Why don't people want these jobs?

[Jean in Newcastle]

Agriculture is coming to a standstill in my state because of crackdowns on illegal immigrants. Growers are offering $150 a day for pickers. According to my calculations, that is $18.75 an hour. If it is a 40 hour work week, that is $3000 a month. Not a huge amount, but more than a minimum wage job flipping burgers at Burger King. And I'm not sure if agricultural work is a 40 hour/week kind of job so it might even be more per month.

 

There is a huge unemployment rate and a huge under employed rate. Why aren't unemployed and under employed (ie. people earning only minimum wage) people knocking down the door to get a job picking apples even though it isn't their dream job? I just think of the Great Depression when men would do anything (at least it seems in the books I've read) to take care of their families.

 

I'd appreciate it (if possible:tongue_smilie:) if people would not let this veer into a thread on illegal immigrants because I want my question answered and I'm pretty sure that would result in the thread being locked.

[momsquared]

We are a spoiled society - we haven't HAD to do those jobs. Just benefit from them. I would be out picking, personally, if things got rough...

[Spryte]

I think it's a good, valid question. I don't know the answer. I have wondered the same thing.

 

I do know of one young adult "boy adrift" (as in Dr. Sax) and how he would answer. He would tell you that he would not take a job like that (or flipping burgers, for that matter) because it will not lead to a job in his chosen field. Of course, having zero work experience, a job in his field is unlikely, even with a college degree. I can't explain his reasons for choosing to remain unemployed, and live in his parents' basement - though I think that runs into a parenting/enabling/entitlement issue, so maybe it's a bit of a tangent. I think it's applicable though, because he is someone who is capable of a job like that, needs work, and, one would think he'd be willing to take *anything* just to have a job at this point. But - no. So, in cases like his - the young adult who feels he should immediately move into a particular type of job - maybe it is simply that he feels a job like that is beneath him?

[Mommyof4ks]

Those types of jobs tend to be seasonal, and some are not eligible for unemployment because of that. People end up worse off at the end of the season than when they started. Illegals can pick up those jobs for a season and go home until next year. The money lasts a long time in other places. We cannot do that as easily here. It happens in construction around here all the time.

[In The Great White North]

Just out of curiosity, what happens to government support, if one is employed at that rate for a month (harvest) and then becomes unemployed again?

[Truscifi]

I would happily do that job if it were in my area. Perhaps the people who need jobs are not geographically suited to these jobs? I know in south GA the growers started providing vans from the cities out to the peach orchards, and they got a lot more workers that way.

 

ETA: The only thing close to that I've heard of in near me is taking care of the watermelons in the field (they have to be turned to prevent rot) but it only pays $50 a day under the table for a 12 hr day. Also because it is under the table they will only hire people they know.

Edited October 16, 2011 by Truscifi

[bettyandbob]

Seems like work. But

 

This is seasonal. So how long is the season and what does one do when the season is over. How long would it take to get another job? even minimum wage. Would one be out of work long enough after the season was over that it would make more sense to hold onto the minimum wage job rather than.

 

This is a physically intense job with no health insurance. What happens when you get injured.

 

It may not be as good a deal as you think.

[Hedgehog]

Too much like hard work.

 

It's something my grandparents often said - that the modern generation doesn't want to work hard physically and get their hands dirty, if they can avoid it.

 

But I have to say, that I'm not sure what $18.75/hr really means in terms of money value.

[Skadi]

Businesses that are used to hiring mostly illegal immigrants can pay their workers pretty well in part because they are saving money by not having to pay taxes, insurance, workman's comp, etc. that they would have to pay if it wasn't under the table. My FIL is a dentist, and he would LOVE to have a secretary as the front desk of his office, but he can't afford the associated taxes and expenses of having an employee. (So yes, he works as a dentist all by himself taking mostly Medicaid/Medicare patients.)

 

Those businesses would have to a) pay less per hour and b) hire less workers if they weren't hiring illegally.

