lack of jobs, unemployment, government funded housing, how would you fix the economy?

[DOEBOY1]

After reading a pm that I got recently it brought up a thought that I have many many times. What to do about the free loading community? it just seems to get bigger and bigger. I have had the oppertunity to have some big electrical jobs that I needed help on I called several people that knew had some experience that I wouldn't have to hold their hand to work for me. With the exception of just a few they all wanted cash so as not to mess up their unemploymet or welfare. I have a solution For those people. I think the local government should be given a number of people that are on government assistance to clean up. Thats right to clean up. As you drive down the road look through the woods at the trash dead trees down that could be used for fire wood, the junk and trash that line the streets, the building that are falling apart that could kill someone. Why aren't these folks doing anything for us they are getting paid by us? right. Look around what about the elderly that could use the assistance, What about the children that could be tutored, Why not have these folks work for their living. I do and evidently I work for their survival also. I think the government should take care of the very young and the old that can't take care of themselves. Everybody else needs to go to work. How would this cut down on crime you know what they say about idle hands. It's true. How bout the ignorant? say they have no skills there are plenty of jobs that require limited to absent brain work. Need motivation take away their free meel ticket. Say you got 5 kids by 5 diffent daddies well then you can work in the government funded day care and learn parenting skills and birth control. I started to look at this problem a little harder when the "new community of leaches" started driving nicer cars than me and was getting bills from unemployment so that the leaches could exstend their benefits. What could be done in your community to inprove it. Look at what the twa did for the depression. Vote for me Doeboy

 

[DeathGrip]

. With the exception of just a few they all wanted cash so as not to mess up their unemploymet or welfare.

(They should be turned in.I can't seem to separate quotes.)


Vote for me Doeboy

I'm not a registered Doeboy.

Cheers,

 

[ladder13]

this one won't last

 

[JcMack]

DOEBOY1: Clearly, you're frustrated and PO'ed and nobody can blame you. If the reforms you suggest were even seriously considered by "our government" there would be no need at all for the foolishness going on in Washington right now.

This forum and particularly the "lounge" was meant to be a shooting/sporting hobbyist's respite from what we're bombarded with on a daily basis via TV and everyday encounters like yours. So don't be disappointed. if you don't get a lot of response. Most of these kind of threads are eventually locked or deleted. Man, we're with you! But we as a country have devolved so far into a European model for self destruction, I don't hold out much hope.

 

[Dennis The B]

At this point...

...in our economic history, the only solution is a retrenchment of the economic base.

While people don't like to hear, or read, of these solutions, there is nothing short of it which will work.

Since the 1960's, the U.S. has seen a deterioration of its manufacturing base; and by this I mean a slowing of the growth in real terms. This coincides with full recovery of Japanese and German economies from World War II, and the dawn of manufacturing ages in the third world economies. Our growth in the 1960's was primarily due to existing expansion of smoke stack industries such as steel and autos. There was little development of the precision manufacturing we see today.

Labor peace was purchased by the pressure of government, and the lack of fight left in management to contain labor, both direct and indirect, costs. Manufacturing jobs became overpaid, based on the pure economic contribution of that labor. Auto industry jobs were, and still are, the most egregious of the lot. Nowhere else do assembly line workers, in many instances assembling sub-assemblies, make the kind of wages that are prevalent in the first tier auto industry.

The problems started prior to World War II. The socialist government programs, and legislative meddling in private business set the stage. Passage of laws like Fair Labor Standards Act, Davis-Bacon (so-called prevailing wages), and the Wagner Act (National Labor Relations Act) all forced companies into untenable positions when dealing with labor. Congress, in its endless stupidity, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and a liberal Supreme Court, all backed labor unions to provide them with an unbeatable edge.

The onslaught was interrupted by events of World War II, the ascension of a conservative Congress, and the denial of Harry Truman's Fair Deal (merely an extended version of Roosevelt's disastrous New Deal). However, the Warren Court accelerated the corruption with its legislation from the bench.

In the name of so-called "fair trade", the U.S. took a hands off approach to tariffs, allowing the Japanese, Germans, South Koreans, and others to literally flood the United States with cheaper imports, and government subsidized goods. The U.S. government condoned this product dumping by refusing to use tariffs to halt the practice, using the developing country mantra to support this policy.

The U.S. government refused to abide by the U.S. Constitution, and protect its citizens rights, choosing instead, political expediency and the desire not to "insult our valuable allies".

While this was happening, steel companies didn't have enough capital to improve processes, and we abided intellectual property theft by the Chinese and Japanese. As an example, Toshiba sold technology to the USSR which helped them built quieter submarines, putting our own ballistic missile submarines in danger. This is but one isolated example.

