Where are all the workers?

[CPTCUFFS]

I am wondering where all the workers have gone. Restaurants are short handed, same with retail. Cops are quitting or retiring and the prisons are hurting for CO's. Are people just staying home? Are there more jobs available than people?

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

...deleted

[megasupermagnum]

I am wondering where all the workers have gone. Restaurants are short handed, same with retail. Cops are quitting or retiring and the prisons are hurting for CO's. Are people just staying home? Are there more jobs available than people?

It sounds like you have about 2 years of world history to catch up on.

[dverna]

I know a guy who did not work at all last year. His employer wanted him back, but with all the "free" money and handouts..."why work" was his response.

[beezapilot]

In my town, there are a LOT of manufacturing vacancies, good companies with good jobs. I've been retired for quite some time, but am looking at going back to work for a company that has an interesting, nay, fascinating process to make product. Should things work out it will be the highest paying job I've had in my lifetime, for an essentially entry level old guy -and they seem very happy to talk with me. For the younger guys there are companies offering apprenticeships in conjunction with night classes that the company pays for. The HR rep indicated that most applicants under 30 can't pass the drug/ legal screening.

[376Steyr]

During the Panic a lot of women were forced out of the workplace due to businesses and schools closing. For a lot of reasons, they're not going back to work.

[Winger Ed.]

This is happening all over the world, even China.

One of the best motivators for people to work a job is hunger.
The welfare state has taken most of that problem away.
If you live pretty close to the ground, you can get by without working, and a huge number of people are willing to do that.

[2wheelDuke]

There's a whole lot of factors in play.

The Law Enforcement profession has been under attack for over a decade now, and it's starting to show. I know several good officers that have taken other jobs or retired early. It's very difficult to get quality applicants these days. It used to be that veteran officers steered friends and family to the profession. For many years now, every seasoned officer I know is recommending that their friends and family consider other options instead.

[metricmonkeywrench]

As I put on my tin foil hat... this is all part of "the plan" to create a society entirely dependent on big government for everything.. medical guidance and control, minimum wage (transitional) jobs, normally the realm of the high school/collage students are now forced into paying "living wage". endless loans forgiven in the name of "higher education", endless unemployment benefits with no ROI, minimalizing criminal activity and a government leadership bent on creating fear and distrust with each other in the population while eroding rights and civil liberties and doing about everything but doing the simple business of governing the nation for the common good and ensuring the nation thrives and is self sufficient.

Luckily there are enough remaining that remember what "right looks like" from all parties to make a difference in the next election cycle, but the numbers grow fewer each year.

Where are the workers? Sitting at home playing video games or with their face stuck to a phone waiting for the next handout/bailout gifted to them by the administration and paid for by those who have not missed a day of work for the last 10~20 (40+ for some of us) years.

[Budzilla 19]

This is the truth!!!!!^^^^^^^^^^

[country gent]

Between the welfare, unemployment, and government pay outs bonuses and extensions it has become more profitable to not work than to start out at the lower rungs and work up as skills grow.

Its really sad that today's young people would rather stay home playing video games and partying than to actually go to work and learn a trade or build a profession. Whats really scary with this attitude is where they will be in 15-20 years. when there is no longer any one willing to give the handouts.

The colleges have priced themselves out of the equation and who wants to start out with thousands in school debts? The apprenticeship programs are pretty much gone. Starting out at a new job is hard until you have a few years and have worked up some.

The work ethic we knew and believed in isnt there anymore, the loyalty employers showed to employees and employees to the employers isnt there. So much has changed.

[Ithaca Gunner]

I retired some time ago and we were short on people then, and they were planning on expanding at out location by 90,000sq ft. I had a simple question for them then, ''Where are you going get the people? Why not build a new plant where people NEED jobs?'' This area was tapped out then, and there hasn't been a population boom that I can see, but they're building the addition now. I keep in touch with some of the people there and they're loosing more people than they can hire, 6 no-shows and 3 sexual harassment firings on just one production line fired since fall. One production line requires 20-25 people per shift, most are running with about 18-20, some are down to 12. This is a rural area with several production plants competing for workers that really require little to no skill and starting them out at $20.00hr. My old job has to start at $24.00hr. plus, depending on skill set now for someone with welding, mechanical, electrical, or machining skills and it takes them up to 6mo. to find just one person to fill a position. I know there's two guys in the shop about to retire this year and next. It's just not my problem anymore, I like being retired.

