Discussion Forums > Politics
Obama's Health Care Speech 9-9-9... Way to go Repubs... :\
relic2279:
--- Quote from: Nikkoru on October 08, 2009, 02:56:38 AM --- what's the point of electing either party if they're just going be blatantly bribed into doing whatever? I know I should be disillusioned at this point, but still, the discourse is so tainted a reasonable argument for or against genuine health care reform is irrelevant.
--- End quote ---
Well, at least Obama is doing what he can. He just kicked out the lobbyists off white house advisory boards, and they're pissed:
"There is fury,” said a lobbyist who sits on one of the committees. “Absolute fury.”
http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?parm1=5&docID=news-000003216413
vicious796:
--- Quote from: furuoshiki on October 08, 2009, 12:54:57 AM ---
--- Quote from: kostya on October 07, 2009, 09:18:35 PM ---You have been lucky with jobs. Out of the last 5 years, my father has had the option of having insurance through his workplace for a total of 4 months. He got laid off from his job. He then spent a year on unemployment improving his skills and looking for another professional job. After giving up on that, he got the only job that he could, working as an orderly in a mental institution (which did not give him health insurance either). After several more months, he found a job but he was a contractor so again, no benefits. He spent 3 years working for the company with his manager constantly promising him that a permanent job offer was going to occur soon, once the group gets the product out. The product flopped, the group got disbanded, and all contracts terminated, so he was once again laid off. Finally, this August he found a permanent job with benefits.
One of my friends has to get insurance through her school because both her parents run a small business so to get insurance for the family would be prohibitively expensive. Her parents are uninsured since it is cheaper to just pay medical bills out of pocket.
--- End quote ---
This is the reality for I'd say...60% of Americans, especially in non-urban regions. The only reason I have health insurance is because my parents worked for the city government and I most likely will follow suit (at either the city or state level to begin with).
Urban health care is much more accessible and sometimes more affordable than rural in my opinion.
--- Quote from: vicious796 on October 06, 2009, 12:58:17 PM ---I honestly don't see how people don't get jobs.
--- End quote ---
Haha, have you looked around you? Unemployment currently approaching 10% (Assumed 20% for those other 10% dropped from unemployment benefits).
This means something close to 1 in 5 Americans are out of work :)
--- End quote ---
As I've stated on numerous occasions throughout this board, I live and work in Northern Virginia so I don't really see most of the country. Government money is floating around here (thanks for your taxes) and I have no friends or family who are currently unemployed or have been for reasons other than resignation in the past couple of years. So, looking around me doesn't do much good because I'm where the money's at.
However, what I do see around me are retail stores with job openings. I do see food joints with positions available. I do see monster.com and washingtonpost.com's job listings being added to daily. I fully understand that baby boomers are refusing to give up their positions because they either can't retire or simply don't want to. This puts a strain on generation X and a bigger one on the early Y because we went to university in DROVES compared to all previous generations. We're also the first generation to experience what is called the "Quarter Life Crisis" because of this over populated professional workforce. Kids these days get home from college and sit at home because they can't find a professional job and don't want to put a retail job on their resume as their current workplace.
This logic was sound in a stable workforce. Getting a job below your credentials wasn't something you wanted to do for your interview. However, in this workforce, it's quite the opposite. It shows an ability to do what needs to be done, regardless of the cost. We just hired a new chemist here and he stood out above the other BECAUSE he continued to work jobs that were "below" him to get bye whereas a few other candidates did not.
Nikkoru:
--- Quote from: vicious796 on October 08, 2009, 01:46:12 PM ---
--- Quote from: furuoshiki on October 08, 2009, 12:54:57 AM ---
--- Quote from: kostya on October 07, 2009, 09:18:35 PM ---You have been lucky with jobs. Out of the last 5 years, my father has had the option of having insurance through his workplace for a total of 4 months. He got laid off from his job. He then spent a year on unemployment improving his skills and looking for another professional job. After giving up on that, he got the only job that he could, working as an orderly in a mental institution (which did not give him health insurance either). After several more months, he found a job but he was a contractor so again, no benefits. He spent 3 years working for the company with his manager constantly promising him that a permanent job offer was going to occur soon, once the group gets the product out. The product flopped, the group got disbanded, and all contracts terminated, so he was once again laid off. Finally, this August he found a permanent job with benefits.
