There are three universal keys to work, as I see it. I will list them here. None of these require any particular degree of ability. 1) Show up. 2) Show up on time. 3) Be able to be contacted. Most workers in my experience fail to meet these very low standards. Far from seeking professional help of any kind in order to benefit themselves they are busy complaining about how they're being done wrong, which they are - but for a start, could you please start showing for work. No they've been reduced to not real workers in not real jobs. A bunch of hollow companies with hollow workers.

Kevin,
You hit a sore spot with me. You are so right: 1) Show up. 2) Show up on time. 3) Be able to be contacted.
You would think anyone lucky enough to have a job would cherish it. But it rarely works that way.

By the way everyone- I have visited Taiwan several times and do you know that janitors, secretaries, bus drivers, and even elevator operators get paid roughly the same? There is no stigma or financial hardship attached to any job there so employment generally runs high- an interesting model.

Here in California I met a man yesterday from Mexico who told me he came here 18 years ago and has been employed as a janitor in the same building for all of those 18 years! Food for thought I think.

I also recently met a young couple who were millionaires at the age of 24 importing golf clubs from Japan and customizing them for U.S. use. There are opportunities.

There are three universal keys to work, as I see it. I will list them here. None of these require any particular degree of ability. 1) Show up. 2) Show up on time. 3) Be able to be contacted. Most workers in my experience fail to meet these very low standards. Far from seeking professional help of any kind in order to benefit themselves they are busy complaining about how they're being done wrong, which they are - but for a start, could you please start showing for work. No they've been reduced to not real workers in not real jobs. A bunch of hollow companies with hollow workers.

I empathize with that feeling. I felt the same way when I worked at a store in Florida. I could have made twice as much sitting on a corner holding up a sign. The job covered 3/4 of my rent. It was a joke, and I often showed up late, not caring if I lost the job. The manager that sat at a desk playing on the computer all day made nearly 5 times what I made. A job should pay enough to live on. Otherwise, what the hell is the point?

Interbane wrote:

There are three universal keys to work, as I see it. I will list them here. None of these require any particular degree of ability. 1) Show up. 2) Show up on time. 3) Be able to be contacted. Most workers in my experience fail to meet these very low standards. Far from seeking professional help of any kind in order to benefit themselves they are busy complaining about how they're being done wrong, which they are - but for a start, could you please start showing for work. No they've been reduced to not real workers in not real jobs. A bunch of hollow companies with hollow workers.

I empathize with that feeling. I felt the same way when I worked at a store in Florida. I could have made twice as much sitting on a corner holding up a sign. The job covered 3/4 of my rent. It was a joke, and I often showed up late, not caring if I lost the job. The manager that sat at a desk playing on the computer all day made nearly 5 times what I made. A job should pay enough to live on. Otherwise, what the hell is the point?

I believe you have hit on a most important aspect of the direction of the economy today Interbane, certainly in the US, but also to a degree in the rest of the world. There is a great polarization going on, partly due to changes in technology, partly due to globalization, and also due to the current political climate, in which sentiment has been relentlessly shifting rightward over the last two or three decades.

In Charles Dickens time, the marginalized may have hoped to open a door for a gentleman, and be tossed a penny in return, and think themselves fortunate for it. Sadly, we are on a trajectory that is returning us to this concept. If Ron Paul adherents, or those of similar political belief, ever make it to postions of power, this may occur again.

Society, in a similar fashion to private companies, functions best with teamwork, and the sense that all are on board, and all are respected. Without a central authority, there is no team. This is the great challenge in the US today: private vs public interest.

Kevin wrote:There are three universal keys to work, as I see it. I will list them here. None of these require any particular degree of ability. 1) Show up. 2) Show up on time. 3) Be able to be contacted. Most workers in my experience fail to meet these very low standards. Far from seeking professional help of any kind in order to benefit themselves they are busy complaining about how they're being done wrong, which they are - but for a start, could you please start showing for work. No they've been reduced to not real workers in not real jobs. A bunch of hollow companies with hollow workers.

