
Yet, the 18-29s will still slobberingly support their messiah by more than 70%.
In other words, NO ONE can find a job. There aren't any. That's why the unemployment number dropped to 8.1%. No job, no unemployment benefits, no new unemployment claims counted.
All Oboma has to do now is kill a few thousand more new businesses and jobs, and that number will be down below 8% in time for the election.
In related news...
No Jobs? Employment Is At 40-Year High For Those 55 And Up
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2879800/posts
I have 2 daughters. My 18 year old has been working as a lifeguard since she was 15 and will go to college this year and contribute $4,000. My 15 year old worked last year at a pool snack bar. This year at “Chick Filet”. A fast food place filled with wonderful, well mannered kids. They both babysit. and I pay them $20.00 to mow our lawn which is almost a half acre.
There are plenty of jobs at minimum wage. They just need to try instead of parents throwing 20’s at them.
The minimum wage is part of the problem for the youth. When an employer has to hire an unskilled employee and pay them the minimum wage it becomes cost prohibitive. Many of these teens would love to make $5.00 an hour. At least the ones who want to start to be a little independent.
Milton Freidman debunked the minimum wage in the 70’s and warned of the consequences. We are now living consequences he fore warned.
Bingo, I said it too. The democrats use the minumum wage as a tool to buy votes.
“There are plenty of jobs at minimum wage.”
Maybe in your part of the country. This far from the situation here in SWFL.
My economics textbook says demand for teen labor will drop if minimum wages are raised. Democrats continue to repeal the laws of economics.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.