[MT Gianni]

Local lady was working at $15+ an hour, her child care was $13 for the 1st child 1/2 price for the second. She stays home with them now.

[Thundarstick]

Have any of you even began to ponder the changes to the workforce when we get single payer government insurance for everyone?

[MUSTANG]

1. Receiving welfare of all forms (Hosing, Food, Clothing, Cell Phones, ...) at Federal and State Expense.
2. Receiving free money Tuition Assistance, Living Expenses while going to what passes as "School, etc..
3. Receiving Child Subsidies such as cash Child Tax Credits, Low Inclone Credits, Child health care disbursement, Child Back Pack take home evening & weekend meals, .....
4. Working "Off Books" at semi-legitimate pursuits for some such as mowing yards, home repairs, etc....
5. Working "Off Books" as Car Jackers, Shop Thieves, extortionists on the streets and home invaders, etc...

There some who are semi-retired or retired and wanting to come back to work. The "HR" systems weed them out. It's illegal to age discriminate but the fact they do not have training in the latest IT software/hardware as an example rules them out even if they had 40 to 50 years of IT experience. So the Mid Level; entry Level land lesser qualified applicants get the job - or - the job goes unfilled because "No Qualified Applicants available.

Industry uses these "Open" positions that CAN NOT BE FILLED by qualified US Citizens as a Lever with Congress to Import Labor from off shore to fill these positions that US Citizens supposedly do not want, or are "Unqualified" for. I have been watching this trend for 20 years with the Silicone valley type companies across the US. Our "Illegal" imported labor tends to be on two extremes: (a) the low level Illegal Alien immigrant crossing the Borders or through other means (displacing Teenagers and low skill US Citizens from jobs) and (b) the high level Legal and Illegal immigrant coming into the Skilled Labor Force (IT, Legal, ...... and even News Casters). We see many come here on a "Work Visa" then disappear into the US after a couple of years. Irregardless if they remain on extended work visas or disappear into the US and become illegal (overstay) workers - they are taking jobs that could/would be filled by US Citizens otherwise.

[Idaho45guy]

My son worked for Facebook as a cook in their Seattle headquarters. Ran a little pizza shop. Made $25 an hour. His girlfriend is a teacher's aide and made about the same. Both are devout leftists.

Then Covid hit and Facebook sent him home with full pay. He played video games and fooled around with a raised bed garden for a few months, then got bored and started delivering pizzas for Domino's making an extra $3k a month. His girlfriend was also put on leave with full pay.

Then she got pregnant. He went back to work a couple of months ago at Facebook, but only a couple of days a week. Then my new granddaughter was born on Thanksgiving and he is back home on paternity leave, fully paid for, until February.

He hasn't had to work since March of 2020!!

And of course he thinks it is the greatest thing ever.

How can a society continue to function with such insanity? I guess we are going to find out.

[Winger Ed.]

Look on the bright side:
Whatever Facebook is paying him--- it's that much less they have to give to Democrats.

[country gent]

With older companies factories you also will see the "attrition rate", When they opened up they hired the full crew pretty much and the new hires will go in that cycle, yea a few from illness untimely leavings and such but the cycles are there in a strapped area this can be a real problem.

I can remember in the 70s one plant here sending out job applications in the mail addressed to resident. They opened around 1955 and then thru around 1960 they even hired in Kentucky and Tennessee busing them up to north west Ohio. "If you want a job,Get on the bus" There was temporary housing at the fair grounds and buses ran from there to the plant until they got established. The large groups close to the same age hired at one time tend to retire at or around the same time.


New technologies and processes have softened this some over the years

[rancher1913]

most of the help wanted jobs are scams. if a business posts jobs but can not find workers they do not have to repay the ppp loans the gov gave them.

lots of people were working 3 jobs to get ahead and after they were laid off, discovered they could get by on one job after adjusting how they live.

lots of older people about ready to retire said heck with it and retired.

lots of parents letting there kids live free under their roofs, why would the kid want to get a job

unemployment has nothing to do with the missing workers, you make much less on unemployment than you did working despite what the media says.

