Just curious.. How would you fix the unemployment problem?

[Chook-A-Holic]

I also have no problems with Mexican workers(legal of course). I remember back from the early eighties till this latest recession when jobs were plentiful, they were doing jobs that the Americans didn't(or were to good)want to do. Now that jobs are scarce the Americans expect these companies to fire the experienced Mexicans and hire them. Dad and I had a plumbing business back then and everyone wanted a tech. job. No one wanted to work with their hands and learn a good trade. They worked every day, never called in sick, and even worked all of the major holidays. To those that think that the Mexicans are cheap labor, you would be surprised at what some of them earn per year. I have to say that the American people have to take some of the blame in this mess we are now in. Just my opinion.


Edit:spellling

 

[aussieheelr]

how would "I" fix the unemployment?

I (we) buy local whenever possible, and do our best to avoid Walmart since most things there are from elsewhere, although it's hard to do sometimes. There's even a local person here who has a cute little store called "chicks galore" and sells, of coarse, chicks along with feed, heat lamps, feeders, waterers and all that basic stuff. His prices are better than the feed stores by minimum 50 cents upto 1.50 less on chicks! I got two chicks from him just over a week ago

I figure buying local is the best way to help eachother out. I also vote. My vote may not be the winning vote, but it is a way to try to be heard.

 

[Kung Foo Chicken]

Don't think it can be fixed..just opinion.
At least not anytime soon.

 

[rufus]

We need to move away from the income tax and go back to tariffs to finance our government. We need to stop punishing people for success and hard work. The politics of greed and envy have ruined this country. We need to re industrialize our nation and re build our national capital.

People have to accept responsibility for their own economic lives. We have people that have lived for generations as social parasites living off of the system. That has to end.

People complain about corporations, but that is who produces and distributes the goods that our society needs. If you want to return to the village economy and the tiny family farm, I don't recommend that. That is a recipe for poverty. I have seen it, and it is not pretty.

About eleven million Mexicans have crawled through the barb wire fence to escape the village economy and the ejidos.

Corporations are artificial entities; they are owned by stock holders. While the company may still have an American sounding name and still be headquartered in the US, the ownership is often foreign. And foreign investors do not buy US corporations to deal with greedy and truculent unions, no they buy those companies to provide employment for their own people. China has bought our industrial base, and we let them do it. And the stupid unions wonder what happened. They did themselves.

We need to end government programs like the "Food for Peace" program. Under this program the US government buys US grain and then gives it to other countries free to sell on their markets. That is how many countries support their own governments. And most often it is countries that really don't like us very much. I think those countries need to plant more wheat and barley themselves and less opium poppies.

That grain should be used in this country to produce gasohol. If that means that our enemies go hungry, so be it. Without US grain, the world would starve. Famine is a good answer to anti Americanism and religious hatred.

It is better to buy something in the second hand store that to buy something made in China. Stay out of Wal Mart and K Mart.

Rufus

 

[SillyChicken]

First, bring back the gold standard and get rid of the federal reserve (our money is almost worthless)! If our dollar had more value, you could get more for your money... ie, food, gas, clothing etc would be cheaper.

Next, higher taxes on importation - which would also include service work, ex: call centers.... and labor ex: assembly. So companies based in the US, could feel free to export these things, but it will cost them ALOT of money to bring it back into the states. We need to make it in their best interest to keep it in the states. Get rid of unions!

Third, stop buying imported products as much as possible. That shirt made in china that costs 5$, with proper taxation, should by now cost 30$ and the US made shirt for 20$ is now worth it!

Fourth, remove all illegal immigrants. Yeah, build a wall if we have to! Come to our country the right way. We can't just go to anyother country and expect a welcome matt and a handout...Don't expect it here!

Finally, we need maybe an outside company, that is US based, to audit the government spending. They need to be stopped giving themselves raises at midnight, stop sneaking things in to bills that don't belong. stop subsidizing things they shouldn't. There is no checks and balance for the people in office. Yeah it's supposed to be us, but it seems anymore like we're just annoying little knats to them. We need an easier way to fire some of these people when they don't do what the majority of the people want. They have too much power, their hands in too many facets in our lives, and too much sence of entitlement! Lets pull the rug out from under em~ limit government - their job should be to protect our country from invading forces, not cater to illegals, tell us how to plant our gardens or raise our kids.

