Back in the late 90s whenever I got a telemarketing call I used to try to convince the caller to go get trained for some kind of computer job. I used to tell them how the job market was great due to the Y2K problem. If nothing else I kept them on the phone for a longer time so that they werent calling other people. Who knows ? Maybe I inspired some of them to go get into a computer career.
-----Original Message----- From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List <IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU> On Behalf Of Bill Johnson Sent: Saturday, December 18, 2021 5:50 PM To: IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU Subject: [EXTERNAL] Re: The Great Resignation I doubt Jesus said a man unwilling or unable to work shouldn’t eat. And, I’m not surprised the low wage earners are unwilling to work for $2.13/hour (tipped wage) plus tips. The federal minimum wage hasn’t gone up in over a decade. If the minimum wage I worked for in 1975 had kept pace with inflation, it would be over $20 an hour now. In most of Europe, restaurant workers make a living wage plus benefits. Tipping is optional. Plus, their health care is single payer and better/cheaper. Don’t get me started on their fabulous infrastructure, mass transit, and education systems. Factor in many don’t want to go back to work while a fourth wave of covid is raging. (Thanks to the GOP and trumpers pushing against public health) Then there are women who can’t afford child care because it eats up the majority of their wages. Funny that the build back better legislation intended to address that and provide child care help like most of the rest of the world provides. My brother in law made a career out of the restaurant business. He’s making 6 figures now as a regional director but works 70 hour weeks, has had 2 heart attacks, smokes like a chimney, and will never see retirement from the hamster wheel. Younger Americans are not buying into the rat race. Conspicuous consumption isn’t their religion. And as we are seeing, the baby boomers are much to blame for global warming, the results we are seeing in fires, floods, polar icecaps melting, and yes, the recent record setting tornadoes in Kentucky, Tennessee, & other states. America is in decline when a two bit reality TV show host, who lies incessantly, has molested 20+ women, cheats on his taxes, and tried to overturn a free and fair election, can get 35% of the populace to follow him. Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPhone On Saturday, December 18, 2021, 5:04 PM, Bob Bridges <robhbrid...@gmail.com> wrote: A while ago on one of the forums I hang out at -- I think it was this one -- we talked about people dropping out of the work force and looking for something more rewarding. I'm all for people looking for work they like better, but one gathers that a lot of these folks are dropping out and THEN looking for something they like better, which strikes me as a teenager's way of doing it. I particularly remember an NPR report about an example of this, someone who quit his job and wanted to get into the restaurant business. (Don't laugh; I thought seriously about making my career in food services, too, before I discovered computer programming.) The item finished by saying that he was now applying for unemployment benefits. Partly but not entirely on the strength of this story, I suggested without a great deal of certainty that the COVID payments to all and sundry are largely fueling this "Great Resignation" -- that lots of people are finding they can afford to take time off from work, get COVID payments and unemployment benefits, and worry about working some time later. I realized that probably wasn't the whole story, but it sure sounded like it was a significant part of it. As both a Christian and a political conservative (they're not entirely synonymous) I was raised on "if a man will not work, neither let him eat", so I was all prepared to wax indignant. Now I read an article (https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/15/economy/labor-force-retirement-great-resignation/index.html) that suggests I may (gasp of horror) have been wrong. "Instead, early retirement — whether forced by the pandemic or made possible otherwise — is playing a big role in America's evolving labor market....Last month, there were 3.6 million more Americans who had left the labor force and said they didn't want a job compared with November 2019, says Aaron Sojourner, a labor economist and professor at the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management. Older Americans, age 55 and up, accounted for whopping 90% of that increase." Later it says "Nearly 70% of the 5 million people who left the labor force during the pandemic are older than 55, according to researchers from Goldman Sachs, and many of them aren't looking to return." I don't know how 90% was knocked down to 70%. But anyway, it's another datum that tempts me to reëvaluate. --- Bob Bridges, robhbrid...@gmail.com, cell 336 382-7313 /* Because large flat areas of land are good for warfare many European airports are built on the site of battles. Schipol, Amsterdam's airport, is unique, however: It is the site of a naval engagement. -Nick Gillies, n...@ngill.demon.co.uk */ ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to lists...@listserv.ua.edu with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to lists...@listserv.ua.edu with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to lists...@listserv.ua.edu with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN
