Why is there suddenly an extremely severe shortage of workers all over the world?

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

Here...you go get a t.b. communicable diseases test, see if a reaction, get your card.

Who knows who has what now?

a reply to: JAGStorm

I was going to mention, as a hot Asian chick like yourself, that the culture in that part of the world is on multi-generational families living together for various reasons; finance, support, child rearing, etc. I see nothing wrong with that, it's also how many people in Europe function.

There's nothing special about renting your first apartment and eating ramen 3 times a day all week because you're broke.

a reply to: TheRedneck

There was a 14 yr old completely alone in A $ W's...taking orders, cooking, collecting money. Owner said somehin like "just lock the door".

She came home with all her $$ from the tips jar, showed her parents who asked "Where is your paycheck?"
She responded "What's a paycheck?"

Place reopened....

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

There's nothing special about renting your first apartment and eating ramen 3 times a day all week because you're broke.

Exactly, it is changing but people are so hard on young adults that live with their parents.
Even if they work full time and contribute to the household they are seen as freeloaders or losers.
It's a shame, we need to change that mentality. I think this year and the housing market might do it out of necessity.

a reply to: rickymouse

I think you are on to something there.

a reply to: JAGStorm

You've actually hit on one of the problems that has been festering for some time... although I suspect not in the way you intended.

The purpose of a fast food job or a grocery store shelf-stocker is an entry level job. It's there to do one thing: establish a work history for future jobs that (hopefully) pay better. Why? Because it requires no skill or expertise to do! Heck, fast food clerks now use registers that show pictures of the food... they don't even have to know how to read!

And yes, even an entry-level janitor falls into this category. With seniority (which means they are familiar with the business and what needs cleaning when and how to do it best) it gets better... but it is still a mostly unskilled job.

These jobs should pay a "living wage" for an entry-level employee... someone who is still living at home or in college, with minimal expenses. They should not pay for a $300,000 mortgage, two new cars, an ATV in the garage, annual vacations, and regular trips to eat out in nice restaurants. They should pay for a modest dwelling, rent instead of mortgage, enough to eat, and enough to get back and forth to work.

That's the fallacy of the "living wage"... what is a "living wage"? I do just fine on my meager disability check... but I also own my home and my car outright, we haven't had a vacation in something like 20 years, and we don't go out often. Someone who lives in a large house with a hefty mortgage, drives a fancy new car, vacations every year and spends more time eating out than cooking at home couldn't come close to doing it.

My "living wage" is much, much lower than their "living wage"... because of my decisions in life versus theirs.

If anyone wants to have those nice things, they have to do what it takes to have those nice things. That means furthering their education (college or in a trade), being a good worker, learning what they can outside the classroom, taking reasonable risks, etc. If one does not want to do all that, that's fine... but you don't get the rewards unless you strive for those rewards.

People today want it all, they want it now, and they don't want to work for it... and by "work for it" I do not mean getting up and going to a job every day. I mean doing those things that are needed, getting out of that comfort zone, and getting their hands dirty trying to better themselves while also going to their job every day.

You want to know how my father got a home of his own? He couldn't afford a house! What he did was, he found property owners who had buildings they needed demolished and offered to do that for free. No money needed; he wanted the wood. So every weekday he would go to work, work his eight hours, then go by one of the properties and tear down at least enough to have a full truckload of used lumber. He would haul that lumber back, and unload it.

On weekends he would get three, sometimes four, truckloads of wood.

He did this seven days a week, constantly, for months until he had enough wood to build a house. Then he had to plane and joint the wood himself, mostly cured oak lumber, and built the house himself! Today it still stands... I live in it. The foundation is solid as a rock; there are only two small cracks in the sheetrock, and the doors and windows all work. The floor is solid 3/4" thick cured oak tounge-and-grooved hardwood... something Donald Trump couldn't buy with a line of credit! it's as smooth and solid as it was when Dad cut it and grooved it himself, one stick at a time, and put it down 60 years ago.

Now, you set there and tell me, with a straight face, that anyone today would do that. Anyone! Hell, I doubt I would have done that, and I have a lifelong reputation of being a workhorse extraordinaire.

No one would, but anyone could. It's a choice.

Today's millennials wouldn't, as a rule, hit a lick at a snake it it was about to bite them and someone loaned them a stick! Therefore, they don't deserve the niceties in life. if they work hard, then they do and I don't begrudge them their extravagance one bit. They earned it.

So if a couple wants to forego the hard things in life to improve themselves, that's their choice, and maybe they will have to work two jobs to make ends meet. But that's their decision on not improving themselves and their decision on how far they have to pull those ends to make them meet. Not mine, not yours, and we shouldn't have to pay for their decisions.

