Critigue - America's Jobless

Colin Picard

In the article "America's Jobless," large amounts of people looked to find a way to apply for the job of miner in Australia. Such a job is incredibly difficult, and challenged my view that many Americans forced to work manual jobs, because they saw them as menial. I believed this from firsthand experience from my brother, who has gone through long stretches of unemployment through the reasoning that since he has worked for so long as a waiter, server, cook, busboy, and barman, it is time he can find a position like manager. I did not doubt that marines and miners could handle the job, but investment bankers and people with art degrees seriously considering it surprised me.

The main thing to consider is obviously the pay; give enough money, and people will do near anything. This apparently includes living underground for weeks at a time mining. The article argues that taking up the mining profession in Australia, while high-paying, is unnecessary, as those same would-be miners could find the same job in Canada or the Dakotas. I agree with the statement that many jobs go unfilled because people are simply not aware of them. People have always been willing to travel great distances for employment; my grandfather is a three-generation New Yorker who went from putting down land lines on Long Island, to serving in the Army during the Korea War, to retiring in Pittsburgh after twenty years with Bell Telephone/AT&T. The article seemed to argue that people often will not move for a job unless given extreme amounts of money, but I disagree with that. While $200,000 a year would convince ME to travel to work in Australia, $50,000 a year would get me to across the entire country.

It is unarguable that employers are willing release skilled, experienced workers in exchange for unprepared ones; which is a major reason young people out of college struggle to find jobs. The article's point that that particular miner was so highly paid was because of his experience is correct though. Mr. Salisbury, no matter how good a cook he is, cannot arrive with the same skills and abilities of the $200,000 miner.