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Mike Rowe warns government enabling men to quit work


Michelle

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Mike Rowe warns government enabling millions of men to quit working: 'Not letting them fail'

Seven million men have dropped out of the workforce and aren't looking for jobs

Mike Rowe is warning Americans to pay attention to a startling statistic revealing that seven million men in the prime of life have dropped out of the workforce with no plans to find another job.

That data comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), which also found men were spending around seven hours a day doing leisure activities such as watching television and playing games instead. While millions of men aren't working, there are currently 779,000 open jobs in manufacturing, according to the latest data from the BLS, CBS News reported.

cont...

https://www.foxnews.com/media/mike-rowe-warns-government-enabling-millions-men-quit-working-letting-them-fail

I like Mike and I thought this would be an interesting topic. 

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I like Mike too.   He has some interesting shows.  

I blame this on the big money colleges are making and charging, and advertising that people can do better with a college degree, which is no longer true depending on the type of degree.   50 years ago a college degree meant something different than it does now.

Rowe argued there were "stigmas and stereotypes" surrounding skilled trade work in our culture driving schools and parents away from encouraging kids to pursue these high-paying and readily available jobs.

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19 minutes ago, Desertrat56 said:

I like Mike too.   He has some interesting shows.  

I blame this on the big money colleges are making and charging, and advertising that people can do better with a college degree, which is no longer true depending on the type of degree.   50 years ago a college degree meant something different than it does now.

Rowe argued there were "stigmas and stereotypes" surrounding skilled trade work in our culture driving schools and parents away from encouraging kids to pursue these high-paying and readily available jobs.

This. 
You ask your average 12 year old, what they want to be and sod all of them say “bricklayer” or “plumber” (most say “Influencer” or “YouTuber”). I did a “dig deeper” with my class once, and it was roughly a 50/50 split of “my parents say…. about being a labourer…” and “it’s boring work”. And when the kids does say they want to be a labourer, most of them say “because I’m stupid” which is really REALLY sad to hear. 

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5 minutes ago, Sir Wearer of Hats said:

This. 
You ask your average 12 year old, what they want to be and sod all of them say “bricklayer” or “plumber” (most say “Influencer” or “YouTuber”). I did a “dig deeper” with my class once, and it was roughly a 50/50 split of “my parents say…. about being a labourer…” and “it’s boring work”. And when the kids does say they want to be a labourer, most of them say “because I’m stupid” which is really REALLY sad to hear. 

I wonder if it would help them to watch the Rocket City R e d necks  television show.  It makes science look like fun and it also makes it understandable so that kids would think it might be a fine thing to participate in, even just making the tools they need to do the experiments.   A whole new perspective on the importance of being able to make things.    Can you get that show for your students?   My 12 year old grandson (who is a musician and artist) love that show.    He and his brother have been making things and figuring out what materials work for what they want since before they started school.   And the younger one has a diagnosis of autism, which does not stop him from anything expcept talking to strangers or answering questions from some teachers.   His older brother is 20 and is a welder, has been working for about a year since finishing training.

Edited by Desertrat56
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1 minute ago, Desertrat56 said:

I wonder if it would help them to watch the Rocket City R e d necks  television show.  It makes science look like fun and it also makes it understandable so that kids would think it might be a fine thing to participate in, even just making the tools they need to do the experiments.   A whole new perspective on the importance of being able to make things.    Can you get that show for your students?   My 12 year old grandson (who is a musician and artist) love that show.    He and his brother have been making things and figuring out what materials work for what they want since before they started school.   And the younger one has a diagnosis of autism, which does not stop him from anything expcept talking to strangers or answering questions from some teachers.

A colleague of mine knows a professional YouTuber, and got them to give a private “this is my job…” style chat to the kids. Once they saw the amount of work that goes into being an unpaid/non-monetised YouTuber some of them changed their minds. 

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4 minutes ago, Sir Wearer of Hats said:

A colleague of mine knows a professional YouTuber, and got them to give a private “this is my job…” style chat to the kids. Once they saw the amount of work that goes into being an unpaid/non-monetised YouTuber some of them changed their minds. 

