Bert Dirschell
Centertown
Dear Editor:
Why is the federal government spending 2.4 times (per capita, inflation adjusted) for Medicaid and “Other Means Tested Entitlements” than it did a generation ago, 1992, when unemployment had averaged 7.1 percent from 1975-91? Why is it spending 12.2 times what it did two generations ago, 1967, when unemployment was slightly higher than it is today?
The December 2018 unemployment rate was 3.9 percent. We currently have over 7 million unfilled jobs in the U.S. We grant tens of thousands of work visas every year, to fill high-paying jobs, because citizens are unwilling to make the effort to gain the skills required for these jobs. Why are so few willing to make the effort to gain the training necessary to fill these jobs?
A Dec. 30 NT article stated that there are 789 correctional officer vacancies in Missouri. Starting salary for a Corrections Officer I position ranges from $27,336 to $43,776. Benefits are the equivalent of three 40-hour week vacations per year, the equivalent of 15 eight-hour paid sick days per year, free life insurance, partially paid health insurance, etc. Why would long-term unemployed Missourians rather subsist on “free stuff” than take a job with a minimum starting salary of $27,336 and great benefits. Even if a person didn’t want to stay in such a job it would allow them to support themselves while they improved their skill-set to qualify for a better job.
In a 2010 report the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) stated that the U.S. spent more on education than any other nation in the report. What do we get for our money? A Trends in International Mathematics and Science study says that U.S. fourth-graders are 11th in the world in math, eighth-graders are ranked ninth. The Program for International Student Assessment found that U.S. 15-year-olds ranked 31st in math literacy. Our 15-year-olds actually averaged below the international average!
The problem is lack of motivation. Why bother with the effort to make the most of educational opportunities when Sugar Daddy Uncle Sam will be standing at the door with cash handouts to feed, house and provide health care for me, my kids, etc.