Lets End the Fantasy of "being employed" or Having a Career in America

Lately I have been seeing threads pop in and out regarding employment in America, it seems to me that this is a divided crowd where the haves talk about the ease of work to the have not's and they offer advice that is simply whimsical. Most of job interviewing is common sense, finding jobs of course there are different methods, but what about this trend in jobs where as Wal-Mart is the largest employer in America followed by whom? The temp agency. Temp Agencies offer staffing services to companies trying to save money by being able to hire when needed and let go when they are through with an employee or spike in their work load while at the same time the Agency gets anywhere between 10-75% of the wages to pay themselves for the service they apparently provide to the company and the company gets to skate over labor laws, benefit packages, and liability concerns. Sounds like a good deal right?

When the last generation of workers found jobs troves of workers based themselves with a company and stuck with it for 10's to 20's of years working toward a retirement while also providing for their families and living within their means. These people today are now getting older and require care where as some statistics suggest that it costs over $100,000 to provide care to these retirees, they and their families simply do not have those kinds of assets to cover the cost alone perpetuating costs onto the new generation of tax payers to pay. What does this say to the future generation ('s) I guess optimism that industry is coming back right?

Why can't companies instead advertise for seasonal work allow the temp employee be hired directly through the company and allow that person to make the full wage instead of hiring an agency to recruit for them? At least doing this you can build some kind of paycheck and savings for in between times, work under labor laws, and, have benefits through the company while on their payroll. My last company directly hired me I did the job for them and got laid off when work ran out I made all my wages was provided benefits and per diem pay as I had to travel quite a bit I was making about 1100-1300 every Friday, now to do the same job through a temp agency they say I am only worth $11/hr 38 hours a week I am a welder and am appalled by the asking rate of 11 an hour to tig weld sanitary grade stainless steel. The company I had worked for paid me enough to not only live but to save quite a bit of money I am now relying on (that is running out fast) to find decent employment else where 11 an hour to travel over 80 miles a day to a temp job just doesn't compare, I am sure there are those that will say oh quit being so picky but I will tend to remind those that diesel fuel isn't cheap neither is car insurance and last I checked neither was food, property tax and insurance and all the while not getting to work towards a retirement package, benefits, and the helplessness knowing that at the temp agency I know my time at that company will come to an end and I will be searching for my next slave labor job getting underpaid to barely survive.

I also believe that your location and existing resources are also huge, for example if you do not have a car or cannot afford a cell phone then you are not going to find a slave labor job anyways, I've been in this boat before too. No address no phone no vehicle = no jobs not even if you want to suck the tit of the temp agency cause they cannot call you and generally it will be difficult to get to them for their wonderful staffing services. These are some of my thoughts regarding employment in America, It is a Fantasy!


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I read it somewhere else on here, paraphrasing but: The Baby Boomers get the houses, careers, Social Security and pensions. Meanwhile, they leave the 30 and under crowd with a huge deficit and a broken economy.

I guess the, "As long as I get mine" conservative/Republican mindset really worked in the long term. Thanks 55+ folks for believing in "trickle down economics" -- you've left a wonderful legacy.

Edit to add: I probably won't ever have children because this country is so screwed up. I can't in good conscious bring a life into this mess, considering I could never give it the quality of life I had growing up.

reply to post by MystikMushroom


I don't think that the 55+ crowd knew the implications of the future everything was going great so it was easy to over look the trends as business was booming, they were trying to build a better future for their kids but instead something else happened. I do not think that greed is limited to partisanship and I think that greed has a lot to do with quite a bit of our problems today.

your onto something...

Its pretty obvious the system is broken.. As far as companies hiring and offering high paying wages, you can blame all the shallow peices of crap and lawyers for breaking that part of the system.. Its cheaper and easier now and safer to hire temps with the hope of the temp to get hired after getting paid peanuts.. its a win win for any company that can get a temp for 11 bucs an hour especially a tradesman, the temp agent is making lotsa money, the company hiring the temp agency is saving lots of money, and the temp is getting screwed.. The future will be even worse.. It is hopeless for the millennials..

This political regime does not have the background or experience to figure out how to get the economical system back on track.. LOL walmart is like the number 1 employer in USA, or is it mcdonalds? and temp agencies follow..

Yet the only thing in the favor of the skilled worker, is their are allot of idiots out there that say they are skilled but are not, but I be damned if I did what I am skilled at for 11 dollars an hour.. EVER...

I would be a porn star before that,..

reply to post by Bicent76


I saw an ad in craigslist.org earlier today advertising for a male to male video actor claims great pay no experience necessary In all seriousness though I just do not see where people today keep thinking that jobs are all over and easy to get, perhaps if every individual had the resources to work they can all have slave labor jobs too for a limited time. Maybe when it gets really bad the temp agencies will give a lottery to those applying for temp jobs with little pay and no benefits or job security. They wonder why on the job theft among temps is high hahaha its because they have no reason to respect or have loyalty to the company paying your pimp for your services.

reply to post by Brotherman


Lets end the fantasy of America being the land of the free and the home of the brave first.
I see neither free people or brave people...if i did America would be a very different place....kind of like the place you guys wish you had while pretending you are brave and free.