 

Agriculture is mostly seasonal work with very few benefits. A lot of people just don't want to deal with that and aren't suffering enough financially to try it. I read recently that many (I want to say most but I can't remember the numbers) steadily unemployed people are simply holding out for a job that paid as well or nearly as well as their previous one...definitely not Great Depression era mentality there.

 

At least in my area, there isn't a single fast food restaurant in town that pays minimum wage. Most of them pay around $12/hour. Agriculture jobs are much, much harder than being a cashier at a fast food chain. Besides, waiting tables even at a greasy spoon will earn you around $17/hour. There's no comparison. I don't think the reason illegal aliens are chiefly doing our agri work is because they have a saintly work ethic and Americans are lazy bums. I think it's in large part that agri business isn't willing to pay a competitive wage for how hard and dangerous the work is, and they can get away with paying immigrants less for more.

[kewb]

I think that a fair percentage of the people believe they are too good for that kind of work. There are some who don't know to think outside the box e.g. I work in an office ergo I need to get an office job. There are some who do not know that kind of work is available.

 

I also think that if things don't start improving soon people will reach the point of doing anything to support their families.

[Guest IdahoMtnMom]

$150 a day is good money but it IS hard work. I live in a working alfalfa farm and there is no way my 64 year old unemployed mom could get out there and do the work. She would keel over dead. No doubt. However, my ex husband could EASILY do that type of work and would never get his hands that dirty. He is a too good for that in his mind... If the fields here paid that it would seem like a lot of money but housing is very very high.... a lot of the seasonal guys (we call them day workers) stay in tent T of rugged terrain. To rent a place for the season, you are looking at $750 a month for a studio and you have to have great credit, first and last, and so on.... so in reality, $150 a day here isn't much at all. And people who live here, don't need that kind of work.

[Audrey]

Because it is hard physical work, and most people think they're too #^$%ing precious to do that.

[Impish]

Because it is hard physical work, and most people think they're too #^$%ing precious to do that.

:iagree:

[Farrar]

The Daily Show had a segment on this, I think. John Oliver went to Mexico for it and begged people to come work on our farms. It was... amusing.

 

I would assume it's partly the hard labor, partly the short term part, and partly a lot of complex small reasons - it's not something that is going to build work experience for much else and it's not something people are used to think of as being even a possibility.

[kalanamak]

Because it is hard physical work, and most people think they're too #^$%ing precious to do that.

 

I've worked since I was 16, and every job I've had has been via something I "know". I don't know apple picking (although when I was in college there was a group who did go over and do that, camping out, pooling gas, tents, cooking, etc. They were the "cooler" kids in my little college, and ran in a group. They did it every fall, and did classes for winter, spring and summer quarters). I did know restaurant work, I did know stable work, and janitorial. I could clean, I could cook, I could muck out stalls. So I did that. If I could not get a job, then I would start scratching around, I suppose, but I never found it easy to "sell myself". If I "knew" a job, I had more confidence I could do it, and thus those are what I applied for.

[Serenade]

Seem like the unemployment offices in that area should prominently be pushing those jobs to the unemployed. I wonder, are unemployment offices allowed to discontinue unemployment pay if they can prove that people won't accept jobs they are qualified for? To me, that would be a simple solution -- either people accept these jobs, or they lose unemployment benefits. (Provided they are physically able, of course.)

[Mommyfaithe]

Basically, I think people are not hungry enough. There is cushion...and there is now generational cushion. The system gets used....then it gets taught to the children....then it becomes an entitlement...not a step up or a helping hand, but what people think they have coming to them. Food, shelter, healthcare, clothing. Basic human needs yes, but we no longer HAVE to provide them for ourselves if the government can force others to provide them for us.

 

Faithe.

[Aubrey]

I think it's a good, valid question. I don't know the answer. I have wondered the same thing.

