What Is Really Holding American Workers' Back?

Even though the official unemployment rate fell below 5%, most of us who live in the real world know better: there are still an estimated 30 million Americans who have either given up looking for work or are underemployed. According to the latest Pew Research, the American middle class has shrunk for the first time in decades and is no longer the economic majority. In the mean time, the number of low-income Americans is rising. Who should we blame for this economic reality? Many point their fingers at immigrants. Maybe you have heard this saying, “When you point one finger, there are three fingers pointing back at you.” We as a nation need to honestly examine inner factors that hold American workers back: education, culture, and welfare.

First, our education system fails to produce a sufficiently educated workforce. Today the U.S. spends on average $12,000 per pupil per year in K-12, one of the highest amounts in the world. Yet U.S. students score only “average,” according to the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) report. According to a Cato Institute study, between 1970 and 2010, the total cost of a K-12 education on a per-pupil basis increased 188% after adjusting for inflation. Reading scores on the national NEAP test have increased less than 1% between 1970 and 2012. Math scores on the same exam increased 2%.

Our higher education system doesn’t fare any better. A Federal Reserve Bank of New York analysis shows that since 2001, underemployment among recent college graduates has increased. About 45% of recent college graduates are “underemployed,” holding jobs that typically do not require a bachelor’s degree. Part of this can be attributed to the economic recession in 2008, but the long-term trend shows a mismatch between what students learn in school and the skills and knowledge businesses need. Colleges and universities need to better prepare our young people by closely linking future employment opportunities with their current fields of study. In addition, we need to have more vocational schools that can teach young people employable skills. Not everyone needs to go to college. An experienced welding technician can easy command $70,000 or higher, more than many college graduates.

We all know that a good education makes a huge difference to someone’s future happiness and prosperity. Anyone who is serious about helping American workers ought to support effective education reform to provide young people with more choices and real knowledge.

The second factor holding America back is our culture. We as a nation have experienced a cultural shift to one that doesn’t appreciate physical work. Low-paying, labor-intensive jobs such as picking fruit, slaughtering chickens, and housekeeping are not desirable to even many of the poorest Americans. In the summer of 2015, The Wall Street Journal reported a persistent farm labor shortage due to the decline of illegal immigrants. Despite farmers raising some wages more than 20% and the youth unemployment rate being 12.2% in July 2015—few Americans flock to farms. At $11.20 an hour, back-breaking work is not attractive to even the least-skilled American workers. Consequently, “a years-long decline in farmhands is reducing annual fruit and vegetable production by 9.5%, or $3.1 billion, in the U.S.”

Mike Rowe, host of the popular TV show Dirty Jobs, criticized this cultural phenomenon of looking down on physical or labor-intensive work. He said, “Dirt used to be a badge of honor. Dirt used to look like work. But we’ve scrubbed the dirt off the face of work, and consequently we’ve created this suspicion of anything that’s too dirty.” By doing so, according to Rowe, “we waged a war on work,” and the American working-age population suffers the most. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve driven by the Denver Rescue Mission and seen able-bodied young men congregating in front of the building in the middle of the day with nothing to do. It’s a heart-breaking scene. Research shows that only 3% of Americans who work full time, year round, are in poverty. So no weapon is more powerful to fight the war on poverty than work—any kind of work. As a nation, we need to re-emphasize the honor and dignity of work.

The third factor that holds American workers back is our welfare system. Our generous welfare benefits are disincentives to work. A study by the Cato Institute shows that “in nine states—Hawaii, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey, Rhode Island, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maryland—as well as Washington, D.C., annual benefits were worth more than $35,000 a year.” Keep in mind that these welfare benefits are not taxed. So the study shows that $35,000 worth of annual benefits for a welfare recipient is equivalent to earning $60,590 in pretax income. This study concludes that,

"In fact, welfare currently pays more than a minimum-wage job in 34 states and the District of Columbia. In Hawaii, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington, D.C., welfare pays more than a $20-an-hour job, and in five additional states it yields more than a $15-per-hour job."

