|
Waiting for Work
"Americans need an immediate remedy to hold us over until jobs come back."
By
Andres Chang
Yesterday I went to the LA Times Career Expo at the
Los Angeles Convention Center. After entering the
exhibition hall, I bumped into a gentleman working at
another event. I inquired about his event and, lo and
behold, the president of the United States, George W.
Bush, was at the same place but attending a different event.
“Maybe he can get me a job!” I said excitedly.
The gentleman laughed. But I was serious.
According to the Associated Press, the number of
jobless claims is down this month and each of the past
two months has seen an increase in jobs of over
100,000. Good news, but not for long considering 2.2
million jobs went away since 2001.
For the rest of Americans who are still on hard times,
news of new jobs is nothing nice. (Say that five times
fast.) For these Americans, is it time to get more
training, another degree or simply relocate? Training
is good, but in what? For three decades manufacturing
jobs have either moved to other countries or evolved
out of existence; a sort of economic Darwinism, if you
will. (And yes, that is my sound bite; I made that one
up all by myself. Don’t steal it!)
Most Americans don’t have a college degree, but for
those few privileged of us who do, everybody has a
degree. A degree doesn’t mean as much as it used to.
At the career fair, this one guy had at least
two Masters and two Ph.D.s! What does the next
generation of Americans do, our children, when they
and all of their friends have a Ph.D. (or two)?
How about relocating? Relocating to where? INDIA,
baby! If you want any tech job from customer support
to programming, India is the place to be. India is
like what America used to be: jobs on the rise and
tensions with a nuclear rival. They’ve even got good
movies!
According to What Color is Your Parachute?, the
best-selling job-hunting book in the world, by Richard
Bolles, the most effective way to find a job is
through someone you know or networking. The other day
my friends and I were talking about how hard work
and perseverance eventually pay off. Then my friend
said, “It’s also good butt kissing and whose butt you
kiss.” Exactly.
Eventually the economy will rebound. Something is
going to rally the market and create jobs. Whether
it’s biotech or security or life on Mars, we will get
out of this slump. The question is what do Americans do
until then? What do Americans who have lost their
jobs, benefits and pensions do? The answer is
Wal-Mart. According to the LA Times, economists
project that service sector and retail employment is
going to see big increases. Those new jobs I mentioned
in the beginning are either at the cash register or in
the dining room. They have little pay and mostly no
benefits. If you want benefits, become an army of one. In fact, the majority of boys and girls who do enlist
in the armed services don’t do it for God and country.
They do it because they need a job. Ask Jessica Lynch
and Colin Powell why they joined.
Americans are in need now. Americans need an immediate
remedy to hold us over until jobs come back. This
current situation is the most important issue this
election year and the candidate who addresses it best
will win the White House.
- Andres Chang is a Youth Radio alumnus. He is an actor living in Los Angeles.
|
|
