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PERSPECTIVE: WHAT IF THE JOBS DON’T COME BACK?
By Wayne Pearson
In a blog written in April of this year, I stated that many of the private sector jobs that
have been lost will not come back because of the new technologies in communication,
robotization and the impact of globalization. Every recession provides businesses the
opportunity to implement new tools and technologies that will increase productivity, and
that is exactly what is happening during this recession. Unfortunately, these new
programs usually eliminate jobs, and this time the brunt of this change is being born by
those who are in the fifth decade of their lives. What is so sad is that our Government and
the Main Stream Media seem to have no clue about this pending crisis.
These persons who are in their fifties are not ne’re-do-wells. They were managers,
technicians, excellent knowledge workers or skilled workers in manufacturing, and they
are in their prime. Sadly, however, most of those who are in their fifties are under trained
to compete with the new way their old companies will be operating, and are over trained
for the menial jobs that might be available
Many of these out of work have stopped looking for work! It is a joke to read and hear
constantly that the unemployment rate is just under ten percent, when everyone knows
that it is closer to twenty percent because so many persons have dropped out of the work
force or are working part time. We are told that there are 26 million of these people.
Even if new jobs develop as the economy recovers, it will be more attractive for
businesses to hire younger workers than to re-hire the 50 year-olds. The fact is that the
youth have a far superior grasp of the new communication and robotization technologies.
Many have been using the computer since kindergarten. On the other hand, the fifty year
old is out of date and struggling to grasp the technology let alone master it. Moreover, the
20 year old can be employed at half of the salary and bonuses as the 50 year old.
Coinciding with this trend in new technology and globalization is the fact that the private
business community fears the impact the Obama Administration’s programs will have on
business. Pertinent to the issue being discussed here is the cost of medical insurance and
who has to be covered. In this atmosphere of uncertainty business leaders and their
bankers cannot determine the risk. Consequently, they are reluctant to make any
investment in personnel. In fact, if they had their druthers, they would have as few
permanent employees as possible.
For nearly two years this Administration had done virtually nothing to deal with the
problem of how to re-employ the 50 year-olds. Moreover, for all practical purposes
everything that they have done actually exacerbates the problem. The enactment of
Obamacare and the new Wall Street regulations along with bail outs and out right
takeovers of private enterprise such as we saw with General Motors along with the threat
of ‘cap and trade’ legislation” do nothing to solve this unemployment problem. Then the
Administration dilly dallies with the question of the so-called Bush tax cuts and talks
constantly about “taxing the rich”, which further obfuscates the issue. Increasing the tax
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on dividends, for example, increases the cost of capital. If you cannot afford to pay for
the capital to expand a facility, you just don’t expand. Is it any wonder the business
community is locked into inaction?
Why our government has acted in such a casual and nonchalant way is not only a mystery
but an absolute outrage. A clue was provided by Obama in a very recent interview with
Brian Williams of NBC. Obama actually stated that he was not concerned about the
problems of today or even those that might affect the election of 2012, but rather he was
concerned about changing the country and the world so that it becomes a wonderful one
for the children and grandchildren. In other words, to hell with the 50 year olds, full
speed ahead for the transformation of America Obama promised during the campaign.
Who among us is smart enough to know how to construct the country 30 or more years
from now so that it is perfect? Only an egotistic narcissistic personality who has the
absolute determination to transform this country into a socialist state would even make a
statement such as that let alone be serious about taking the actions to bring this about.
However, our President and his aides are operating on the premise that they should take
advantage of any crisis to enact their ideological agenda.
This problem is about to become a crisis. Many of these persons have been collecting
unemployment insurance for nearly two years and there is no end in sight. But what
happens when our financially strapped government has to cut off these payments? Do we
think that these persons will just shut up and go away?
Now, I will be the first to say that the solution to the unemployed 50 year old is going to
be hard to find, and maybe harder to implement. But here are a few ideas.
First and foremost, in no case should the person be permitted to continue to collect
unemployment insurance beyond what has normally been permitted in past recessions,
which is about 26 weeks, and no person should be paid for sitting at home doing nothing.
We should give them one of three choices:
· Go back to school to be retrained
· Perform work in community service, for work we need but which is not currently
being funded.
· Become a contract employee.
Back to School: Some of the 50 year-olds could benefit from additional schooling, such
as, for example, becoming a nurse or nurse practitioner. The cost of school should be
supported by low cost loans. They should be paid the same amount as their
unemployment insurance as long as they receive acceptable grades for their school work.
Community Service: Persons performing community service should be paid the same
amount as unemployment insurance even if the work is menial and below the person’s
skills.
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Contract Employee: The idea of becoming a contract employee should be promoted.
Companies still need the skills of the 50 year olds, but they do not want to be obligated to
cover health insurance, F.I.C.A. payments for Social Security, pension set asides and
want to avoid the hassle from government agencies if the work the contract employee is
performing is no longer needed. Arrangements would be “arms length” which means that
when the contract is completed the relationship ends, period! The Commerce Department
aided by the Department of Education should be able to provide the needed information
as to how to become a self-employed person. The National Association of Self Employed
(NASE) would be a good place to learn how to set up an ‘arms length’ contract.
These concepts are not flushed out in considerable detail, but all would be superior to
having these people sit idly at home doing nothing while feeling frantic over what to do
for themselves and families. Moreover, as they perform useful work, they are more likely
to feel better about themselves.
Before everyone gasps at these ideas, we need to consider what is likely to happen if we
do nothing. Doing nothing means that we have to pay unemployment insurance
indefinitely or decide to cut off unemployment insurance and let the unemployed 50 yearold
to fend for him or her self. The former is a plan for the Country’s going bankrupt. The
latter is a plan for chaos. We need only to look to Greece and the rioting in the streets to
see what likely will happen if we cut them off. We could and probably would have
rioting in our streets here in the United States with all the adverse consequences.
We must do something! But the first step is to have the government get its priorities in
the right order. The first priority is not to worry about and spend time and money to
create a new world 30 years from now, but to act today to fix the critical unemployment
problem.
Let your representatives know that focusing on job creation is their first and only priority,
And tell them that if they don’t get it, “we the people” will see that they, like the out of
work 50 year-olds, will be “fired”!
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