No,no he's got solutions, they just cost a shit load more to execute than the benefit. When all is said and done, the government would have just been better off to send everyone a cheque...
I tried to explain to him that 25% of unemployement is due to unavailability of skilled workers, that if a person wants a high paying job, they need to go to where the jobs are, just like people have been doing for centuries. He says, "no, we have to bring the jobs to them". That's how serious he is about a real debate...
The United States of OZ, this is where LAM lives. I here it's a nice place.
I'm pretty sure your the one that lives in Oz, with all the other make believe things like the "free markets" that for some reason only see to effect the jobs on the lower end of the income ladder. that could be because the high paying jobs at the top are protecting and haven't been opened by trade agreements except for those in IT....
going to where the jobs are isn't so easy.
1st many are locked into the current home that they are currently purchasing to own or renting until it is foreclosed upon. which is almost inevitable for many that have fallen behind especially in households where both adults are working but the income is insufficient and wage growth lags far behind increases in energy, healthcare, etc. on top of that in bubble areas home values have plummeted and there is some downward pressure on wages as well due to high unemployment.
2nd in economic times like these employers are not looking to train new workers, they want the person to be able to hit the ground running. hiring managers are looking for workers with specific skill sets not people that are "trainable". also not many jobs are paying to relocate which can cost substantial monies that most people simply do not have. jobs with moving allowances are for highly skilled positions with wages far above the median per capita.
3rd since the mid 90's older workers have been staying in the workforce longer this leaves less jobs available for new workers looking to enter the workforce. because of this the US now has an all time high enrollment for college, etc.
so simply saying "just go to where the jobs are" in reality isn't so easy. and the US education system is outdated and insufficient and has not kept up with the rapid changes that have taken place the past couple of decades. the US primary education system is getting easier (NCLB) when it should increasingly more challenging and in many fields degrees from secondary education is near worthless. so for many even upon graduation from college they still lack many real world skills to gain employment or they are underemployed, the current college loan default rate validates this.
when jobs at the lower income levels are off-shored it forces people not highly educated/skilled into long term unemployment situations. also take as an example construction there is not many places of work for many of these types to transition into. you won't find many pipe-fitters, electricians, masons, etc. that are well suited for work in most sectors of the service industry. history has already shown us that people are more productive when they can choose what they want to do for work.
and as to your comment about "no, we have to bring the jobs to them" it is the most sensible approach in the current economic environment. nothing is more important in recession recovery than getting the majority of people back to work ASAP before their skills start to erode and capital projects would do this and we desperately need to get on top of this. the longer we wait the greater the costs down the road.