We're all big fans of Mike Rowe at LwC, because he usually brings the heat against leftist ideology (see Mike Rowe Mocks Obama’s Anti-Gun Narrative. And it’s Perfect… and Mike Rowe (and his dog) Perfectly Destroys Leftist Critic…), but frames it as non-partisan common sense. You know, what our elected officials should be doing! Yet don't. For some reason. What was that reason again?

Oh that's right, they suck.

This recent post of his is much more thoughtful than I usually am, but it's an important point about jobs and the economy...

Forget your politics for a moment, and consider the enormity of what’s happening here. Millions of people who have stopped looking for work, are ignoring 5.6 million genuine opportunities. That’s not a polemic, or a judgment, or an opinion. It’s a fact. And so is this: most of those 5.6 million opportunities don’t require a diploma - they require require a skill.

Unfortunately, the skilled trades are no longer aspirational in these United States. In a society that’s convinced a four-year degree is the best path for the most people, a whole category of good jobs have been relegated to some sort of “vocational consolation prize.” Is it any wonder we have 1.3 trillion dollars in outstanding student loans? Is it really a surprise that vocational education has pretty much evaporated from high schools? Obviously, the number of available jobs and the number of unemployed people are not nearly as correlated as most people assume.

I’m no economist, but the skills gap doesn’t seem all that mysterious - it seems like a reflection of what we value. Five and half million unfilled jobs is clearly a terrible drag on the economy and a sad commentary of what many people consider to be a "good job," but it also represents a tremendous opportunity for anyone willing to learn a trade and apply themselves.

Think about this for a second. If people took the jobs that are currently available and that NO ONE IS FILLING... more importantly, if they were were encouraged to do so instead of sit out and wait for the perfect job to come ot them, we wouldn't have an unemployment crisis. Eureka! So all you unemployed folks now have no excuse. Go get those jobs!

I assure you, your heart will not explode simply for learning a new trade, and applying it to a consistent, available, well paying job. The good news is that the job-market is your oyster! You merely need to snatch it up and...

No no, you're not getting this. There are 5.6 MILLION job opportunities here in America right now, available for the taking. You can do it. Really, it's more than doable, you just have to work a little bit more than you are now (which is not at all) and stop making excuses...

Good lord, it's hopeless.

Really, America? Really?! There are over FIVE MILLION JOBS that need filling in the United States and we're talking about free healthcare, college and expanding the welfare state? Is this real life? There is no reason, none whatsoever, that every unemployed, able-bodied man (or woman) in the country shouldn't be filling these jobs. Not one valid reason. Unless of course... these people simply don't want to work. It's almost like some Americans would prefer free handouts.

Screw this. I'm going back to bed.

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