http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/08/27/explaining-the-labor-force-dropouts/
Displayed by the graphs shown on the website, the approximate unemployment rate is currently around 7%. Since 2009, the unemployment rate has steadily been decreasing. However, the labor force participation rate has also been decreasing quite rapidly over the last few years. Economists are worried especially because this shift is not only a result of the aging population. In fact, that has very little to do with the "great shift". Other contributing factors to this shift include the increasing amount of people on disability and the "skills gap" between the working generation and the younger generation.
In accordance with our most recent topic discussed in class, I believe that economic security possibly plays a role in the reasoning for these statistics and trends. Mentioned during discussion, someone had said that people are increasingly becoming too comfortable with the amount of security that our government offers; types of this security include welfare and disability programs. These programs give aid to people who need it and who "qualify" for it. Are the qualifications steadily becoming too "loose"? Or are people beginning to abuse the security given to them? And if this is the case, is it going to continue negatively affecting the labor force participation rate and the unemployment rate before something is done?
I think the people are abusing the security given to them. For example, on Kirsten's blog, she mentioned that people are abusing food stamps. They are just using it so they won't lost the assistance. Same thing on your article, if the qualifications are becoming too loose, people will just rely on the security given to them. They will continue to get more comfortable and rely on it instead of getting on their feet and work.
ReplyDeleteWhy would an individual work with no incentive to do so? If he can earn more money on government assistance than he can he can working a part/full time job, why would he work? There clearly needs to be a reduction in payment or a more intensive examination to receive payment. No individual on government assistance should be able to afford an iPhone which is kept in a Louis Vuitton purse that makes the trip in a BMW to wherever he/she is going.
ReplyDeleteIt is a serious problem that the fall in the labor force can become. Regardless of the official unemployment figures, if people are not motivated enough to work in labor-intensive jobs, the overall economic impact will not be any better, and may in-fact, become worse. The higher the labor force, the lower the unemployment rate will fall simply because of its economic implications. A high labor force leads to low unemployment, but low unemployment does not necessarily lead to a higher labor force.
ReplyDeleteNo matter what kind of regulations are instituted, people will continue to abuse the system. It is a fallacy to even believe that it is possible to eradicate the aforementioned abuse. The measures that would need to be taken to try to "fix" this would only adversely affect those who actually require the assistance to feed their families, while failing to accomplish the apparent goal of a perfect system.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with David's comment above in that I see plenty of people who I know are receiving some kind of government aid but yet choose to waste that money on luxuries instead of necessities. I'm completely for helping out people that are a little down on their luck but I for one believe that there should be some type of time limit on the aids that the government gives. If you cannot find a job in a year then you haven't used the year as productively as you should and don't deserve the government aid you get.
ReplyDeleteI believe that we as a society think that we are entitled to everything. The public programs help fuel that mentality. People do and I believe people always will abuse the system. This sucks for the people that really need it because it gives the people on those programs a bad reputation. I never considered these things when talking about unemployment. This really provides a new prospective.
ReplyDeleteThe unemployment rate will never increase if more and more Americans are becoming lazy when it comes to job searching. If there is no motivation to get a job, what's stopping unemployment from increasing dramatically in the next few years. People shouldn't rely on government assistance to live their whole life.
ReplyDeleteI think that qualifications for welfare have definitely become too loose. While I would not favor drug tests for people who collect welfare, I do think that they should at least be looking for work while they're on welfare, so that they cannot rely on welfare for the rest of their lives.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Tyler, but I also think that there are those people that got laid off and have been out of work for so long now and have tried really hard to find work and just have given up now because not that they are lazy they lost hope.
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