Why are you unemployed

Why are you unemployed?

Take a look in the employment section of the newspaper. It's not exactly blank. Look at the job sites on the Internet. There are jobs waiting for someone willing to actually show up and work. Someone who speaks fluently and treats people with respect.

Our State and National Employment rate is very high. Very few people are not working. When Clinton was running for reelection in 1996 we had a National unemployment rate of around 5.6% and he and the media gleefully declared we were at full employment as a Nation. The month after Clinton left office the unemployment rate started climbing. Why? It had nothing to do with President Bush's policies. The economy was two quarters into a recession. Now we have about the same level of unemployment and the same people in the news media are now claiming that unemployment is out of control and we're in a crisis.

There are jobs to be had. There is no excuse for being unemployed for a long period of time. We provide free education through grade 12 and if you're poor you get free college. If you're smart and get good grades in high school you may get a scholarship. If you're very athletic you may get a scholarship. If you really have to you can sit in the library and educate yourself or use the internet. Our county provides many ways for a person to get the education needed to get a decent job. We even have job retraining programs to train people in new skills so they can change careers if unemployed. All you have to do is participate.

As a Nation and State we go to great lengths to provide at no cost everything a person needs to get the education needed to obtain a job. Yet, people refuse to do what is needed. They expect someone to just hand them a 40k+/year job without having any training or experience. The truth is many of these people are in the position they are in because of the bad choices they made. They may be addicted to drugs or alcohol. Others refuse to accept the facts and retrain for a new career. Others refuse to work entry level jobs because they think they should be paid more to start out. It does not work that way. You work your way up the pay scale. Whatever your excuse is it just that an excuse to make you feel better about the bad choices you made by blaming someone else. Others just refuse to work. What am I supposed to do about that? Keep handing them more of my money? Heck NO! I refuse to keep doing that. At some point we have to say enough is enough. You've been given all the resources to help yourself succeed and you chose to do nothing. So you're on your own. Anytime that you're ready to try again and actually do what is needed feel free to come back and participate in the education and training process. I'm more than willing to help someone that is going to work at helping themselves and get themselves self sufficient. I refuse to keep helping someone that refuses to work. That folks IS compassion. It is also tough love. That is what we should be doing as a Nation and State.

BTW: None of the above applies to those that are physically or mentally unable to take care of themselves (and I do not mean drug and alcohol addiction). I do recognize that some people are born with various conditions that require them to be taken care of by someone else or the Government for their entire life. Others may have suffered injury at no fault of their own. I have no issue with doing that.