Maybe you could find people from the pipe fitters union and other unions like electricians and plumbers to talk to the class about their jobs too.   When I was a kid (in the dark ages) Sandia labs (which has a big operation at Kirtland AFB) sent people once a month to teach us science and to get us excited about that.   It was not a program happening in the whole city, I think it was because the school I went to had a lot of kids whose parents worked for Sandia Labs.   As an adult I realized that we got a lot  more real science than most public school kids.   The same thing should happen with the trades as well.  Have a plumber and electrician come and teach a math class so that the kids can see why you need math for more than just figuring if you paid the right amount at the grocery store.

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Feeding and housing myself was never a problem even when I was doing the most menial of minimum wage jobs working toward an engineering degree and then working until interviews and job offers came along. That was nearly 50 years ago.  Times were different.  I am not sure the problem is solely the stigma of a trade job.  Usually trades are hard work too and require other social skills like good attendance and punctuality.   I worked with a lot of tradesmen building and installing systems in new departments for my company.  I crawled around under greasy machinery with a few of them  looking at problems or design flaws (my bad)  I learned a lot of practical stuff from them.  Competent tradesmen were difficult to find and well respected.  They had some of the same complaints, can't find good apprentices who want to work.  Society can be the starter motor, but before the starter runs out of battery, the engine has to fire up and run on its own. How do we do that?

Or as an alternative course of action, men might do well to follow the advice of 100 years ago.

Dress well and remain fit and trim.  Be kind and polite and show interest.  Learn to be a gourmet cook and an immaculate housekeeper.  Then you may find a successful spouse  with a high paying job that will provide you a safe and secure lifestyle.  That all takes work and drive too. Nobody wants to marry a lazy housekeeper and a bad cook who spends their time reading magazines and doing their nails. Course the pronouns have changed in the last 100 years.

 

 

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8 minutes ago, Tatetopa said:

Feeding and housing myself was never a problem even when I was doing the most menial of minimum wage jobs working toward an engineering degree and then working until interviews and job offers came along. That was nearly 50 years ago.  Times were different.  I am not sure the problem is solely the stigma of a trade job.  Usually trades are hard work too and require other social skills like good attendance and punctuality.   I worked with a lot of tradesmen building and installing systems in new departments for my company.  I crawled around under greasy machinery with a few of them  looking at problems or design flaws (my bad)  I learned a lot of practical stuff from them.  Competent tradesmen were difficult to find and well respected.  They had some of the same complaints, can't find good apprentices who want to work.  Society can be the starter motor, but before the starter runs out of battery, the engine has to fire up and run on its own. How do we do that?

Or as an alternative course of action, men might do well to follow the advice of 100 years ago.

Dress well and remain fit and trim.  Be kind and polite and show interest.  Learn to be a gourmet cook and an immaculate housekeeper.  Then you may find a successful spouse  with a high paying job that will provide you a safe and secure lifestyle.  That all takes work and drive too. Nobody wants to marry a lazy housekeeper and a bad cook who spends their time reading magazines and doing their nails. Course the pronouns have changed in the last 100 years.

 

 

When I got out of high school I joined the army because I wanted a college degree but my family had made it seem impossible to pay for.  Once I got out I realized I could have done it as tuition and books were not really that expensive.  But I had the GI bill and back then that paid for books and tuition and included a monthly stipend for living expenses.   Back then there were very few people who got student loans, it seemed silly to go in to debt when you could get a part time job and be able to pay for school and a place to stay and food.  Now, it is so expensive to go to college and too many people have signed their lives away by taking student loans.   Even my daughter who makes 6 figures has too much student loan debt to pay it off before she is in her 50's.   The younger one expects she will be still be paying hers when she wants to retire in her 70's.   Both of them were able to get a better job, though the younger one took a pay cut from her hospital job to take the one that her degree got her and she is only after 8 or 9 years making more than she had at the hospital.   But her quality of life improved with the new job as she did not work 4 10 hour days every week and get hasseled if she was 1 minute late.   She works regular hours and has time with her kids and a lot of benefits she didn't have at the hospital (for one, a financial company has much better health insurance than any doctor or hospital).

Edited by Desertrat56
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Instead of being lazy, they might just be retired.  Seven million men between the ages of 25-54 is 1/3 of the 22 million people in the United States that are millionaires.   Just saying.

Granted not all of them are going to be millionaires, but it's pretty naive to think that free money magically appears to these guys to fund the seven hours of TV and Video games the article is talking about.