I'll add too, that our education system should be teaching how to do the things that will get one ahead in life. They're not; they're teaching "cultural science" and "sexual identity" and "history the way we want it to be." That's not my decision either.

TheRedneck

a reply to: Snarl

Most people don't even think about retirement. That's pretty sad, but they (think they) need everything they make to survive in their current lifestyle. In addition, who graduates school these days understanding the concept of investment? Almost no one... we have "experts" with college degrees for that.

You now know one other family where the wife stays home. My wife has never worked. When we talked about getting married and she said something about being a housewife, I told her, "That's your decision. I am fine with you staying home while I work, or I am fine with you working and us sharing the housework. Just understand that a single income family will not have all the nice things a two income family can have." She agreed and 34 years later she is happy with her choice. We've gone through some seriously hard times, but we managed and we're now happy in our latter years.

And I have had the benefit of coming home to a hot home-cooked meal in a nice clean home most nights after a hard day at work for 34 years. That's worth a lot more than numbers in a bank computer to me.

TheRedneck

originally posted by: mzinga
... the only type of resources I can find are in the entry resources
As well as any resources that I find in the other two categories, I can't get myself to pay what they are asking.

People in our line of work are without resources, not bidding work, and there are more projects than people..

Memo to self: Never work for a company that refers to you as a "resource."

a reply to: TheRedneck

People today want it all, they want it now, and they don't want to work for it

I think that is another lie we are being told.
Yes there are lazy people, there have always been lazy people, but not everyone is lazy.

I think these young people have figured out they wont work their lives away to be in the same position years later only with a bad back and disgruntled demeaner all the while making their superiors rich enough to buy islands.


BTW. Love the story about your dad and the house. My grandpa also built a house in a similar manner. Let me tell you how it ended. Men approached my grandma to sell her house and land. She said no. They sent the maffia to pick her up and put her in a limo, and then she sold. Yes she was strongarmed into selling her homestead. They ripped it down and resold it for many many times its worth. I will say one thing, that land is cured. I remember as a small child there was some evil in the woods, and I doubt a new development would change things.

a reply to: starviego

Memo to self: Never work for a company that refers to you as a "resource."

Or Family, I hate that.
Just call us what you really think, PEONS, we are nothing but PEONS to them.
Keep it real!

a reply to: JAGStorm

There is nothing stronger than the family unit. There is absolutely nothing wrong with grown children living with their parents. Why is it OK for elderly parents to come living with their adult children when they need help, but not OK for adult children to do the same?

I agree completely, with the single caveat that the grown children should be trying to improve. Otherwise you get the situation where they spend their lives dusting a couch with their butt while playing video games, and when the parents die or get sick, the family unit falls apart.

Unfortunately, that is the reason many of these grown adults live with their parents. Life without their parents is too hard... but it's not going to get any easier when the parents die.

Not all of them, of course, and that is why I agree with you. As long as the kids are contributing something, it's a perfectly reasonable relationship. I actually have given a friend a place to stay in a spare room... he lives there rent-free. He does contribute, though, through helping me around the place when he's home. In my situation, that's worth more than rent.

If either of my kids needed a place to live, all they need do is ask. They are both trying to improve themselves and I will help all I can without looking down on them.

TheRedneck

a reply to: JAGStorm

Yes there are lazy people, there have always been lazy people, but not everyone is lazy.

Oh, i agree with that! Don't mistake a generalization as a blanket condemnation.

The problem is that there are too many of the lazy ones and not enough of the hard-working ones.

I have a good friend who lives a quarter-mile from me (that's "next-door neighbor" out here). He's approaching 60, has advanced arthritis, both knees are bad (one has been replaced), his back is bad, and his shoulders don't have full range motion any more. He has seniority enough at his job so they work around his disabilities, but every now and then his boss will ask him to work on the main lines. He does so happily, even though it hurts. Why? Because this old man with all the health issues literally smokes every 30-something healthy worker in the place!

That's why he gets asked to do it in the first place. His boss has an employee meeting every time to make the point, "You are letting a decrepit old man shame you?"

Then he comes home and brags to me.

TheRedneck

originally posted by: JAGStorm
There is absolutely nothing wrong with grown children living with their parents. Why is it OK for elderly parents to come living with their adult children when they need help, but not OK for adult children to do the same?

I see all of that as an: it depends

Parents used to kick 'the sons' out of the nest to have them grow up as healthy independent citizens. Take the daughters to church in their Sunday-best and put 'em on display for Mr. Right.

Nowadays kids are having trouble moving out because they've burdened themselves with a worthless-assed degree that costs so much they'll never get out of hock. Wonder if the parents saw that as a consequence of telling their offspring that nothing good'll come of 'em if they didn't get that degree. I told my stoopid-assed daughter she could go to school just as long as she likes, but she wasn't coming back home to live with us out in the sticks. Told her to find a damned husband ... which was the best advice she ever took. Now she's in Medical School. It never seems to end.