[Skipper]

As I put on my tin foil hat... this is all part of "the plan" to create a society entirely dependent on big government for everything.. medical guidance and control, minimum wage (transitional) jobs, normally the realm of the high school/collage students are now forced into paying "living wage". endless loans forgiven in the name of "higher education", endless unemployment benefits with no ROI, minimalizing criminal activity and a government leadership bent on creating fear and distrust with each other in the population while eroding rights and civil liberties and doing about everything but doing the simple business of governing the nation for the common good and ensuring the nation thrives and is self sufficient.

Luckily there are enough remaining that remember what "right looks like" from all parties to make a difference in the next election cycle, but the numbers grow fewer each year.

Where are the workers? Sitting at home playing video games or with their face stuck to a phone waiting for the next handout/bailout gifted to them by the administration and paid for by those who have not missed a day of work for the last 10~20 (40+ for some of us) years.

RULE FOR REVOLUTION #6:
BANKRUPT THE GOVERNMENT

The Rule.

Encourage government extravagance on every front. Get the government deeply into debt. Get the people dependent on government by providing for their every need. This destroys their independence, motivation and strength.

From LENIN'S BLUEPRINT FOR WORLD DOMINATION

https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/library/lenins-blueprint-for-world-domination-9632

[CPTCUFFS]

Thank you all for your responses. So many reasons from so many parts of the country. From here it does not look like a simple fix will take care of this problem.

[Silvercreek Farmer]

Can’t speak to the numbers, but suppressing immigration for/by any reason/method, tightens the labor supply.

[MUSTANG]

Can’t speak to the numbers, but suppressing immigration for/by any reason/method, tightens the labor supply.

So you are advocating the "Importation" of Labor while Facilitating US Citizens to remain Idle on the Public Dole?

[Silvercreek Farmer]

So you are advocating the "Importation" of Labor while Facilitating US Citizens to remain Idle on the Public Dole?

Nope, just pointing out the effects of supply and demand. Just like any issue, there are usually several factors at play.

Boomers are also retiring at a rapid pace, further reducing labor supply.

Lots of opportunity out there for those that want it right now, much better than when I entered the labor force.

[blue32]

I've been in LE for 15 years and have been applying to every private sector job that's remotely appealing for the last 6 months.

[Soundguy]

I am wondering where all the workers have gone. Restaurants are short handed, same with retail. Cops are quitting or retiring and the prisons are hurting for CO's. Are people just staying home? Are there more jobs available than people?
Around here some restaurants are closed two days a week because they can't get people in whenever you call for service from pest control companies and the phone companies they're 2 weeks out because they don't have enough staff I'm tired of all these people sitting around and collecting a check people need to go to work

[beechbum444]

As I put on my tin foil hat... this is all part of "the plan" to create a society entirely dependent on big government for everything.. medical guidance and control, minimum wage (transitional) jobs, normally the realm of the high school/collage students are now forced into paying "living wage". endless loans forgiven in the name of "higher education", endless unemployment benefits with no ROI, minimalizing criminal activity and a government leadership bent on creating fear and distrust with each other in the population while eroding rights and civil liberties and doing about everything but doing the simple business of governing the nation for the common good and ensuring the nation thrives and is self sufficient.

Luckily there are enough remaining that remember what "right looks like" from all parties to make a difference in the next election cycle, but the numbers grow fewer each year.

Where are the workers? Sitting at home playing video games or with their face stuck to a phone waiting for the next handout/bailout gifted to them by the administration and paid for by those who have not missed a day of work for the last 10~20 (40+ for some of us) years.

just curious about this endless loan forgiveness, Im an ICU nurse and no one has offered to forgive me loans......Im game

[abunaitoo]

welfare is great here.
You can get it as soon as you land and apply.
With many families, it's a way of life.
Generation after generation.
As soon as they have a baby, sometimes as young as 14, it's welfare train.
They even throw a big party for the babies first birthday.
$750 a month for each child, up to five.
Plus money for food, free cell phone, free school lunch and after school program, free car insurance, and for some, money for rent in the housing, free medical.
Some take home close to $5000 a month.
What a great deal.
Getting that kind of free money, why even think of working.
If they do work, what they make is deducted from the free money.

[Les Staley]

welfare is great here.
You can get it as soon as you land and apply.
With many families, it's a way of life.
Generation after generation.
As soon as they have a baby, sometimes as young as 14, it's welfare train.
They even throw a big party for the babies first birthday.
$750 a month for each child, up to five.
Plus money for food, free cell phone, free school lunch and after school program, free car insurance, and for some, money for rent in the housing, free medical.
Some take home close to $5000 a month.
What a great deal.
Getting that kind of free money, why even think of working.
If they do work, what they make is deducted from the free money.


That’s the rub..it punishes them for working!!

[Winger Ed.]

That’s the rub..it punishes them for working!!

Very true.
If you farm and harvest all the welfare benefits, it pays better than a $12-15. an hour job.

You don't have to worry about child care, putting a car on the road, work clothes, setting an alarm clock-
And you can't best the hours.

[Shawlerbrook]

Hard work used to be something you had to do to survive and could be proud of. These days sitting home living off others is acceptable rather than frowned upon.

[Bmi48219]

As I put on my tin foil hat... this is all part of "the plan" to create a society entirely dependent on big government for everything.

It’s called enslavement. Propagated by the wealthy elite who control banking and big business and doled out by self-serving politicians who want us to believe they’re on our side. And all it costs the population is their freedom.

[thxmrgarand]

I think it may have been 1947 when Milton Friedman said that if you pay people to not work you're going to have a lot of people not working. We've begun an inflationary cycle which may persist for some time. Borrowed government money is being handed out willy nilly. People are going to demand higher and higher wages, and government will pay them to not work until they are offered wages so high they decide to go to work. State government where I live imported lots of nurses because of pandemic shortages, at a cost of $750,000 per year per nurse, and those contracts are now going to be renewed for a second year. Government is able to borrow with no security because it can seize all wages and assets from the private sector if it needs to do so. Government can also raise taxes, and inflation is a kind of tax. In my state government pays for about 90 percent of all health care, and so the price for a particular therapy or surgery is about 70 percent higher than in the nearest large city (which is Seattle). Most people don't care what something costs so long as government is paying. Now government is likely buying one way or another over half of all food sold in the state, and it's easy to predict what will happen to food prices. Take the Kroger ad from the Seattle Times and the Kroger ad from the local paper; the ads are just about identical but the cost of every item is at least 20 percent higher and sometimes as much as 50 percent higher. Government has control. I don't know how this story ends. Comparing the federal payments to my state from the bill Congress did pass with the federal payments from that bill to another state I follow and my state received 6 times per capita what the other state did, and in my state that is inflationary. US taxpayers are paying to drive up prices in my state; it's as simple as that. Even though that is costing you money don't expect me to thank you. Yes, people here are being paid to stay home as they hold out for higher wages. If you're from W. Virginia I want to thank you for your US Senator Joe Manchin for keeping this from being even much worse.

[beechbum444]

thxmrgarand: As a response to your above post, if the next largest city to you is Seattle, where are you located?? If Washington state is paying nurses $750,000 a year, I'm more than happy to move there. AS for the rest of the post.......speechless

[Murphy]

I don't believe we have a shortage of workers. What I do believe, is we have an overage of bums who are going to ride the gravy train until they are basically forced back into the work place.

Murphy

[rondog]

Dang - $3k per month delivering pizzas for Dominos? I'm fixin' to retire next summer, I could go for a gig like that!

[fixit]

I've seen all these reports about the gravy train, and I would be depressed in short order if I allowed myself to belly up to the government teat and become enslaved to the powers that be in such a manner. I've always believed there is no better sleep than that from a hard day's work.

[snowwolfe]

I dont believe we have a shortage of workers. What we have are business owners who will not pay wages the workers want. At $20 an hour a worker would have a really tough time trying to afford a wife and 1 child, small house, car payment and all the rest such as food and utilities. Medical coverage is off the charts expensive.
Right now we are at a stall mate. Workers want more than most employers want to pay so they stay home and collect freebies.

[country gent]

I think that we have a high risk group of new hires out there, They havent done a lot, few or sketchy work references. little to no experience. Yet they want to start out at top pay before being trained and or proving themselves.

They dont want to start at a smaller shop or business and gain experience. But at the top of the pay scale.

I have seen these people come into a shop and inside 2 weeks are telling the bosses owners how to run the business.

I worked a local shop until 1997 then went looking for a new job. I could document 20+ years experience at 35 years old. ( I started in my first job shop at 15 after school and weekends.) then went to the above factory. The "joke" at this place was it was a good place to be from. What Im getting at is I had a skill set and work record that was valuable to would be employers. The owner of the small job shop gave the best reference of all, If I could afford to hire him back I would in an instance.

