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Men Not Working, and Not Wanting Just Any Job
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/31/bu...rtner=homepage
a couple of excerpts:
Many of these men could find work if they had to, but with lower pay and fewer benefits than they once earned, and they have decided they prefer the alternative. It is a significant cultural shift from three decades ago, when men almost invariably went back into the work force after losing a job and were more often able to find a new one that met their needs.
“Men don’t feel a need to be in a career, not as much as they once did,” said Ruth Milkman, a sociologist at the University of California at Los Angeles. “Nor do men have the incentive they once had to pursue a career, not when employers are no longer committed to them.”
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the poeple profiled in this article are supporting themselves on their wive's incomes, on occasional short stints of work, on drawing down savings including from pension savings like 401k's, on disability payments, and ON HOME EQUITY WITHDRAWALS. they are not counted in unemployment statistics because they are not actively seeking work. they are estimated o number about 4 million!
they will, in the not too distant future, hit the end of their savings and the end of home equity increases against which they can draw funds.
here is one part of the increasing trend of downward mobility for americans. as third world living standards rise, first world living standards are dropping. they will meet, apparently, sooner than we might have thought.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/31/bu...rtner=homepage
a couple of excerpts:
Many of these men could find work if they had to, but with lower pay and fewer benefits than they once earned, and they have decided they prefer the alternative. It is a significant cultural shift from three decades ago, when men almost invariably went back into the work force after losing a job and were more often able to find a new one that met their needs.
“Men don’t feel a need to be in a career, not as much as they once did,” said Ruth Milkman, a sociologist at the University of California at Los Angeles. “Nor do men have the incentive they once had to pursue a career, not when employers are no longer committed to them.”
-----------
the poeple profiled in this article are supporting themselves on their wive's incomes, on occasional short stints of work, on drawing down savings including from pension savings like 401k's, on disability payments, and ON HOME EQUITY WITHDRAWALS. they are not counted in unemployment statistics because they are not actively seeking work. they are estimated o number about 4 million!
they will, in the not too distant future, hit the end of their savings and the end of home equity increases against which they can draw funds.
here is one part of the increasing trend of downward mobility for americans. as third world living standards rise, first world living standards are dropping. they will meet, apparently, sooner than we might have thought.
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