Boomers responsible for labor shortage?

G

GeorgiaXplant

Well-known Member
Location
Georgia
I don't agree, and I don't think millennials are lazy or to blame, either.

Why shouldn't boomers retire if they want to? And why should millennials need to work two or three or more jobs in order to support themselves and their families? There's something wrong with this picture, and laying blame at the feet of ordinary Americans while the super-rich and ultra-rich just skate along making money hand over fist on the backs of the working people doesn't help one bit.

https://abc17news.com/news/2021/12/...ly retirement,force behind the labor shortage.
 

In 2017, A 90-year-old has been crowned 'Woman Of The Year' for being Britain's oldest full-time employee, still working 40 hours a week. Monica Evans, 89, was branded the UK's longest-serving employee after working at the same aeronautical firm, in Warwick, for 70 years.

GeorgiaXplant makes a valid point, it should freedom of choice. It doesn't seem to square the circle though, we have another current thread about over population and this one about staff shortages, or is that skills shortages?
 
jujube said:
Not long ago, there was a hue and cry that Boomers were "unnecessarily" taking jobs that could be filled by younger workers. Sheesh. Some days you can't win.....
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That reminds me of the criticism I got from a co-worker as I was about to retire...I mentioned that I'd like to take a job with another agency, the co-worker said I was taking a job that someone else needed more than me. 🤔

My way of thinking: Let all interested parties submit a job application and let the best suited person be hired. I took that job.
 
The market will eventually find a price point for labor that people will accept and that labor cost will be built into the price of the things we buy.

We shouldn’t waste our energy hating wealthy successful people we should learn from them.

If you don’t find a way to make money while you sleep, you will work until you die. — Warren Buffet
 
Aunt Bea said:
The market will eventually find a price point for labor that people will accept and that labor cost will be built into the price of the things we buy.

We shouldn’t waste our energy hating wealthy successful people we should learn from them.

If you don’t find a way to make money while you sleep, you will work until you die. — Warren Buffet
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Right! We should learn from them. We should learn how to hide our money from the tax man. We should learn how to open bank accounts overseas that no one know about. We should learn from them that the the homeless and the single mothers working 2 or 3 jobs with 2 or 3 kids to feed are to blame for their own stupidity.

Now, you don't have to believe me because you probably think I don't know anything. That is fine but before you judge that paragraph before this one, please go to the library and borrow a book called "Dark Money" by Jane Mayer. It will tell you about some very interesting American citizens by the name of Charles and David Koch. I never heard of them until my brother worked in one of their many oil refineries. Read the book and you might look at the "filthy rich" a little differently. They are so rich that they almost control the American Government in Washington by donating millions upon millions to election campaigns. Bye bye democracy!
 

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Yeah, I think we Boomers are responsible for the labor shortage. Beginning in 1946, the population jumped off the charts for the next ten years, with millions of us Boomers. So now, it's 2021, and that glut of babies are now all geezers, who are retiring from the workplace. I''m a geezer of 75, and retired. My 65 year old truck driving brother just got an early retirement. Only one of my senior friends is still working parttime. The workforce grew to accommodate us Boomers, but the birthrate fell drastically after the glut of Boomers. There just aren't that many bodies to fill all the open slots. We, Boomers, were always a huge bulge in the demographics. Now that the bulge is retiring, we are are leaving a bulge in unfilled jobs.
 

"13 reasons that help explain the labor shortage in the US​

People want more money​

Workers are questioning if they even like their jobs​

High demand for jobs that offer flexibility​

Childcare issues and caregiving duties are keeping people from working​

Health concerns and vaccine hesitancies linger as the pandemic continues​

More workers than usual retired, and they may not come back​

Slowing immigration could be impacting the labor shortage​

There's a disconnect between the jobs open and the workers available​

People are stressed and burned out​

Automated hiring software is filtering out qualified applicants​

Employers also filter out workers because of preexisting biases and inequities​

Rethinking work and the "antiwork" movement​

People want to be their own boss"​


Each cause is explained. 4 min read

https://www.businessinsider.com/pot...s-2021-12#people-want-to-be-their-own-boss-13
 
I never blamed millennials, but recall some "senior" websites having individuals chastising those younger generations. This is payback and rightfully so, although the culprits will likely never admit their error. Like the ones where they call some 20 year old a millennial, without realizing the youngest millennials are now 25+.