Since the 2008 economic recession, the U.S. government has made it even easier for Americans to sign up for welfare benefits. For example, eligibility rules for getting food stamps were relaxed and work requirements were waived. University of Chicago economist Casey Mulligan concluded in his research that “the American stimulus reduced average incentives to be employed.” In 2013, there were 48 million Americans on food stamps, representing a 16-million increase since 2008.

Our generous welfare system and its accessibility not only have incentivized workers not to work, but also have created an unofficial minimum wage. Why? Because when anti-immigration advocates demand American businesses hire American workers only, especially for entry-level positions, they’re essentially imposing a drastic minimum wage hike—to at least $20 an hour—for American businesses, because welfare recipients have no incentive to take any job that pays less than their welfare benefits.

Had American businesses been forced to raise minimum wage to $20 an hour, the cost of doing business would have skyrocketed, which in turn would have forced businesses to choose between passing the higher cost on to consumers (which businesses have limited power to do) and reducing hiring. Most conservatives as well as many economists know that a minimum wage hike of this magnitude would end up hurting the employment of the most vulnerable American workers. It’s Economics 101: when you raise the price of something (labor), demand for it will decrease (fewer people will be hired). When one can’t find a job, a mandatory wage increase is meaningless. Some firms might have been forced out of business if they couldn’t find a financially viable way to survive the higher cost.

Education, culture, and welfare are not the only three factors holding American workers back. Other factors—including ruinous regulations, such as the occupational licensing requirements—harm employment opportunities of American workers too. These factors have nothing to do with immigration, but they contribute to our nation’s low labor participation rate and the bleak employment picture in America. No matter who is in the White House, to help American workers, we as a nation need to focus on addressing issues such as education reform, culture change, welfare reform, and getting rid of ruinous anti-work regulations.

in 2006, Ben bernanke explained the reason for his Federal Reserve raising interest rates over 400% in 2 short years (from 1% to 5.25%) was “to slow down the economy THROUGH HOUSING to keep WAGES from rising at full employment”. In 1977, Congress politicized the Fed by giving it a “dual mandate” to strike a balance between inflation & jobs, which in effect means that the Fed allows prices to rise when the economy is bad & people least can afford it, but won’t allow wages to rise when the economy is good & the demand for labor begins to exceed the supply at a certain price.

The Fed tries to kill the demand for labor by slowing the economy by “applying the brakes” so the economy doesn’t “overheat” as if the brakes of a car are its cooling system. In the 1977, the Fed became politicized by Keynesians under the theory that prices & the unemployment rate always move in opposite directions....so when the economy is bad, the Fed doesn’t worry at all about consumer prices......and when the economy is good, the Fed only worries about consumer prices...even when they aren’t a problem. As long as the Fed uses rigged Keynesian inflation gauges that are based on the idea that the economy depends on the housing sector