This is a great thread. I saw this and had to comment; I used to work in a grocery store going on three decades ago. I moved on to other things, but one cashier I worked with is still a cashier, but at a different grocery store. And one of the "baggers" who bagged groceries and returned carts is a cart return person at Wal Mart. Almost three decades later. Although there were other success stories like the one girl who went on to being a high-priced escort until her looks left her.

originally posted by: TheRedneck
a reply to: JAGStorm
The purpose of a fast food job or a grocery store shelf-stocker is an entry level job.

a reply to: Snarl

There's a lot to be said for children growing up independent. The cultures that have been mentioned where multi-generational households are the norm also have this social expectation of each member doing their utmost to help the family unit. That works, and it works very well. In the US, however, we seem to have forgotten that second part.

Let's face it: the family unit is communism. Each member takes what they need and contributes what they can. My kids were not expected to get a job at age 3! That was my place. Yet, they still had food to eat, even though I made the money to buy it and my wife cooked it. As they got older and could contribute more, they were expected to contribute more: clean their own rooms, help with chores, etc.

Communism is the most efficient economic model the world has ever known, as long as everyone pulls together. That's why it fails on a large scale, and why the communes of the 1960s failed: people are inherently selfish and greedy and must be taught (or forced) to contribute. If everyone involved does not contribute, or if some take more than their share, communism becomes a conduit to tyranny. That's why we use Capitalism: it accounts (sometimes too much) for human selfishness and greed. Capitalism is why we have Socialism: Socialism (Communism light) is designed to prevent runaway Capitalism and the evils it entails. The mixture of Capitalism moderated with Socialism works in real life on large scales, so long as the proper ratios are maintained.

Think of it like a french fry. I love french fries! Capitalism is like the potato... dull, bland, uninteresting. Socialism is like the salt... put too much salt on the french fry and it becomes inedible, but put just the right amount and voila! French fries!

But back to my point...

The success of multi-generational households requires that each member in the household contribute. As long as that happens, it works beautifully. But when the government becomes involved in the family, it becomes nigh impossible to instill the requisite moral values in the children to successfully raise a child that can effectively participate in a multi-generational household.

As usual, the government is at fault.

TheRedneck

originally posted by: TheRedneck
a reply to: JIMC5499

A housewife is worth her weight in gold. One cannot buy the services that the typical housewife does every single day. I think maybe that concept is starting to change, and I welcome it. I have no issue whatsoever with women in the workforce, and I believe they should be paid commensurate with their make counterparts, but no family should require two incomes to make ends meet. Working outside the home should be a personal decision, not a forced economic mandate.

TheRedneck

Several of the families I know who have done this, it is the man who is staying at home.

originally posted by: JAGStorm
You said it, he said it, she said it but when the rubber hits the road why do I always hear

"That is a starter job and shouldn't make xyz, That job is for teens, That job shouldn't be paid xyz"

We can't have it both ways. We can't pay people a non livable wage and then also champion the family structure with a parent at home. We often talk about fast food is a teens job and shouldn't be a living wage. What about a janitor, what about a person that works at the grocery store? All these were living wage jobs in the past. My uncle was a janitor in the (60-90s), he bought a gigantic house on several acres, had a pool and nice furniture, and raised three kids with wife at home on a janitors salary. Try that now!!

Then do something else that pays enough. There's always been jobs for people with marketable skills. I have no sympathy for someone who is $100,000 in debt because they went to college to get a degree in "Women's Studies" or "Romance languages". I have no sympathy for Communications Majors who can't find work. The same Communications Majors who convinced the University that I attended to disband their Engineering program.

An entry level position is exactly what it says. Several years ago I was at the State Employment Office looking for a job. While I was waiting I talked to the guy sitting next to me. He was a welder for a company that had just gone under. He told me that his next appointment was the Welfare Office to apply for food stamps and a medical card. I told him that there were several welder's jobs on the job board. He literally told me those jobs were beneath him.

originally posted by: TheRedneck
a reply to: Snarl

Most people don't even think about retirement. That's pretty sad, but they (think they) need everything they make to survive in their current lifestyle. In addition, who graduates school these days understanding the concept of investment? Almost no one... we have "experts" with college degrees for that.

You now know one other family where the wife stays home. My wife has never worked. When we talked about getting married and she said something about being a housewife, I told her, "That's your decision. I am fine with you staying home while I work, or I am fine with you working and us sharing the housework. Just understand that a single income family will not have all the nice things a two income family can have." She agreed and 34 years later she is happy with her choice. We've gone through some seriously hard times, but we managed and we're now happy in our latter years.

