Tom Delay: People Are Unemployed Because They Want To Be

[Kevin]

If you say so.

[KAPital PHINUst]

Originally Posted by Kevin

Been watching the thread for awhile now. The bolded text is where I'm at. I understand the excuses I'm hearing, but I don't consider them valid. When libra (for example) said she's only had two interviews in the course of three months, yet doesn't feel she's responsible at all for her financial situation, I understood that she felt as if she had no responsibility for her situation, but I disagreed.

I can see that this is a very personal and emotionally charged topic. And it's not that I don't understand that these folks are experiencing real emotional pain -- I get that. But at some point, we all have to take responsibility for our actions and inactions.

What's funny is that they actually think what you or I do is even relevant to the conversation. Here we are trying to make the very valid point that if one is out of work for more than a year, (or a lengthy period of time along those lines) that they might bear some responsibility for that -- not an earth shattering proposition.

I think that what a lot of folks here are not getting is this:

Maurice Phipps (Laurence Fishburne) said it best in the movie Higher Learning talking with Malik Williams (Omar Epps):

"You must rid yourself of the attitude that the world owes you something. It breeds laziness."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MK2OVfG1ds
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqG8-...eature=related

LA, I have nothing to prove to you or anyone else here, contrary to what you may think. I know for a fact my talents and abilites I can showcase to the marketplace speaks for itself. If anything, I think all the scenarios and anecdotes I am hearing about why folks here cannot find work and they have so many degrees says more about them having something to prove to the world and why the world owes them something.

Americans need to drop the entitlement mentality. We are barely entitled to the air we breathe, much less anything else we are provided in life.

[agzg]

Originally Posted by cheerfulgreek

I don't need to apply. During my rotations, my income comes through my vending machines, plus during the summer, I work at the regular vet clinic, where I've always worked.

I just think people are making up so many excuses as of "why I can't" instead of doing whatever it takes to make something happen. When my dad passed away in 2006, he and my mom had been putting money aside for me to go to vet school, so when I graduate I wouldn't have any loans to pay back. I also knew that once I started my rotations, I wasn't going to be able to work part time, so during the summer months I started saving for a vending machine, and the money I made from that one, I bought another one, and so on. I have 5 of them now. They pay all of my bills and add more income to what I already have during the summer months. I just think there's always a way to make things happen.

That wasn't my point, but ok.

My point was that it seems easy enough to get a job at Burger King, since they have a Help Wanted sign in the window, but if you have a Bachelor's degree and apply at the beginning or even the middle of vet school, they may hire you because they know they get you for X number of years in the future. They're less likely to hire someone in your position, with a Bachelor's Degree and only a few months left of Vet school, because they won't get a return on their investment for you (in terms of training) because you'll be out the door. Same with someone who has graduated - they're quite suspect of why someone would apply to the lower-level jobs because they figure you'll quit as soon as something better comes along, and they're lose their human capital investment in you.

It's theoretically quite nice to say "oh well work in fast food or retail until something better comes along" but it becomes complex when companies like that are making hiring decisions, because they often weigh potential employees against the job responsibilities/company culture just as hard as employers for high salary positions.

Not saying it doesn't happen, just saying it's quite a bit less likely.

I was unable to get a job at Target after graduating from Grad School. I was able to get a job at Target while in Grad School. Some people luck out and get hired anyway. Short way to say what I just said.

[christiangirl]

This needs to be repeated:

Originally Posted by DrPhil

There is a massive brain fart in this thread and the stinch is coming from the people who are still stuck on the basic understandings that the rest of us acknowledged in our opening posts.

Maybe jogging in circles is fun to them.

"How many posts can a poster post if a poster can post posts?"

[PM_Mama00]

Originally Posted by LatinaAlumna

PiKAss2001, I already showed you where you contradicted yourself. As many others have explained to you, READING IS FUNDAMENTAL.

Further, the only folks who think a degree from a top tier school can be "worthless" are those who couldn't get in. Now, you can either continue to place yourself in the same category as als436, Kevin, Kapital, etc., or you can just admit that you don't really understand the dynamics of this topic and be on your merry way. !Gracias!