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3 minutes ago, Gromdor said:

Instead of being lazy, they might just be retired.  Seven million men between the ages of 25-54 is 1/3 of the 22 million people in the United States that are millionaires.   Just saying.

Granted not all of them are going to be millionaires, but it's pretty naive to think that free money magically appears to these guys to fund the seven hours of TV and Video games the article is talking about.

As far as I know, the "government handouts" are not forever, anyone who gets unemployment benefits has to prove they are looking for a job and the additional amounts that were added for covid in 2021 are no longer available, so it does seem like a stretch to say that they are able to continue getting government handouts for more than 2 years.   And why would the millionaires be part of the Bureau of Labor Statistics.  You are part of that when you have a job and when you loose a job and when you get another job or not.   Millionaires usually have not been in the job market that the BLS is keeping track of.

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22 minutes ago, Desertrat56 said:

As far as I know, the "government handouts" are not forever, anyone who gets unemployment benefits has to prove they are looking for a job and the additional amounts that were added for covid in 2021 are no longer available, so it does seem like a stretch to say that they are able to continue getting government handouts for more than 2 years.   And why would the millionaires be part of the Bureau of Labor Statistics.  You are part of that when you have a job and when you loose a job and when you get another job or not.   Millionaires usually have not been in the job market that the BLS is keeping track of.

"Men of age to work but don't" is a stat they track.  That would be a potential labor force statistic.  The article says that there are 7 million men between the ages 25 and 54 that aren't working.  Even Mike Rowe admits he doesn't know why and is just making a guess when he says they are getting free money and that's how.

I personally think that America isn't as bad off as many people think it is and these people can obviously afford it.  You don't have to be over 54 to be a millionaire in America after all.

Edit to add: Here are some millionaire stats: 

As of 2013, 19% of millionaires are millennials (between 18 and 31 years of age).  So that is around 4 million millionaires right there.

33% or one-third of the U.S.’s millionaires are women. So 2/3 are men.  2/3 of that 4 million is 2.6 million men between the ages of 18-31 right there.

Edited by Gromdor
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Not sure if that's really a societal problem or just or problem for whoever is supporting them.

If youre not working you're getting by some how. Be it parents, spouse, or whoever else is paying for you 

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The business world is all about automation these days. Fewer jobs because of this.

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8 minutes ago, little_dreamer said:

The business world is all about automation these days. Fewer jobs because of this.

Fewer jobs, yet we have signs everywhere on most businesses saying "We are Hiring, enquire within".   Some things can't be automated yet, and some things should never be automated.   

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6 hours ago, razman said:

I dont know but i'm getting closer to 60 and i'm damn **** tired of working. 

Just curious... What would you do if you weren't working? I only ask because a lot of people don't really have anything to do once they retire and they become horribly out of shape just doing basic laborious things.

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8 hours ago, Gromdor said:

Instead of being lazy, they might just be retired.  Seven million men between the ages of 25-54 is 1/3 of the 22 million people in the United States that are millionaires.   Just saying.

Granted not all of them are going to be millionaires, but it's pretty naive to think that free money magically appears to these guys to fund the seven hours of TV and Video games the article is talking about.

This was in my mind as i read replies be it a nest egg or gov handout to lay on the sofa hand in bag of cheetos watching whoopie and her buddies cluck one has to have support or some type.

I wasnt and am not rich or well off and partly due to health i retired well over 10 years ago but i retired in label only i still did hobbies which provided income, then good things happened and i went back to part time work, the only thing i dont like about it is the locked in feeling that if i quit even missed a nite it would hurt the club, i still play with my hobbies.

Im thinking a lot of that 7m not working dont have to or some do it like i do, legit income but dont call it "work". 

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7 hours ago, razman said:

I dont know but i'm getting closer to 60 and i'm damn **** tired of working. 

I'm pushing 55 and I'm not. :lol:

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12 hours ago, Desertrat56 said:

I wonder if it would help them to watch the Rocket City R e d necks  television show.  It makes science look like fun and it also makes it understandable so that kids would think it might be a fine thing to participate in, even just making the tools they need to do the experiments.   A whole new perspective on the importance of being able to make things.    Can you get that show for your students?   My 12 year old grandson (who is a musician and artist) love that show.    He and his brother have been making things and figuring out what materials work for what they want since before they started school.   And the younger one has a diagnosis of autism, which does not stop him from anything expcept talking to strangers or answering questions from some teachers.   His older brother is 20 and is a welder, has been working for about a year since finishing training.

