Help Wanted. Not.

Join. The. Army.

Local companies that relied on help from high school and college kids can not afford to pay minimum wage anymore to young, inexperienced 16-year-old kids who don't add enough value to a company. And there is talk about further minimum wage hikes. When something gets more expensive, we use less of it! These kids are missing out on the invaluable experiences that come along with these entry level jobs, and it's a shame.

If you think times are hard now, just wait until we have single payer health care. A small company will always be small, because once it reaches 24 employees it will never be able to afford the 25th, and have to absorb health care premiums for all 25. Texas has it right, not to succeed, but to enforce 10th amendment states rights and refuse national health care. 100 million people have health insurance and are happy with it, and all 100 million will vote in 2010 and 2012. Is anyone inside the beltway listening?

Susan,

I adore your writing and I like you personally although I am a conservative. It seems that you are more willing than your liberal friends to examine ideas and acknowledge some unpleasant realities. I like that you then try to see how your liberal philosophy can be applied to the issue for a successful outcome.

The TRAGIC developement of our time is that there are those on the Left who believe that mindless repitition and hateful name calling are good substitutes for open minded debate and honest examination of the issue. It seems there are very few remaining on the Left that want to apply the nation's founding principles to today's problems to find solutions.
These people just want their way.If the law is on their side they argue law.If logic is on their side they argue logic.If morality is on their side they argue morality. If none of these is on their side they do not stop.They just filibuster until the other side gives in and gives them their way even if their way is illogical ,illegal or immoral They still want their way and will not be dissuaded by any argument.
We have gone from great thinkers like Daniel Patrick Moynihan to a gaggle of spoiled brats who throw political tantrums until they get their way.

i hate the effect it is having on the nation.

Susan, I was really enjoying the first part of this piece. It was so familiar to me as I was the same. But, then you changed direction. In the mid-seventies, when there were no jobs to be had, and no one was even giving out job applications to be filled in and returned, I did something very extreme. Something very alien to me and most of the people I knew. I joined the United States Air Force. I got a job. I got training. I met people I'd otherwise never have met. I traveled. I served my country. I got the GI Bill, which I used 5 years later. Before I feel too much sympathy for young people, I want to hear why the US armed forces turned them down.

You voted for change, you got it. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I know, this mess is all the Republicans and George Bush's fault. Bull. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Obama inherited a bad situation, true, but his hate of the free-market has magnified the problems 100 fold. Susan, you know, and I know you know, that his mess is the result of Obama's anti-free market policies. You will likely not admit such as Liberals are filled with too much hate for others to admit liberals can do something wrong. To easy to blame Bush. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Well, as long as that anti-free market idiot, Obama, is still in the white house, or economy, the American people, and your friends will suffer. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The issue is simple, GREED vs. ENVY - - Republicans/conservatives cater to Greed whereas Liberals cater to Envy. Which is best? I know Liberals hate to judge things on results, INTENT is what matters to Liberals, not results. That said, I bet your friends would be more grateful to someone who actually gave them a job compared to someone who's intent was to give them a job but ndid not. Thus, I submit results are more important than intent. So, while you are a Liberal, humor me and lets consider Results -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The freedom to exploit GREED is the genius of the free market system and what has allowed the U.S. to achieve more in less than 300 years than countries over 1000 years old. Allowing people to exploit GREED creates jobs. There are people out there right now just racking their brains thinking of ways to make our life better. Not because they love us but because they want to make money off of us. When they are successful, they make money, create jobs and the quality of life in the US increases. Such is what “heartless” conservatives promote. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In contrast, lets look at what the liberals worship - - Envy. What does envy give the US? Liberals look around to see what others have, and instead of working their butts off to get the same, they complain that such is not fair. It is not fair that my neighbor has two cars and I do not. It is not fair that my neighbor has a nice house and I do not. It is not fair that there are unequal out comes in America. Thus, fueled by ENVY, the compassionate, tolerant Liberal racks their brains to figure out how to take what one person “unfairly” has and give it to those to have not. Liberals are very compassionate with other people's money. Thus, Liberals give us socialism – a concept fueled by envy that allows shallow people to feel good for being so compassionate, and allows such people to look down on others who do not agree. However, as Susan and friends are finding out, the problem with socialism is that eventually Liberals run out of other people's money. And guess what, the first economic victims of such policies are jobs. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Throughout the know history of this world, the greatest evils have occurred in countries where those in power promote Envy over Greed. In contrast, “Heartless” conservatives, driven by greed, have done more to increase the quality of life for people throughout the World, and done more for the environment that any envious, tree hugging “compassionate” Liberal ever has or ever will.