When I chose the new job I went from $13.00 and change to almost $24.00 an hour, benefits went from 80/20 to 100%.

Until you have the references or journeyman's card you are a risk to employers.

[bedbugbilly]

We live in a time now where in a normal household with two parents, for the most part, both have to work. Single parents? They probably have it worse - I'm talking those with children.

I'm going to try and keep this "above PC" . . . . but . . . .

A parent can't work when they have kids at home long term due to schools being shut . . . and I'm not going to say what I really want to say about "Teacher's Unions" . . . (and my wife is a retired teacher and I also taught school at one time) . . . . but just ask yourself WHY so many schools are closed when they should be open.

OP . . . . where have you been the last two years and maybe you'd better take off the rose colored glasses and take a look at the clowns who are in charge of the circus.

You can't get people back to work if they are making more by staying home due to the government "paying" them . . . and we currently have a government who doesn't have a grasp on reality on the fact that their Socialist agenda . . . . which is funded by the American Taxpayer cannot survive because you get to thepont that there are not enough taxpayers to pay the bill for those who don
t want to work. Add on to that, a whole generation of young people who were raised with "Leave No Child Behind" and where they are all "entitled" and taught that whenever they participated in something . . . everyone was a winner and got a prize and where many were never taught to be responsible for their actions . . . the "instant gratification" gratification generation I call them . . . and granted, not all of them are raised that way . . . but they have the attitude that they should live for "today" and haven't been taught that if you work hard, you can succeed.
So why go back to work if the government is going to pay me to stay home . . . irregardless of the fact that they aren''t smart enough to realize that by doing these things, they are giving up their right as an American Citizen to follow a corrupt and Socialist agenda like a bunch of sheep being lead to slaughter by a Judas goat.

I apologize . . . I may have slipped a little on the PC . . . and if you think so . . . then read the Constitution and pay particular attention to the 1st Amendment

[Handloader109]

I dont believe we have a shortage of workers. What we have are business owners who will not pay wages the workers want. At $20 an hour a worker would have a really tough time trying to afford a wife and 1 child, small house, car payment and all the rest such as food and utilities. Medical coverage is off the charts expensive.
Right now we are at a stall mate. Workers want more than most employers want to pay so they stay home and collect freebies.Maybe..... But you don't have to have a house, or a new car, and a new cellphone, and a new 65"tv, and on and on.
My daughter is single, she makes roughly $35k a year. She's paid off about $10k in student loans and saved $30k in about 3 years of working. In addition, paid $6k for her car. She just spent her saving on her new home, and yes, we helped her financially, but she still has a $140k mortgage that she can pay along with her other expenses. Healthcare costs her $25 a week. Which is cheap. It all depends on your priorities. Which should be work first. Government is PAYING folks to stay home. It isnt sustainable, and we will all soon find that out

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

[30calflash]

Many reasons already covered here, all in force to a large degree. I think covid consciousness has overcome folks thought patterns and many choose to not be out of their comfort area, safe space, to deal with once common everyday life occurances.

I think part of it is work has become a dirty 4 letter word. Why work when you don't have to, no reason to get to a job and deal with whatever. Older folks found that with the handout they could do fine and maybe get ahead, now that it's done they adapted and can stay cozy as is.

A lot of younger people, not all, have their folks to keep them comfortable, no reason to go back to work or get a job. I know of a few instances of this, friends nephews have pt job for whatever they need and the older family members pay the bills and keep them warm and safe.

If things take a fair turn downward in our economic situ they will be the ones wondering what happened and who turned the lights off. And not have the motivation to do much about it.

[C.F.Plinker]

I've been in my house over 25 years now. About half of my neighbors were here when I bought. According to the assessor my house is worth about 4 times what it was when I bought. When I bought, the rule of thumb was that you could afford a house that was twice your income. Or, to put it another way, your income had to be about half of the value of the house. With many houses going for over $300,000, the household income has to be $150,000 a year or $75 per hour or more. That can be tough for a two earner family, so many seem to be extended families with more that two earners or rentals occupied by unrelated individuals.

It's easy to tell the old timers from the newcomers. The old timers seem to have only one or two cars and generally keep them in the garage. Unless they have kids who may park in the driveway. The newcomers fill their driveways and overflow into the streets. There will be a cluster of cars on the street and in the driveway followed by several houses where the driveway and streets are clear.

