7 million able bodied men aren’t even looking for work. Is this the root of America’s economic crisis?

Photo above - Would you do this job? Grant would.

If anyone should know about crappy jobs, it would be Mike Rowe. On his show (now cancelled) “Dirty Jobs” he did everything from scuba diving inside a sewer pipe to artificial cow insemination. Mike doesn’t believe AI or bots will make Americans unemployed. It’s the “will to work". And he says it’s already happening. (see link at bottom).

Everybody knows the official government unemployment numbers are bogus. According to several sources, there's 6.8 million additional able bodied, adult men who aren’t even looking for work. And because they aren’t looking, they were dropped from the government's data. These guys alone would be enough to raise the unemployment rate from 4% to 6%. And that doesn’t even count “able bodied adult women who aren't mothers”.

My satiric tagline for the root of this problem was going to be “videogames”. But the problem runs much deeper. It involves legalized weed, mobile gambling apps, 132 NCAA college football games on TV each week, and Netflix binge watching. (“Thanks for the free crash pad in the basement and Xfinity hook up, mom. Can you make some more of those mini-pizzas on bagels?”)

I would additionally complain that Afghan ex-CIA operatives might be part of the problem, except that the dude who drove cross county to gun down random national guardsmen evidently DID have a job.

The “will to work” evidently isn’t lacking among lawn crews, roofers, Home Depot day workers, nannies, restaurant staff, and uber drivers who have migrated to America. Why the heck are we deporting THEM? Let's focus on the drug dealers, pimps, and car thieves, like we were told was going to happen last year.

If the able-bodied men (and childless women) of America all got halfway decent jobs, just imagine how may EV cars we could churn out. The affordable housing that could be constructed and occupied. The shorter wait times at hospital emergency rooms as overdoses and DUI crashes trend down. (I’m not being facetious here).

America’s economic crisis isn’t driven by some programmer training an AI system do google searches verbally. It’s all of the things that make students drop out of school and then keep them in their mom’s' basements.

I’m just sayin’ . . .

Mike Rowe warns the real crisis isn’t skills or AI but the ‘will to work.' As more 'able-bodied' men exit the workforce, what does America lose?

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Avectoijesuismoi · 36-40

It is the same nonsense everywhere, the system allows for people to sit around do nothing but get some money (in some or other format) for doing it.
There is now almost a built in sense of entitlement amongst an ever increasing section of countries populations both male and female, they even then produce children as well so they can become more entitled.
They then shout about the fact they don't have all the things that people that get out of bed, off the sofa and actually go out and work have. Calling it inequality and trying to lay the blame on everyone else for their predicament.
Newsflash for them.
You are none one else's responsibility and you are responsible for your own predicament.
Newsflash 2
The government is running out of resources and soon won't have the ability to keep you as with each lot of you that comes along there are fewer and fewer people for us as your government to collect taxes from to fund you laying in bed and sitting on the sofa doing nothing.
Therefore as your government we strongly recommend something called work and advise that you in fact need to go get a job.
There are jobs out there in many countries they are experiencing shortages in for instance the building trades brick layers, plumbers, carpenters, electricians.
But nobody wants to do the jobs anymore.
There are countless other professions where labour is needed.
I have seen some very rich people give their son or daughter the most appalling jobs when they have entered the family business where the father has built the business they don't tend to let them walk in and become next in charge. They also get the same pay grade as the other people doing that job.

SusanInFlorida · 31-35, F

@Avectoijesuismoi you should need a note from your doctor if you want to skip school or be unemployed.

Avectoijesuismoi · 36-40

@SusanInFlorida what really annoys me is if you encounter unemployed and offer them a job and they turn around and say that is not the job they want because it involves doing some actual work.

SusanInFlorida · 31-35, F

@Avectoijesuismoi as i type this, i'm sitting across the room from someone who previously was a salesperson at a clothing boutique. she quit that job because she felt it was a poor use of her skills. she is currently still unemployed.

Avectoijesuismoi · 36-40

@SusanInFlorida my first ever job was as a 16 year old while I was still at school was as a part sales assistant on a Saturday in a clothing shop as I wanted some money for myself.
My parents did not have money to just give us money