The Missing Men: Laid-off Workers Dropping Out Permanently

Submitted by Roy on Tue, 2006-08-01 01:00

Millions of men in the prime of their lives, between 30 and 55 -have dropped out of regular work. They are turning down jobs they think beneath them or are unable to find work for which they are qualified. About 13 percent of American men in this age group are not working, up from 5 percent in the late 1960's. Most of these missing men are former blue-collar workers with no more than a high school education. But their ranks are growing at all education and income levels. 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. The missing men are also more likely to live alone. Nearly 60 percent are divorced, separated, widowed or never married, up from 50 percent a decade earlier...

Story here.

--

Ed. note: This also printed (surprisingly) in the NYTimes today here.

Like0 Dislike0

Comments

hello:

if you were a guy who was making $80,000 dollars a year and is laid off from work. would you fill out an application at mcdonalds for $6.00 an hour?

many people will say a job is a job and its necessary to contribute to the family income. much is said regarding a female choosing to leave her job (in a dual income family) to spend more time with her children (which i believe is important)

with that said, women have many more options when making decsions regarding their lives as it relates to a career or simply choosing not to work.

right or wrong: when i finish college, and attain a career, than after many years i lose my job. im not going to wendy's for minimum wage. call it ego, call it pride...im not gonna do it. i wont collect welfare, i would probably start my own business and be my own boss.

anthony

Like0 Dislike0
Submitted by anthony on Tue, 2006-08-01 04:16

...of the NYT article. The opening paragraphs and the tone of the rest of the article suggest that any man not willing to work like a good little slave at a shitty, underpaid job (and support a non-working female in the process) must be lazy or egomaniacal somehow. What a bunch of misandric bullshit.

When was the last time you heard someone berating lazy, golddigging women (who don't work in droves) for not supporting a family? Where's the screeching about "equality" when it's women's turn to get off their fat asses and take one for the team?

Isn't it empowering for the wife (the few that don't cut 'n run the instant hubby isn't supporting her lifestyle) to support the family? Isn't it liberating for a man to be in a position to collect alimony for life from his wife when he changes his mind about the arrangement? The feminists want "equality"? All the education? All the decent jobs? Here it is, grrrlz. Suck it up. Oh, and by the way, grrrlz, if the Universal National Service Act passes in the US, you're in the draft, too, ladies. Have fun dying for someone else's gain. We'll be at home, whining about how we're the "real victims".

Aside from which, if women are so equal, why aren't they paying as much into the social safety net as they gladly gouge out (around 70%).

I think this finally proves that feminists are psychotic. They piss away two generations marginalizing, criminalizing and objectifying men, and when the shit inevitably hits the fan (i.e. they get what they were after all along) and men can't find decent work, can't get educated and are incarcerated at such ridiculous rates, they have the unmitigated nerve to bitch about it and blame men for the results of their pogrom against us! Like I said: bullshit.

Like0 Dislike0
Submitted by RandomMan on Tue, 2006-08-01 04:31

With women entering the work force in ever increasing numbers, it’s not surprising to me that more men are finding themselves out-of-work. Back when men were breadwinners and women were home makers, a motivated guy usually didn’t have many problems supporting his family. Now many women want to be independent and work at high paying jobs; however, their motive often isn’t about supporting a family, it’s about girls just want to have fun. Let’s face it; the demand for skilled workers doesn’t double when the supply does. So more men are unemployed and an increasing amount of a country’s gross national product shifts to selling Gucci hand-bags rather than supporting families (or investment in science and techology for that matter). All I can say is enjoy it while it lasts ladies; sooner or later it will be time to pay the piper!

"In a consumer society there are inevitably two kinds of slaves: the prisoners of addiction and the prisoners of envy." -- Ivan Illich (1926-2002)

Like0 Dislike0
Submitted by bull on Tue, 2006-08-01 17:45

I didn't even read beyond page 2, because it is so depressing.

"Sometimes women who are working throw out men who are not"..reverse the roles..

It is also annoying that someone called programs like Social Security Disability a "de facto welfare system"..when talking about MEN not working. So, what does the speaker think of aid to single mothers, etc?
(I should also note that SSDI IS there for a reason..some people DO get disabled you know).

-Axolotl (formerly 'quetzal')

Like0 Dislike0
Submitted by axolotl on Wed, 2006-08-02 03:34