Sometimes I think that kids expect to come out of school and get a job that will allow them to buy a house that is at least as good as their parents house and also get a new car (or two) right off the bat without having to put in the hours that their folks did in order to afford what they (the parents) have toward the end of their careers.

[BrassMagnet]

I've been in my house over 25 years now. About half of my neighbors were here when I bought. According to the assessor my house is worth about 4 times what it was when I bought. When I bought, the rule of thumb was that you could afford a house that was twice your income. Or, to put it another way, your income had to be about half of the value of the house. With many houses going for over $300,000, the household income has to be $150,000 a year or $75 per hour or more. That can be tough for a two earner family, so many seem to be extended families with more that two earners or rentals occupied by unrelated individuals.

It's easy to tell the old timers from the newcomers. The old timers seem to have only one or two cars and generally keep them in the garage. Unless they have kids who may park in the driveway. The newcomers fill their driveways and overflow into the streets. There will be a cluster of cars on the street and in the driveway followed by several houses where the driveway and streets are clear.

Sometimes I think that kids expect to come out of school and get a job that will allow them to buy a house that is at least as good as their parents house and also get a new car (or two) right off the bat without having to put in the hours that their folks did in order to afford what they (the parents) have toward the end of their careers.

This is a very interesting thread. So much has already been covered that I will not beat a dead horse any more.
So this is the only point I will address: Financial responsibility and budgeting!
Our current culture and our financial industries push a version of financial responsibility that is not recognizable by my Grandmother or any of the adherents of the Dave Ramsey plan. Our financial industries push debt to earning ratios that are unbelievably high and impossible to keep under control. A sneeze will lead to bankruptcy for these people and our government is pushing policies that guarantee the sneeze will happen very soon. Long ago, I realized I was too far in debt and I needed to fix it. My friends were so much more financially responsible than me that I felt inadequate. As time went by and I reduced my debt ratio, I realized that my friends were much worse off than I was and they were merely much better at fooling themselves about their financial health.
I have been debt free for many years with a well paying job and a military retirement. Now that I am no longer working, I have purchased a new home and I am trying to get out of the old home and fully into the new home so I can sell the old home. My goal is to make myself debt free again as soon as possible. I am not planning on years to accomplish this, just a few more months.
I fear our economy is failing so fast that I may not have those few more months I need.

[MUSTANG]

I think that we have a high risk group of new hires out there, They havent done a lot, few or sketchy work references. little to no experience. Yet they want to start out at top pay before being trained and or proving themselves.

They dont want to start at a smaller shop or business and gain experience. But at the top of the pay scale.

I have seen these people come into a shop and inside 2 weeks are telling the bosses owners how to run the business.

I worked a local shop until 1997 then went looking for a new job. I could document 20+ years experience at 35 years old. ( I started in my first job shop at 15 after school and weekends.) then went to the above factory. The "joke" at this place was it was a good place to be from. What Im getting at is I had a skill set and work record that was valuable to would be employers. The owner of the small job shop gave the best reference of all, If I could afford to hire him back I would in an instance.

When I chose the new job I went from $13.00 and change to almost $24.00 an hour, benefits went from 80/20 to 100%.

Until you have the references or journeyman's card you are a risk to employers.

Much wisdom in this vignette of one man's life experience.

[Idaho45guy]

Maybe..... But you don't have to have a house, or a new car, and a new cellphone, and a new 65"tv, and on and on.
My daughter is single, she makes roughly $35k a year. She's paid off about $10k in student loans and saved $30k in about 3 years of working. In addition, paid $6k for her car. She just spent her saving on her new home, and yes, we helped her financially, but she still has a $140k mortgage that she can pay along with her other expenses. Healthcare costs her $25 a week. Which is cheap. It all depends on your priorities. Which should be work first. Government is PAYING folks to stay home. It isnt sustainable, and we will all soon find that out

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

You have to figure in the cost of living as well for the region. You are in one of the poorest states in America. #5...

https://legitinformant.com/15-poorest-states-in-us-2021-by-poverty-rate-median-income/

Which means you have a much lower cost of living than most other places. Arkansas is actually the third cheapest state in the US to live.

https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/states-with-lowest-cost-of-living

"The state with the third-lowest cost of living in Arkansas. Arkansas has a cost of living index of 87.8, with housing, transportation, and healthcare costs all being significantly lower than the national average. Arkansas's housing index is just 75.2, meaning that residents spend about $708 per month on average on rent or mortgages. To live comfortably in Arkansas, one would need to make only $44,571 for a family, which is just below the median household income of $45,726."