End that fantasy first and you might be closer to the truth and might find a solution to it all.

This post will be ignored because the truth seems to hurt and god forbid i say it.

Originally posted by MystikMushroom
I read it somewhere else on here, paraphrasing but: The Baby Boomers get the houses, careers, Social Security and pensions. Meanwhile, they leave the 30 and under crowd with a huge deficit and a broken economy.

In reality, a lot of us Baby Boomers did not have it so well. The only house I ever bought was a used double-wide which eventually had to go back to the lender, I only bought one new car in my life, my "career" amounted to just a series of jobs with only one (temporary) promotion in 36 years, and my smallish (~$6000) 401K was squandered by the investment company in the 2008 crash. I have my Social Security, but I don't expect it to last. A lot of us Boomers will end up right down there with the younger folks.

reply to post by Lazarus Short


Yeah I tend to agree with you as looking at some articles about the future of the baby boomers that are now aging it doesnt look so grand for y'all either, I just wonder how much worse it is going to get when I am of age with the current state of affairs. I tend to believe that we are all in this together, it is a shame I do not have a solution to these types of social issues.

Originally posted by MystikMushroom
I read it somewhere else on here, paraphrasing but: The Baby Boomers get the houses, careers, Social Security and pensions. Meanwhile, they leave the 30 and under crowd with a huge deficit and a broken economy.

I guess the, "As long as I get mine" conservative/Republican mindset really worked in the long term. Thanks 55+ folks for believing in "trickle down economics" -- you've left a wonderful legacy.

Edit to add: I probably won't ever have children because this country is so screwed up. I can't in good conscious bring a life into this mess, considering I could never give it the quality of life I had growing up.

edit on 6-8-2013 by MystikMushroom because: (no reason given)

YEAH, Thanks a lot 55+ crowd for screwing the rest of the younger people!!

You should be ashamed of yourselves for having the foresight to get a decent education and working hard to make something of yourselves instead of expecting everything to be handed to you....what were you thinking?!?!

You should be also ashamed for believing in keeping a family together and sticking it out in a crappy job for 30 years just to get a pension so you could support yourself in the later years. Don't you know we have welfare for that you silly people!

I guess I am one of the "have's" preaching to the "have not's".

Nobody came to me when I was younger and gave me a big box of luck or success and said "here ya go kid!"

I got decent grades (not good) go some higher education and MOST importantly I acquired lots, and lots of skills that have gotten me good jobs AND most importantly KEPT good jobs.

I didn't always have a good job when I started I worked at Burger King and I rode my bike 15 miles to work and home each night which REALLY SUCKED but I had to if I wanted to keep a job.

I worked myself from running the fryers & Broiler up to cashier to asst. manager then Manager which didn't pay bad and I got a car along the way so I didn't have to ride the dang bike everyday to work so far.

While working there I learned how to do construction, weld, auto repair, roofing and many other skills on the side.

I picked up certifications along the way for skills I learned and added to that a class A CDL.

There were MANY up's and down's over the years........now, 25 years later.....

I have a job now where I get paid pretty well, the job security is as good as it can be, I get excellent benefits and I am the only one there that has the skills to care for $800,000 - 1,000,000 worth of sod and landscaping.

There were times when I rode 30 miles a day on a bike to work, ate Ramen noodles WAY too much, didn't own a cell phone or car and was homeless for a while.

While homeless I used to stop on the way to my minimum wage job and wash my hair and body from a hose on the back of a gas station before work and many times got to work with frozen hair (Michigan winters)

Yeah, I bitched, moaned and complained but I still did it.

I really, honestly believe you get outta life what you put into it.

Of course back then there wasn't an internet forum to complain on you either did whatever you had to to eat or you didn't eat. And believe me, I have slept behind a few dumpsters and buildings while learning that.

I am about over living in the US. I have years of sea time, know my maritime Rules of the Road, and can ace the USCG Captain's Test no problem but I can not get a captain's license in the US do to some legal trouble 3 years ago and the fact my DD-214 says alcohol rehab failure(because of that legal trouble), despite the fact I am not an alcoholic nor drug addict but because I've been under/unemployed for the past 3 years I can not afford to go to a shrink that MAY write a letter on my behalf saying I am not an alcoholic. However the Coast Guard will give any idiot who has a clean record a basic captain's license(6pak) if they can pass the written(multiple choice) test without verifying they actually have sea time or even taking them for a sea trial. There is no other career I am more qualified for(except Lifeguarding) than skippering a boat, but I can't even do that in this failing country.

The system is rigged, find yourself in any legal trouble and you are automatically disqualified from 90%+ of the decent paying jobs out there, and those you are still eligible for will hold that against you when it comes time for a promotion.

The American Dream is now just an illusion. The system is rigged to keep the average person in debt for life, and then rigged to prevent their family from collecting what little wealth they may have without paying a hefty tax. The quality of life is great and there are plenty of distractions aka entertainment, but to think you can still go from rags to riches is nothing but a fantasy.

reply to post by Lazarus Short


You know, your right -- I shouldn't generalize. I think though, for the most part, opportunities were more plentiful in the 70's and even the early 80's. Most people I know that graduated in the mid 70's seem to be doing fairly well and winding down into retirement in homes that they've paid off. Of course, that is just from *my* perspective -- I'm sure it all depended on where you lived and what kind of income bracket you were raised in.