 

I do know of one young adult "boy adrift" (as in Dr. Sax) and how he would answer. He would tell you that he would not take a job like that (or flipping burgers, for that matter) because it will not lead to a job in his chosen field. Of course, having zero work experience, a job in his field is unlikely, even with a college degree. I can't explain his reasons for choosing to remain unemployed, and live in his parents' basement - though I think that runs into a parenting/enabling/entitlement issue, so maybe it's a bit of a tangent. I think it's applicable though, because he is someone who is capable of a job like that, needs work, and, one would think he'd be willing to take *anything* just to have a job at this point. But - no. So, in cases like his - the young adult who feels he should immediately move into a particular type of job - maybe it is simply that he feels a job like that is beneath him?

 

In another economy, I would have agreed w/ this kid. After years in management, fil couldn't get a mgmt job because ALL of his experience was in food management. He got locked into a particular field, & I remember thinking it was important that dh be careful about what "filler" jobs he take, to avoid that.

 

Now...dh never turned down a job because of that or failed to apply for a job during a period of unemployment because of that...so maybe it's moot, just that I can understand, in a better economy, how a person would think that way.

 

That said, I'd love to know where you are, because that sounds like great pay, great work, & *I* would go pick fruits & veggies 9mos pg if it were near here. Esp if they'd let the kids work, too. Maybe I'm naive, but that sounds wonderful to me. :001_smile:

[Old Dominion Heather]

Just a guess, but one reason might be transportation.

 

I'm assuming that they are not sending a truck to pick up the workers the way they used to for a day's worth of workers. The growers should consider that though. It might be worth it.

 

If you are unemployed and have no transportation, it makes getting to the job pretty difficult. I know that the majority of the unemployed in my city rely on the bus system, which is cutting routes. If the bus doesn't go there, they don't get to go.

[EKS]

One reason might be that folks who pick have to move where the work is. That is a lot of stress on a family.

[Truscifi]

Seem like the unemployment offices in that area should prominently be pushing those jobs to the unemployed. I wonder, are unemployment offices allowed to discontinue unemployment pay if they can prove that people won't accept jobs they are qualified for? To me, that would be a simple solution -- either people accept these jobs, or they lose unemployment benefits. (Provided they are physically able, of course.)

 

I don't think it is quite this simple. In many areas you have to be unemployed for a certain length of time (here I think it is 8 weeks) before you can apply for benefits. If you are currently on unemployment and take a seasonal job picking apples you lose your current benefits status, even if you only work 2 weeks. Then you have to wait 8 more weeks to get back on unemployment. What if you don't make enough to pay your bills and see you through 8 more weeks? Is it worth the risk for a job you know will be short term?

 

Again, I would happily take such a job, but I'm not getting any government assistance.

[momsquared]

I often think of the comment made several years ago by the President of Mexico. He was slammed because of how he directed the comment, but inherently he was correct - the immigrants from Mexico coming to the U.S. are willing to do the work. They are not too proud nor do they feel entitled. They are hungry and use this as a means to get by.

[WishboneDawn]

I suspect it's because....

 

Of many different reasons and most of the reasons cited here. Some people are too lazy, some people could not make it work financially and everything in between.

[Bluegoat]

I think in a lot of cases the practicalities don't work out. Where are the unemployed? Where are the agricultural jobs?

 

If governments want to support increasing urbanization, then there won't be a lot of people in the rural areas to do seasonal work.

[NorthwestMom]

I also live in Washington, but I can't find a job posting that offered that high of an hourly wage. Do you have a link? I did find these:

 

http://www.wa.gov/esd/farmworkers/farm_jobs.htm

 

These are seasonal jobs with no benefits. They pay a lot closer to minimum wage than $18/hr. They are hard work, sometimes dangerous (both in actual harvesting, if machinery or knives are used, and by exposure to pesticides), and sometimes have transportation and housing assistance near the work - but generally not.

 

I detassled corn in the summer during college and I can tell you that ag work requires a healthy, fit body. A lot of our poor are not fortunate to be in physical shape to do this work. I don't mean this to be inflammatory at all, Jean, I mean that - but with your health issues, you probably couldn't do the work either if you found yourself unemployed. :sad:

[twoforjoy]

If you are poor, it's difficult to just up and move. Seasonal work means moving a lot. That's not practical for many people. It also means that you need to figure out something to do when it's not the season for farm work.

