SHTF 1/3 Americans QUIT Work! Angry ends near dont hav anything to live 4 just want Benefits not Job

to look at it from a different point of view i feel that we have become defeatists. in the past people worked from dusk til dawn to get things done. now their are people calling for a 15-20 hour work week. that my friends is a pipe dream and you must be smoking the pipe if you think anything will ever get done. what americans need to do is pull themselves up by the bootstraps work two jobs if needed and get rid of our iphones, cable bills and other unnecessary bills. problem is no one wants to work harder because it seems the ends dont justify the means well newsflash times are tough! when times get tough the tough get going!!! the lack of family support among americans has something to do with it too. i know of several mexican families where the parents work their tails off in low paying jobs and the grandmother stays at home and takes care of the kids and house. they eat the majority of their meals at home and are frugal with their money, the working members of the household pool their money together to make ends meet. they are not on welfare or handouts. so it can be done, but it takes hard work and sacrifices something that too many americans are unwilling to do. the people that are not willing to put in hours at fast food restaurants or factories thinking that it is beneath them have to change their attitudes, i will be the first to admit i am one of these people. it has to do with ego and materialism, we have been taught that those types of jobs are looked down upon by society. we have to start looking up to people that get up every day and go to work, we have got to start glorifying the average joe instead of thugs!

Sorry but 88 million is not 33%. It's only about 28%. That's a 7% difference, or 21 million people difference.

So we can say that about 38% of the population is not working. That's a 12% difference, or 37.6 million people difference.

When dealing with these huge numbers, it's important to accurately portray the data.

That's a LOT different than HALF the population.

Edit: I didn't think about the fact that the workforce is a lot fewer people than the actual total population. So that actually changes the numbers in the OP's favor, and even more drastically than before...

Okay, so the unemployment rate is 12.7 million people right now, or 8.2%. Which means the current workforce is what, 154 million? So 88 million people quitting their jobs is a staggering 57%. Which means the total people out of the workforce is a whopping 65%...

HOLY CRAP.

I don't know if these numbers are correct...

Originally posted by BiggerPicture
33% Americans have voluntarily, indefinitely exited their job/career

Your thread title and the above line imply that this is some kind of mass protest, but I think you're not reading the article incorrectly. The article makes it clear that these people aren't "voluntarily" leaving the workforce, they are giving up:

But an even deeper concern is the skyrocketing number of Americans who give up looking for work out of despair.

Originally posted by BiggerPictureso what are they going to be doing instead... waiting for the WORLD TO END?

No, they're waiting for the economy to improve so they can get back to work. Things are much like they were in the Great Depression, people are doing what they can to survive but they want nothing more than to get back to work and get their lives back to normal. By the time this whole mess sorts itself out we may have a new definition of "normal" though.

reply to post by conspiracy nut


If they got rid of all those unnecessary bills and cooked at home they might not need the second job What happened to spending a day at a local beach? Why do we have to go on cruises and to big resorts? Is the grass that much greener on the other side that we have to bankrupt ourselves to eat it?

Great, now I will be getting the extreme capitalists on my case. They don't understand that their world is going to totally collapse if this shenanigan keeps up. My life is here in Gods country, I don't need to give most of my money to others that don't live where I live.

reply to post by rickymouse


exactly my point!! we are spoiled and lazy, first step is to admit we have a problem instead of blaming everyone and everything. it is pretty depressing when you do the math and to have all the things you want are not possible on our wages. live within your means? whats that?

Originally posted by Mr_skepticc
Hired 4 guys to do some work on my ranch. It wasn't hard work, just some planting shrubs, and some painting. In 3 days I had no help! 2 quit, 1 his girlfriend was sick, and the other said it was worth more than 9 bucks an hour to paint a fence in 70 degrees, spring time. There you go. So I hired 2 Mexican fellows, they got the job done in 2 days, and only cost me 60 bucks for the 2 days of work they did.

edit on 9-4-2012 by Mr_skepticc because: (no reason given)

Ok. First post. Sory if I did this incorrectly.....

I am a child of the 80's. Generation X, or whatever you want to call me. What is wrong with today's youth? I work in emergency services, and you wouldn't believe the type of calls we respond to these days. I don't live in a huge city, we are a bedroom community.

In my day, if you were not out playing with the rest of the kids in the neighborhood, you were a LOSER, or you had damn well be sick. The only time we stayed inside was when we were snow bound, and that rarely stopped us. We used our imaginations, played hard, and god forbid if you were not back home when the street light turned on at night.

