Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Where to look for work

It's depressing to hear politicians chatter about jobs, jobs, jobs when they have no clue how to create them. Employers are being cautious about hiring and when they do, it's for American salt mines like Wal Mart. The Roosevelt Republic is over and we now live in the Second Rater's Republic. No more WPA or NRA or Hoover Dam or even Eisenhower's interstate highway program. Detroit is still making cars in the middle of a medeval landscape and famine. Silicon Valley is helping create mega wealth for themselves and scarcely any jobs for the rest of the country. This hamlet of High IQ Luddites is gleefully destroying the workplace of millions. In the 1970's we thought we'd get flying cars but all we got was Twitter. During the Depression Orwell discovered that all work had dignity, even picking hops and washing dishes in a restaurant. I leave policy to the wonks but who will actually help people with low skills? There's plenty of work to be done. In Oregon an attendant pumps your gas, both as a courtesy and a wage-paying job. There's a way that government can help manicurists, barbers, hairdressers etc get a foothold by paying the license fees and training they require. Some of this takes local government help but there are actually dozens of ways to help the unemployed if a little creative brainstorming is used. I read where one economic “expert” said not to help workers, only companies that can then attract more customers. Workers are customers, stupid. Longfellow gave us the answer when he said, “We must be up and doing” Every one of us.