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Why 3.5M Americans in their prime years aren’t working

marketwatch.com

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Re: Why 3.5M Americans in their prime years aren’t working

#101

Post by will_brown »

k_sh wrote: post #89
will_brown wrote: post #75

I can squeeze myself into that group due to long extents of unemployment in my prime years and I: - graduated college early - graduated law school early - was a judicial law school - co-developed and sold a patent pending business method for the automated calculation of fees in statutory litigation In my specific case, especially in law, one thing holds me back (essentially placing me on a do not hire blacklist) I ha…

It sounds like you're probably located in CA, have you looked into getting that possession taken off of your record, assuming the charge was in CA? The statewide legalization effort yielded[0] a provision that allows for review and possible expungement of marijuana-related charges. [0]: https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/convicted-of-a-marij...

I am in FL. I can seal/expunge the charge, as weird as this sounds if a criminal charge is sealed or expunged an applicant to the Florida Bar has to unseal/unexpunge the charge in order to apply to the Bar.

That’s really the reason I never took that step, though as a current member I can now take that step.

Re: Why 3.5M Americans in their prime years aren’t working

#102

Post by mixmastamyk »

hycaria wrote: post #72
tomohawk wrote: post #49

I personally know several people who are no longer competitive in various jobs due to the massive influx of illegal immigrants. These are tradesmen, landscapers, and others who used to be able to support their families and live in the area. Many of them now commute long distances (so they can live in lower cost areas) for far less pay. Their children are not following them into these jobs. And its not because they're…

So how do the immigrants manage to go by and live with the same wage?

I visited a friend from my restaurant days. A dozen bunk beds in the garage.

Re: Why 3.5M Americans in their prime years aren’t working

#103

Post by mcguire »

Next on tonight's news: disability cheats, the millions of Americans who could work, but don't.

Yep, I'm a cynic.

Then, there's this:

"After declining in inflation-adjusted terms from 1998 to 2007, minimum wages rose almost 11% in real terms between 2007 and 2016, Abraham and Kearney estimated. Firms may have outsourced jobs or spent more on automation to offset the higher costs of low-skilled labor."

I was unaware there were many minimum wage jobs that could be outsourced or replaced. Most are in the service industries, right?

Re: Why 3.5M Americans in their prime years aren’t working

#104

Post by mcguire »

throwaway65536 wrote: post #53
psyc wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What I've seen in tech is the idea that literally any number of false negatives is worth avoiding a single bad hire. It's fine to claim that trade-off is worth it to you, but it's ludicrous to simultaneously claim there's a shortage of talent. That's just a shortage of risk-free opportunity. Hey, I suffer from a shortage of risk-free opportunities too.

In this age of ghosting people, it seems like everybody is just eyeing everyone else for a reason to stop talking to them or pull the trigger on the block button. We used to be socially-integrated enough to put up with people's foibles and correct them until we are all within a liveable range. Now you cannot confront or give feedback without it blowing up into hyperbole. I have been openly asked about my politics at…

That would be an actionable question, no?

Re: Why 3.5M Americans in their prime years aren’t working

#105

Post by scilro »

refurb wrote: post #94
scilro wrote: post #71

>Higher minimum wages are probably another cause. >After declining in inflation-adjusted terms from 1998 to 2007, minimum wages rose almost 11% in real terms between 2007 and 2016, Abraham and Kearney estimated. Firms may have outsourced jobs or spent more on automation to offset the higher costs of low-skilled labor. Is it just me, or is this a shockingly misleading paragraph? That minimum wages rose in real terms t…

Real terms means inflation adjusted. Nominal means just the rate ignoring inflation.

Thanks, all. I thought that "real" was the same thing as nominal.

Re: Why 3.5M Americans in their prime years aren’t working

#106

Post by mcguire »

eli_gottlieb wrote: post #73
kmonsen wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We see this all the time in tech, cannot find people is usually cannot find people with the skills and experience we want for the price we are willing to pay. This will always be true if you offer less than the current market rate which startups seems to think they are entitled to.

I always hear people claiming tech is full of over-inflated salaries, then look at jobs in my area and see that people want a web-dev with 3-5 years of experience in specific frameworks and offer to pay about $82k/year. Yeah ok guys, that's pretty inflated, innit /s?

The median personal income in the US is $31-35k. The median household income was $59k last year.

What exactly are the requirements for a "web developer" with 3-5 years experience? More or less than a registered nurse with 3-5 years experience (~$60k)?

Re: Why 3.5M Americans in their prime years aren’t working

#107

Post by [deleted] »

psyc wrote: post #44
kmonsen wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We see this all the time in tech, cannot find people is usually cannot find people with the skills and experience we want for the price we are willing to pay. This will always be true if you offer less than the current market rate which startups seems to think they are entitled to.

What I've seen in tech is the idea that literally any number of false negatives is worth avoiding a single bad hire. It's fine to claim that trade-off is worth it to you, but it's ludicrous to simultaneously claim there's a shortage of talent. That's just a shortage of risk-free opportunity. Hey, I suffer from a shortage of risk-free opportunities too.

[deleted]

Re: Why 3.5M Americans in their prime years aren’t working

#108

Post by maxsilver »

mcguire wrote: post #106
eli_gottlieb wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I always hear people claiming tech is full of over-inflated salaries, then look at jobs in my area and see that people want a web-dev with 3-5 years of experience in specific frameworks and offer to pay about $82k/year. Yeah ok guys, that's pretty inflated, innit /s?

The median personal income in the US is $31-35k. The median household income was $59k last year. What exactly are the requirements for a "web developer" with 3-5 years experience? More or less than a registered nurse with 3-5 years experience (~$60k)?

Except nursing is experiencing a major shortage too - https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2016/02/nursing-s... So if anything, the low wages for nurses just just further supports the parent comment -- wages are too low.

If you want to fill a shortage, you need to start by raising wages substantially. If for no other reason than to at least allow new students some hope of ever repaying the always-increasing college costs required to enter these fields.

Re: Why 3.5M Americans in their prime years aren’t working

#109

Post by bittercynic »

eli_gottlieb wrote: post #74
hycaria wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well considering y combinator is not empty every year, there must be people who have a chance with that level of scrutiny.

And we have a word for those people: milquetoast . I'm not sure people would hire me after asking about my politics for 20 minutes. What, you're gonna employ someone after getting an earful about Marx and Bookchin?

Is it possible the political questions are really a test to see if you have the good sense to avoid bringing controversial politics to work? Maybe they were looking for something along the lines of "Political opinions will differ. I'm more interested in being part of a productive team than having my politics validated."

Re: Why 3.5M Americans in their prime years aren’t working

#110

Post by tomohawk »

PunchTornado wrote: post #99
tomohawk wrote: post #49

I personally know several people who are no longer competitive in various jobs due to the massive influx of illegal immigrants. These are tradesmen, landscapers, and others who used to be able to support their families and live in the area. Many of them now commute long distances (so they can live in lower cost areas) for far less pay. Their children are not following them into these jobs. And its not because they're…

Blaming on the immigrants again... I don't believe it. If you are a skilled landscaper or tradesman you are able to earn a good wage.

Stop putting words in my mouth. If I meant immigrants, I would have said so. Lawful immigrants have added much to our country and will continue to do so. Putting a bunch of law breakers into the same category is ridiculous.
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