Superintendent John Richard says many applicants are laid-off workers with heart-wrenching stories about the tough economic times.

I don't care. I really don't. The important question is can you do the job, not what your circumstances happen to be at the time.

Christ. I read article like this and I'm getting Atlas Shrugged flashbacks. We really are screwed, you know that?

is this supposed to make them all feel better, that they actually got to apply, even though they have almost no chance of being hired?

"It's an honor just to be allowed to apply!"

cryinoutloud: is this supposed to make them all feel better, that they actually got to apply, even though they have almost no chance of being hired?

"It's an honor just to be allowed to apply!"

I know. It's like it's straight out of Atlas Shrugged.

scary stuff. I never expected wall street to go around proving Ayn Rand right, or D.C. to chip in and help. It's really starting to creep me the hell out.

I don't care what you say, I'm not reading Ayn Rand.

I don't need to read the article. I cannot find the current rate but Rockford, IL has an unemployment rate of 12.5% as of Dec. 2oo8. I know many people looking for work.

cryinoutloud: I don't care what you say, I'm not reading Ayn Rand.

And I never said you should....but this story is remarkably similar to several incidents she mentions in the first half of Atlas Shrugged. This phrase in particular:

"Superintendent John Richard says many applicants are laid-off workers with heart-wrenching stories about the tough economic times."

One of the characters in the book mentions people who try to use stories of their personal misfortunes as a means to gaining sympathy, job offers, favorable interest rates on loans...stuff like that. At any rate, he denounces the tactic as evil.

PoopStain: 700 applicants, however, are indicative of a much bigger problem. We've sold off our manufacturing sector without providing a landing area for the people who used to do blue collar work. Wal-Mart can't hire everybody.

it is not the responsibility of ANYONE to 'provide jobs'. Jobs are there because a business requires labor. that's why jobs exist. There isn't any 'requirement' to provide those jobs. If they're needed, then they get filled.

What's really farked up is that there's no easy solution. People putting widgets together are now competing with people in third world countries who consider a dollar a day a good salary. They work for so cheap it's actually cheaper to ship raw goods somewhere else, have people there assemble the widgets, and then ship the completed product back. How do you fix that?

simple - you let businesses fail. you let banks fail. CEOs and board of director members who run companies that fail do not get bailouts. If they go bankrupt, then they can go stand in the unemployment office right alongside their former employees.

When enough businesses fail and investors realize that NOBODY is going to cover their bad bets and debts, then we'll see a shift back towards responsibility and accountability. And if a bunch of workers end of getting hurt along the way, then they are invited to speak with their elected officials about where all that tax money the government has been collecting over the past 60 years is located. And if the government can't account for the money, then maybe it's time to kick THOSE people out of office.

What always gets applicants rejected is that B.A. in English Literature requirement.

I thought the correct job title was now "Sanitation Engineer"

PoopStain: 700 applicants, however, are indicative of a much bigger problem. We've sold off our manufacturing sector without providing a landing area for the people who used to do blue collar work. Wal-Mart can't hire everybody.

...aren't you one of the ones that are also heartily cheering Bobby Jindal for not taking aid for extending unemployment benefits?

Tenpins: I thought the correct job title was now "Sanitation Engineer"

Hey, I put janitor on my resume...

/Might be the reason why I don't get any other job...

Why are we still calling this a "recession?" We clearly are embarking on a full-scale depression. The worst has yet to come.

Calling the asshats that said "Mexicans do jobs Americans don't want"

I think he'll get it.

Maybe number 701 is the Tiger Woods of janitors. You never know.

I wonder how many of them have MBA's or used to work on Wall street ?

Damn Bush!!!!

The person who eventually gets that job is going to be seriously underpaid. Those guys are going to pillage the poor summabiatch who needs that job badly enough.

What are your qualifications
I have a PhD in mechanical engineering with emphasis on hydromechanics
You're hired, sign this four year contract with no possibility for getting out if the economy improves
Okay.

700 people apply BY THE DEADLINE, so they extend it so they can have more applicants?

I'm going to go out on a limb and say the most qualified (and punctual) applicant has already applied.

Wow another local story on fark...

I wonder why that school district is always trying to get more money through levies and stuff... maybe it's the fact they pay JANITORS $15/hr.

cryinoutloud

I don't care what you say, I'm not reading Ayn Rand.

