Pew poll: 93% of non-working Americans don't want to work

We're doomed unless this changes. America is becoming a predominant welfare society. People actually think the government/taxpayers owe them.

I'm working and I don't want to work.

Let's look at it another way.

What are their reasons why they do not want to work?

Why have they given up?

And what, if any, changes to society or environment would motivate these people to work?

Simply taking any financial support away from them does not solve anything, it only makes things more desparate, not does not improve the situation.

Lets look at some ideas.

Better wages...and lower cost of living with respect to those wages.

Work environment, location, and worker's rights...unions..and benefits. I am sorry but those days of workers having to slave away in sweatshops living in poverty while the slavemaster boss takes 95% of all profits is not looked at favorably anymore.

Workers are our fellow Americans, regardless where they came from, and it would be a disservice to our country to treat fellow Americans as if they do not matter. They derserve dignity and respect.

On the job training..certfication..and or retraining...for anyone not qualified or underqualified....with perhaps a binding contract to the loyalty of the company to prevent unduly staff turnover.

4 in 10 Americans, or 92 million is not an individual problem. It is a problem with society that needs to be addressed on that level.

Aside from that, it is just my personal belief that anyone living in poverty should not pay any taxes whatsoever...

And if I made a million dollars a year, I would be happy with having to pay 40, 50, or 70 thousand dollars a year in taxes. That would actually put me in a much more favourable tax bracket than what I am in now.

When 4 out of 10 Americans do not want to work, America as a whole would need to make some changes.

Now in reality, no changes may happen at all....People will continue to just point the finger and blame them....but if someone is not part of the answer, that someone may be part of the problem...

..and perhaps....this is where the problem really lies.

How do people who don't work support themselves?

NightHawkeye said:

Work is the joy of life.

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Your life, maybe.

It's your opportunity to contribute to your fellow man.

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Really? I assumed work was done in order to buy the things needed to survive or have any sort of material comfort. Who knew you had such lofty ideas about the nature of work?

Ophanim said:

Let's look at it another way.

What are their reasons why they do not want to work?

Why have they given up?

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I think a large part of it is cultural. So many people have gotten so used to being taken care of that they think they're entitled to unearned benefits. Add to that the fact that so many people see so many other people getting away with it that they feel like they're being taken advantage of.

As someone once said, "Get all the free stuff you can."

one of the first commandments broken, even forgotten, and blatantly opposed, is "work" !

since society and the groups of religious folk(high and low and in between) have forgotten ,

what's anyone regular folk supposed to do ? how they gonna leran ? (p.s. they don't, mostly)

NightHawkeye said:

Nearly 40% of Americans simply don't want to work: Giving up: 40% women, 28% men, 39% youth don't want a job

Nearly four in 10 Americans, or 92 million, are not in the labor force and now there’s a reason why: They have simply given up and don’t want to work.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the largest group of people not in the labor force are those who don’t want a job, a remarkable statement on the nation’s work ethic.​

The sobering statistic fits right in with the 51% of households which pay no federal income tax.

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It's fine with me if people don't want to work. It is not fine with me that the government uses my money to support them

More than 93% of working people I know don't want to work.

I've had steady work for over 15 years now, and I mostly enjoy what I do.

But I'd rather use the time for something else, like traveling.

NightHawkeye said:

Nearly 40% of Americans simply don't want to work: Giving up: 40% women, 28% men, 39% youth don't want a job

Nearly four in 10 Americans, or 92 million, are not in the labor force and now there’s a reason why: They have simply given up and don’t want to work.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the largest group of people not in the labor force are those who don’t want a job, a remarkable statement on the nation’s work ethic.​

The sobering statistic fits right in with the 51% of households which pay no federal income tax.

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Veritas said:

We're doomed unless this changes. America is becoming a predominant welfare society. People actually think the government/taxpayers owe them.

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NightHawkeye said:

Work is the joy of life.

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According to Genesis it's a curse brought on by the fall of man. For a small slice of the population work might be meaningful, for most people it's not. Nor are exchanges built upon demand of payment acts of service.

Adam and Eve tended the garden before the Fall. It was the changes due to the Fall that made work less than a joy.
Work is nevertheless a value. There is honor in making a living by the sweat of one's brow and a loss of dignity by living off of the sweat of the brow of another.

As has been said, work is a curse. The "work ethic" is also an evil thing, and not a good thing.

People need to learn to be content with less instead of striving for more.

Unsurprisingly, when you look at an analysis of the actual research, the analysis is far less dire:

More and more Americans are outside the labor force entirely. Who are they? | Pew Research Center

Of the people not in the labor force,
58.2% are 55 and older.
39.4% are 16-24 (i.e. high school-college age)

People 55 and over do, as you might expect, account for more than half of the 85.9 million adults (as of October) who say they don’t want a job — about the same percentage as in 2000. But the 16-to-24 share has edged higher, while the 25-to-54 share has slipped. That could reflect more young adults staying in or returning to school rather than chancing a tough job market.

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The idea that this is because people are looking for a handout is not supported by the data.

elliott95 said:

Adam and Eve tended the garden before the Fall. It was the changes due to the Fall that made work less than a joy.
Work is nevertheless a value. There is honor in making a living by the sweat of one's brow and a loss of dignity by living off of the sweat of the brow of another.

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Okay, so when millions of people are thrown out of work by automation they should what, starve to death and be happy about it?

AztecSDSU said:

Okay, so when millions of people are thrown out of work by automation they should what, starve to death and be happy about it?

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Why the need for the automation in the first place?

AztecSDSU said:

According to Genesis it's a curse brought on by the fall of man. For a small slice of the population work might be meaningful, for most people it's not. Nor are exchanges built upon demand of payment acts of service.

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elliott95 said:

Adam and Eve tended the garden before the Fall. It was the changes due to the Fall that made work less than a joy.
Work is nevertheless a value. There is honor in making a living by the sweat of one's brow and a loss of dignity by living off of the sweat of the brow of another.

Click to expand...

AztecSDSU said:

Okay, so when millions of people are thrown out of work by automation they should what, starve to death and be happy about it?

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For the zillions of people thrown out of work by automation and who are starving, suffice it to say that they would regard work as a blessing and not a curse.

And for them to do their job well, if the opportunity ever should arise, they would do well to regard their work as an honor and a blessing, and in valuing it, become a valuable asset to the employer that took a chance on hiring them in the first place.