The foregoing are but conversation starters. For a good background, if you haven't done so, you should read works by Dr. Milton Friedman, Frederich Hayek, Adam Smith, and other conservative economists. Studies of publications and data by the Von Mises Institute are also critical in understanding the subtleties of economics.

Frederich Hayek's book, "The Road To Serfdom", is an excellent starter. He shows, by solid logic, what happened to turn Great Britain into a socialist country in mere years after World War II.

There's an extricable tie to economics, politics, and finance; and not many folks put together all three in determining why things happen. It's evolutionary in concept.

Oh, and remember that economics has laws which act very much the same as laws of physics and chemistry. Violate those laws, and you risk the same disasters as mishandling nitro glycerine with results that are just as disastrous.

 

[DeadAye]

THEE problem:
Politicians make the laws.
A politician's main job is to be reelected.
Welfare recipients can (and are actively encouraged to) vote.

 

[quneur]

We also have to look inside and realize we can't just blame the political machine. There are lots of reasons the U.S. is in a financial crisis. The housing loan meltdown was one contribution but I believe its mainly the pensions/investments/savings into companies which outsource manufacturing overseas. With financial resources (higher wages = higher standard of living), these countries are creating a substantial market for future goods. Where as, in manufacturing in the U.S. you have to deal with unions, government regulations, etc.

I live near Boeing. The machinist union went on strike 2008.

"The average Machinist base wage for the past year was about $54,000, and with overtime about $65,000.

Extrapolating from data provided previously by Boeing, at the end of the new four-year contract in 2012, the average base annual salary will rise to about $73,000, and with overtime included about $85,000." - The Seattle Times

Where the national average is 40k. Boeing moved alot of jobs to SC a year later.

 

[oldman45]

Only the American people can help the employment situation.
BUY American. It puts Americans to work and the profits from such stay in America. Also instead of taxing the wealthy more, tax them less. People do not go to poor people for jobs. They go to the wealthy because the wealthy are the ones that own businesses and hire workers.

Drug test those on welfare, unemployment and Section 8 housing. Those that fail have 30 days to stop using or lose their benefits. Shorten the time a person can draw unemployment. Studies have shown the avg person found employment within a month of losing their benefits.

Stop politicians from buying votes with government money. Welfare, section 8 housing and WIC are programs that allow people to not be productive citizens while drawing good money.

How many women do you know that gets a nice pay raise each time they have a child? I know one that has five children. She gets over $5000 a month in benefits plus housing. Each time she has another child, she gets her pay increased by $600 a month and then the food stamps, medicare/medicaid and housing allowances are all increased Why would she want to work? Over $60,000 annually tax free with other benefits to not work.

Also. cut those on SSI off if they are able to work. Every day of the week, I deal with someone on SSI that has been on such since they were babies. If they go to work, they lose the monthly check. Not only do they get SSI and never have worked a day in their life, they also get Medicaid for all the free medical work they want, dental, vision and health along with free medicine. Many of us, myself included does not get that type benefits.

 

[JcMack]

Stop politicians from buying votes with government money. Welfare, section 8 housing and WIC are programs that allow people to not be productive citizens while drawing good money.

How many women do you know that gets a nice pay raise each time they have a child? I know one that has five children. She gets over $5000 a month in benefits plus housing. Each time she has another child, she gets her pay increased by $600 a month and then the food stamps, medicare/medicaid and housing allowances are all increased Why would she want to work? Over $60,000 annually tax free with other benefits to not work.

Policies like these were born in the 60's when the economy was strong. Instead of addressing the real issues, great gobs of money was thrown at the problem.

 

[oldman45]

Policies like these were born in the 60's when the economy was strong. Instead of addressing the real issues, great gobs of money was thrown at the problem.

You are right but it was not right then and it is not right today. It is a form of vote buying just as driving people to the polls to vote.

I see a great tightening of allowing people to get on SSD these days. Many things that would have qualified as a disbility years ago are no longer allowed. This is a good thing.

However there are hundreds of thousands on SSI that have been since their youth. They are not disabled. These are healthy people that could be working. I had to deal with one such person a few months back. He spends his days playing pool with friends. I asked him why he was not out working and he said he did not have to do such since he gets a government check for disability. When I asked what his disability was, he said he did not know since he had been on it all his life. In short, he gets money and does not have any disability.

Review those that are on SSI or SSD and if they are able to work in some form, cut them off from the benefit and let them find work. It would save millions each month.

 

[Steve in Vermont]

In our state we have food stamps in the form of a debit card. Obesity is a problem for adults and children and there was a proposal to limit these debit cards so people couldn't purchase "junk food". An advocate for the program stated that wouldn't be right, telling people how to spend their money. "Their money"? I thought it was my tax money. Apparently I was wrong.