Unemployment rates are severely under tracked.

[HappySqurriel]

numonex said:

They say that we have an official unemployment rate of about 9%. I strongly believe that about half of that figure are unemployable. They lack the smarts, the tact, the people skills, and the patience to work a full time regular job. These people have really nothing to offer the American workplace but our society tells us that every adult should work.

As unemployment continues to rise and government spending on social welfare continues to fall, these unemployables will grow in number. Many of you will say just leave them alone like they will turn into a punkin or dust if we do. If they are not able to take care of themselves someone else will have to or they will start to commit crimes, live on the street, move into Tent Cities, or just cause trouble.

Many of the unemployables may have done relatively well for themselves in the day when everyone worked in a factory or in agriculture and life was far less complex. Or even in theboom times during the late 1990s when there was a labor shortage, but today workers have to be more efficent and more skilled.

What are we going to do about the unemployables as the economy continues to fail and people need more life skills to function in our complex society?

Read more: http://www.city-data.com/forum/politics-other-controversies/655585-what-should-america-do-about-unemployable.html#ixzz0vBZgsAXp

First off, most people who are legitimately unemployable would not show up in unemployment figures because they would be too old and infirm (most likely retired in the final years of their life), to young (children under 10), on disability, in a institution (retirement home, mental institution or prison), or the ward of another individual. Realistically, there is no argument that someone is incapable to do work but capable to manage their own life.

Now, personally if I was one of your 4% I would feel a little insulted being that people will severe mental limitations (think Autism and Down’s Syndrome) can effectively do a large portion of existing jobs; and yet you believe that someone who might be a little below average can’t find a job.

With that said, I don’t think that anyone would argue that society should take care of individuals who can’t take care of themselves (and have no one to take care of them); but I do think that few people would argue that the people you believe are incapable of taking care of themselves, and many people would doubt that it is the government’s job to take care of them.