And I have had the benefit of coming home to a hot home-cooked meal in a nice clean home most nights after a hard day at work for 34 years. That's worth a lot more than numbers in a bank computer to me.

TheRedneck

My wife has always 'seemed' to work a lot harder than I do. She definitely does now. I made opportunities for myself at work and earned enough for us to stay head and shoulders above water (once I retired from the Army). She ... would keep herself busy at home _and_ find ways to make good coin at every opportunity. A lot of it was from working right in the home tutoring other people's kids.

When our kids were gone, she allowed herself to attend 'the' culinary school in Chicago. I could look up the name but it wouldn't matter. She came back home with two lapel pins (one of 'em was for some wine tasting thing). She went right to work making more money than I did ... and there were times she'd bring home 5 times what I could. Never let her housewife duties slip in all that time.

I sacrificed two prime years with her while she focused on what she wanted to do professionally. I took other odd-jobs that cost us a few more. Fortunately, there was never anything more than physical distance between us. Not sure if those were worth the coin or not, but we're never going to struggle financially ... and the kids are probably safe there as well.

Only thing can get us now is the gooberment ... and their folks are afraid to even drive out this way.

originally posted by: DBCowboy
I remember a time back when I posted how my wife, a nurse, decided to be a stay-at-home mom to our sons instead.

I was blasted at being called "old fashioned" and misogynistic.

But they were probably just babes without men posting so I ignored it.

I see no problem with the guy working and the woman staying home with the kids. The mother job is actually a very important job. If both go to work, then the second workers wages just go to pay for the child care businesses...which are nowhere close to cheap anymore. Plus going to work and coming back to the child care place to pick the kids up means that you spend an extra hour or more in travel time than you earn money at your job. Add to that that the money you pay to the child care people is after tax money...you cannot deduct all of it if you go above a certain income level which can happen with two people making a decent amount of money.

I would rather have the mother take care of the kids than a guy...I am a guy, my daughter knew how to measure boards by the time she was three and I would take her on jobs with me to help hold the Tyvek roll...it got interesting on windy days with that nine foot high roll of tyvek she was trying to hold up against the house...I thought she was going to wind up flying in the lake with it...she was around twelve at the time.

My wife worked full time, I was a builder and could adjust my schedule but our baby sitter was a great teacher, it cost us a buck an hour to have her take care of her...now the cost of a babysitter to take care of one kid here is around four bucks an hour and the daycare centers are much higher and going get them early or if they do not go there for a day...you pay the cost anyway. Remember, the important part...if you work eight hours you pay for a minimum of nine hours.

Mothers had a real important job when I was young. They had to train the kids to fit into society. A guy is not really good at that from what I have seen, and because this has been going on for a couple of generations now...women have lost the knowledge of how to do that too. Also remember, paying a baby sitter that is not certified to take care of your kids...which means that they have to pay taxes on their wages if you can deduct them if they are or you cannot claim a tax break..makes it more expensive for a certified child care person. Plus the social conditioning in day care centers is not that great...I have known some people that were good people and with ten kids in the center...no proper social conditioning was done...they ran around trying to keep the kids from killing each other and it is very hard to take care of a lot of kids nowadays when you can't spank them.

I cannot understand why anyone would even have a kid if they dumped them off at a daycare center all day long...a place where they couldn't even take the kids out skating or out playing kickball or soccer to tire them out. When I was three, my sister was five, she was responsible to make sure I didn't kill myself....when I was six and my sister was eight, we baby sat my two year brother...we would travel all over Houghton and Hancock Michigan...across the bridge too, and we would walk two and a half miles to the store from the farm in the summer pulling my brother in a wagon...the two year old wimp couldn't walk five miles. Plus you had to have a wagon to put the pop, chips, and other snacks in to carry home. Sometimes the old drunk that lived along the road there would have us get him a bottle of booze from the boston store too. He was pretty old...so he just called them up and they gave us his order. It was not safe for him to be walking there...they found him near the intersection of the road one day, he was kind of all bloated up from being there for two days before they saw him near a stump he rested on.

A little history of how it was in the sixties, when kids just had to tell their parents where they were going after they turned eight and parents reminded them to be home before a certain time. We actually ate quite a bit candy...but had to walk a lot to get it so we burned off the candy.

a reply to: SeriouslyDeep

I don't know why there is a shortage around the world, but around where I live its because democrats are paying them to stay home. With all the covid relief and extended benefits they are making as much or more than they made when working and they don't have to leave the house.

Also, with the increased minimum wage many workers are finding that they actually have to work, not just hang out for 8 hours. Employers are having to get the same work done with fewer workers. That means everyone works harder. For some that makes work very unattractive. Sorry cupcake. I didn't hire you to text your friends all day...