Before I begin an in depth analysis of possible solutions for lowering unemployment rates, I thought it would be helpful to first explain how this problem started. The unemployment crisis began to emerge in 2007, near the end of the Bush Administration. While President Bush attempted to address the issue, he was ultimately unable to accomplish much with such a short amount of time left on his term. Therefore, President Obama has also shared the task in trying to resolve this issue, and he too has not had much success. According to James Sherk (Senior Policy Analyst in Labor Economics), unemployment has increased for two main reasons:
1. Firms have increased layoffs and
2. Firms are creating fewer new jobs
However, the second reason of the two is the most dangerous. When a worker loses his job he typically tries to find new work right away. Unfortunately if firms are not creating new job positions then the worker will stay unemployed longer as it is extremely difficult to find an open position. For this reason today's job market has become very competitive and with so many desperate for work, it is no surprise to see many taking jobs they are clearly over qualified for. This is an issue I hope to further discuss later especially since I will be trying to find a job in the next few years and students have had a tough time finding work in this economy. The current recession has definitely played a major role in keeping unemployment rates high. In fact "more than eight million people across the nation have lost their jobs since our recession began in late 2007," according to Moe Bedard. Other factors contributing to unemployment have been poor management by firms and lack of government support.
Now that you have some basic knowledge of how the unemployment crisis came to be, I will begin analyzing possible strategies directed at fighting unemployment. Since the United States has two main political parties, I will thoroughly examine each party's solutions, as well as list the pros and cons associated with each plan. By creating an informative and unbiased blog about possible solutions for reducing unemployment in America, I hope that you will be able to form your own opinion about the best course of action to take, even if it differs from my own.
I’m glad you have provided the background of unemployment since I’m not very familiar with this topic! So now that I know the when and how, I can analyze and discuss this material more effectively.
ReplyDeleteI agree that workers typically seek new jobs immediately after losing their previous one. Not having open positions due to layoffs makes it extremely difficult to survive in our economy at this point. I actually read a New York Times article that talked about how people 55 and over now fear never finding another job. As our economy stands, I can see this being true as it is evident that it will take time to recover from this downturn. I completely agree that this is a concern for our generation that will be looking for jobs in the next few years. Therefore, it really is imperative that we find a way to resolve this issue for not just new workers, but to also secure jobs for those that have been dedicated to their own jobs for years.
Lastly, it is admirable for you to provide unbiased information for us readers. It is respectable that you offer the material so individuals can assess the situation with his or her own opinion, regardless of how you propose is the best way.
Fixing unemployment should be one of the government’s highest priorities at the moment, but unfortunately I don’t think it is. It is truly upsetting to see people struggling to find work. People 55 and older should not fear trying to find another job, because with their experience in their specific career field, they should be able to find work no problem. Even young college graduates have a tough time finding a job they have spent years studying for. They are being forced to settle for jobs they are clearly over qualified for. This weak job market has taken its toll on the American people and the economy. Companies need to start hiring again and expanding their business, which in the process will open up more job positions. The government needs to provide relief for all businesses (big or small) so these businesses can focus on growing and hiring new workers. At the moment it seems tax breaks would be a sensible solution, but congress just can’t seem to agree on who to give the tax breaks to and how much of a break to give. With the 2010 midterm election coming up it will be interesting to see if the government tries harder to help fix this problem to try and please angry voters.
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