Where Have the Jobs Gone? The Seven Sins and What We Can Do to Bring the Jobs Back!

We keep wondering where the jobs have gone and why we cannot bring the Unemployment rate down from the advertised rate of 9.1 or 9.2 %, or the actual rate of 17-19%. In reality we all know where the jobs have gone: out of the U.S. and almost everywhere else, but here. We also know why the jobs have gone and it is due to the following:

1.    We want to pay less for the products we buy;

2.    We want the employer to provide us with all types of benefits for the same jobs other countries do without;

3.    We do not devote any time to guide, discipline, educate or support our children, teachers and schools;

4.    Our Education and Labor Departments offer no help in providing research, studies and guidance as to which fields will be in demand and which will be oversupplied for securing jobs for the future generations;

5.    We have taken the easy way out by allowing our children to be busier on social media sites and at social events than prepare for their future well-being;

6.    Our corporations have divorced themselves from corporate citizenship and surrendered to corporate profits to satisfy shareholders on one hand, and try to satisfy our need to pay less for merchandise and services on the other hand. They invest in other countries and create jobs in those foreign countries;

7.    The leadership in our country has become so childish in regards to dealing with the country’s affairs and so preoccupied with securing a seat in lieu of securing the country’s interests, that it has severely damaged consumer confidence and trust.

The political wish may seem obvious in this case, but it is worth repeating. I wish to see the following:

1.    Remove sales taxes on American made products temporarily (a year or two);

2.    Offer tax incentives (a year or two) for employers offering benefits;

3.    Parents, teachers and government officials to make a commitment to find time for their kids and spend at least an hour with them, tend to their needs and concerns while guiding them;

4.    It is no secret that jobs and education are related issues. The Education Department can work with the Labor Department to learn which jobs will be in high demand, where the trend is going and offer that information to potential students for them to know what to do;

5.    Social Life or Social media is a great thing if it is used for the right reasons.  However, spending hours and hours daily on them instead of studying is not the way to go. So, we need to find a way to monitor time spent on those outlets, or at least make those arenas more useful in educating the participants;

6.    We have to offer corporations’ incentives to bring their businesses back to the U.S., and offer them incentives to bring money earned outside back to the U.S. on the condition that they hire more U.S. Employees;

7.    Our Leaders grow up and do the job we hired them to do or take away their seats and hire a new team. Any employer would fire an employee in a heartbeat if that employee did what our leaders are doing, so why can’t we?