Jobs: Have I Got Your Attention Yet?

Probably the most important news this year appeared today in the Op Ed column of Bob Herbert.  He wrote about the need for a serious, long range plan to rebuild the nation’s job force, infrastructure, and manufacturing capabilities before we descend to the level of a third world country.  With the current state of the economy, the hyper-partisanship, and the sheer ignorance and selfishness of the American people, I see that as the obvious conclusion to the path on which we find ourselves today.

Here is an excerpt from a news article about Pakistan that also appeared in the Times this a.m.  It could just as easily have occurred in this country…

The root of the problem is poverty, Pakistanis say, and a law would do little to stem the tide of desperate young people from the countryside looking for work.

“You can’t imagine the poverty,” said Muhamed Sharif, an employment agent who supplies maids, gardeners and security guards to wealthy residents of Lahore. “Sometimes they come in hungry. They will do anything for work.”

The article was about a 12 year old girl who cleaned floors, toilets, washed cars, etc. for a rich man and was paid $8 per month.

We were once proud.  We made stuff.  Now most of the people in the U.S. work for Wal-Mart.  Half of the kids today do not graduate high school.  They cannot read, count, or even figure out a cost/unit or pound at the local grocery store.  Of the kids who do graduate, half of them cannot do that either.  Go ahead, ask someone in the store to tell you how much something would cost if it was marked 20% off.  You would be lucky to find someone who could tell you.

This is serious.  How can we expect to compete in the world with a workforce that is basically illiterate and has no math skills.  I wrote an article here about college students needing to take an interest in their future a while back.  I finally discovered what stirred them out of apathy.  There is an item in an energy bill that will affect flat screen TVs and college students are afraid it will have a negative impact on the games on Nitendo and Play Station.

If you think this is bleak, take a look at the Tea Baggers who met this week.  They want to get rid of Medicare, privatize Social Security, and reduce taxes.  Because of the recent Supreme Court decision that lets corporations spend big time to elect legislators and presidents, good luck ever getting someone in office who will be responsible to the average person.  With the hyper-partisanship and the future corporate sponsorship of candidates, some changes are going to have to happen now or you can plan on fighting for that $8/month job in this country very soon.  I don’t know who reads this rag, but I better see some organizing soon or we will all end up in breadlines before you can say, “I should have been paying attention.  This IS serious.”