Hi Desertrat 

I don’t know but when I was growing up we had chores so we’re conditioned to your from an early age, my dad told me when I was in grade school that he was going to send my older brother and younger sister to university and me and my younger brother would have to make our own way in life be the couldn’t afford to send us all to school.

I got a rotor tiller when I was 12 and dragged it a gas can, rake, and a garden fork in a 10 block radius from home every spring and fall earning my own money. I did a lot of yard work and painting in the warm weather then later got a snow blower to do sidewalks and driveways all winter.

Maybe they should be taught you will have to do whatever you can to get ahead in life.

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10 hours ago, Gromdor said:

Instead of being lazy, they might just be retired.  Seven million men between the ages of 25-54 is 1/3 of the 22 million people in the United States that are millionaires.   Just saying.

Granted not all of them are going to be millionaires, but it's pretty naive to think that free money magically appears to these guys to fund the seven hours of TV and Video games the article is talking about.

Hi Gromdor

Have to wonder if the have a side hustle where they don’t have to claim their money 

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1 hour ago, jmccr8 said:

Hi Desertrat 

I don’t know but when I was growing up we had chores so we’re conditioned to your from an early age, my dad told me when I was in grade school that he was going to send my older brother and younger sister to university and me and my younger brother would have to make our own way in life be the couldn’t afford to send us all to school.

I got a rotor tiller when I was 12 and dragged it a gas can, rake, and a garden fork in a 10 block radius from home every spring and fall earning my own money. I did a lot of yard work and painting in the warm weather then later got a snow blower to do sidewalks and driveways all winter.

Maybe they should be taught you will have to do whatever you can to get ahead in life.

I made firewood for 2 woodstove dealers, tuned and repaired hunting bows , tracked down and shot wild dogs for cranberry and blueberry growers, trapped and sold the furs to a broker for Sears and rode out ******* horses. On top of my farm chores.

 Then once in a while I would get grabbed by one of my grandfather's farmer pals to help them repair vehicles and equipment because my little arms could reach something they couldn't.

 

 

 

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4 hours ago, acidhead said:

Just curious... What would you do if you weren't working? I only ask because a lot of people don't really have anything to do once they retire and they become horribly out of shape just doing basic laborious things.

I'm still working to increase my financial status for retirement.  Shooting for $750,000 in the bank ( including 401K).   It'll be close.   I have12 or 13 years of working left.  

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Interestingly enough, Rick Scott is running for Senate and one of his platforms is to financial hurt the poor to force them to work: Rick Scott announces Senate run, promises to push 'controversial' plan that forces the poor to pay more taxes (msn.com)

“I’m going to continue to push it," Scott told NBC. “I tell people these are my ideas. Let’s start fighting over ideas. If Democrats have a better way of getting people back to work, it doesn’t seem to be working. Labor participation rates are down. We’re not creating full-time jobs. Look at the job market. All we’re doing for last few months is adding part-time jobs. That’s not a great economy. Inflation: 40-year high. If we did what I put in my plan, then it would be better for Americans, all Americans.”

According to NBC, the senator individuals are opting out of work, and that, perhaps, forcing more of them to work “would grow the workforce and expand the number of taxpayers.”- from the article.

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3 hours ago, Myles said:

I'm still working to increase my financial status for retirement.  Shooting for $750,000 in the bank ( including 401K).   It'll be close.   I have12 or 13 years of working left.  

I've always been told about the 4% rule and used that as the general basis for my retirement: William Bengen - Wikipedia

The idea is to have it so that your expenses equal 4% of you total savings during retirement.  I plan to live the same so let's say I need $100,000.00/yr for me an my wife to live (and vacation) like we do.  Thus, that 4% of my retirement total must be $100,000.00.  A bit of math and that comes out to $2,500,000.00 as a target number in savings.

 

Using that rule $750,000 will let you live a $30,000/yr lifestyle.  (You can add in social security too).  That's not a bad or unreasonable lifestyle.  

Granted this is an old method and probably needs some tweaking, but I still think it is a good rule of thumb to help figure out what people need if they want to truly retire.

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