7 ms·

TBH, someone at this age who has spent 25 years in a pipeline probably realizes that, unfortunately, no one in this market wants to hire older folks -- especial

TBH, someone at this age who has spent 25 years in a pipeline probably realizes that, unfortunately, no one in this market wants to hire older folks -- especially with no relevant experience.

manfredo 7y ago
"No relevant experience" is a highly pessimistic outlook. This man has demonstrated an ability to hold down a steady job for decades. That alone puts him ahead of many people that simply lack the ability to hold down a job. Working at an auto plant results in skills with with operating industrial machinery. After 25 years he's probably been put in a leadership position, or at least a mentorship position to train new hires. This demonstrates good communication and teamwork ability. He may have much better prospects if he expands his skills by learning a trade. Someone who worked in an auto plant for 25 years is probably a good candidate to become a construction worker, plumber, escalator repairman, etc. Another big elephant in the room is location. It looks like he still lives in Lordstown Ohio. Employment prospects will be drastically better if he moves. It's harder to move with families but not impossible. I moved 3 times (each of them across national borders, no less) when I was a kid and while its hard to settle down in a new place it expanded my worldview and likely made a better person in the long run. The sort of static mentality I talk about earlier also applies to moving. People put their self-worth in their location and hamper their employment opportunities by refusing to move. The subtext of one of the images reads: "Mr. Marsh with his wife, Lindsay, and their daughter, Abigail. The Marshes have spent years fighting to get Abigail services in Ohio. Moving would be wrenching." It doesn't actually say that their daughter's cerebral palsy is preventing them from moving. I doubt it would be harder to get services in an economically vibrant location with more tax funds for services, as compared to Lordstown Ohio. The fact that they "spent years fighting to get Abigail services in Ohio" seems to drive this home. Overall I would be much more sympathetic if the author spent their words explaining how Rick has tried to find employment in other fields, has tried to find apprenticeships or trade school education, and is willing to move across the country but still can't find a job then I would be drastically more sympathetic. As it stands, the piece can be summed up as, "laid off auto worker who doesn't search for jobs in different fields and isn't willing to move has trouble finding employment and blames NAFTA and Democrats for his situation". It's clear the author wants to paint a sympathetic picture, but it reads like a pardoy.
- bluGill 7y ago
  Getting help is tricky. States with good programs don't want freeloaders to move in. They often require you to be a resident for a while before they will help you - the idea being if you come with the intent of not being a freeloader and something happens it is bad luck. It isn't unheard of for states to pay to move someone to a different state just so they to get that person out of their system. I can see both sides, Mr. Marsh is caught in the middle.
  - manfredo 7y ago
    > States with good programs don't want freeloaders to move in. They often require you to be a resident for a while before they will help you - the idea being if you come with the intent of not being a freeloader and something happens it is bad luck. I've only heard of this for university tuition. If a student starts university in a state school, and their parents move to the state they have to pay out of state tuition for 2 years. States with good programs are usually liberal ones with high taxes. Discriminating on the basis of origin for disability services seems like a good way to piss off liberal voters. If you can find documentation to demonstrate that someone with cerebral palsy would be denied services because they moved there from out of state, I'm all ears, but I find this claim is dubious. > It isn't unheard of for states to pay to move someone to a different state just so they to get that person out of their system. This would help him move.
    - bluGill 7y ago
      Each state is different. There are 50 of them with different programs and rules. States are changing their rules all the time. Depending on the destination state he might or might not have problems. It is a consideration he unfortunately has to face.
  - dragonwriter 7y ago
    > It isn't unheard of for states to pay to move someone to a different state just so they to get that person out of their system. It isn't unheard of for states to involuntarily ship people to other states for that purpose, either.

TBH, someone at this age who has spent 25 years in a pipeline probably realizes that, unfortunately, no one in this market wants to hire older folks -- especially with no relevant experience.

manfredo 7y ago

"No relevant experience" is a highly pessimistic outlook. This man has demonstrated an ability to hold down a steady job for decades. That alone puts him ahead of many people that simply lack the ability to hold down a job. Working at an auto plant results in skills with with operating industrial machinery. After 25 years he's probably been put in a leadership position, or at least a mentorship position to train new hires. This demonstrates good communication and teamwork ability. He may have much better prospects if he expands his skills by learning a trade. Someone who worked in an auto plant for 25 years is probably a good candidate to become a construction worker, plumber, escalator repairman, etc. Another big elephant in the room is location. It looks like he still lives in Lordstown Ohio. Employment prospects will be drastically better if he moves. It's harder to move with families but not impossible. I moved 3 times (each of them across national borders, no less) when I was a kid and while its hard to settle down in a new place it expanded my worldview and likely made a better person in the long run. The sort of static mentality I talk about earlier also applies to moving. People put their self-worth in their location and hamper their employment opportunities by refusing to move. The subtext of one of the images reads: "Mr. Marsh with his wife, Lindsay, and their daughter, Abigail. The Marshes have spent years fighting to get Abigail services in Ohio. Moving would be wrenching." It doesn't actually say that their daughter's cerebral palsy is preventing them from moving. I doubt it would be harder to get services in an economically vibrant location with more tax funds for services, as compared to Lordstown Ohio. The fact that they "spent years fighting to get Abigail services in Ohio" seems to drive this home. Overall I would be much more sympathetic if the author spent their words explaining how Rick has tried to find employment in other fields, has tried to find apprenticeships or trade school education, and is willing to move across the country but still can't find a job then I would be drastically more sympathetic. As it stands, the piece can be summed up as, "laid off auto worker who doesn't search for jobs in different fields and isn't willing to move has trouble finding employment and blames NAFTA and Democrats for his situation". It's clear the author wants to paint a sympathetic picture, but it reads like a pardoy.

bluGill 7y ago
Getting help is tricky. States with good programs don't want freeloaders to move in. They often require you to be a resident for a while before they will help you - the idea being if you come with the intent of not being a freeloader and something happens it is bad luck. It isn't unheard of for states to pay to move someone to a different state just so they to get that person out of their system. I can see both sides, Mr. Marsh is caught in the middle.
- manfredo 7y ago
  > States with good programs don't want freeloaders to move in. They often require you to be a resident for a while before they will help you - the idea being if you come with the intent of not being a freeloader and something happens it is bad luck. I've only heard of this for university tuition. If a student starts university in a state school, and their parents move to the state they have to pay out of state tuition for 2 years. States with good programs are usually liberal ones with high taxes. Discriminating on the basis of origin for disability services seems like a good way to piss off liberal voters. If you can find documentation to demonstrate that someone with cerebral palsy would be denied services because they moved there from out of state, I'm all ears, but I find this claim is dubious. > It isn't unheard of for states to pay to move someone to a different state just so they to get that person out of their system. This would help him move.
  - bluGill 7y ago
    Each state is different. There are 50 of them with different programs and rules. States are changing their rules all the time. Depending on the destination state he might or might not have problems. It is a consideration he unfortunately has to face.
- dragonwriter 7y ago
  > It isn't unheard of for states to pay to move someone to a different state just so they to get that person out of their system. It isn't unheard of for states to involuntarily ship people to other states for that purpose, either.