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The Labour Market

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  • The Labour Market

    Perhaps a poor title for this thread. So I encourage suggestions for alternate titles.

    An article from a economics professor published in The Globe on May 24, attempting to explain some of the current issues with our labour market, and the expectations of young(er) workers.

    Is this somewhat accurate or just an example of 'the ivory tower style of thinking' or 'old person yelling at the clouds'?

    The final sentence when written by a university professor reminds me of Judge Smails' comment that "the world needs ditch diggers too".

    TODD HIRSCH

    We started telling our children that they could be anything they wanted. We told them to follow their passions. We promised them that if they dreamed hard enough, they could do anything in the world.

    Never mind that artificial intelligence and robotics will probably make a lot of jobs obsolete. The bigger challenge today is motivating a generation (or two) of Canadians who were told that, if they wanted it badly enough, they could become a social media influencer.

    Rather than tell kids they can do anything they want, we’d be wise to tell them the truth: They have gifts and talents, and if they work hard and stay humble, they can achieve incredible things. We’ve told them to follow their passions. What we should tell them is to follow opportunity – and bring their passions with them.

    It was a lie. And our ongoing labour crunch can be directly traced back to that lie.

    To be fair, we may have meant that our kids could be doctors, lawyers or accountants – attainable and laudable goals for many people. And I’m not saying young people are lazy – at least not the ones I know. Plenty of young people are working hard in entry-level, low-paying jobs.

    But the issue is that when we told them they could be anything, some of them heard “NHL hockey star,” “superstar video gamer” or “the next Beyoncé.” And clearly they cannot. Or at least 99.9999 per cent of them cannot.

    We meant to inspire our young people, promising them that if they tried hard enough and worked hard enough, they could be anything! But rather than inspire them, we created a false notion that superstardom and unimaginable paycheques were attainable.

    The result is that many struggle to find a job they want. They’re not too lazy to work, but the lies we’ve told them have given them permission to say, “Well, being a glass fitter isn’t my passion,” or “I don’t see myself working in a kitchen dish pit.”

  • #2
    Mostly old guy yelling.

    I told my kids to pursue something they like. I also always made it clear there are no guarantees in life.

    Part of what we are seeing in the labour market is a backlash against a corporate world that has commoditized labour, squeezing it at every opportunity while lavishing rewards on themselves.

    Kids today recognize how their parents got scr***d and have no desire to follow the same path. I've heard as much from both my kids and my nieces.
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    • #3
      There is a staggering number of influencers selling the notion that making $100k+ a year is easy, if they just follow the prescribed 'easy steps' in their videos that made them so successful. What most viewers don't understand is that these influencers make most of their money garnering views telling others how to do it, not actually doing it themselves.
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      • #4
        Originally posted by dmcdam View Post
        There is a staggering number of influencers selling the notion that making $100k+ a year is easy, if they just follow the prescribed 'easy steps' in their videos that made them so successful. What most viewers don't understand is that these influencers make most of their money garnering views telling others how to do it, not actually doing it themselves.
        Influencers are The Antidote Resistant Vampires who feed on your expectations.
        It began with Tom Vu in a boat loaded with of babes, saying "you too can be rich".

        http://www.infomercial-hell.com/tom-vu/ From the 1991 Tom Vu infomercial, see Tom lounging on his yacht with chicks in bikinis, intercut with stiff testimon...
        things change

        Maga Lies Matter

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        • #5
          Originally posted by dmcdam View Post
          There is a staggering number of influencers selling the notion that making $100k+ a year is easy, if they just follow the prescribed 'easy steps' in their videos that made them so successful. What most viewers don't understand is that these influencers make most of their money garnering views telling others how to do it, not actually doing it themselves.
          +1 IMO 99.999% of "influencers" have no business influencing anybody.

          On somewhat of a related note, the biggest change that I see is that people (esp young people) who switch jobs often, are rewarded the most. The more switching, the better. So many people have come and gone from my company that didn't learn a thing in the short time they were here. So how is that valued? Many of them also didn't do anything when they were here, except tell the world on Linkedin
          Over thinking, over analyzing separates the body from the mind.

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          • #6
            Bit of a ramble on this post and some of the replies so far.

            We need ditch diggers until automation figures that out and the displaced move onto something else.

            Kids don’t want to do basic work these days so we turn to immigration to fill the gap (skilled and unskilled).
            Meanwhile little Johnny and Sally are all striving to be the 1% of the 1% that; land in a top job, end up in pro sports, etc.
            Point goes to the unrealistic expectations being set for these kids (article uses the word “lie”), or is that the standard parent trying to live out their unrealized dreams through their offspring?