 

There is also, as noted, the transportation issue. Does public transit run to these farms? Are the owners willing to send busses out?

 

Is the unemployment rate in the immediate vicinity high? I mean, you're not going to get the unemployed in Detroit moving to do farm work, because 1) moving is expensive, 2) they have no experience doing farm work, and 3) you aren't going to uproot your life for something that is only going to last a few weeks or months and will not provide you with experience that will help you land a long-term, full-time position.

 

Plus, I imagine that many poor people who are in a position where taking the jobs might be practical are unaware of them.

[DaffodilDreams]

I know when things were so bad for us in the recent past, dh would have taken such a job in a second if he had known about it. But he's one of the hardest working people I know. For that matter, if I was in the area and they'd let dd tag along with me, I'd do it.

[Jean in Newcastle]

I also live in Washington, but I can't find a job posting that offered that high of an hourly wage. Do you have a link? I did find these:

 

http://www.wa.gov/esd/farmworkers/farm_jobs.htm

 

These are seasonal jobs with no benefits. They pay a lot closer to minimum wage than $18/hr. They are hard work, sometimes dangerous (both in actual harvesting, if machinery or knives are used, and by exposure to pesticides), and sometimes have transportation and housing assistance near the work - but generally not.

 

I detassled corn in the summer during college and I can tell you that ag work requires a healthy, fit body. A lot of our poor are not fortunate to be in physical shape to do this work. I don't mean this to be inflammatory at all, Jean, I mean that - but with your health issues, you probably couldn't do the work either if you found yourself unemployed. :sad:

 

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2016515244_apwagregoirefarmlabor1stldwritethru.html

 

My husband could do the job. But I do realize that not everyone could. I also realize that I don't know all the reasons why people don't take the jobs. Thus the thread asking the question. I've appreciated the insights that people have given on this thread.

[SKL]

I think a lot of it is the way people view themselves. "I'm not a picker." Whether it's because they don't feel qualified, don't see it as a career step, or think it's beneath them, it comes down to the fact that people are identifying themselves based on an image they have of themselves. Personally I was raised to believe that you try for the job you want, but failing that, you take whatever job you can get, unless the finances work out negative. Most of us can train our bodies and minds to do most unskilled work.

 

The finances may be complex, however. I know that if someone is receiving unemployment comp, they can work, but they have to report it and if it goes beyond a certain point, they stop getting a check. So they don't want to give that up without a long-term income substitute. Not sure whether they would also lose Medicaid or other benefits. On one hand, I think we created this issue by extending unemployment benefits so much. On the other hand, I have a sister who collected unemployment for quite a while, and I'd hate to say she should not have received the help. She lives in the boonedocks and needs a job to at least cover more than her gas mileage, right? I do think she'd be a picker if it was truly a net financial benefit. (Haven't heard of any local picker jobs.)

[sewingmama]

I can tell you why people don't do it here in Australia. First you would have to move out of the city and live in very basic shared accommodation (no air conditioning in searing heat). Secondly it's not for families so you would have to leave your family behind. Thirdly - my DH did apply for that type of work once - they wouldn't hire him because he was "overqualified" meaning he had a degree and someone with a degree might figure out that the working conditions were not acceptable and start an uprising.

 

I had a friend who went and picked fruit for a little while. He didn't last long - conditions were unbearable and the season doesn't last long so you have to be willing to move around a lot to follow the picking seasons in each area.

 

Personally for myself -I couldn't do it because handling fruit doused in chemicals sends my asthma crazy.

 

Generally speaking - although the pay may be great the conditions are so tough that it just isn't worth the ruination of your health or mind.

[Julie Smith]

Perhaps they know they physically can't do it. Picking is hard physical labour. How many of us, or people you know could pick for eight hours a day, for several days in a row and still be able to physically get up out of bed?

