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

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131–140 of 160 posts

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

#131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes? Why does the US have to fight in the global economy with one armed tied behind our back? And how are trade policy and China's human rights abuses in any way related?

My point is that just because one country is doing it doesn't mean that it's the right thing to do. Isolationism, and the concept of 'us vs. them' at a global level needs to die. Humans are a global species, and the longer it takes us to realize that the worse off we will be at trying to solve global problems, like economics.

That's a prisoner's dilemma. If you open up, and the other side doesn't reciprocate (and China doesn't, to put it VERY mildly), you will lose. A lot.

Also, if that happens, you have the worst of all possible worlds : the situation gets worse (more resources are more inequal), AND the party that tried to get it fixed is the one that loses the most resources. This, of course, will make any future attempt to fix inequality that much harder.

It's just not that simple.

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

#132

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)?

Look, I'm not evaluating their virtue as human beings or their contributions to society. I'm saying that in a functioning market economy, prices/wages reflect an informed estimate of the balance between supply and demand. If you're telling people stories of a shortage and sky-high prices, then offering to buy for well below "sky-high", well, you're lying to someone, and let's just hope it's yourself.

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

#133
post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That only applies to companies accepting only (or virtually only) government health insurance, of which there are either few or none. In reality, it’s part of the reason treatment is so expensive. They charge private entities a lot more to make up for the government mandated rates. The law is that you can’t charge the government more than anyone else. And this is after we swore we would never let another Rwanda or an…

> And this is after we swore we would never let another Rwanda or another Serbia happen. What on earth does this have to do with health insurance?

I’m sorry, I was editing another reply in a tab on my iPhone and something went wrong.

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

#134
3.5 million Americans could either be at work today or looking for jobs. That would be more fuel for the U.S. economy and a bigger source of workers for businesses crying out about a shortage of labor.

Yeah right. It's my experience that companies do not care about picking up anyone who is not already perfectly tailored for the role needed. If that person hasn't been found, the req just sits there. Sometimes for a year or more. That there is some "unfilled gap" of jobs is a fallacy.

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

#135
post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Honest question: how do you survive. I don’t feel like I’ve ever had the option to opt out, unless I wanted to move home with Mom. The opportunity might be different than it used to be.

I sold my equity back to the business when I left. It wasn't crazy money, but enough to tide me over while transitioning to self-suffiency - I'm now the proud owner of a shack and a few acres of halfway decent arable land in a remote corner of Uruguay. $25,000 outlay. Becoming a citizen and all that is easy here. I know it's not an option open to everyone, and I'll be honest and say that a lot of the folks I've met h…

So you had to learn Spanish :)

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

#136

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…

Their own government is also failing to make it possible to affordably live in the area. Local governments doing their best to keep new housing illegal, but government nonetheless.

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

#137
post #117

I didn’t read the study, but an even bigger factor than SSDI is Medicaid expansion. Free insurance with no co-pays and deductibles is worth a lot of money if you consume any healthcare services, and you can only get it if you don’t earn more than 140% FPL.

> Free insurance with no co-pays and deductibles is worth a lot of money if you consume any healthcare services, and you can only get it if you don’t work. The Medicaid expansion population is up to 138% of Federal Poverty Level, so it's not “available only if you don't work”, and the vast majority of states participating in the expansion impose cost sharing requirements (which work like deductibles, though at least…

The Medicaid population excludes those who pay any portion of subsidized ACA policies, even when the subsidy is 95+% (e.g. paying $10/month for a Bronze policy with the taxpayers paying the other $500+).

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

#138
post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I hope people can understand the difference between getting a feel for someone's temperament, vs. getting a feel for their political opinions. I highly doubt that the situation in question was the former and not the latter.

Crucial difference. Only meant to suggest that there is some possibility that the question was probing at temperament. Asking about politics might be used as a method of checking how easy it is to anger someone, since it is a topic that causes many to control of their emotions.

[deleted]

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

#139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People are so complicated that most "tests" like this, to see how somebody responds, strike me as useless. You are not in a controlled environment, and pretending you are is foolish. You might get a reaction and presume to know the cause, but it's hard to be sure. Maybe somebody reacts badly to a strong signal that the interviewer doesn't know how to be appropriate and professoonal in an interview.

Strongly agree with your statement, but I still think it is understandable for interviewers to want to know how their interviewee will react in situations that can easily lead to big conflicts. If you reflexively act in a way that escalates in stressful situations, that's useful information in a hiring decision.

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

#140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

the universal expectation is that you are available and ready to work Maybe among Silicon Valley startups. That has absolutely not been the case at any of my jobs at companies ranging from 5 to tens of thousands of employees.

It's the same in every company. Things need to run 24/7 and there are never enough people to take care of it. There will always be some suckers who are pushed to work overnight and week end.

That sounds like bad management. There are companies where you can work your 40 hours, unplug when you go home, and still get a good salary.

Companies with poor working conditions usually suffer from poor management, which causes burnout and high turnover. The problem is that poor management is so common that many people think burnout and high turnover are normal.

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