(in the 1970s, we used to talk about “housing starts” as a “leading economic indicator” but the Fed decided that housing is not an indicator but is prime mover of the economy & can be manipulated by manipulating the Fed Funds interest rate up or down according to some aggregative fiction that is the “national unemployment rate” that pretends we have just one national economy that the Fed can control. That’s why Bill Clinton in 1993 argued that the economy depends on housing, which depends on interest rates, which depend on deficits & surpluses.....but when Clinton took office in 1993, the Fed had lowered its Funds rate to 3% after having raised it to 8.75% bt 1990 to cause a recession, then raised it to 6.5% in 2000 to precipitate the NASDAQ crash....after having told Clinton ...and Bush before him, that it was necessary to raise taxes & fix the deficit to drive DOWN interest rates & eliminate fiscal drag on the economy, but then when the economy was growing at 5% with a budget surplus at the end of the 1990s, the Fed then claimed fast growth even with a budget surplus causes inflation......so it moved to kill demand for labor by slowing the economy & killed it instead by having interest rates far above where price inflation would dictate where it should be. The price of gold & the price of gas didn’t indicate anything like runaway inflation late in the 1990s. The price of gas was $1.11 in 1980 when the unemployment rate was 7.5% & rising, but only was $1.29 when the unemployment rate had fallen to 3.8% in 2000. in fact, the price of gas fell below $1 late in the 1990s when the surplus began. Imagine if the Fed just let the economy keep growing at 5% after 2000 & let the surplus pay off the national debt instead of causing a NASDAQ crash & recession because of excessive fear of inflation. IN the 1970s, the double digit inflation was caused by a commie steep tax code that killed competitioon & barred entry of competitors into the markets......where you had a 70% tax bracket at just $280,0000 & a 40% tax bracket at just $105,000. Immmigration and the Fed, plus Obamacare is killing the economy...plus spending. You’ve got poor uneducated Somalis moving to the United States with 9 children & some of them are handicapped & all of them require welfare and burden our school system and social welfare system. Money is being flushed down a black hole instead of being productive & capitalists are flush with money to start new ventures now...so inflation is low....but most new ventures fail......and a company such as Taylormade golf is up for sale by Addidas because it’s management had ADD & couldn’t stop producing the latest, greatest golf ball & driver every year, far beyond the market’s ability to bear buying a new adjustable driver every year at $500 a pop! And they would always release more than one, too...such as Jetspeed & Slider........or M1, M2, and R-15 at the same time. Who can afford to buy a new adjustable driver every year that claims to be the best ever and far above the last one. People stop believing the hype...and brands crash of their own failings...even if the products are good...because managers don’t understand people and markets anymore......)

I know I am rambling here...but the fact is that the GOP never seems to include the FED in its economic calculations...when it’s really ALL about the Fed. As long as the Fed believes that fast growth and low unemployment rates cause inflation, then the lower taxes are and the fast the economy grows to drive down the unenemployment rate—even if the budget is running a surplus-———the sooner & harder the Fed will tighten..and the bigger the crash will be...which is why Democrats and the press have persuaded most Americans that tax cuts lead to speculation and bigger booms followed by bigger busts...whereas Bill Clinton in 1993 said he WANTED his tax cuts to slow down George H W Bush’s then growing over 4% economy-—because “slow, steady growth is better than fast growth”. Democrats are going to claim that Obama has done a great job to keep the economy from “over-heating” because he raised taxes on investment income & the rich & business......whereas GOP can’t even think to credit the internet and competition from LOW taxes for low inflation.

In fact the GOP wants to slit its own throat by claiming the Reagan, Clinton , Bush and Obama economies all were fake “bubbles”....which only encourages the socialists to demand high tax rates & spending levels from the 1970s and running even more debt. The Fed always gets too easy, then overcompensates by getting too tight. You can’t expect the price of gas to stay at $1.11 from 1980 to 2001 when the economy had grown exponentially larger & when the unemployment rate in 2001 was half of what it was in 1980 and demand for oil was at record highs all over the world.

As a Southerner who came to your state for my college degree, I must state another side to your coin.

In East Tennessee we have North East State Community College that is purely jobs and trade oriented. The local industry and business have developed educational curricula directed specifically to their needs for employees that are both educated and skilled. That is, there are core mandatory education courses like math and English coupled with welding and various IT skills and health care related skills.

Additionally, there is a very technical but smaller facility that has very specific industrial related courses that can be transferred to credits at North East State

The end result is a work force that is both educated and skilled. The employe has the education to exist and progress with in the company or organization and possess high degree of training and skill in whatever was chosen.

We have East Tennessee State University that is a traditional state college offering all sorts of degrees. Many students have learned that the time spent at North East State results in immediate employment while a degree form East Tennessee State might not. It was of interest to me that while NES grew by orders of magnitude, ETSU flattened out. ETSU graduates find jobs of an administrative nature that don’t require the specific skills.

