According to Parade Magazine for October 11, 2009, the State of Georgia has come up with an innovative and cost-effective way to reduce unemployment. The Georgia Works program allows jobless citizens to work part-time for up to six weeks at businesses with job openings. No salary is paid, but Georgia pays unemployment benefits and also a weekly amount for transportation and other expenses.
The businesses involved do not pay the workers, but they do provide on-the-job training. So far, 58% of the people in tthe program have been hired by the places where they are working. Michael Thurmond, Georgia's State's Labor Commissioner has said that the employers have saved 15 million dollars in training and labor costs, while the State of Georgia has saved 5 million dollars in money they would have paid to these people, had they remained unemployed.
Sounds like a good idea to me.
It's funny, many years ago, the labor secretary of New Jersey came to SSA to discuss unemployment and he mentioned that (for instance) there were 2,000 job openings in the Newark classified pages.. and 2,000 people looking for work in Newark at the time. He said that his job was to do a match up. Unfortunately, people are picky about the jobs they want. An engineer will not submit to a job at McDonalds, I'm sure.
However, in my work effort mentality, I would not mind working at whatever job there was, in order to provide my family with food.
What happened to the immigrant work ethic? It is probably still alive in the Hispanic neighborhoods.. and that is a good thing, in my opinion.
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1 comment:
That is a good idea!
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