But again, this describes individual characteristics, but not overarching economic trends. The two overlap, but are essentially different topics. If for example we end up, 20 years down the road, with a 25% unemployment rate due to massive change in technology, from the point of view of policy makers, it matters little how much inititiative each worker has. If the more industrious take the remaining jobs, there is still a national problem to deal with, and it won't go away by telling people to show up for work, and be diligent. If one does all they can to be hired, and they are not, then they are unemployed.

There has been an assumption by many that although new technologies have caused unemployment, there will always be green fields to migrate to. But this may not be the case in the future. The rate of change caused by the digital revolution is exponential, meaning that it went from a modest start, but the rate will accelerate at an alarming pace, as the curve on the chart turns sharply upward. And this is just what we have been seeing in real life. Just a few years ago, for example, it was common belief that although factory jobs were disappearing to robots, new jobs were being created in software development, and the like. But in fact, computerization has invaded ever more aspects of the economy, including clerical and intellectual functions.

The belief that all can have a job if they work hard enough is grounded in the belief that there are jobs for all, something that may have been the case in the past, but not in the future.

etudiant wrote:But again, this describes individual characteristics, but not overarching economic trends.

Yes, though I'll modify the statement to say that it describes individual characteristics that have been molded as a result of being beaten down by overarching economic trends. Which is basically saying, as you did, that they overlap. I agree though, it's all hopeless. But slackers who complain about this and that irritate me. And I think this acceptance of the combination of idleness and bellyaching has become more prevalent as we've traveled down the road to these hollow companies. I'd just like things to remain afloat until after I die, which I am hopeful is not something that's right around the corner. I don't think it's too much to ask for! Anyway, who needs anything close to full employment? I'd like everyone under an arbitrary though relatively low income level (say minimum wage times 40) to receive a big fat welfare check because god knows they'll spend it. That's the point of printing it in the first place. Wealth is concentrating in the USA and it's going to continue to do so... freedom and all. So let's just give it away. Inflation? Stop giving it to the ones who are currently getting it. Well anyway, yes it's unemployment (and underemployment) where states fight against states by seeing who can offer the most to companies and the least to workers that will be the downfall of us all. Alienation of the worker from the work; Marx had this right as far as I'm concerned. But it's an ugly thing to watch.

Kevin wrote:

etudiant wrote:But again, this describes individual characteristics, but not overarching economic trends.

Yes, though I'll modify the statement to say that it describes individual characteristics that have been molded as a result of being beaten down by overarching economic trends. Which is basically saying, as you did, that they overlap. I agree though, it's all hopeless. But slackers who complain about this and that irritate me. And I think this acceptance of the combination of idleness and bellyaching has become more prevalent as we've traveled down the road to these hollow companies. I'd just like things to remain afloat until after I die, which I am hopeful is not something that's right around the corner. I don't think it's too much to ask for! Anyway, who needs anything close to full employment? I'd like everyone under an arbitrary though relatively low income level (say minimum wage times 40) to receive a big fat welfare check because god knows they'll spend it. That's the point of printing it in the first place. Wealth is concentrating in the USA and it's going to continue to do so... freedom and all. So let's just give it away. Inflation? Stop giving it to the ones who are currently getting it. Well anyway, yes it's unemployment (and underemployment) where states fight against states by seeing who can offer the most to companies and the least to workers that will be the downfall of us all. Alienation of the worker from the work; Marx had this right as far as I'm concerned. But it's an ugly thing to watch.

Amen. This is going to be another great challenge of the 21st century- unwinding the now accelerating accumulation of wealth going into the hands of surprised, but still grasping hands at the apex of the social spectrum. It's hard to see how this might come about given current political leanings, but it must- unless we go back to the age of the robber barons, and the cities of Charles Dickens.