One of my friends has to get insurance through her school because both her parents run a small business so to get insurance for the family would be prohibitively expensive. Her parents are uninsured since it is cheaper to just pay medical bills out of pocket.
--- End quote ---
This is the reality for I'd say...60% of Americans, especially in non-urban regions. The only reason I have health insurance is because my parents worked for the city government and I most likely will follow suit (at either the city or state level to begin with).
Urban health care is much more accessible and sometimes more affordable than rural in my opinion.
--- Quote from: vicious796 on October 06, 2009, 12:58:17 PM ---I honestly don't see how people don't get jobs.
--- End quote ---
Haha, have you looked around you? Unemployment currently approaching 10% (Assumed 20% for those other 10% dropped from unemployment benefits).
This means something close to 1 in 5 Americans are out of work :)
--- End quote ---
As I've stated on numerous occasions throughout this board, I live and work in Northern Virginia so I don't really see most of the country. Government money is floating around here (thanks for your taxes) and I have no friends or family who are currently unemployed or have been for reasons other than resignation in the past couple of years. So, looking around me doesn't do much good because I'm where the money's at.
However, what I do see around me are retail stores with job openings. I do see food joints with positions available. I do see monster.com and washingtonpost.com's job listings being added to daily. I fully understand that baby boomers are refusing to give up their positions because they either can't retire or simply don't want to. This puts a strain on generation X and a bigger one on the early Y because we went to university in DROVES compared to all previous generations. We're also the first generation to experience what is called the "Quarter Life Crisis" because of this over populated professional workforce. Kids these days get home from college and sit at home because they can't find a professional job and don't want to put a retail job on their resume as their current workplace.
This logic was sound in a stable workforce. Getting a job below your credentials wasn't something you wanted to do for your interview. However, in this workforce, it's quite the opposite. It shows an ability to do what needs to be done, regardless of the cost. We just hired a new chemist here and he stood out above the other BECAUSE he continued to work jobs that were "below" him to get bye whereas a few other candidates did not.
--- End quote ---
It's easy to argue from anecdote, the unemployment numbers - and probably more importantly underemployment numbers - are still a glaring reality for people in almost every industry. I'm from Oshawa, the home of GM in Canada, the labour market can't absorb the sudden disappearance of the auto industry, and these people aren't itching for white collar positions. They are at least secure in knowing that if they get ill at this point they aren't going to go bankrupt if they can't find work, which is probably one of the few pluses while their economic future is spinning the drain.
Working below your personal economic worth - combining the value of your skill set and the cost of being educated in said skill set - merely proves you're willing to be exploited, thus suppress wages for everyone as people compete for labour which once would have been in demand by employers prior to the globalized effect on the economy. Although it is undoubtedly necessary for some, which is sad.
Klocknov:
--- Quote from: vicious796 on October 08, 2009, 01:46:12 PM ---
--- Quote from: furuoshiki on October 08, 2009, 12:54:57 AM ---
--- Quote from: kostya on October 07, 2009, 09:18:35 PM ---You have been lucky with jobs. Out of the last 5 years, my father has had the option of having insurance through his workplace for a total of 4 months. He got laid off from his job. He then spent a year on unemployment improving his skills and looking for another professional job. After giving up on that, he got the only job that he could, working as an orderly in a mental institution (which did not give him health insurance either). After several more months, he found a job but he was a contractor so again, no benefits. He spent 3 years working for the company with his manager constantly promising him that a permanent job offer was going to occur soon, once the group gets the product out. The product flopped, the group got disbanded, and all contracts terminated, so he was once again laid off. Finally, this August he found a permanent job with benefits.