What gets me is that slowly over the decades we've been told and accepted the fact that our time isn't important. As a country we've accepted whatever the big corporations are willing to pay us is what we are valued at. And when the big corporations do this, the smaller businesses follow suit to stay competitive.

reply to post by mwood


I don't blame the other crowd we are all in this together but I would like to say in response to your last comment, riding a bike to work is not reliable transportation neither is taking the city bus, also in my area fast food is domintated almost solely by work release inmates and young teens, most of the time they do not hire. Things in regards to work is not linear and such an entanglement of problems.

Just the same in the uk.
Nearly all work is now via temp agencys.
Nearly all work is part time, by that I mean no more than 2 days per week because it enables employers to evade NI payments etc.
Nearly all work is minimum wage, or very close to it.
Nearly all skills have to retake a test every 3 to 5 years to keep their qualification. If you happen to be unemployed when your qualification expires you cant afford the re-test.
Nearly everyone who finds work needs benefit top ups just to be able to survive.

Nearly all pension funds have been looted and we are told its all are fault because we live too long.

I hear you. It does seem like a lot of folks are so harsh and unsypathetic to the unemployed and even the homeless. I will be homeless myself if things do not get better and real fast.

reply to post by Brotherman


I emailed them, still no reply for that. Probably some perv trying to collect pictures. $500 an hour is too good to be true.

I'm 30 years old. I don't expect social security. Hell, having the job i'm currently in w/ insurance is a blessing. Though not close to what I used to make. However I prostitute myself out for side-work with the trade skills I have. This helps and keeps cash available. I won't pretend the state of the economy is "ok" because it's not by any means. Though this is what I will say.

The "Entitled" generation's after me are in for a rude wake up call. Having a piece of paper and no work experiance doesn't gaurentee you a job let alone prevent you from flipping burgers next to the 16yr old kid who's making a quick buck in high school. That is the fantasy. For the Adults who have travelled this journey. WE know exactly what your talking about and we fight everyday to sustain the life we currently have or are loosing.

When this is debacle is finally finished there will be a lot of have nots. Doesn't mean we can't keep the faith. Doesn't mean we have to give in. We fight for our family's to make sure they have food on there plate. To give them a better tomorrow. Working 2 jobs isn't ideal or 3-4 jobs either, but AMERICAN's do it because we don't have a flipping choice, that's the only way. Hell all the illegals are doing so why not American's?

Start mowing fetching lawns and doing hard labor and stop all the illegals from working. You can make bank mowing lawns.

Hell you can make bank shoveling $hit if your good at it~

There are career's out there, you just have to work that much harder because for every 1 application you turn in there's 100-10,000 more applications flying in after. It's a competition. Sad but true.

No personal attacks, the state of economy pisses me off! But i'll work my ass off and die doing it to make sure my daughter has a better chance than what the cards dealt to me.

Peace and love~

Nate

reply to post by proob4


I am sorry to hear about your predicament I have been in and out of this same situation since my time in the service was over, it is always long ways down marked with small spikes of success, through the service, college, a trade school, its always been and seems to always will be an endless pursuit to work for a company that wants to keep you long enough to have a career, or long enough to save enough to go into buisness for yourself. Keep in there

reply to post by mwood


EDIT: for clarification, I just turned 30 myself this year


I didn't have my career handed to me, and I've worked my share of crappy, 12-hour/7 days a week manual labor jobs on industrial construction sites (non-union). I've also worked fast food, and was taught early the value of a dollar. I also got decent grades (above a B average), and managed to get myself into my own home. It's nothing fancy, 750 sq. ft. condo -- but it's mine.

Kids today in college really do not have the same opportunities afforded to them when they get out of school. My advice, (looking back on those I know that have good careers that went to college)

Get a degree in engineering.

Of all the people in my graduating class that obtained higher education, the ones with liberal arts degrees are doing the worst. There just aren't people hiring history majors.

Look, go back and watch the addresses that Regan did on TV about "trickle down" economics. My parents even admit it didn't work, but voted for him and believed him at the time. It basically shifted the wealth distribution away from the middle class and started the polarizing trend of have vs. have not (as you coined it).

Imagine a three story house. Now, imagine the people on the top floor taking studs, drywall, joists, and other materials from the 2nd floor. In the beginning, all the extra materials makes the 3rd floor pretty impressive and opulent. Meanwhile, the 2nd floor is getting weaker from being gutted. Eventually, the top floor is to heavy and the middle floor has no structural integrity left. The house collapses.

This is essentially what happened. The people my folks age were duped, and the upper class stole from Peter to pay Paul (themselves) without caring that the whole system would collapse one day. Why should they care, they have enough money to ride out whatever.

Don't mistake what I'm saying as: "The Baby Boomers intentionally screwed over their kid's future". No one wants to screw their children's future.