Your irreverence impresses no-one. Taking second-hand generalizations and cobbling them together into a caricature isn't all that hard to do. If you're so adamant about not reading Ayn Rand (or any other author), then why so? Maybe if you read a writer's actual words instead of someone else's interpretation, you'd have a more personal assessment of what Ayn Rand/ Karl Marx/ Joe Plumber had to say.

Also, try the Fountainhead first, or just her essays. (I read Atlas, and it was hardly worth it. Even after really enjoying Fountainhead)

ericbo84: Wow another local story on fark...

I wonder why that school district is always trying to get more money through levies and stuff... maybe it's the fact they pay JANITORS $15/hr.

I'd wash Subby's balls for $15/hr.

Weaver95: I read article like this and I'm getting Atlas Shrugged flashbacks

I hope you are wrong.

There was a LP conference in the pacific northwest a whole bunch of years back (13 I think) where there was an investor trying to get a movie script written, but they wanted it to be "inspired by" or some crap. So a major part of the conference was discussing what the modern (relevant) equivalent of the railroad. The best they came up with was airlines.

I submit the following:
Banks

Prove me wrong.

ericbo84: Wow another local story on fark...

I wonder why that school district is always trying to get more money through levies and stuff... maybe it's the fact they pay JANITORS $15/hr.

...sure, $31,000 a year's gotta break any school's bank...

/Some people have no sense of scale when it comes to money...

They should change the Business tab to the 'Depressing shiat' tab.

I work as a janitor for a university in Ohio.

Totally get a kick out of these replies.

But seriously, maybe these people should consider moving someplace where jobs are abundant.

bestie1: Damn Bush!!!!

*facepalm*

Dickloserman: I work as a janitor for a university in Ohio.

Totally get a kick out of these replies.

But seriously, maybe these people should consider moving someplace where jobs are abundant.

Where might that be?

Dickloserman: I work as a janitor for a university in Ohio.

Totally get a kick out of these replies.

But seriously, maybe these people should consider moving someplace where jobs are abundant.

...if they had enough money to move across the country, they wouldn't be looking for a job in the first place...

PoopStain: What's really farked up is that there's no easy solution. People putting widgets together are now competing with people in third world countries who consider a dollar a day a good salary. They work for so cheap it's actually cheaper to ship raw goods somewhere else, have people there assemble the widgets, and then ship the completed product back. How do you fix that?

I had this conversation with a doctor when I was 16. I attributed to the "technology haves and have-nots" of the world and that would fix it. 11 years later I think I was onto something, but not on target. It's not totally a matter of technology, but a matter of technology combined with localization of affairs.

I think globalization will eventually pan it out, especially if we move to a world-wide currency, probably an INC system based on a universal goods, iron, gold or a food stock like rice, wheat or corn. That said, it's going to be a VERY painful process.

The base problem is China (for example) values its people less because there are more of them, thus the potential for abuse becomes greater and a single person standing up speaking out becomes quieter in the noise.

Call it what you will, but I think the people chiming in with "think locally" are correct. You have to stop thinking in a global sense and start working things in a local sense. Individually we do not have the capacity to really effectively manage more than a small number (read: ceiling is around 100) of people at a time. 100 people, though, gives you nearly every specialization needed so they could survive on their own.

Doctor's, Engineers, farmers, construction workers, teachers, butchers, bakers etc. can all be in their own field and work towards the common good. The Internet also allows specialists to consult with one another and improve upon their skills without needing to gather in seminar. Of course institutions of education will continue to exist, as it's still the best way to disseminate information without the drawbacks of a textbook only education (Internet degrees without labs).

/I reserve the right to be wrong.

cryinoutloud: I don't care what you say, I'm not reading Ayn Rand.

You know with all the references lately, I really want to see what the stupid is about. Kind of like the Bible.

The beauty of over leveraging revealed.

Have you hugged an investment banker today?

MaritimeGirl: Dickloserman: I work as a janitor for a university in Ohio.

Totally get a kick out of these replies.

But seriously, maybe these people should consider moving someplace where jobs are abundant.

Where might that be?

China.

Who is John Gault?

Dirty Hot Linker: Calling the asshats that said "Mexicans do jobs Americans don't want"

Egh, I abhor that fallacy. Americans didn't want the jobs because Mexicans lowballed them to hell.

Bauhaus: Who is John Gault?

darisd: Weaver95: I read article like this and I'm getting Atlas Shrugged flashbacks

I hope you are wrong.