Sin and PRIDE! And THIS:
Laodicean Church

The Laodicean Church in the Revelation of John (Revelation 3:14–22)[edit]
In John’s vision, recorded in the book of Book of Revelation, Christ instructs John to write a message to the seven churches of Asia Minor. The message to Laodicea is one of judgement with a call to repentance. The oracle contains a number of metaphors.

“I wish that you were cold or hot” (Revelation 3:15–16)[edit]
“I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.” (KJV).

The traditional view has been that the Laodiceans were being criticized for their neutrality or lack of zeal (hence “lukewarm”).[6] One problem with this is that Christ’s desire that they be either “cold or hot” implies that both extremes are positive. The traditional view saw “cold” as a negative, the idea apparently being that Jesus either wants the readers to be either zealous (“hot”) for him or completely uncommitted (“cold”), but not middle-of-the-road.[7]

However, a more recent interpretation has suggested that this metaphor has been drawn from the water supply of the city, which was lukewarm, in contrast to the hot springs at nearby Hierapolis and the cold, pure waters of Colossae.[8] The archaeology shows Laodicea had an aqueduct that probably carried water from hot mineral springs some five miles south, which would have become tepid before entering the city (see main Laodicea article).[9] The imagery of the Laodicean aqueduct suggests not that “hot” is good and “cold” is bad, but that both hot and cold water are useful, whereas lukewarm water is emetic.[7]

“Poor, blind, and naked” (3:17–18)[edit]
“Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.” (KJV).

The words attributed to the Laodiceans may mark an ironic over-confidence in regard to spiritual wealth; they are unable to recognize their bankruptcy. However the image may also be drawing on the perceived worldly wealth of the city. The city was a place of great finance and banking. In 60 A.D the city was hit by a major earthquake. The city refused help of the Roman empire and rebuilt the city itself.[10]

The reference to the “white raiment” may refer to the cloth trade of Laodicea. The city was known for its black wool that was produced in the area.[10] The reference to eye medication is again often thought to reflect the historical situation of Laodicea. According to Strabo (12.8.20) there was a medical school in the city, where a famous ophthalmologist practiced.[citation needed] The city also lies within the boundaries of ancient Phrygia, from where an ingredient of eye-lotions, the so-called “Phrygian powder”, was supposed to have originated.[citation needed]

Americans could have those jobs if they were just willing to put in the effort.

Unfortunately they are not willing. I have slowly and reluctantly come to the conclusion that more than half of our American population is certifiable dumb. Not intelligent at all, no creative thinking, no entrepreneur thoughts just what can I get from you, me the government with the least amount of effort and then call you a chump.

I am throwing in the towel for supporting this country or its dumb ass citizens, if the powers that be will allow me to take my hard earned assests and move to another country.

Did you know that American is rated 26th in the world by the WHO for good medical care, found that out last night while debating once more how great our medical care is.

I know several maybe five or more people that have had serious life changing injuries from doctors and hospitals. One of my clients went in for knee surgery, got infected, doctor tried to fix it made it worse, his leg is now cut off! My other client had a simple swimmers ear surgery and the doctor nicked his ear drum, he had a stroke and now is deaf in one ear, has tinnitus for life and has now lost 16 years of work left in his career.

My son had his tendon in his left hand cut with broken glass and was rushed to the hospital in the Domincan Republic. A Cuban born hand surgeon was called in at midnight to operate on my 16 year old son, with the future of hand use weighing on my mind. We had a follow up visit with the surgeon before we left the country. He said get therapy when you get the bandages off. When the hand surgeons saw his hand and the work done and when the therapists saw it and moved it, both proclaimed it perfectly stitched and healed, did not need any more treatment, he has full use of his hand no trace of the injury. In a third world country no less!!!!!

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