Tell the Liberals to look in the mirror and ask how did we manage this as they are the ones who brought on the Great Society in 1965. Hand outs and more hand outs lead to even larger hand outs. Owning and operating a business is a tough thing. You are hit with all the government regulations, social regulations, taxes and politicans keep on trying to get more of the ever reducing profit from a company to support their next handout.

Susan, like others have mentioned, I am a conservative (NOTE...NOT REPUBLICAN) But I enjoy your writing and believe that more than most you have a more open mind on most things that come to reality. Such is your latest piece.

I got laid off when the tech boom blew up and found a new job...I got into the mortgage business as a sales trainer and saw the end of that coming. In the end, I realized that self employment was the way to go and now I have a 3 year old company doing well over 1 million in revenue each each and a dozen or so employees.

Fortunately, most of my employees are young and healty. Because my margins are thin, I do not offer health care, but offer free gym memberships to get people into shape. But being in California, there is no way that I can afford to offer health care of any type given the regressive taxes found here.

So what happens if I am forced to cover my employees? Simple, I will trim the company to whatever size is needed to find that loophole, which will lead to fewer taxes being paid to both the Fed and CA governments and finally, if that does not work...I will close my business and move out of state.

POLITICIANS seem to forget who pays their bills...it is we...the small business, the coffee shop, the restaurant, the frame shop, the vegtable stand. And while others can "pay with their wallet" We small businesses "Pay with our Payroll". So higher taxation leads directly to fewer jobs and higher unemployment. Until such time as they determine we are not meat piggy banks...I will continue to work 100+ hours a week personally so I do not have to hire 2 more people to help.

Susan, this is nothing new. Consider the depression of the 30's where we had a president was promoting Socialism, and everyone had to work for the government. Forty dollars a month was the pay!
My opinion is simply this: The liberals seem to create problems so they can take the credit for fixing them. Like Rahm says,"don't ever pass up a good crisis".
Roosevelt was actually worshiped in this country for having "put food on the table". When, in fact, he kept us starving for 10 long years, and had no plan at all to end the depression. I know. My whole childhood was depression. And yet, when Japan bombed Pearl Harber, we had millions of dollars to spend on bullets, guns and bombs. The factories were humming right along. Why couldn't he have gotten the factories humming right along during the depression and let free enterprise fix the unemployment problems?
This unemployment problem is with us yet again because the government is choking free enterprise with taxes, regulations, etc. But if they allow free enterprise to hum right along, they won't have a problem to "fix" will they? And they won't be able to take the credit for fixing it.

For once Susan, I have notihing profound to offer about the lack of jobs in California. Your Republican governor has run the West Coast economy into the ground.. Incredibly, everyone wants to blame this on Obama. But Obama has only been in office for six months. Economic cycles run much deeper than that. This recession had it's roots in one very basic problem. One administration decided to run a very expensive war off-budget. It killed our economy and the deficit from that war killed the economies of all of the countries who are interdependant on that economic structure. As a result, those countries blame us for the problem and rightly so. You cannot explode bombs endlessly and not have an adverse economic result. The Russians (read Soviet Union) found that out in Afghanistan. Soon Russian elderly were begging in the street as a result of their involvement in Afghanistan. The Russians finally went home with their tails between their legs, ruined financially. And we are still mired in Afghanistan???? What is next for us. I am amazed at the number of hard hearted individuals who suggest that kids join the military as a way out of this mess. What join to be cannon fodder in a war destined to be lost. Let's stop the charade that we can win in a foreign country without the support of the locals. The Hessians learned that conundrum in our country. I married the decendant of one of those Hessians so I know all about how you can't beat the locals.
Lets get out NOW and stop this endless waste of our capital.