There was a LP conference in the pacific northwest a whole bunch of years back (13 I think) where there was an investor trying to get a movie script written, but they wanted it to be "inspired by" or some crap. So a major part of the conference was discussing what the modern (relevant) equivalent of the railroad. The best they came up with was airlines.

I submit the following:
Banks

Prove me wrong.

Whoa, take a few more hits off the crack pipe, then think about what you just said. Banks? Banks don't transport people, goods, machinery, and materials across the continents or oceans. That's railroads. Or airlines. Banks handle money- or mishandle it, these days.
Although I am curious to see how Hollywood adapts Atlas for the audience of today- and it'll be even more interesting what with the recent financial fiasco. From what I read on wiki and IMDB the project's kinda stalled?? Maybe the studio is having trouble finding a producer or sponsor with millions to blow on a movie promoting laissez-faire capitalism?

PoopStain: It's a low skill job with full benefits, full time work at $15/hour, and most likely a lifetime of job security if the school doesn't close down. Even without the current economic woes, I think this job would be pretty popular.

700 applicants, however, are indicative of a much bigger problem. We've sold off our manufacturing sector without providing a landing area for the people who used to do blue collar work. Wal-Mart can't hire everybody.

Once GM and Chrysler finally shiat the bed, we're going to be farked for the next 20 years. A generation ago less than 20% of the population went to college, and it's a little late for the other 80% to play catch up now.

What's really farked up is that there's no easy solution. People putting widgets together are now competing with people in third world countries who consider a dollar a day a good salary. They work for so cheap it's actually cheaper to ship raw goods somewhere else, have people there assemble the widgets, and then ship the completed product back. How do you fix that?

Tariffs?

Relatively Obscure: MaritimeGirl: Dickloserman: I work as a janitor for a university in Ohio.

Totally get a kick out of these replies.

But seriously, maybe these people should consider moving someplace where jobs are abundant.

Where might that be?

China.

No, we're full here.

Fifteen bucks an hour is awesome. What's minimum wage again?

Why is it that $10 is even a bad wage? I did less than that for many years. OK, I was young, had roommates, and stole beer from the restaurant. But I did OK.

baxterdog: Why is it that $10 is even a bad wage? I did less than that for many years. OK, I was young, had roommates, and stole beer from the restaurant. But I did OK.

Some people here live in Manhattan or Southern California or wherever and don't understand that 15$ an hour gives a person a comfortable living in many areas of the country.

Sounds like the makings of a new reality tv show. Who wants to be a school janitor!

Begoggle: baxterdog: Why is it that $10 is even a bad wage? I did less than that for many years. OK, I was young, had roommates, and stole beer from the restaurant. But I did OK.

Some people here live in Manhattan or Southern California or wherever and don't understand that 15$ an hour gives a person a comfortable living in many areas of the country.

you can live in other places?

Relatively Obscure: MaritimeGirl: Dickloserman: I work as a janitor for a university in Ohio.

Totally get a kick out of these replies.

But seriously, maybe these people should consider moving someplace where jobs are abundant.

Where might that be?

China.

Actually they've lost 20 million jobs since our financial crisis started. People aren't buying shower curtains and stuff when there is all this anxiety. Doesn't bother me, their government can start to dole out that big wad of cash it's been hoarding for the last decade or so.

Not our fault their economy is dependent on making stuff for capitalist countries. They had choices, they made them.

bolesy22: Begoggle: baxterdog: Why is it that $10 is even a bad wage? I did less than that for many years. OK, I was young, had roommates, and stole beer from the restaurant. But I did OK.

Some people here live in Manhattan or Southern California or wherever and don't understand that 15$ an hour gives a person a comfortable living in many areas of the country.

you can live in other places?

It was a lie. Don't fall for it.

PoopStain: It's a low skill job with full benefits, full time work at $15/hour, and most likely a lifetime of job security if the school doesn't close down. Even without the current economic woes, I think this job would be pretty popular.

700 applicants, however, are indicative of a much bigger problem. We've sold off our manufacturing sector without providing a landing area for the people who used to do blue collar work. Wal-Mart can't hire everybody.

Once GM and Chrysler finally shiat the bed, we're going to be farked for the next 20 years. A generation ago less than 20% of the population went to college, and it's a little late for the other 80% to play catch up now.

What's really farked up is that there's no easy solution. People putting widgets together are now competing with people in third world countries who consider a dollar a day a good salary. They work for so cheap it's actually cheaper to ship raw goods somewhere else, have people there assemble the widgets, and then ship the completed product back. How do you fix that?