Actually, while his school isn't exactly "top tier", it's a really good school connected to one of the top medical schools in the area. And, I'd say he has a pretty good grasp on things considering where he came from.

Originally Posted by PiKA2001

I'm sure it drives you nuts that someone who received a BA from a lower ranked school could find more success in life than a graduate of a top tier university, but it happens all the time. How's that humanities degree working out for ya? Not fair, right?

Make fun or try to discredit me and the university I went to all you want, but it's not going to change the ultimate fact that I am in my 20's already making DAMN GOOD money and STILL EMPLOYED!!!!!!!

But, let's face it, you have something on your resume that many people don't. I'm surprised you wouldn't be able to find a job around here with that.

Originally Posted by Kevin

Been watching the thread for awhile now. The bolded text is where I'm at. I understand the excuses I'm hearing, but I don't consider them valid. When libra (for example) said she's only had two interviews in the course of three months, yet doesn't feel she's responsible at all for her financial situation, I understood that she felt as if she had no responsibility for her situation, but I disagreed.

I've had two interviews in the last year. I've been applying everywhere. What's my responsibility in that? My resume was created by someone who has worked in Human Resources for 10+ years and now runs part of a staffing firm. So, what am I missing here?

-- and if you're really smart, be like PIKA and live in a place where the jobs are, like Texas, Oklahoma, D.C., the Dakotas, etc.

And, once again, moving costs money. How do you move if you have no job and no money to do it? Also, I have two parents with serious heart conditions. I'm not going to up and leave them. They own businesses, they're not gona up and leave. So, do I take responsibility and take care of those who've taken care of me all my life? Or do I leave them (if I had the money) to find a job?


And towards everyone else.... We all agree that there are people USING the system that COULD go find a job. I have a friend who has gotten jobs at Kroger, Walmart, Sam's Club, etc. She shows up to orientations and decides it doesn't work with her "schedule". (she has none) She uses coupons to the point where that business owes HER money. Those kinds of people make me sick. Then, there's people like a few of my friends, who have Masters and Bachelors degrees, who genuinely cannot find a job and NEED unemployment to pay bills. What do they do? Shrug off those bills? Then they get bad credit. So, HOW do they move with bad credit?

Kevin I'm seriously asking you those questions and not trying to be smart. Since you seem to be a professional on this topic, I'd like you to answer them.

[Kevin]

So you say you're choosing to stay home to take care of your parents rather than casting a wider net? That's the point it is your choice. You are responsible. I'm not judging you or saying you're a bad person, but you have to admit some complicity in your situation. It's not your fault that Michigan is a bad place to be at the moment, but it is your fault that you choose to stay there. In fact, your decision aside from that is pretty laudable. You put your family ahead of your career. Good for you, but you did that.

And moving doesn't cost all that much. Put your chit in a UHaul and go. If you have a job waiting on the other end of the trip, there's where the money comes from.

[dreamseeker]

^^ LOL.

[epchick]

Originally Posted by Kevin

Texas' rate is much less than Michigan's

PiKA is from Michigan. He wasn't "smart" in the sense that he left Michigan and came to Texas to get a job. He just got lucky that his job transferred him out of Michigan.

[PM_Mama00]

Originally Posted by Kevin

So you say you're choosing to stay home to take care of your parents rather than casting a wider net? That's the point it is your choice. You are responsible. I'm not judging you or saying you're a bad person, but you have to admit some complicity in your situation. It's not your fault that Michigan is a bad place to be at the moment, but it is your fault that you choose to stay there. In fact, your decision aside from that is pretty laudable. You put your family ahead of your career. Good for you, but you did that.

And moving doesn't cost all that much. Put your chit in a UHaul and go. If you have a job waiting on the other end of the trip, there's where the money comes from.

UHauls aren't cheap. And leaving your parents house to pay rent or whatever in another state isn't cheap. Where does that money come from?

