As a client of vocational rehabilitation, I would like to work, but I have limits that have to be considered. I can no longer do manual labor. According to Maximus, a company contracted by the US government to administer the "Ticket to Work" program, I have the right to attend training/classes to become whatever I want. Unfortunately, that is one the Washington's famous unfunded mandates that only exists on paper. With some 59 million people now on some form of Social Security, the government needs to get on the stick by creating programs that will EFFECTIVELY get people back to work. It also takes employers to cooperate by hiring the disabled. Shit happens,technology happens, industries change... it cannot be met head-on with limitations as to how many times a person can be retrained... that is for the job market to determine. Employers also deserve part of the blame. Back in the day, an employer would hire someone with no experience and train them. Now they are spoiled and only want the cream of the crop. That is self-defeating from the get go. Our current economic situation proves it.
Employers will only start hiring again if the economy picks up. The economy will only pick up if people get jobs. It is a catch-22 position. Someone has to break the cycle and it won't be the unemployed. Our true unemployment numbers are staggering. I don't know what they are, but I do know that when the government says claims are down, it is because a lot of people have exhausted their benefits and even more are discounted altogether for being out of work so long. In other words, the numbers the government announces are a manipulated lie. When you start looking at candidates for the next election, here is one more criteria you should consider... compassion. Vote for someone who shows he/she cares about their future constituents and will enact measures to help the people, ALL OF THE PEOPLE, get back on their feet and grow.