This article surprises me. Here in central FL, the unemployment is roughly at the national average, yet there are plenty of jobs advertised. All the defense firms are hiring both here and elsewhere in the country. Software, program engineering, maintenance, etc. All the schools are hiring. All the hospitals too. Everything from doctors to technicians to floor sweepers. Lots of teaching jobs at the community colleges. Bus drivers needed. Security guards needed. On and on. It's not a great job market, but there's no way I would starve. If unemployment benefits paid more, well, ... I've got a family to feed. I was looking for alternatives since I've had my salary frozen. It was tough to find a perfect fit (I eventually did), but easy to find work in general. I suspect in most areas, the problem is that for 10% of the population, unemployment is a better deal than whatever work they can find. When unemployment is cut off, those jobs will start to fill fast. And that's what needs to happen.

It seems that all of your jobs were with small businesses, which is the source of most jobs. The politicians in Washington have sent hundreds of billions of dollars to huge businesses. What have they done to help small businesses? It would be better to ask what have they done TO small businesses. Well, if we compete with a big business, our competitor might get a bailout but we won't. If we invest our retirement money in a company, the bankruptcy laws will be ignored in favor of a favored political constituency. If we create a new business and do well, then we'll pay higher taxes. And we'll have to pay a new health care tax. And our cost of electricity will skyrocket (Obama's very word) under his energy plan. How many people will decide to create or expand a business when the laws are unpredictable, taxes go up and up, regulations get more and more onerous?
Oh, let's not forget the recent increase in the minimum wage. That's a smart thing to do in a recession. Not. You think adult unemployment is bad - take a look at teenage unemployment. Some kids with little work experience just aren't worth $7 per hour plus unemployment insurance, plus social security tax, etc. Ask those kids whether they'd rather have a job at $6 per hour or no job at $7 per hour.

I've been unemployed for 9 months now. My husband is on SSI and tommorow, I will be visiting a food pantry for the first time in my adult life. I'm hoping they have Low Glycemic Index foods available because we're both type 2 diabetics, but no likely, I suspect. If I could have anything at all it would be a copy of "How to Prosper During the Coming Bad Years in the 21st Century" by Howard Ruff (Paperback) and a months's worth of dietic foods.

That's the beginning ....no engineerig/design/drafting jobs - everything you use need a desiger.
Remember gov. statement about income tax being 34% less in 2008 than in 2007? That's about right number of unemployment - 34%. After 1 year an unemployed person is out of statistics - i.e. he/she is "employed", on a paper.
To all that problems Dems want to add Universal Health Care fo r everybody and amnesty for 30 to 40 million illegals? That's pass suicidal - it ensures our death... :(

How very sad that people are now heading for food banks and can't find work. I feel for them. But also sad is the fact that some just will not recognize facts. Especially those who blame FDR for the Great Depression. That started in 1927 under Hoover a Republican conservative supply sider. His policies brought on the great Depression and "Hoovervilles" were the tent cities that sprung up with homeless and unemployed. I am stunned that writers in this comment space have the temerity to place such lies before us. When Roosevelt began his first term of office, the Depression was deep into it's fifth year. My dad worked in one of his CCC camps and also picked nuts and wild berries and sold them for his spending money. Years later, he showed me where he picked his blueberries and wild strawberries and led me to the trees with the nuts and MADE me pick the nuts and berrries and sell them for MY spending money. The lessons I learned from my dad and how he survived the Depression years stuck with me for many years. One of those lessons was that he and many others of that generation regarded FDR as a hero. To see FDR falsely smeared by some of the commenters in this space is a travesty.