These days people don't know what its like to work. MSM has us all too concerned what Paris Hilton is wearing that day, or which quarterback got the new contract, even though he smacked around a stripper or two.

My two children beg me to go outside and play, even though the weather is horrible outside. Not wanting to do any work on a fence? WTF? I blame the gov't. They have control over our schools, and it is starting to show in our workforce now. A child born in 1990 is now approx 21 years old. You can't peel them away from their iPod long enough to fill out an application properly.

Ok. I gotta stop, blood pressure is rising. Sorry for the rant, but had to add my 2 cents.

-Walk in Peace, serve your family, serve your lord.

reply to post by BiggerPicture

It's good to see analytically thinking on this thread. Although i read only the first page so far, i was surprised to see most responding parties are aware of tangible facts to base their conclusions. That is encouraging after the past decade of hatred fueled infighting between the radical elements of society. Although i'm sure further reading of the thread would show the opposite, at least the first page shows promise.

The encouraging aspect is that people are looking at the problem from a "World View" philosophy rather than feeding on emotions fueled by truths, half truths and no truths at all. Using the Fact Finding Process and the Scientific Method allows a better understanding of problems and intelligent solutions. What we've seen in recent history is a result of abandoning these principals and allowing ignorance to prevail. This, of course, is not by accident as many people are now aware of the gross manipulation of the American economy.

The Academics have known historically that "Any negative alterations to the distribution of wealth and services will result in profound and disastrous implications within society as a whole." This is true throughout the spectrum of Communism and Capitalism. Please note that i'm NOT discussing "REdistribution" of wealth and services as it would require another debate all together. We've seen radical change in this area since the sixties and as a result of "their assurances" of added prosperity, we now know, as predicted, that globalism, and all it entails, is disastrous.

At least disastrous to the majority of people in our Democracy. What we've seen is the elimination of manufacturing nationally and providing "Preferred Trading Partnership" status to China, who we were led to believe was a threat to the west, to enjoy access our markets duty free. We outsourced our talent and security to the working class in reckless fashion. We produce a fraction of our potential as a result of unfair trading practices along with China, India, Mexico, Central and South America and other Third World Countries who come up to bat.

And as a result of America's love for Ronald Reagan, we allowed deregulated Big Banking, Big Investment brokers and Wall St. to pull off the largest theft of wealth in world history. Note nobody went to prison and they are poised to follow the same criminal behavior in the future. Yet "they" insist that further elimination of regulations is the key to solving our problems. Its maddening!

I was privy to future developments in eighty three when a old friend and Collage Professor said Russia will capitulate and the Muslims will be our next boogy man. He also informed me that he'd hope the west would aid Russia's return from the cold by financially assisting their transformation. He knew Eisenhower's veiled message and Kennedy's speech meant to the country. He was also worried the Elite would gain too much control over world events. I was fresh out of the NAVY and i told him i thought he was nuts. He laughed but said he was serious in his pronouncements. I was glad that i had the opportunity to apologize before his death. Little did i know his reach in such matters.

I often wonder what he would think of recent events. Nine-eleven and the resulting legislation that threatens Americans Civil Rights. He held a Ph. D in Law and Sociology. I know he would agree with Judge Napolitano's assessment of the threats leveled at american citizens. But i know he'd be alarmed to see it go this way. So you see, jobs, and the lack of, is only one of the many aspects of Globalism. Now we see the U.N. as a menace and threat to America's Sovereignty. The failure to close the borders says volumes in a terror threatened world. And if you are not totally sure of who is responsible for nine-eleven, you may consider how close we are Martial Law. Although i'm not suggesting it's inevitable, I would suggest it's possible in today's world.

Originally posted by keldas
It is not having nothing to do that is the problem it is lack of money or reduced income which effects what you can do with your life that is the problem. Plus I would also say loss of hope in the future. For many the American deal appears to be dead it has been bundled up and shipped overseas.

I'd say LOSS OF HOPE IN THE FUTURE, is definitely killing my productivity.

I can't seem to focus or EVEN CARE about work. I've had the alarm bells going off in the back of my head saying; "get out, move somewhere" since 2000 -- but I don't know where I'd go, nor what I would do when I got there.

