Blaming The Unemployed, cont...

Sept 19th, 2011

This time, from Maine's "colorful" governor, Paul LePage. David Farmer writes for the Bangor Daily News:

"The world is truly topsy-turvy when the governor of the state starts blaming people who don’t have a job for unemployment.

But that’s exactly what happened last week. 

Gov. Paul LePage, after a photo-op meeting with business owners in the state, took aim at workers. He said that Maine has 21,000 job openings and 24,000 people who are unemployed.

The problem, LePage said, is that our workers don’t have the skills necessary to take any of those jobs.

Never mind the recession, the housing collapse, offshoring and the fact that many of the folks who are unemployed live hours from where the jobs Gov. LePage touts are.

Unemployment is the fault of workers, who don’t have the right skills.

But don’t worry. Gov. LePage didn’t place all the blame on workers. He also included parents and guidance counselors.

Gov. LePage would like those folks to help lower their children’s expectations, because, you know, not everyone needs a four-year college degree.

"Quite frankly, one of the most disturbing things I heard today is our educational system is geared to send all students to a four-year college," Gov. LePage said." EMPHASIS OURS

Quote Of The Day - Here and Now Edition

Sept 2nd, 2011

"Their optimism has been crushed by reality: They are still not working, or if they are working they're making a lot less money. You're either devastated or you're hurting, that's the range."

-- Carl E. Van Horn on the continued hardships faced by the millions who lost their jobs during the Great Recession. Van Horn teaches at Rutgers and is also a co-author of the just released study, Out Of Work and Losing Hope: The Misery and Bleak Expectations of American Workers