The Cost of Paying Unemployment Benefits--$319B

[rhymnrzn]

......may the seed of the sower be multiplied and all that.  but the point i made is from concern for the legitimate needs, and what will establish peace, and not for what i may profit and gain from others while forgetting my poor brethren who are fallen into decay.  prosperity can grow wings and fly away if there is no rain, or if all aspects of the environment are not properly replenished.  besides that, there are many of us who have already stacked a great deal onto the abundant pile of the next man, but the wages sufficient to afford the rest and payment of debts are not paid.  what we see here is the monstrous abuse of capitalism, and all of its hideous growths.

[TheArtist]

......may the seed of the sower be multiplied and all that.  but the point i made is from concern for the legitimate needs, and what will establish peace, and not for what i may profit and gain from others while forgetting my poor brethren who are fallen into decay.  prosperity can grow wings and fly away if there is no rain, or if all aspects of the environment are not properly replenished.  besides that, there are many of us who have already stacked a great deal onto the abundant pile of the next man, but the wages sufficient to afford the rest and payment of debts are not paid.  what we see here is the monstrous abuse of capitalism, and all of its hideous growths.

Define "legitimate needs"?  Is a yacht a legitimate need?  It may sure as danged well be if your the guy who is paying for his family to have food on the table and a roof over their heads for building the yatcht.  How about a fancy mural in your house.  If people do not buy those murals...

I DONT EAT!

or I have to go compete with some other guy for the job flipping burgers

We can't all raise sheep and grains, or flip burgers,,, the economy couldnt work with this many people doing so few things (there would not be enough land for us to all farm and it would be terribly inefficient lol) .  In this type of economy with this type of population numbers it takes people doing all sorts of things, making all sorts of things,,,,

which means people wanting and buying all sorts of things from yachts, to movies ,to murals, to burgers, i-pods, etc.

You can either give me the dollar, or let me earn it by doing my thing. Painting murals. I need someone to buy those things in order for me to eat and pay my bills,,, or I could be on the dole and let the rich guy pay for me to sit around and  pick my arse. I would rather him pay for me to work, then I take my money and buy goods and services, and so on.    

[rhymnrzn]

it is a crying shame that people can rack up all manner of value pent up in their graven arts that are profitable for nothing, and then claim that if there's no such delicious living then we do not eat! if your art or music was dedicated to the common good, you wouldn't need to barter and haggle, but could be welcomed to eat of the governor's portion.  There is much more honor bestowed upon the honest work of our own hands in actually repairing the breaches and improving the quality of everyone's life, social, economic, infrastructure, and so on.  then again, perhaps you are one of those who would like to compound the yokes of those, who are long accustomed to lugging around the vain and useless weights, and cleaning the mess they did not contribute to create, by accusing the unemployed of filthy and lazy habits?

[Townsend]

it is a crying shame that people can rack up all manner of value pent up in their graven arts that are profitable for nothing, and then claim that if there's no such delicious living then we do not eat! if your art or music was dedicated to the common good, you wouldn't need to barter and haggle, but could be welcomed to eat of the governor's portion.  There is much more honor bestowed upon the honest work of our own hands in actually repairing the breaches and improving the quality of everyone's life, social, economic, infrastructure, and so on.  then again, perhaps you are one of those who would like to compound the yokes of those, who are long accustomed to lugging around the vain and useless weights, and cleaning the mess they did not contribute to create, by accusing the unemployed of filthy and lazy habits?

Not even close to Dickens.

I intend on using "governor's portion" in my conversations from now on though.

[rhymnrzn]

dickens plagiarized the Holy Bible? or did he give God the praise?  i don't know.....

[Townsend]

dickens plagiarized the Holy Bible? or did he give God the praise?  i don't know.....

Dickens is a better writer.

His books aren't cobbled together into disputatious chapters.

edit:  pardon, was a better writer

[rhymnrzn]

^ perhaps you just did not handle the Word near enough, seeing that you also lightly criticize it

but to put any book on top of the Scriptures makes you, well, a man of this world.

[Townsend]

but to put any book on top of the Scriptures makes you, well, a man of this world.

Absolutely.

So you are from somewhere beyond the sun.

Greetings from Earth.

[YoungTulsan]

I don't think job ads are funny.  I think you being a smartass was funny.  Kinda.

Why are there so many jobs in the paper and yet our unemployment rate remains so high?  What could explain it? 

A large part of the workforce needs retraining.  With technology and the world economy changing, certain jobs are becoming a part of ancient history while new ones are emerging.  People need to learn new trades.  This is where I would support a little extra help from the government to steer people in the right direction.   Some people are just stubborn and refuse to look outside of a certain type of job, level of qualification, or level of pay.  Perpetual unemployment benefits may help reinforce that stubbornness.  After X amount of time, people need to face the reality that the segment of the workforce they are trying to enter has no room for them and move on to something different.  A lot of jobs that vanished when the bubble burst were already obsolete or redundant, but carried along foolishly in the madness of the bubble economy.   Trying to go back to that, or to just wait around for a "gravy train" won't dig us out of the recession.  The glut of workers can only return to productivity if a large amount of them are trained in different lines of work.

That pretty much sums up why you can point to a bunch of jobs needing to be filled at the same time millions of people can't seem to find work.