The idea of doing something great, being a part of something wonderful, or having the good life kind of faded over the past 10 years for me.

reply to post by mbernardin


Originally posted by Mr_skepticc
Hired 4 guys to do some work on my ranch. It wasn't hard work, just some planting shrubs, and some painting. In 3 days I had no help! 2 quit, 1 his girlfriend was sick, and the other said it was worth more than 9 bucks an hour to paint a fence in 70 degrees, spring time. There you go. So I hired 2 Mexican fellows, they got the job done in 2 days, and only cost me 60 bucks for the 2 days of work they did.

whoa whoa whoa!!! you paid 2 guys $60 for 2 days worth of work? that right there is slave labor!! come on! a fair pay for a fair days work! please elaborate, was it 2 8 hour days, did you pay them $60 each or $60 total? i hope i somehow am reading this wrong but it sounds like you took advantage of those guys.

*chosen NOT to work*, my rear-end.

I was laid off due to seniority in 2003 by the worlds largest Telecom firm. My wife suffered a stroke at 36 (genetic defect) and lost her job shortly thereafter. In 2005 my new job at BearingPoint went to India. I trained my replacements in exchange for a guaranteed job with Microsoft, and 6 months later it went to India as well. By 2007 I was basically working in a call center, making less then half what I made in the late 90's. Today? I work 2 part time jobs and struggle to shelter and feed my children and my wife, who has started back to school, but cannot "work" in any meaningful sense, due to chronic injury and illness related to her stroke.

I'm not waiting around for doomsday. I'm just under-employed, and over-tired. I'm also back in school again -- training for my third career, at the age of 42, and running two small businesses, trying like hell to make the ends meet where they no longer touch or share any kind of relationship. "Choosing not to work" was never part of the equation, but -- do I care about the system itself?

Not anymore.

reply to post by mbernardin


ya know, it's kind of amazing!!!

I was raised in the late 60's- 70's....
and I would be tempted to say about the same thing...
when I was young, we stayed out as long as we could...heaven help us if we decided to stay inside cause mom would find something for us to do!! and we all knew to be home before those streetlights came on. and we also knew that anything we did, even if it was at the other end of town, well, our mom would know about before we walked into the door that night....

my kids are from your generation I believe...
and well, in the neighborhood they were raised in...
I didn't want them outside, it only cause problems since so many of the parents seemed to not care about what their kids were doing.
and well, heck with being in before the streetlights came on!!! heck, all those parents would be gathered in one yard, drinking their beer and patying on, screaming obscenities up and down the street, and well, their kids would be out there with them, even when they had to go to school the next day...and it would be like that till midnight!!!

now, I kind of got the feeling that many parents might not to let their kids out of their sights!! they might be snatched, or beaten to a pulp, or whatever, and then alll of society will be judging their parenting skills, why weren't they watching, why was their kid out there alone and unattended...

I remember walking about six blocks home from kindergarten alone everyday....
running a round the busiest part of town throughout the day, and being really pretty much safe...and watched over...
it's just not there anymore.

there's alot that isn't there anymore...
take a second job...ya, who's gonna watch the kids while the single mom is working the one job, let alone the second...and well, have you looked at the cost of childcare now days?? used to be that there were grandmas, aunts, older cousins, ect. now, well we are spread out across the country, looking for those well paying jobs....
the extended family is broken.....
and our society is broken!!

and, well, one really should consider just what kind of toxins today's kids had been fed since birth...
iwe've got mental problems, and physical problems that quite frankly, I don't even remember hearing about when I was a kid.
asthma? ya, it was around back then, but I didn't know of anyone who had it!! now, well, go into a school, and look into the nurse's medicine cabinent...you will be just as stunned as I was to see just how many inhalers are there!! and autism?? nope, we had a few with down's syndrome and such...but don't remember that one either.
it's quite possible that we've tipped the scales with our pollution and sent hamanity back alittle with our pollution and toxic crap!! many of which there is no escaping because it's in everything!!

Originally posted by mikellmikell
Not knowing anybody thats unemployed I guess I can't answer. Things ar booming here thats why I moved here. Maybe people need to move about a bit to find work

Mikell, mind if I ask you where on Earth things are booming? For the sake of brevity I'm just going to throw out there that (here in the Northwest) there are so precious few jobs remaining, that those employing people to work at them have become......brazen......in the lengths they will go to to force your continued cooperation with regards to working. Ex: My employer just very recently forced every one of us to sign an "undue hardship" contract...essentially taking our 10-minute breaks and lunch periods away from us. I've known folks to quit strictly for this reason; the employer simply put up an ad of Craigslist and had new applicants (basically kids) lined up the next week to meet those they're replacing, Dead Kenney's style.