Your daughter, making $35k as a single person, is actually quite wealthy in Arkansas.

[Plate plinker]

All the marginal workers are collecting gov money and staying home getting drunk or high if your in a marijuana state. Stupid government do goodies are doing the best they can at wrecking the country.

[Thundarstick]

Chicken processing plant is advertising for help desperately since going along with mandates, ain't that strange? My son will tell you that a lot of places are still very picky about hiring. They want you to work like an elephant for peanuts and have a record like a Saint!

I'll agree with others that the perception of hiring and staff shortages is a smoke screen in mass by instances.

[1hole]

Our liberal/progressive/socialist government and its "useful idiots" have finally proven to our new professional indolents what their school teachers always told them is true: "Yawl vote Democrat and kindly bureaucrats will take money from the "greedy rich" (aka, the people who have money because they work for a living) and give it to the "starving poor" (aka, the people without money because they won't work but will reliably vote for more handouts). As Lady Margaret Thacher once observed, the dreams of socialism is very attractive and will work great until all the "rich" people run out of money. At that point, America's already staggering national economy will surely collapse and human life will become a murderous "dog eat dog" fight to survive from meal to meal.

[country gent]

What is really worry some with this is the history that predates it. When Pearl Harbor was bombed (up till then the government was doing ll it could to stay out of the war). When war was declared auto plants and most manufacturing was converted to war effort / goods in around 6 months, new plants were built and in production almost as fast, building were built in sections from start to end of the line when the section was finished equipment moved in and production started usually before the building was finished.

Today if the same need arose I dont think they could tool up for the need production in 3 years. Ford went to making planes chevy made heavy trucks and some arms chrysler retooled for tank production singer was retooling for arms the machine makers made the production equipment for the new lines. Kaisrer came up with the "production line" to make liberty ships, Here completed sections of the hull were completed off site ( hulls inner and outer decks equipment wiring all in place) brought to the ways and assembled.

Im ashamed to say today I just dont think the work force has this in them.

[1hole]

.... When war was declared auto plants and most manufacturing was converted to war effort / goods in around 6 months, new plants were built and in production almost as fast, building were built in sections from start to end of the line when the section was finished equipment moved in and production started usually before the building was finished.

Today if the same need arose I dont think they could tool up for the need production in 3 years. Ford went to making planes chevy made heavy trucks and some arms chrysler retooled for tank production singer was retooling for arms the machine makers made the production equipment for the new lines. Kaisrer came up with the "production line" to make liberty ships, Here completed sections of the hull were completed off site ( hulls inner and outer decks equipment wiring all in place) brought to the ways and assembled.

Today, getting passed gubbermint itself would be the biggest obstacle. Complying with the stacks of insane govvy regulations and studies before any such construction could legally begin would take years.


Im ashamed to say today I just dont think the work force has this in them.

Sadly so. I believe maybe 10-20% of our teens and maybe 25-35% of our adults are willing to actually work (but no more than that). The rest of today's employees seem to think standing around yakking in the company parking lot or making cell calls in a break room is human health destroying "work".

[Idaho45guy]

Im ashamed to say today I just dont think the work force has this in them.

I am continuously amazed at the lack of work ethics displayed by my young co-workers. Just a couple of days ago, we got a few inches of snow. Normal for this area. Five out of ten people on my team called in. And two of them lived in town!

[Charlie Horse]

I live in the St. Louis region, just retired, and am willing to go back to work. Just sayin'.

[john.k]

Crazy prices for real estate are the weak link in the social contract......young people have no hope of buying a house ,so they dont even consider any need to plan for a future..........in fact the greatest fraud of the century will be the near zero interest rates that have somehow happened the last 15 or so years........The already rich can buy houses at almost no cost ,and continuously inflate the cost of real estate......Yet ,even though a house can be bought for almost no cost,credit tests and income requirements prevent working people from ever owning a house ,and so they are required to rent a house from the rich all their lives.

