David Sirota: Why the ‘Lazy Jobless’ Myth Persists

[marmar]

from truthdig:



Why the ‘Lazy Jobless’ Myth Persists
Posted on Dec 16, 2010

By David Sirota


During the recent fight over extending unemployment benefits, conservatives trotted out the shibboleth that says the program fosters sloth. Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H., for instance, said added unemployment benefits mean people are “encouraged not to go look for work.” Columnist Pat Buchanan said expanding these benefits means “more people will hold off going back looking for a job.” And Fox News’ Charles Payne applauded the effort to deny future unemployment checks because he said it would compel layabouts “to get off the sofa.”

The thesis undergirding all the rhetoric was summed up by conservative commentator Ben Stein, who insisted that “the people who have been laid off and cannot find work are generally people with poor work habits and poor personalities.”

The idea is that unemployment has nothing to do with structural economic forces or rigged public policies and everything to do with individual motivation. Yes, we’re asked to believe that the 15 million jobless Americans are all George Costanzas—parasitic loafers occasionally pretending to seek work as latex salesmen, but really just aiming to decompress on a refrigerator-equipped recliner during a lifelong Summer of George.

Of course, this story line makes no sense. From liberal Paul Krugman to archconservative Alan Greenspan, economists agree that joblessness is not caused by unemployment benefits. With five applicants for every job opening, the overarching problem is a lack of available positions—not a dearth of personal initiative. ...........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/why_the_lazy_jobless_myth_persists_20101216/

[old mark]

1. Look, this is the exact same group of jerks who used to rave about

people on welfare driving Cadillacs, and about having to "feed other people's kids" via the school lunch program. They are nasty, evil, shitty people, and they always have been and always will be.

FWIW, every time I was getting UC, I had to report at least SOME job hunting every month to be eligible for the next month's check...it's just right wing nasty lies...


mark

[BeyondGeography]

2. Casual cruelty

Their specialty.

[onpatrol98]

3. hmm....

the lazy jobless myth was always on par with the "jobs American's don't want to do" meme

People will say anything derogatory they can to say about the American worker if it pushes their pet project further along.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

4. Seeing the blithe cruelty with which conservatives react to

the sufferings of others, I've become convinced that there are a lot of people in this country with no inner moral compass, just a propensity to believe whoever is first in with the propaganda.

The comments on Krugman's NYT column today (12/18/10) contain a post from a man whose conservative friends keep harping on the Community Reinvestment, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac Act as THE cause of the financial meltdown. It's comment #14.

He wrote:
The CRA is often mentioned as "the reason for the housing problem" by my Republican Fox viewing friends. Even though CRA does not ask banks to abandon lending standards AND loans to these low income borrowers were almost always fully documented with mortgage insurance in place to cover losses. They listen for a while, then simply repeat this Fox perpetuated line.

When I tell them the problems with Wall Street co-opting the securitized loan business and aggressively marketing fraudulent sub-prime stated income loans, they simply say no, that is not what happened. This even though I have spent 25 years in lending while they have never funded a loan in their lives. Many have never read the CRA act or know what it even entails. Never mind there are not enough low income loans in totality to cause the volume of loans funded by the Wall Street shadow fraud system.

It's brainwashing, pure and simple. It's Goebbels' Big Lie, and it's so diabolically clever, because by blaming "low-income buyers," they're playing upon the conservative assumption that "low-income"="black."

There's also some magical thinking involved. "If I hate the poor vehemently enough, that will prove that I'm virtuous, and I won't suffer any misfortune."

[freethought]

5. Ciriteria for hiring doesn't help either

One thing I don't hear mentioned in MSM is some the twisted logic corporations use to justify NOT hiring someone.
First, the person most likely to be hired is someone who already has a job and is willing to leave their present one. Corps say they are looking for someone for the long term, but if someone is willing to leave their current occupation during a period of high unemployment chances are they will be the first to bolt when the economy turns around.

You could even be turned down even if you have been out of work a short time. If you have been unemployed for 60 days or more, forget it. Your resume will be sent to the proverbial circular file. I read this in a NYT article recently. A hiring manager was quoted that no one out of work for more than 60 days would be considered. But in practically in the same sentence the manager said that a great number of "really great" people had been let go. Not that they were lazy or poor performers, but because of purely economic reasons.

Age is another consideration. If you're over 50, or even in late forties, you may wonder if you will EVER work again.

If one was in a high-tech field like IT, the situation becomes even worse due to the rapid pace of change in that particular field. There one had better hope that if you get laid off, you find new work in a matter of days vs. a few weeks.

The reasoning as to why employers are not hiring this person or that is nearly totally twisted. One almost wonders if employers are trying to keep this so-called recovery weak and anemic.

[angstlessk]

6. It sounds like a game of musical chairs...and each time a chair is removed...aka

JOBS!!!

[freethought]

9. That's one way of putting it!

I kind of see it as a game of 3-card monti. Try to keep track of where the "ace of spades" is, when, in truth the guy running the game has the magic card palmed or in their back pocket of something. The game is rigged against you.

[treestar]

7. To collect benefits, don't people have to show they tried to apply for jobs?

Maybe it depends on the state. Such ignorance at such high levels is astounding.

[freethought]

8. Yes.

In the state where I live, the unemployment offices actually prefer that a person do their unemployment claims online. That may sound great in some respects but it creates problems in others.

Many people tend to take internet access for granted. Others don't have it at all. For those who don't have a broadband connection and a PC, one is shut out from finding out where the jobs are. "Pounding the pavement" is now "pounding the web". For many the only option is the local library and it is usually quite crowded.