[goldberry]

I think it will take a bit for an equalizing to take place. Eventually, either things will be so bad that anyone will take the job, or, the employers will have to provide working conditions and pay that draw employees. Probably a combo of both. That would be the free market in operation!

 

There is bound to be a transition period when jobs that have traditionally been filled by illegal immigrants become vacant.

[KarenB]

Seem like the unemployment offices in that area should prominently be pushing those jobs to the unemployed. I wonder, are unemployment offices allowed to discontinue unemployment pay if they can prove that people won't accept jobs they are qualified for? To me, that would be a simple solution -- either people accept these jobs, or they lose unemployment benefits. (Provided they are physically able, of course.)

 

In Illinois, if you were a member of a union in good standing and unemployed, you did not have to accept a job you were qualified for if it paid less than the previous job you held. I imagine many other states hold these same rules.

 

Karen

[Catherine]

Because of all of the liabilities, as many have pointed out, most out of work Americans perceive that they would be no better off by doing that kind of work. They are not in danger of starving, and probably the threat of starvation is one of the only motivators strong enough to get people to work that hard, risk living without benefits, for low pay, migrating, without job security of any kind whatsoever. Illegals are living closer to the edge, apparently, so the risks are worth it to them.

[Catherine]

Rereading, I'm truly wondering if pickers pay that much. I'm no expert, but I DO know that pickers do not work 40 hours per week-far, far more. Everything I've ever learned about the subject puts wages far below the levels you cite. What is your source?

[Jean in Newcastle]

Rereading, I'm truly wondering if pickers pay that much. I'm no expert, but I DO know that pickers do not work 40 hours per week-far, far more. Everything I've ever learned about the subject puts wages far below the levels you cite. What is your source?

 

I linked it above. It is an article from today's Seattle Times.

[Catherine]

If I recall logic correctly, that means somewhere between $0 and $150. The actual wages apple pickers are paid is not stated in the article. In Florida, tomato pickers are paid by the pound, making around $50 per day. Here is an article from 2007 describing the wage fight between migrant tomatoe pickers in Florida and the Florida Tomato Growes Association:

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/24/us/24tomato.html?pagewanted=all

 

Note the description of the living quarters of the workers-how much they pay the farmer (who owns the quarters) for the privilege of living there. Note also how the farm workers who are on the job 10-12 hours a day still seek charity to survive.

[lailasmum]

I did picking for a summer when I was 18, it was horrendously paid, absolutely backbreaking and very short term. It was paid by the punnet at a low rate it was hard to make back your expenses. It was always in the middle of nowhere too. The immigrant workers who came to do it all stayed together in a bunk house and got mini bused into work but if you were local and had to drive yourself I think it would be hard to make fuel and food money just to survive. Made far more sense to find shop/cafe work.

 

I know they are now offering fruit picking holidays where you do a few hours work for a free pitch for your tent or caravan. Aimed at retired people.

[Renee in NC]

If I recall logic correctly, that means somewhere between $0 and $150. The actual wages apple pickers are paid is not stated in the article. In Florida, tomato pickers are paid by the pound, making around $50 per day. Here is an article from 2007 describing the wage fight between migrant tomatoe pickers in Florida and the Florida Tomato Growes Association:

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/24/us/24tomato.html?pagewanted=all

 

Note the description of the living quarters of the workers-how much they pay the farmer (who owns the quarters) for the privilege of living there. Note also how the farm workers who are on the job 10-12 hours a day still seek charity to survive.

 

:iagree: Farmers are not paying $150 per day to everyone. Most likely the pay is based on production (like it is on almost every "picker" job out there.) Maybe there is a *possibility* of making $150 a day if you are super-fast, but an unexperienced person who isn't used to that kind of backbreaking labor isn't likely to make near that much.

 

A local farmer hires pickers for his blueberry farms and pays by the flat. Most of his Latino pickers make $12 an hour or so based on their production. Most of his American (for lack of a better term) workers make around minimum wage. Blackberry picking is not as hard as some other crops, either.