[knight_shadow]

Originally Posted by Kevin

So you say you're choosing to stay home to take care of your parents rather than casting a wider net? That's the point it is your choice. You are responsible. I'm not judging you or saying you're a bad person, but you have to admit some complicity in your situation. It's not your fault that Michigan is a bad place to be at the moment, but it is your fault that you choose to stay there. In fact, your decision aside from that is pretty laudable. You put your family ahead of your career. Good for you, but you did that.

And moving doesn't cost all that much. Put your chit in a UHaul and go. If you have a job waiting on the other end of the trip, there's where the money comes from.

Sooo...UHaul accepts future income in order to rent out trucks?

If you have no money because you have no job, you can't just up and move.

[Kevin]

Originally Posted by knight_shadow

Sooo...UHaul accepts future income in order to rent out trucks?

If you have no money because you have no job, you can't just up and move.

Mow some lawns, babysit some kids, borrow some money. Use your resources.

If you have no resources, you are the only person you can blame for that.

[knight_shadow]

Originally Posted by Kevin

Mow some lawns, babysit some kids, borrow some money. Use your resources.

If you have no resources, you are the only person you can blame for that.

So the fact that most people have cut those expenditures out of their budgets is the job-seekers' fault as well?

[AGDee]

I do believe that Pika knows deep down that he was lucky to "escape" before 1) he had too many things tying him here and 2) things got as bad as they are now.

My ex was finally approved today for No Worker Left Behind funds... $10,000 to go back to school, even though he has an MBA in Finance. They originally told him only unskilled workers could qualify. He's thinking he's going to get his MSIS and go into IT auditing as a good fit with his accounting background. UNLESS he gets the job he is interviewing for on Monday, which I think sounds like a really good fit for him. Keeping fingers crossed. He has looked at truck driver school, which would cost around $3500 for a 3 week course, but they turned him down because he has bouts of vertigo. I must admit, the idea of him driving a semi and having a vertigo attack was a pretty scary thought. He talked to admissions counselors at several schools about an MSIS and about a teaching certificate. Given that every school district in the state is now laying off because of a drastic decrease in funding, he decided against the teaching certificate, which is good, because he is a grump and I think he'd be really grouchy toward the kids. He has taught at the University of Phoenix before and has applied for teaching jobs at all the community colleges in the area. Something along those lines may come up for Spring term. Because of the No Worker Left Behind funds, everybody and his uncle are going back to school and the community colleges had to close their admissions for the first time ever. Teaching at that level is a real possibility for him. None of these things happen immediately though. Although he's an accountant, he's not a tax accountant and he was laid off too close to tax season to do taxes this year, because the courses were already started when he was laid off. I just think it's presumptive to say that people aren't doing anything or being creative or thinking outside the box. He was seriously going to go to truck driving school. He's also applying for jobs out of state, in states where he has relatives he could live with, so he can still pay his mortgage here til he can sell his house. Which also means he would leave his children. Hardly an ideal situation, but he IS willing to do it if he has to.

[Kevin]

Originally Posted by knight_shadow

So the fact that most people have cut those expenditures out of their budgets is the job-seekers' fault as well?

Most people? Nah. There'll always be jobs for folks providing daycare, lawn mowing, house cleaning, etc.

If you need money, there's a way to get it.

I'm a believer in the ability of properly motivated people to find money. A good criminal lawyer can quote an unemployed person a $15,000 attorney's fee for a serious felony and somehow they can get the money.

A cross-country UHaul costs a few hundred bucks. If you can't put together that kind of money, you clearly aren't trying hard enough.

[knight_shadow]

Originally Posted by Kevin

Most people? Nah. There'll always be jobs for folks providing daycare, lawn mowing, house cleaning, etc.

If you need money, there's a way to get it.

I'm a believer in the ability of properly motivated people to find money. A good criminal lawyer can quote an unemployed person a $15,000 attorney's fee for a serious felony and somehow they can get the money.

A cross-country UHaul costs a few hundred bucks. If you can't put together that kind of money, you clearly aren't trying hard enough.

I really hope you're never in the position I was once in (trying to figure out where your next meal was going to come from).

When you have to pick-and-choose how you're going to eat, UHaul is pretty far down on your list of priorities.