In a nutshell, I want to move in with you please.

reply to post by conspiracy nut


We'll never convince people to evaluate their way of life. The less you spend, the less you have to make is a simple philosophy to follow, just a little too simple for people to understand. The conditioning of our people is strong, so strong that they think they deserve all the things they desire. They think their family home is beneath their worth, the home that their parents brought them up in, the home that should really be cherished by them. Parents see their kids succeeding in life and acquiring a dream house that will keep them in a poor house. If you have extra money or time, buy a house, it will relieve you of those. It's still the American dream but we have set your dreams so high we forget to enjoy life. How did our people get so messed up? How did our dreams get control over our lives. I totally understand the people who just walk away from their dreams. Dreams become nightmares many times.

reply to post by thebryman


I think he moved to that town in Utah where the boom created by the oil industry is destroying the good life of the local people.

reply to post by dawnstar

Quit reminiscing of the good life. That doesn't exist any more. I grew up in the sixties and early seventies also. Kids can't comprehend what it was like just as I could not comprehend exactly what my grandparents life was like. Things are moving a lot faster today than when I was a kid. I'm just not certain what direction we are going in.

reply to post by rickymouse

ya, I know, but I am just kind of surprised that someone my kid's age are saying the same thing about how today's kids are being raised....
makes me wonder if maybe what we are saying really holds validity or what??

Originally posted by rickymouse
reply to post by conspiracy nut

 

If they got rid of all those unnecessary bills and cooked at home they might not need the second job

What happened to spending a day at a local beach? Why do we have to go on cruises and to big resorts? Is the grass that much greener on the other side that we have to bankrupt ourselves to eat it?

Great, now I will be getting the extreme capitalists on my case. They don't understand that their world is going to totally collapse if this shenanigan keeps up. My life is here in Gods country, I don't need to give most of my money to others that don't live where I live.

No...on one sense you are correct. We have been bombarded with visions of success...if you are not doing this or that...buying this or that....you fail and are not successful.

This is the market place. Most of us have learned to ignore the hidden slander and character deformation it casts out if you do not participate in the way they say the world 'ought to be".

But some have not...some have thought the 'voice" of the masses is correct and if they are not meeting it's demands then they are failures....and it gets worse with each new generation....each one a little more susceptible to what they 'think" is public opinion....when it is not...it is marketing bullsh*t.

But do not allow yourself to be deceived....this technique is working....evr increasingly more and more....people see these reports and these commercials and if they are not on par....they will go out and dump a load to get there....making the cyclone even worse.

It is good we are all connected better than ever. it is good we can talk to one another across oceans...and time really....but it is not good when the media uses this as a marketing tool against us. We must block the media out of reality....it has no reality in it....only lies and illusion.

I see a definite crossroads ahead....we are going to choose one path or another. We are either going to go down the destructive path and allow media and it's moguls to dictate our future (for their profit and gain) or....we are going to realize they are not 'us" and they cannot ever speak for "us" and we really need to ignore their stupid shiz and focus on what is really important....life....food....water....shelter....clothing....

No one can survive without these things.....this is why the farmer is the best person on the planet....he helps with almost all of these things....just not the junk....

reply to post by OrphenFire


US workforce is 141 million

reply to post by Damrod


I still feel the farmer is the most important job in the world. No rocket scientist or teacher is going to convince me otherwise. I respect them more than Donald Trump or any business man. In my book they are up there with the president. I'm a pretty poor farmer so I experiment to try new farming techniques.

reply to post by Taupin Desciple

no one knows what the hell they're doing.

www.thru-hole.com...

The Ford service guy suggested I should call Sirius, “sometimes they tell you to point the car north” he said. Lots of commercial Geosync satellites north of here…That must be the problem, on the wrong bird. Actually in the big city satellite radio runs mostly off terrestrial repeaters. But I digress.

This is something I have noticed getting worse. The vendors I have contact with, big companies, morons manning the phones. Even in the mall, guy rang us up, took my credit card, failed to push the right button and finish the transaction. And, last but not least, HR people. I am employed by sometimes will submit applications for jobs that I qualify for and am interested in. I have friends who are unemployed and apply for jobs for which they are qualified but never hear back. HR people are unable to recognize a qualified applicant.

Also Wrabbit is right. I work midnights, so sometimes I am out during the day (when normal people should be at work) and there are people driving, walking, shopping everywhere... Why are these people not at work???

K