One of my friends has to get insurance through her school because both her parents run a small business so to get insurance for the family would be prohibitively expensive. Her parents are uninsured since it is cheaper to just pay medical bills out of pocket.
--- End quote ---
This is the reality for I'd say...60% of Americans, especially in non-urban regions. The only reason I have health insurance is because my parents worked for the city government and I most likely will follow suit (at either the city or state level to begin with).
Urban health care is much more accessible and sometimes more affordable than rural in my opinion.
--- Quote from: vicious796 on October 06, 2009, 12:58:17 PM ---I honestly don't see how people don't get jobs.
--- End quote ---
Haha, have you looked around you? Unemployment currently approaching 10% (Assumed 20% for those other 10% dropped from unemployment benefits).
This means something close to 1 in 5 Americans are out of work :)
--- End quote ---
As I've stated on numerous occasions throughout this board, I live and work in Northern Virginia so I don't really see most of the country. Government money is floating around here (thanks for your taxes) and I have no friends or family who are currently unemployed or have been for reasons other than resignation in the past couple of years. So, looking around me doesn't do much good because I'm where the money's at.
However, what I do see around me are retail stores with job openings. I do see food joints with positions available. I do see monster.com and washingtonpost.com's job listings being added to daily. I fully understand that baby boomers are refusing to give up their positions because they either can't retire or simply don't want to. This puts a strain on generation X and a bigger one on the early Y because we went to university in DROVES compared to all previous generations. We're also the first generation to experience what is called the "Quarter Life Crisis" because of this over populated professional workforce. Kids these days get home from college and sit at home because they can't find a professional job and don't want to put a retail job on their resume as their current workplace.
This logic was sound in a stable workforce. Getting a job below your credentials wasn't something you wanted to do for your interview. However, in this workforce, it's quite the opposite. It shows an ability to do what needs to be done, regardless of the cost. We just hired a new chemist here and he stood out above the other BECAUSE he continued to work jobs that were "below" him to get bye whereas a few other candidates did not.
--- End quote ---
You also brought another point, due to the current generation going threw college and grabbing such low jobs the HSD and GED are becoming less and less sought after. Also jobs are looking for people with a degree in something else so they can gain money from having to train them for the current job. Now also due to manual labor becoming a mexican work force most of those jobs are requiring you to know Spanish (well at least around). So you currently have kids that are being forced to go to college or sit at home banging in applications just to try to get a job to try and go to college. Though I'm also in an area with high job demand and a low supply.
vicious796:
--- Quote from: Nikkoru on October 09, 2009, 12:21:10 AM ---It's easy to argue from anecdote, the unemployment numbers - and probably more importantly underemployment numbers - are still a glaring reality for people in almost every industry. I'm from Oshawa, the home of GM in Canada, the labour market can't absorb the sudden disappearance of the auto industry, and these people aren't itching for white collar positions. They are at least secure in knowing that if they get ill at this point they aren't going to go bankrupt if they can't find work, which is probably one of the few pluses while their economic future is spinning the drain.
Working below your personal economic worth - combining the value of your skill set and the cost of being educated in said skill set - merely proves you're willing to be exploited, thus suppress wages for everyone as people compete for labour which once would have been in demand by employers prior to the globalized effect on the economy. Although it is undoubtedly necessary for some, which is sad.
--- End quote ---
In the job market of yesteryear, I would agree with what I bolded, but not in today's job market, not at our age. Maybe for someone who has professional experience of over 5 years, not of a fresh college grad. This is coming from someone who just hired someone based on their resume and assumed work ethic. So far, we've been right. He's a good kid and he understands responsibility.
However, everyone is acting as though everywhere is hurting and only a few places aren't. I'd argue that there are some select areas, mostly places that were heavily employed by the auto industry, that are in shambles and that skews the numbers just as much as areas such as mine do. You speak of a place that was a HQ of sorts for GM. No offense, but no shit there's incredible job loss there. I have family in New Jersey and it seems middle ground. There are more unemployed people than normal but not to a horrid degree. People may go a month or so without a job but aren't staying on unemployment forever.
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