Re: William Simmons

Right On!!!



Sara Perz
FT. Worth , TX

Susan,
How about more 'stimulus' packages. Wouldn't a few more trillion dollars do the trick? How about throwing out the health/medical care system to create more jobs? How about hiring more czars and thousands of other governemtn workers? Doesn't that create jobs? Aren't these what the people want? Isn't that what they voted for?
Let's tear down the country and rebuilt it again in the image of the USSR! That will solve our problems and create jobs. Right?

Susan, You are the only voice of reason in the liberal realm. I read and enjoy your writings. I have a background very similar to yours. I have never been unemployed for more than 5 hours. The jobs were not always what I wanted but I had to eat and pay rent. I have waited tables, bartended, driven a truck and many manual labor jobs. I used these to pay for school, no loans or parental help. I have been a Registered Nurse for 18 years. There is no job shortage here. My co-workers and I work 48-72 hours a week. There are not nearly enough nurses to fill the void. As universal health care is rolled out, there will be an even greater shortage. Unintended consequences wil result in greater utilization of our overburdened Emergency Departments nationwide. There are not enough doctors as it is. We have lost 3 hospitals in the past year in our metro area. I have great insurance and my wife is unable to get an appointment with a primary care provider until November 09. Our doctor pulled out of the system that our insurance covers. Many more hospitals will close. Many more physicians will pull out, going to a cash only practice. President Obama is pushing us into a multi-tiered heath care system in which the truly wealthy will notice no change in care. Those in the lower income brackets will not have access, not because of payment, but a lack of providers. Those who work and play by the rules are just SOL.
Health care needs reform, not a dramatic overhaul. Cover all children by Medicaid- regardless of income. Allow those who cannot get health insurance to participate in a sponsored health plan, possibly ran by the federal government. Please use your voice and put an end to this madness. Jeff H

Susan,
Why is it so hard to see that the policies that you and your party have promoted have actually caused the problems you claim you want to cure. You are complaining that there are no jobs for your young friends. Ironically the more you get your way going forward there will be less and less entry level jobs.
What do you really think is going to happen when your friends want to raise the minimum wage, place more taxes, and impose mandatory employer paid health care cost on small business?
Do you guys understand the anatomy of a job? I mean really, do you guys understand a job can be created only when an additional person will create or save more profit than the expense and risk of having that employee. On the flip side a job is eliminated when the cost and risk of an employee exceeds the profit.
Since small business operates on small margins of profit, any increase in external cost will usually mean reductions in internal cost. This usually means layoffs, reductions in pay, or higher productivity per person.
So the question must be asked if you want inexperienced people to get experience yet a business can't justify 7:25 per hour plus another$.54 per hour in fica plus $2.40 per hour for heal insurance. That is $10.10 per hour. or $404 per week or $21,000 per year.
Now who is going to pay a 16 year old kid $21,000 per year to sack groceries, hostess a restaurant, fast food clerk, sweep a shop keepers floor, run errors, personal assistant etc. Hell who is going to pay anyone $21,000 to do these jobs?
No one. Yet you complain that there are no jobs. How can this be!

Re: robert lipka

Robert, Obama may not be to blame for California. But his and your liberal socialism policies are to blame. There is no free lunch. You can only squeeze the turnip so long before there is no more blood. You have reaped what you sew.

Susan,
Thank you for saying what so many are feeling. In my neighborhood, just on my street alone, are 10 homes where at least one member, often the breadwinner, has lost their job - and cannot replace it. Most of these pple are over 40, some closer to 50, w kids of all ages in their households. This unfortunate category includes myself too. It is not just companies w a professional bent that aren't hiring, even things you could count on, like retail, are not hiring or if they are, you are competing w the younger set too.
I finished my undergrad during the 80's; another period of recession and lack of jobs, so I've been there before. But I've never seen it like this. It is just really scary.