But blaming the younger generation has been the normal since before I was born. Even after I was born, I can remember my Grandfather (1888) blaming my Father's (1911) generation for all the ills of the world and guess what generation my father blamed?
 
GeorgiaXplant said:
I don't think millennials are lazy or to blame, either.
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There was an article in local news where I live where they were interviewing a multi-billionaire about the insufficient workforce, and rich guy was complaining about entitled people here and said they are making more than they ever did. Apparently the working class is not sufficiently appreciative that the minimum wage was raised all the way up to $9.
 
Every generation has to make it's way. Some just make a lot more noise doing it. I wish them all the best, and I bet when they get to where we are, they will be a little wiser, and a little kinder. In the mean time, I'm not going to loose any sleep over it.
 
GeorgiaXplant said:
I don't agree, and I don't think millennials are lazy or to blame, either.

Why shouldn't boomers retire if they want to? And why should millennials need to work two or three or more jobs in order to support themselves and their families? There's something wrong with this picture, and laying blame at the feet of ordinary Americans while the super-rich and ultra-rich just skate along making money hand over fist on the backs of the working people doesn't help one bit.

https://abc17news.com/news/2021/12/18/retiring-boomers-not-lazy-millennials-are-driving-the-labor-shortage/#:~:text=Here's the thing: Early retirement,force behind the labor shortage.
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I didn't read the link, but that's just an opinion piece anyway, and I have my own opinion so...
Worldwide commerce and the economics of global labor markets are a deciding factor in the appearence of the domestic job market. There are good paying jobs that have medical and retirement benefits, those still in the labor force can get them if they want them. Some people have mounds of student loan debt, and are working menial jobs(food service, etc), that's a shame, but it's nobody else's fault.
 
My company chose to "retire" me due to Covid in June 2020. Now I'm just enjoying life and my free time. I spent 20 years with this company, had lots of experience and had extensive contacts within my industry. They have hired 40-somethings, with less experience and lower salaries, to appease their stockholders.

Many companies practiced ageism, and this is the result. I have learned how great retirement is, and I have no plans to go back into the workforce.
 
I only retired because we were bought out and our jobs shipped elsewhere. We were all laid off and I had trouble getting another job because of my disability and was told that. Never mind I had been working for 15 years with it at the previous job. I was the top collector of money at the facility. I did not file a complaint about not getting the job due to my disability. If thats how they felt about handicapped folks then I did not want to work with them. So I took early SS and kept books at home for a few years.
 
Paco Dennis said:

"13 reasons that help explain the labor shortage in the US​

People want more money​

Workers are questioning if they even like their jobs​

High demand for jobs that offer flexibility​

Childcare issues and caregiving duties are keeping people from working​

Health concerns and vaccine hesitancies linger as the pandemic continues​

More workers than usual retired, and they may not come back​

Slowing immigration could be impacting the labor shortage​

There's a disconnect between the jobs open and the workers available​

People are stressed and burned out​

Automated hiring software is filtering out qualified applicants​

Employers also filter out workers because of preexisting biases and inequities​

Rethinking work and the "antiwork" movement​

People want to be their own boss"​


Each cause is explained. 4 min read

https://www.businessinsider.com/pot...s-2021-12#people-want-to-be-their-own-boss-13
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Thank you Paco Dennis for that insight. Well put. What I don't understand is that where ever I drive in the city over the last few years there are thousands of other people driving around too. Ok, I'm a senior but most of those folks are not. Why are they driving around wasting gas when they should be working? That has always been a mystery to me. I hope someone can explain this to me because I sure as hack can't figure it out!
 
Packerjohn said:
where ever I drive in the city over the last few years there are thousands of other people driving around too. Ok, I'm a senior but most of those folks are not. Why are they driving around wasting gas when they should be working?
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One of them is my daughter, sorry about that! ha ha
She is supposed to be home studying for her nursing license exam, but everytime I talk to her she out and about driving somewhere (store, friends, off to look at some piece of clutter she saw advertised in an online marketplace site, etc).
 
No such thing as a labor shortage. Employers just don't want to hire:




says one commentator: ''Employers are basically looking for a 20 year old employee with 35 years experience who they can pay minimum wage with no benefits.''
 

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