Posted on 10/03/2012 8:15:28 AM PDT by Kaslin
"There are no jobs!" That is what people told me outside a government "jobs center" in New York City.
To check this out, I sent four researchers around the area. They quickly found 40 job openings. Twenty-four were entry-level positions. One restaurant owner told me he would hire 12 people if workers would just apply.
It made me wonder what my government does in buildings called "job centers." So I asked a college intern, Zoelle Mallenbaum, to find out. Here's what she found:
"First I went to the Manhattan Jobs Center and asked, "Can I get help finding a job?" They told me they don't do that. 'We sign people up for food stamps.' I tried another jobs center. They told me to enroll for unemployment benefits."
So the "jobs" centers help people get handouts. Neither center suggested people try the 40 job openings in the neighborhood.
My intern persisted:
"I explained that I didn't want handouts; I wanted a job. I was told to go to 'WorkForce1,' a New York City program. At WorkForce1, the receptionist told me that she couldn't help me since I didn't have a college degree. She directed me to another center in Harlem. In Harlem, I was told that before I could get help, I had to come back for an 8:30 a.m. 'training session.'"
Our government helps you apply for handouts immediately, but forces you through a maze if you want to work.
"WorkForce1's website says to arrive 30 minutes early, so I did," Zoelle said. "A security guard told me the building was closed. At 9:15, Workforce1 directed 30 of us into a room where we were told that WorkForce1 directs candidates to jobs and provides a resource room with 'free' phone, fax and job listings and helps people apply for unemployment insurance and disability handouts. This seemed like the only part of the presentation when people took notes.
"One lady told me that she comes to WorkForce1 because it helps her collect unemployment. One asked another, 'What do you want to do?' The second laughed, 'I want to collect!' One told me, 'I've been coming here 17 months; this place is a waste of time.'
"Finally, I met with an 'adviser.' She told me I lacked experience. I know this. I asked for any job she thought I was qualified for, and she scheduled an interview at Pret, a food chain that trains employees. At Pret, I learned that my 'interview' was just a weekly open house, publicized on the company's website. Anyone could walk in and apply. Workforce1 offered no advantage. Despite my 'scheduled interview,' I waited 90 minutes before meeting a manager. He told me that WorkForce1 had 'wasted my time, as they always do.' He said, 'They never call, never ask questions.' He prefers to hire people who seek out jobs on their own, like those who see Pret ads on Craigslist.'"
My intern learned a lot from this experience. Here are her conclusions:
--It's easier to get welfare than to work.
--The government would rather sign me up for welfare than help me find work.
--America has taxpayer-funded bureaucracies that encourage people to be dependent. They incentivize people to take "free stuff," not to take initiative.
--It was easier to find job openings on my own. The private market for jobs works better than government "job centers."
Yet now New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg wants to expand Workforce1, claiming that it helps people "find real opportunities." I bet he never sends people in to find out whether they really do.
Once politicians figured out that welfare creates dependency and hurts poor people, they (logically) assumed that employment services and job training would help. Job training does help -- when employers do it. But government does everything badly.
GeorgiaWork$, a state program in that state, provided such poor training that only 14 percent of trainees were hired.
The Comprehensive Employment Training Act (CETA) operated more like a commercial for government handouts. It launched door-to-door food stamp recruiting campaigns, and gave people free rides to welfare offices.
America now has 47 federal jobs programs. They fail. Yet politicians want more. They always want more.
What is being measured? Who is tracking how many people are placed? Who is putting emphasis on that number. Who is evaluating program managers by that number?
I agree it's a problem. But stings like this are exactly what needs to be done of all agencies. They should hire that guy with the video tape who uncovered medicare fraud and food stamp fraud and put him to work designing sting operations.
They are required to be seeking employment to get benefits in some states. That’s the game.
As they should be. But it we actually want these programs to help people find jobs, they should measure more than whether people are looking for jobs.
When I was on unemployment in 2009. I was appreciative of the fact that while job seeking programs were available they weren't mandatory, because as a corporate professional, I already know how to look for a job. I also appreciate that they didn't force me into a restaurant job that paid 15% of what I was previously making.
By the way, waiters and waitresses can be paid 31% less than minimum wage because they are expected to earn tips. This article sounds a lot like the article where the person was looking to hire 50 workers but couldn't get anyone to apply. They were all commission only sales jobs.
I'm afraid not. As the article itself demonstrates, the real purpose of these "job centers" is to put people on welfare and to discourage them from finding work.
Just as the real purpose of government welfare is to create a large class of dependent people who will vote for you.
Why would the politicians who run the welfare system want to "fix" this?
Sorry, but the solution is to cut off all aid. We need to get the government completely out of the employment business. A good start is to eliminate minimum wage, then completely privatize unemployment insurance. (If you want it, you buy it.) To save some real bucks, the Labor Dept. should be completely defunded. It is time for Americans to exercise a little rugged individualism. Our nation is filled with wusses. No self respecting man would ever go to the government to get help finding a job. By the way, it is not all that rugged to look for one on your own. It is time to shame liberal metrosexuals into becoming real men.
Nonsense. I used the 'spot jobs' (short term temp work, single event jobs) to get connections and make some extra money (while I was in the process of starting my own business). I never landed a full time job through the government. Word of mouth was my best shot.
A self-respecting man will find a job and feed his family however he has to, and would be a fool to ignore anything which might help. While they seldom help you, you can get their listings and pursue leads on your own.
Just like the “solution” to the tax code monstrosity is to add more deductions here and subtract some deductions over here (depending on which party is in power and who’s vote they’re trying to buy this election cycle)
Just scrap it all and have a flat tax.
All DC’s ‘solutions’ are more window dressing. Charities are for charity and government is not.
Unemployment benefits are essentially a mandatory insurance policy your employer and the employee are forced to pay on your behalf. You can’t opt out. So while you are employed this is in effect coming out of YOUR paycheck.
The correct way to handle unemployment is either:
- make the coverage optional so that the employer can pay more money up front to the employee.
- Pay out all benefits in one lump sum just like any other insurance settlement with a valid claim on a loss.
If paid in a lump sum most people would have incentive to find work immediately.Of course, those who would prefer to coddle their sheeple constituents would see this as ‘mean and unfair’.
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