The Inconvenient Truth About Unemployment

What if you someone told you that there was a city in America with an unemployment rate of 6.8%, over 14,000 unemployed and yet employers in that city couldn't find qualified workers? That city is Fort Wayne Indiana, located 160 miles Southeast of Chicago. There are many employers nationwide who have similar challenges in finding workers with skills to fit their requirements. Over the past four years there has been plenty of rhetoric about jobs and job creation however putting people to work isn't as simple as it sounds. Employers when allowed to speak candidly will tell speak of the difficulties in finding workers with basic or 'soft' skills such as speaking and writing or basic math. The owner of a small business services company spoke to the wall St. Journal recently about the number of positions that go unfilled due to inability to write a coherent letter, use correct grammar while speaking, understand basic mathematics, interact well with clients and show up for work regularly.

Unfortunately, these realities are lost on the federal government whose only solution to unemployment is to funnel billions of dollars into the hands of corrupt politicians and/or unions and call it economic stimulus. According to the Chicago Tribune, approximately 600,000 manufacturing jobs go unfilled in the US due to skills shortage. It would have been wise for the Obama administration to target specific industries that are experiencing shortages instead of pushing through a cumbersome and subsequently ineffective jobs bill. It is often stated how the black unemployment rate is substantially higher than that of whites. Given the sad truth about black culture, the disparity is not surprising. 25% of black men are incarcerated, are on probation or parole. In addition to incarceration rates, blacks have a 50% drop out rate in most cities, a 70% out of wedlock birth rate and a hip hop counter culture that has all but rendered standard English extinct. In consideration of those dismal statistics,wouldn't it be reasonable to assume that they would explain blacks' higher jobless numbers? No matter what race color or ethnicity, its difficult to find employment if one can't pass a drug screen, a criminal background check or a basic high school literacy exam. It is incumbent on the individual to practice personal responsibility and acquire the basic skills necessary to obtain and maintain employment. No Jobs bill can solve the problem of why Johnny can't read.