 

I once asked a friend why he left his entire family behind to come work in NC. He said, "In Mexico I might make $10 a day, but here in America I can make $10 an hour." He (and others) shared a home - one family to a room - to save money. Due to his hard work and frugality, he was able to wire money home when his mother became ill so that she could be treated at a hospital. The hospitals there are not like here - you have to pay first and *then* be seen. His work here allows him to bring his family at home out of the dire poverty of the poorest of the poor in Mexico.

 

ETA: Picking is SERIOUSLY back-breaking work. I agree that Americans will have to get used to doing this work (and paying significantly more for food) as the undocumented migrants go back to their home countries.

Edited October 16, 2011 by Renee in FL

[historically accurate]

I have a family member who has been out of work for years. In his case, he would be physically unable to work at that type of job because his health has deteriated (sp? that really doesn't look right) due to the fact that he hasn't visited a doctor in years.

[FaithManor]

Those types of jobs tend to be seasonal, and some are not eligible for unemployment because of that. People end up worse off at the end of the season than when they started. Illegals can pick up those jobs for a season and go home until next year. The money lasts a long time in other places. We cannot do that as easily here. It happens in construction around here all the time.

 

 

This is the reason. It is contract pay not regular employment. The farmer does not pay into unemployement and one has to work at least 90 days to even qualify to draw anyway. So, after one month, they've lost their benefits, the $3000.00 may put them over the threshold for getting food and utilities assistance, they can't draw unemployment again, and as desperately as they need the money for bills, they will have to save a portion of it out to pay taxes on. Self-employment tax so think "double" the amount of social security witholding. They end up much worse off if they are currently drawing unemployment and getting any kind of low income assistance.

 

I think that if the farmer were offering a permanent agricultural job, people would do the work. But, except for a three organic dairies and one beef ranch in this area who each employ one full-time herd manager, I can't think of a single farm that offers more than 25 hrs. per week and it's all contract pay for June - September, sometimes October for the sugar beet farms. Most of the jobs are just August/September. No one can live on that. They need a regular job.

 

Faith

[mommaduck]

Those types of jobs tend to be seasonal, and some are not eligible for unemployment because of that. People end up worse off at the end of the season than when they started. Illegals can pick up those jobs for a season and go home until next year. The money lasts a long time in other places. We cannot do that as easily here. It happens in construction around here all the time.

 

:iagree: Also, you don't see advertisements for these jobs or I know people that would be on them in a heartbeat. Nope, they WANT to hire illegals instead.

[Jenny in Florida]

As others have said, the work is seasonal, back-breaking and without benefits of any kind. A workday is not usually eight hours, but more like 10 or even 12, bringing the hourly rate down as low as $12, with no overtime pay. Also, sometimes, the pay rate quoted isn't what it looks like. For example, that $150 per day might be what the fastest, most efficient worker "can" earn, not the flat rate paid to all workers.

 

Another thing to consider is that, in some areas and for some crops, the work is quit dangerous to your health. There is a group of tomato pickers in Florida who are experiencing a high incidence of horrific birth defects that result from exposure to the pesticides used on the crops.

 

While I can say that, if I were truly desperate, I might have taken such a job temporarily when I was younger, I know enough now to understand that there are very valid reasons not to do so, reasons that have nothing to do with being lazy or afraid of hard work or spoiled.

 

Edit: Notice a couple of things about the link you posted. First, it was not a job posting, but an article quoting the farm owners. Second, even they said the wages are "up to $150 a day." That's quite a significant phrase.

Edited October 16, 2011 by Jenny in Florida

[Haiku]

Why aren't unemployed and under employed (ie. people earning only minimum wage) people knocking down the door to get a job picking apples even though it isn't their dream job?

 

1) Not everyone lives near these jobs.

 

2) Health insurance.

 

Tara

[Ipsey]

In another economy, I would have agreed w/ this kid. After years in management, fil couldn't get a mgmt job because ALL of his experience was in food management. He got locked into a particular field, & I remember thinking it was important that dh be careful about what "filler" jobs he take, to avoid that.