[TheArtist]

it is a crying shame that people can rack up all manner of value pent up in their graven arts that are profitable for nothing, and then claim that if there's no such delicious living then we do not eat! if your art or music was dedicated to the common good, you wouldn't need to barter and haggle, but could be welcomed to eat of the governor's portion.  There is much more honor bestowed upon the honest work of our own hands in actually repairing the breaches and improving the quality of everyone's life, social, economic, infrastructure, and so on.  then again, perhaps you are one of those who would like to compound the yokes of those, who are long accustomed to lugging around the vain and useless weights, and cleaning the mess they did not contribute to create, by accusing the unemployed of filthy and lazy habits?

I am willing to do all the "art" ("graven art" I must assume refers to "graven images", Just so you know, I do not paint or carve idols that are worshiped by pagans lol) the "common good" folk want to pay me to do, and more lol.   I don't "barter and haggle" btw lol.  The money I make either goes to me living, purchasing goods and services from others thus helping them make a living ( I try to buy things locally (employing local people), I like going to local restaurants for instance cause there are plenty of friends I know that make a living owning, running or working for restaurants, and other businesses) , and now a good chunk of it goes to my goal of creating a museum for Tulsa to help make everyones lives more enjoyable, to educate children and adults, enlighten, spark wonder and bring a smile to people. The more money or time you have, the more people you can help.

I feel fortunate that I get to use my God given talent to bring joy to peoples lives, not just to the owners but also to those who visit their homes, the next owners, etc. (There is an old saying, Nobody truly owns a piece of art, they just pay for the privilege of keeping care of it for a while.) Plus, because I can make a living doing my art, it allows me to keep practicing, to keep getting better and yes do things for free.  Great art can take a lifetime to create.  I am not at the point where I believe I can create great art, but I hope to get there.  Beautiful fine things crafted well and "images" can be good.  (Exodus 26:1."Moreover you shall make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine twisted linen and blue and purple and scarlet; you shall make them with cherubim, the work of a skillful workman..." )  Can't be skilled if you have never done it before.

I also do a lot of public art for very cheap (still have to eat lol) so that I can create more art for more people to enjoy, and occasionally do some for free whenever there is opportunity.  My museum project will hopefully be one of my greatest artistic contributions.  And its always in my mind that the more successful I can be with my work or the museum, the harder I work at it,,, the more people I will be able to employ (Give a man a fish and he eats for a day. Teach a man to fish "employ him" and he eats for a lifetime) .  I don't ultimately want a dime for myself.  EVERYTHING I may aquire will ultimately go to my goals. You cant take it with you anyway lol.  But I hope to leave something behind that will have made the world more enjoyable, bring wonderment to peoples lives, inspire a child to dream and reach for their own dreams, show and learn from the creativity and work of people who came before us, employ people, educate, help people (hope I and the museum will be successful enough some day to be able to donate school supplies to kids as one small thing for instance).  All the particular ways in which I choose to do good in the world using my particular talents, money, hard work and time, is my moral journey to take.  You do your thing, I will do mine.  I think there is the opportunity to do good in the world for all types of peoples, talents, and abilities.  If we all did exactly the same thing, nothing would work.  But everyone can DO something good thats needed or wanted. You have to go above and beyond just existing.  You ultimately have to work. You don't do that,,, you don't eat.

[Hoss]

it is a crying shame that people can rack up all manner of value pent up in their graven arts that are profitable for nothing, and then claim that if there's no such delicious living then we do not eat! if your art or music was dedicated to the common good, you wouldn't need to barter and haggle, but could be welcomed to eat of the governor's portion.  There is much more honor bestowed upon the honest work of our own hands in actually repairing the breaches and improving the quality of everyone's life, social, economic, infrastructure, and so on.  then again, perhaps you are one of those who would like to compound the yokes of those, who are long accustomed to lugging around the vain and useless weights, and cleaning the mess they did not contribute to create, by accusing the unemployed of filthy and lazy habits?

I think you and shadows are drinking from the same pond...

[Townsend]

I think you and shadows are drinking from the same pond...

Shhh, (in a whispered tone) he thinks he's an alien.

[rhymnrzn]

I think you and shadows are drinking from the same pond...

Sorry I couldn't win you over by speaking from the heart, there Hoss.  Maybe God Almighty will be gracious to send you a messenger that speaks and writes so perfectly that you need not to even blurt out, for all the shortage of speaking the truth and preparing the way among these who chime in, where you also take your leave, joining headlong with a generation of vipers, and the sons of Babylon.

The Artist, your equivocation convinced me of nothing, but that you justify shortchanging the true Bible-based Christian fellowship, which your "good works" cannot exempt you from, and your "God-given gifts" cannot purchase a lot in place of.  And that for good and righteous reasons.

So, who's next to give evidence that they bless the covetous, and are in league to make merchandise out of living souls?

[Hoss]

sorry i couldn't win you over by speaking from the heart, there hoss.  maybe God Almighty will be gracious to send you a messenger that speaks and writes so perfectly that you need not to even blurt out, for all the shortage of speaking the truth and preparing the way among these who chime in, where you also take your leave, joining headlong with a generation of vipers, and the sons of Babylon.

The Artist, your equivocation convinced me of nothing, but that you justify shortchanging the true Bible-based Christian fellowship, which your "good works" cannot exempt you from, and your "God-given gifts" cannot purchase a lot in place of.  And that for good and righteous reasons.

So, who who's next to give evidence that they bless the covetous, and are in league to make merchandise out of living souls?

That won't work on an agnostic theist, of which I am.  Preach to someone who will listen.  And I'm guessing you also believe the Universe started about 5,000 years ago?

[Red Arrow]

Sorry I couldn't win you over by speaking from the heart, there Hoss.  Maybe God Almighty will be gracious to send you a messenger

Maybe God will send you a messenger to enlighten you about reality.