the Truth about the job market. (as I see it)

[leftyladyfrommo]

I just don't think it's going to get better. There aren't enough jobs out there. And the ones that are there are so technical and take so much education that very few people will ever be able to qualify.

We are looking at a permanent situation. A certain percent of people will have good jobs. Everyone else is just going to be stuck trying to make it on very little income.

Hopefully at least everyone will have access to health care.

I just can't see anyway out of this.

[MannyGoldstein]

1. That's what they said in the 1920s and early 1930s

Then we elected strong Democratic leadership and things got better and better for 40 years.

Then we got stupid again.

The wheel turns; take heart!

[leftyladyfrommo]

2. There weren't computers sucking up all the jobs back then. n/t

Maybe I'm just down because it is so cold here. It makes everything look worse.

[MannyGoldstein]

3. There have always been job-sucking things

Think about what the world was like 200 years ago vs. today. Almost everyone was on a farm back then, now those jobs have been taken away, they were mostly gone by the 1920s, certainly by the 1970s when our middle class was at its previous peak.

That's what governments are for: to keep the playing field level during times of upheaval. When they blow off that job for decades... well, here we are.

[Orrex]

5. Excellent reply!

[TreasonousBastard]

4. Good news and bad news...

it takes fewer people to build a car now, and many industries, like publishing, are radically changing. So, there are fewer jobs for a larger population, which includes the non-retired back end of the baby boom.

But, population growth is slowing and the huge bump of baby boomers (I'm one, btw) is retiring and/or dying off so by the next generation we might see a shortage of workers again. That's 20 years or so in the future, though, and no one really knows what will happen then. Besides, who know what great invention is just over the horizon spurring growth...

For now, we just have to bite the bullet and create jobs in the public sector. Saving money firing teachers and not fixing roads is not the way to go. The emphasis has to be on a working nation, not low taxes. And instead of whining about trade deals and Chinese growth, we should find ways to make money from them. Some are, but there's still too much whining and protectionism is rearing its ugly head.

Compared to a lot of the world, though, we're in good shape. There are too many places where 50% unemployment is becoming the norm and that sort of poverty breeds revolution..

[LumosMaxima]

6. This is what I've been thinking for a while now.

The jobs aren't coming back. I have a lot of thoughts about this, but I don't want to get dragged into an argument today, so I'm hesitant to say too much and open myself up to criticism. I agree with you, though -- this is a permanent situation.