What is wrong with the U.S.

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benjamen

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http://finance.yahoo.com/news/part-time-life-hours-shrink-142806402.html

/rant
The above article is a classic example of what is going wrong with the U.S. Someone works for years as essentially a cashier and realizes they can not support themselves in California on what is basically a part time job designed for a teenager. Not a single mention of maybe this person should move to another state for a better job or lower cost of living. Not a single mention that this person should maybe get additional training at night to eventually be qualified for something that pays better.

Everyone want the nice, full time job that pays well. What are they doing to line themselves up for one?

/endrant
 
I've briefly watched CNN US yesterday (for Sandy coverage) and then I saw an infomercial about "health care as a growth industry". They interviewed a dentist assistant who made $65000 a year and talked about how great all the US welfare programs are because "they ensure our jobs are safe". The whole thing was a digusting propaganda piece for wealth transfer through forced government insurance.
 
I've briefly watched CNN US yesterday (for Sandy coverage) and then I saw an infomercial about "health care as a growth industry". They interviewed a dentist assistant who made $65000 a year and talked about how great all the US welfare programs are because "they ensure our jobs are safe". The whole thing was a digusting propaganda piece for wealth transfer through forced government insurance.

Sadly, the way it essentially works is if you work full time your employer must pay for your health insurance, but if you are part time you qualify for government assistance. Unfortunately, this causes a perverse incentive for companies to prefer part time employees as a way to control costs. It is amazing how many people completely ignore the consequences of the "hose the rich" mentality in todays U.S. politics.
 
The sad truth, as George Carlin pointed out, is that half the population is dumber than the average. Add to that, most are too fearful and lazy to try anything new. Believe me, I've met quite a few for which a cashier's job is about their intellectual and risk-tolerance limit, and training isn't going to help - they are already at the "top" of their mental development, there's no more available to become, say a programmer.

And I do know several real jerk-morons who have become nurses just because of the pay and job security. Diety prevent me getting any "service" from those types, they really do not care about patients one bit.
 
I'm with DC on this. I am an employer who typically has between 20 and as many as 120 folks on the payroll. I can tell you from first-hand experience that when I see a 50 year old guy with tatoo sleeves and Doctor Zorbo looking hair wearing a bunny suit and respirator to go in and scrape fucking asbestos off of a boiler, that guy peaked a loooong time ago and is currently at the highest station in life he will ever achieve. Far too many of my workers live in a dream world where they believe they are actually achieving something or that they are somehow special. Most of my crews are at high school education level, or more frequently, lower. I have guys who can barely cipher their own fucking name on a paycheck.

I once asked a guy to read off the hazards listed on an MSDS for a solvent we were using because I didn't have enough copies to pass it around and he simply could not read it. The guy knew his job pretty well, but he was as dumb as a bag of hammers and knew it.

It is this group that I fear when the shit hits the fan folks.
 
The guy knew his job pretty well, but he was as dumb as a bag of hammers and knew it.

It is this group that I fear when the shit hits the fan folks.
At least he knew it, which probably puts him slightly above average.
 
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