[rancher1913]

Crazy prices for real estate are the weak link in the social contract......young people have no hope of buying a house ,so they dont even consider any need to plan for a future..........in fact the greatest fraud of the century will be the near zero interest rates that have somehow happened the last 15 or so years........The already rich can buy houses at almost no cost ,and continuously inflate the cost of real estate......Yet ,even though a house can be bought for almost no cost,credit tests and income requirements prevent working people from ever owning a house ,and so they are required to rent a house from the rich all their lives.

depends on the young uns, our kid and her husband bought a house at 21. they searched for a small house in a good area in a price they could afford, she is a waitress and he is air force reserves and going to collage, no family helped them, they did it on their own. he does pick up any extra jobs he can along the way and she makes their weals, no eating out.

[Thundarstick]

Crazy prices for real estate are the weak link in the social contract......young people have no hope of buying a house ,so they dont even consider any need to plan for a future..........in fact the greatest fraud of the century will be the near zero interest rates that have somehow happened the last 15 or so years........The already rich can buy houses at almost no cost ,and continuously inflate the cost of real estate......Yet ,even though a house can be bought for almost no cost,credit tests and income requirements prevent working people from ever owning a house ,and so they are required to rent a house from the rich all their lives.

Look into what happens when a country monetizes is debt. Inflation goes insane, but assets generally increase as well, homes, investments, ect. However wages fail to keep up and the bottom 60% go backwards, while the upper third do well, and the 1% make out like bandits.

[thxmrgarand]

beechbum444, Seattle is the closest large city, US city that is, to southern AK. No one goes to Anchorage on purpose, especially for health care, where they can pay up to 70 percent more for surprisingly poorer outcomes.

[JSnover]

I don't have any links but there is a recent trend that popped up in my news feed twice in the last 3-4 months: The 'quit' rate.
A LOT of people who chose and were able to continue to work through the pandemic are and have been quitting their old jobs for better wages and benefits. I've done it and so have half the guys I worked with in the last year.
All of us were 'long term' employees with 7-10 years at the same company but when everyone else decided to lay on the couch and collect "stimmies" (hipster/slacker lingo for government stimulus checks), employers started offering better wages because it was the only way to stay in business.
To answer the OPs question, the workers are still out there and a lot of them are doing better these days. The slackers who never really wanted to work... they got their wish. Hopefully the Biden/Harris Covid syndrome is mitigated and we get back to normal soon but if/when that happens the couch potatoes might be disappointed. The decent job they quit last year either disappeared or was taken over by someone else. And it pays better now.

[BrassMagnet]

I don't have any links but there is a recent trend that popped up in my news feed twice in the last 3-4 months: The the 'quit' rate.
A LOT of people who chose and were able to continue to work through the pandemic are and have been quitting their old jobs for better wages and benefits. I've done it and so have half the guys I worked with in last year.
All of us were 'long term' employees with 7-10 years at the same company but when everyone else decided to lay on the couch and collect "stimmies" (hipster/slacker lingo for government stimulus checks), employers started offering better wages because it was the only way to stay in business.
To answer the OPs question, the workers are still out there and a lot of them are doing better these days. The slackers who never really wanted to work... they got their wish. Hopefully the Biden/Harris Covid syndrome is mitigated and we get back to normal soon but if/when that happens the couch potatoes might be disappointed. The decent job they quit last year either disappeared or was taken over by someone else. And it pays better now.

Well said!
WooHoo!!!

[elmacgyver0]

Elections do have consequences.

[Handloader109]

You have to figure in the cost of living as well for the region. You are in one of the poorest states in America. #5...

https://legitinformant.com/15-poorest-states-in-us-2021-by-poverty-rate-median-income/

Which means you have a much lower cost of living than most other places. Arkansas is actually the third cheapest state in the US to live.

https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/states-with-lowest-cost-of-living

"The state with the third-lowest cost of living in Arkansas. Arkansas has a cost of living index of 87.8, with housing, transportation, and healthcare costs all being significantly lower than the national average. Arkansas's housing index is just 75.2, meaning that residents spend about $708 per month on average on rent or mortgages. To live comfortably in Arkansas, one would need to make only $44,571 for a family, which is just below the median household income of $45,726."

Your daughter, making $35k as a single person, is actually quite wealthy in Arkansas.All relative. Our area is the highest in the state, and is equivalent to anything in the bordering states except for the dallas area. And $17 an hour isn't a lot for non entry level job.

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