Produce something; do not be proud of simply owning something.

I really think that America has to get back to producing physical products with ridiculously good quality that can be branded as "USA Quality" before we'll all be employed again.

If those physical products are the world's greatest software, fine, just let's be the best.


/American way?

PoopStain: People putting widgets together are now competing with people in third world countries who consider a dollar a day a good salary. They work for so cheap it's actually cheaper to ship raw goods somewhere else, have people there assemble the widgets, and then ship the completed product back. How do you fix that?

Interestingly enough, I make a very good living doing something similar, except that these 'widgets' are industrial primary engine components modified for tier 3 emissions standards and alternative fuels. I do the R&D, design the components and sub-assemblies, assist in the modification and assembly process, then ship the stuff on great big pallets to an OE supplier.

The work is done in Texas rather than some third world country and while some people, understandably, confuse the former for the latter... the salaries and taxes all stay in this big, happy republic. There are some guys that no speaky the good english, but they have Texas driver's licenses and S.S. numbers so I'm OK by that. Almost everything is US born and bred with the base engines being fabricated in Mexico, but that's billions of dollars way out of my control.

How do you fix it, you ask? Make a product and do a job so incredibly much better than they do across some border that the quality justifies the costs, and try to make an honest living, not an exorbitant one. Get fair value for a product, pay fair value for materials and dole out fair pay for an employee's work.

You get just one party in the chain that wants to break the 'fair play' rule to get rich quick at the expense of all others and the chain fails. My particular chain hasn't failed, at least not yet. The bulk of the US big business, however... 'fail' is an understatement of epic proportions. These taxes that we're all paying every week and month are being thrown at companies that have failed, financially and ethically. They have failed previously, are failing, and will continue to fail.


For the political rant... I like Obama. I didn't vote for him, but I think he's probably a pretty good guy in the general sense and was as good as any that had a viable chance come last November. If he'll do two things for me, it'll sew up one vote for him next term: Not go inbred hillbilly like numbnuts did on the last two terms, and tell these corrupt, failing companies to piss off. Demand will create a supply if the services are needed, but we can't continue to stick money IVs in the arms of these dying, bloated behemoths that were the main cause of the problem in the first place. Another 30 bil for AIG instead of just buying some of the toxic paper they owe against outright? A few bil for an automaker that was talking Chap. 11 even before the whole economy went tits up last September? Christ on a crutch. Seriously.

Once GM and Chrysler finally shiat the bed, we're going to be farked for the next 20 years. A generation ago less than 20% of the population went to college, and it's a little late for the other 80% to play catch up now.

GM and Chrysler shiat the bed 20 years ago. The problem is everyone ignored the memo. Our manufacturing base hasn't been competitive for a long time. Instead of being honest with ourselves we've taken turns blowing smoke up each others asses.

We have become fat, lazy, overpriced, and we complain we aren't getting enough. No amount of government protection or isolation will save us. Innovators, inventors, and entreprenuers will be who get us out of this mess.

SoxSweepAgain: PoopStain: It's a low skill job with full benefits, full time work at $15/hour, and most likely a lifetime of job security if the school doesn't close down. Even without the current economic woes, I think this job would be pretty popular.

700 applicants, however, are indicative of a much bigger problem. We've sold off our manufacturing sector without providing a landing area for the people who used to do blue collar work. Wal-Mart can't hire everybody.

Once GM and Chrysler finally shiat the bed, we're going to be farked for the next 20 years. A generation ago less than 20% of the population went to college, and it's a little late for the other 80% to play catch up now.

What's really farked up is that there's no easy solution. People putting widgets together are now competing with people in third world countries who consider a dollar a day a good salary. They work for so cheap it's actually cheaper to ship raw goods somewhere else, have people there assemble the widgets, and then ship the completed product back. How do you fix that?

Produce something; do not be proud of simply owning something.

I really think that America has to get back to producing physical products with ridiculously good quality that can be branded as "USA Quality" before we'll all be employed again.

If those physical products are the world's greatest software, fine, just let's be the best.


/American way?

I work in an industry that worldwide is dominated by two manufactures (SAN switches and directors). The engineering is done mostly by US employees (some Indian ((call center Indian, not Casino Indian))). Manufacturing is done outside the US. Even in an industry that we dominate we still can't manufacture competitively.