Quote:
Originally Posted by MysticCat
Of course you can. You can come to the conclusion that one size doesn't fit all -- that one answer doesn't cover all situations, that every case is different. I know you learned how to do that in law school.
Some people are indeed resting on the dole. Others are doing everything within their power to find work -- any work -- and to make ends meet, but because of the job market in general, inability for one reason or another to move, health issues (their own or family members) or a host of other reasons, it's not happening for them.
The simplistic thinking comes in by assuming that what applies to some people applies to all people.
Well, I could go all philosophical on you and say because no man is an island entire of himself and because we are a society, not a mere collection of individuals, but I really don't think that advances dialogue.
These questions are a somewhat different discussion. I'll readily grant there can be a wide variety of political solutions to the problems of how to deal with the unemployed from total socialism to total reliance on personal and private charity and everything in between. These are hard questions and there are no easy answers. It's easy enough to say "they should find work," but what about children? It's easy enough to say "why should I pay their bills" but what about my (and your) health insurance premiums and other bills that are higher to recoup what others can't pay?
The blithe "well, they just don't really want to work so why should we help them" is a cop-out, a rationalization. It avoids asking the hard political questions about what society's role is or should be and what the implications to society as a whole of doing this, doing that or doing nothing at all actually are.
Don't get me wrong -- I don't mean this as a "Rah, Rah, Welfare." My point is simply that it's a complex and complicated issue (or set of issues) that requires real thinking, not platitudes.
I hope you're right about being gainfully employed the rest of your life. But I wouldn't take that for granted, if I were you. I know too many former lawyers who prove the assumption wrong.
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Brilliant, as always! The bolded made me chuckle.
Some of the posts in this thread are...interesting. They must be written by people who have never experienced unforeseen troubles and/or don't know anyone who has. The unemployed range from the average citizen who was always living paycheck to paycheck (some people commenting in this thread are probably doing the same--don't get brand new now and act like you'd be AWESOME if you lost your job)-------to people with PhDs who are standing in unemployment lines.
In fact, ALL of the unemployed people who I know have MBAs, masters, or PhDs. And they have ALL managed to get over the fear and depression to constantly seek employment. As someone said before, they are denied a whole lot of jobs because they are overqualified. Many companies would rather EXPLOIT low wage or moderate wage labor than hire someone with a higher degree who may be more conscious and demanding of everything.
So, many of these people have started their own businesses (thank GOD for savings investment money to invest in a business when you're unemployed, eh?); found SOMEONE who will hire them while they keep their eyes open for a CAREER option instead of a JOB; or done things like gone back to their cleaning business backgrounds and started power washing and cleaning homes for money.
Can you imagine how heartbreaking and time consuming it is to have a DOCTORATE and to be passing out cards for a power washing business where YOU are the main power washer on almost a full-time basis? That can be taxing on your mental and emotional health, your savings account (you have to buy things in order to clean things), and you possibly can't tend to your family as well because your new job isn't like your former position in your CAREER.
The people who are fucking the system are the EXCEPTION, just as with social welfare. People are giving the exception too much weight. It goes without saying that people who fuck the system should not get over on the system. DUH.