[Magdalen] Gap Year

[Jim Guthrie]

From: sally.davies at gmail.com

>I just wanted to add, that from a perspective of 40% unemployment as we
>have in South Africa, any of those US figures look enviable. Or does it

I would have to add that one would need to look at what that 40% means. In the 
U.S., unemployment is measured by those seeking work. Some places look at the 
workforce and subtract it from the adult population.

I also suggest we need to look at population mobility. How many of those 
unemployed give up on work where they are and move elsewhere? How many stay put 
waiting for lightning to strike?

Look at Bangalore, which at first glance is Mother Theresa territory. But the 
reality is that people from rural areas flock to Bangalore looking for better 
opportunities. And substantial number find opportunity and move up the economic 
ladder. Many of India's richest entrepreneurs came via Bangalore (or similar 
places seen n the West as simply hell holes of poverty) -- doing far better than 
if they had sat out in the rural areas waiting for better times.

>just mean that a lot more people are taken as being self-employed...?
I> would have thought that given the usual prevalence of mental and
>behavioural conditions that render people unemployable without necessarily
>being officially disabled - everything from substance abuse to mild head
>injury, recurrent illness, and personalities that can't get along with
>others - 6% is pretty amazing, though I'm sure a lot of people are in and
>out of jobs.

It depends, as I said on what we’re counting. It should be noted that when 
Republicans in the U.S. cite the number of people paying taxes, they count only 
income tax among those with money vs everyone else -- retirees, the disabled, 
Children, stay at home parents and the rest. I always ask when people cite this 
as where poor people get exemptions for sales taxes or their landlords 
exemptions from property taxes. "Is there a secret Get out of Taxes" cad like 
Monopoly's Get out of Jail Free card?

>And then there's a proportion, in any country, that don't seem to WANT
>work, getting by in other ways. When they do seek a job their main focus
>seems to be how to avoid the work that's expected of them.

Likewise, it's probably better to subsidize such people generously, so they 
aren't forced to enter the workplace. Desperate people seeking jobs tend to 
drive down wages for everyone else -- at all levels (as does high unemployment). 
It's often cheaper to pay the taxes needed to do this than the actual cost (in 
lower wages) of requiring them to work.

Cheers,
Jim Guthrie