Working Poor and Young Hit Hard in Downturn

[groovedaddy]

PHILADELPHIA — Harvey Shaw’s plans to move out of his parents’ house, finally, have been derailed. With a high school degree obtained belatedly at 21, he had held a full-time job for 26 months as a detailer at a car dealership here, sprucing up new and used cars.

But in early October, Mr. Shaw, now 24, recalled, “I came back from vacation, and they said they were cutting back and replacing me with part-time workers.”

Labor experts say the hardships of the gathering recession are sweeping down to hurt the working poor and younger job seekers most of all.

From the fall of 2007 to this October, the share of 16- to 19-year-olds working fell by 8 percent, the largest decline of any age group, and the outlook for youths and low-skilled workers in coming months is bleak, economists say, with the industries most apt to employ them, like home-building and retail sales, taking steep dives.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/09/us/09young.html?th&emc=th

[shireen]

1. heartbreaking

If you have a job and some financial security, please try to do more to help. It could be in the form of regular donations to organizations that run food pantries, soup kitchens, job retraining programs, low-income housing programs, pet shelters, and such. Try to put some money into local organizations. Screen the organizations you want to help to make sure that they using the money efficiently and with care. For instance, I refuse to donate to any organization with large overheads (amount depends on how much money they get) and with a CEO that makes more than $200k. There are a few charity watchdog groups that have useful information:
http://www.charitynavigator.org/
http://www.charitywatch.org/
http://www.give.org

The real spirit of giving comes from understanding that all of us are threads of a larger fabric. The strength of that fabric depends on the strength of the individual threads. We may give out of compassion, empathy, and generosity. But we should also recognize that it is in our own self-interest to help others in trouble, simply because their strength is our strength. Weak threads cause tears in the fabric, ultimately leading to its destruction.

[curse of greyface]

2. Not to mention overqualified workers newly laid off taking those remaining jobs.