 

[Goose and Fig]

Quote:
Right- my grandparents worked for TVA way back when....

But the best solution is right in front of us- GREEN JOBS. We certainly have enough people and technology to become the world leader in clean energy. Yes- it will take an investment- but aren't the American people worth investing in? Are we just going to sit on our butts and let China and India corner the market?

There are thousands of layed off auto and steel workers (and machinists like my dad) out there that would kill for a job building turbines and stuff. We could be prosperous and energy independent in one felt swoop!

 

[Gonzo]

I would love to see things get back to the way they should be. Buy American! (bye, bye Walmart!) I think Obama suggested something of the sorts, and forigen countries threatened to sue us! Its this whole "one world economy" that is mucking us up. I hope folks are starting to realize that we can control, to a degree, our futures... if we all start buying American products, maybe big business would realize that outsoursing jobs won't equal bigger profits. We need to demand that our Government buys American as well! We need to demand that our politicans represent the people they serve, and not Dow, Walmart, and other big companies. Thomas Jefferson said that when the United States is completly populated, The Constitution would no longer be effective. I think he was right! I think its time for a total resturcturing of our Government because they no longer serve the people. Too many people and Businesses, and banks depend on freebies, and bailouts! Preserve Social Security, our elderly deserve it! Get rid of alot of welfare and bailouts. Bailout the middle class, and let the banks and business's that caused this mess pay for it entirely. We need to send a message! Its For The People, By the People. Right now its for the banks and business's by our taxes! .....sorry... end of rant!

 

[Q9]

First of all, $100 that this thread is locked by 7 tonight.

How would I solve it? Lower taxes across the board, cut federal spending, and generally do everything that Ron Paul and co. have been wanting to do. There is literally no limit to the amount of work that needs to be done in a free market, so it will create jobs. Of course all businesses care about is profit, but is that really a bad thing? They would have no incentive to produce if they weren't profit-motivated. There is an excellent John Stossel documentary on this, but I can't remember the title. Look up "John Stossel on greed."

This is a vastly shortened version of my usual free-market speeches, but I'll gladly give more details on Austrian economics if you would like.

EDIT

I will probably regret this, but I need to say it. The vast majority of posters on this thread demonstrate a thorough lack of economic understanding. Think about this for a moment. If we discourage corporations from outsourcing to China, all those Chinese citizens lose their jobs. And they can't turn around and leech off of productive citizens through welfare. If we really want to be able to compete, we need to ABOLISH the minimum wage. Yes, you read that right. We need to get rid of the holy of holies, the minimum wage. Go ahead, call me heartless. Thing is, competition for employees will naturally raise wages. Again, think about it. The minimum wage makes it more expensive to hire people. With no minimum wage, wages start out really low, but when companies are forced to compete for labor, which ones will get the most employees? Those with low wages and minimal benefits, or those with reasonable wages and benefits? Does it take longer to work? Yes. But the rewards are REAL and long-lasting. We also need to lower taxes across the board and dramatically cut government spending. Washington, DC is the source of our trouble, not banks and corporations. Unlike most congressmen and other assorted bureaucrats, they actually do something useful. Also, abolish the Federal Reserve. Permanently. As in, put in a Constitutional amendment getting rid of it. Also, to whoever suggested re-starting the CCC, DON'T!!! Programs like that destroy private-sector jobs, and then disappear after accomplishing nothing. Oh, and we need to privatize the highway system as well.

 

[michickenwrangler]

One thing that my mother suggested was to have everyone who is on unemployment to do some kind of work.

Ex. Joe Sickspak worked as an electrical engineer for a factory. Factory shuts down and he is jobless. Begins drawing unemployment. As a condition of his unemployment, just to make him a productive member of society, he now has to do electrical maintenance and update systems for a local school district.

Essentially, let people draw unemployment, but have them continue to work for that money rather than sitting home feeling sorry for themselves.

 

[Q9]

At the risk of having my post deleted and this thread locked, I state this. Government "incentives" in any way, shape or form, are not a good thing.

"Green energy" in the form of solar or wind has NO potential whatsoever. The private sector isn't bothering with it without govt. encouragement, which is quite a strong argument against the potential of it. The only real solution is for government to keep its meddling, bloodstained hands out of the economy. Just stay away. Or, if it gets REALLY bad, it can back away slowly, with its hands in the air.