            Good thing uncle Rico didn’t have any children

            Labour has been defined as a commodity since Engels and Marx wrote about it mid 1800’s - and that was a communist principle that capitalist societies adopted.

            Lastly - what will come of this human capacity (brain and brawn) once automation really starts setting in?

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            • #7
              Too many parents telling their kids that they're all 'special' and that their unique gifts will take them wherever they want to go.

              I suspect that the parents' motives are well-intended because no one wants to dispel the dreams and aspirations of a young person.

              However, there must come a time when parents take a child, regardless of age, aside and state some unvarnished truths about the realities of life.

              On a related note, I also think that far too many parents are obsessed with their children being successful rather than being happy. Of course, most of the parents I know never learned the difference between those two things during their own lives, so it's not surprising that they can't make the distinction with their own children.

              Some of the most successful people I know are generally unhappy all the time.

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              • #8
                Originally posted by dmcdam View Post
                There is a staggering number of influencers selling the notion that making $100k+ a year is easy, if they just follow the prescribed 'easy steps' in their videos that made them so successful. What most viewers don't understand is that these influencers make most of their money garnering views telling others how to do it, not actually doing it themselves.
                Yep they will sell their system so you can teach it to others that are lower on the pyramid.

                I think there might be a scheme named after that.

                My 17 year old son, taking a gap year next year wants to move to Toronto when he’s 19 years old.

                Figures he will get a job where he clears about $6500.00 a month but will also have a side hustle where he clears an additional $2500.00.

                Then asked me if I would still pay for his cell phone when he moves to Toronto.
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                • #9
                  Originally posted by Pingeye2_fan View Post

                  Then asked me if I would still pay for his cell phone when he moves to Toronto.

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                  • #10
                    Originally posted by Pingeye2_fan View Post
                    Then asked me if I would still pay for his cell phone when he moves to Toronto.
                    I used to think that I had trained my cat so that I could let him out of the bedroom in the middle of the night.
                    Then someone pointed out to me that the cat was not really the one who had been trained...

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                    • #11
                      Originally posted by Benz View Post
                      Too many parents telling their kids that they're all 'special' and that their unique gifts will take them wherever they want to go.

                      I suspect that the parents' motives are well-intended because no one wants to dispel the dreams and aspirations of a young person.

                      However, there must come a time when parents take a child, regardless of age, aside and state some unvarnished truths about the realities of life.


                      On a related note, I also think that far too many parents are obsessed with their children being successful rather than being happy. Of course, most of the parents I know never learned the difference between those two things during their own lives, so it's not surprising that they can't make the distinction with their own children.

                      Some of the most successful people I know are generally unhappy all the time.
                      100% agree, my boys big sports guys playing high level hockey, golf and hockey in the summer , all 3 of them of course wanted to be NHLer’s and in their mid teens I said fellas you better have a back up plan , all average students , two have graduated high school now and doing construction trying to get on at Bruce Power ….

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                      • #12
                        I believe the first paragraph so "old person yelling at clouds", for me.

                        That said, it's much harder if you don't have parents that support you financially and emotionally.

                        ​​​​​​

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                        • #13
                          Originally posted by Benz View Post

                          I used to think that I had trained my cat so that I could let him out of the bedroom in the middle of the night.
                          Then someone pointed out to me that the cat was not really the one who had been trained...
                          I will be the first to admit it I’m a softie when it comes to my kids.
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                          • #14
                            One of these 'kids today' threads pops up here every 6 to 8 months.

                            Kids today are no different than kids in my generation, my parents generation, my grandparents generation ...

                            How kids react to the labour market, and what their overall asperations are is based on what they see their parents go through and how people are treated in said labour market.

                            Have the current generation of parents spoiled their kids more than any other generation in history? Maybe, but it is hard to generalize given peoples varied background.
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                            "You're just expected to work and die ...
                            and maybe buy some useless s**t you don't need inbetween"

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                            • #15
                              I do believe many kids are not taught that failure is art of life and that it's okay to not succeed at something. It's how one reacts to failure that is the key. Sometime you have to screw up/fail and suffer the consequences; then you can appreciate success more. I also believe that while it's okay to believe you can be just about anything you want to be, reaching those goals comes with hard work and sacrifice. May people think they are just given something because they believe they can have it and/or they showed up.

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