 

Now...dh never turned down a job because of that or failed to apply for a job during a period of unemployment because of that...so maybe it's moot, just that I can understand, in a better economy, how a person would think that way.

 

That said, I'd love to know where you are, because that sounds like great pay, great work, & *I* would go pick fruits & veggies 9mos pg if it were near here. Esp if they'd let the kids work, too. Maybe I'm naive, but that sounds wonderful to me. :001_smile:

 

Well. . .I think you're naive :)

I was too.

 

I started working at a co-op farm this summer. I work 4 hours a day for a flat of fresh food. I don't just pick; I plant, box, wash, graft, etc. Only 4 hours a day. Not pregnant. Healthy. It's hard flippin' work. The first two weeks I was so sore I had a hard time getting out of bed the next morning. (And I regularly practice yoga). Bugs and heat. Cucumbers and zucchini have big ol prickers. Did you know that? And you can get big old thorns in your hands or you can wear gloves that give you blisters. Ask me how I know. :)

 

ETA: I also drove 1/2 hour each way. For folks who don't have a car or gas. . . they were pretty SOL, eh?

 

If you could, I wish you had the opportunity to work on one of these farms, doing this job for one day, nine months pregnant, and come back and tell us how wonderful it is!

Edited October 16, 2011 by Ipsey
ETA

[JFSinIL]

My 20-yr-old college son would do that - in fact, for $8.15/hr he DID it this past summer for our local CSA. Mostly weed pulling, harvesting, washing/processing veggies for the CSA baskets, more weeding - did I mention weeding? By hand. He is a Bio - possibly Pre-Med major, and did not feel it beneath him at all - in fact, he kinda liked it and went all Walden Pond on us for a spell.

Edited October 16, 2011 by JFSinIL

[Haiku]

Wow, I'm shocked to see how many people attribute this to laziness. I think that's an extremely narrow view to take. No matter how desperate we were, we wouldn't take this job as long as public assistance was available. Why? Because one of my children's medication would cost us $2997 a month if we didn't have insurance. I know that because we just switched insurance and for the first month we got her meds from CVS instead of the mail-order pharmacy, and the receipt showed the retail cost of the meds. I would rather be unemployed, on public assistance, and have CHIP (children's health insurance through the state) than be "dignified" and have a "work ethic" and have no health insurance.

 

Tara

[Renee in NC]

My 20-yr-old college son would do that - in fact, for $8.15/hr he DID it this past summer for our local CSA. Mostly weed pulling, harvesting, washing/processing veggies for the CSA baskets, more weeding - did I mention weeding? By hand. He is a Bio - possibly Pre-Med major, and did not feel it beneath him at all - in fact, he kinda liked it and went all Walden Pond on us for a spell.

 

:iagree: I don't think it is below anyone, but $8.15 an hour is a long way from $150/day. I would do it if I needed to! Remember, I ran a chicken slaughter plant at one time.;) They hated when I was on the line, though, as I was too slow!:tongue_smilie:

[Serenade]

I don't think it is quite this simple. In many areas you have to be unemployed for a certain length of time (here I think it is 8 weeks) before you can apply for benefits. If you are currently on unemployment and take a seasonal job picking apples you lose your current benefits status, even if you only work 2 weeks. Then you have to wait 8 more weeks to get back on unemployment. What if you don't make enough to pay your bills and see you through 8 more weeks? Is it worth the risk for a job you know will be short term?

 

Again, I would happily take such a job, but I'm not getting any government assistance.

 

I guess I'm thinking more for the long-term unemployed. The people who keep getting the extensions. Maybe that is naive, too, however.

[butterflymommy]

Remember that many americans are out of shape. If you winnow out the people who are too weak/ obese/ ill (diabetes, heart disease) to do physically rigorous work, then winnow out the people unwilling to work in inclimate weather for low pay, you've drastically narrowed your employment pool.