“不工作造福全人类”，现在是一句流行的口头禅，为吾等游手好闲之辈制造舆论与理论基础。类似论调的书也常在书店看到。“勤奋工作”的value受到挑战。
………………
from july 31，2006 the new york times
ROCK FALLS, Ill. — Alan Beggerow has stopped looking for work. Laid off as a steelworker at 48, he taught math for a while at a community college. But when that ended, he could not find a job that, in his view, was neither demeaning nor underpaid.
So instead of heading to work, Mr. Beggerow, now 53, fills his days with diversions: playing the piano, reading histories and biographies, writing unpublished Western potboilers in the Louis L’Amour style — all activities once relegated to spare time. He often stays up late and sleeps until 11 a.m.
“I have come to realize that my free time is worth a lot to me,” he said. To make ends meet, he has tapped the equity in his home through a $30,000 second mortgage, and he is drawing down the family’s savings, at the rate of $7,500 a year. About $60,000 is left. His wife’s income helps them scrape by. “If things really get tight,” Mr. Beggerow said, “I might have to take a low-wage job, but I don’t want to do that.”
Millions of men like Mr. Beggerow — men in the prime of their lives, between 30 and 55 — have dropped out of regular work. They are turning down jobs they think beneath them or are unable to find work for which they are qualified, even as an expanding economy offers opportunities to work.
About 13 percent of American men in this age group are not working, up from 5 percent in the late 1960’s. The difference represents 4 million men who would be working today if the employment rate had remained where it was in the 1950’s and 60’s.
Most of these missing men are, like Mr. Beggerow, former blue-collar workers with no more than a high school education. But their ranks are growing at all education and income levels. Refugees of failed Internet businesses have spent years out of work during their 30’s, while former managers in their late 40’s are trying to stretch severance packages and savings all the way to retirement.
Accumulated savings can make dropping out more affordable at the upper end than it is for Mr. Beggerow, but the dynamic is often the same — the loss of a career and of a sense that one’s work is valued.
“These are men forced to compete to get back into the work force, and even then they cannot easily reconstruct what many lost in a former job,” said Thomas A. Kochan, a labor and management expert at the Sloan School of Management at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “So they stop trying.”
Many of these men could find work if they had to, but with lower pay and fewer benefits than they once earned, and they have decided they prefer the alternative. It is a significant cultural shift from three decades ago, when men almost invariably went back into the work force after losing a job and were more often able to find a new one that met their needs.
“To be honest, I’m kind of looking for the home run,” said Christopher Priga, who is 54 and has not had steady work since he lost a job with a six-figure income as an electrical engineer at Xerox in 2002. “There’s no point in hitting for base hits,” he explained. “I’ve been down the road where I did all the things I was supposed to do, and the end result of that is nil.”
Instead, Mr. Priga supports himself by borrowing against the rising value of his Los Angeles home. Other men fall back on wives or family members.
But the fastest growing source of help is a patchwork system of government support, the main one being federal disability insurance, which is financed by Social Security payroll taxes. The disability stipends range up to $1,000 a month and, after the first two years, Medicare kicks in, giving access to health insurance that for many missing men no longer comes with the low-wage jobs available to them.
No federal entitlement program is growing as quickly, with more than 6.5 million men and women now receiving monthly disability payments, up from 3 million in 1990. About 25 percent of the missing men are collecting this insurance.
The ailments that qualify them are usually real, like back pain, heart trouble or mental illness. But in some cases, the illnesses are not so serious that they would prevent people from working if a well-paying job with benefits were an option.
The disability program, in turn, is an obstacle to working again. Taking a job holds the risk of demonstrating that one can earn a living and is thus no longer entitled to the monthly payments. But staying out of work has consequences. Skills deteriorate, along with the desire for a paying job and the habits that it requires.
“The longer you stay on disability benefits,” said Martin H. Gerry, deputy commissioner for disability and income security at the Social Security Administration, “the longer you’re out of the work force, the less likely you are to go back to work.”
- Re: 瓒婃潵瓒婂鐨勭編鍥戒腑骞翠汉鏀惧純宸ヤ綔posted on 08/02/2006
说这种话的人都属于站着说话不腰疼的。这种人的家庭其他成员一定必须努力工作，挣钱养家。金钱不是万能的，但没有钱是万万不能的。 - Re: 瓒婃潵瓒婂鐨勭編鍥戒腑骞翠汉鏀惧純宸ヤ綔posted on 08/02/2006
是的，美国不工作的人很多，无论夏日度假还是冬日滑雪，都是人满
为患的。盛夏，河湖海面上的小船、大船、帆船也数不清。
可是整天玩，吃得胖胖得也没有什么意思。
工作，也不要太辛苦的，玩，也不能太轻松的，对么？
玛雅好好倒时差，呼吸空气。 - posted on 08/03/2006
现在看见lunch hour 以外时间闲逛的人就羡慕。 以前在国内没课不到校， 随便逛， 现在不行了， 8小时坐班。
工作这种东西并不是自古就有的。 工作是出卖劳动力， 是后来的产物。 过去自给自足经济的时代， 自己种东西卖， 做小买卖， 都不叫工作， 因为你可以想停就停， 根据自己的需要。那跟艺术家差不多。 现在工作成了一种体制， 人在其中异化， 创造的财富大多数填进了少数人的腰包。个人则被工资制度，退休制度限制得很死。
最近美国讨论提高最低工资， 有的人反对。最低工资的概念是保护劳工， 可是也会被滥用成“最高工资参考值”。那些在田里劳动的移民， 商店里收钱的人， 大部分都是最低工资或者往上走50%了不起了。如果没有工作这种体制，而是自己给自己做， 同等的劳动强度和时间也许带给他们的不只是每小时5-8块钱。就因为这些人没有自己的生产资料， 他们的劳动变成了为他人工作。因为这是一个劳动力买方市场， 买方可以压低价钱，最后政府不得不弄一个最低工资。 免得太不像样。有了这个最低工资作参考， 买方可以堂皇地限制提高工资的程度。他们可以把最低工资解释成decent pay， 那么多给点就是 extradecent 了。
如果说过去， 比如中世纪，自己给自己劳动是到树林子里去打打满地跑的野兔子充饥， 现在的工作就是去面对吃人的老虎狮子。由于垄断的结果，老虎狮子的数量不多而要吃饭的猎人很多，所以你的猎枪必须比别人的好。你的猎枪就是教育背景或者工作技能训练，外加怎么写履历，怎么应付面试。弄不好你不但猎不着老虎狮子，反而被咬一口。
- Re: 瓒婃潵瓒婂鐨勭編鍥戒腑骞翠汉鏀惧純宸ヤ綔posted on 08/03/2006
xw wrote:
是的，美国不工作的人很多，无论夏日度假还是冬日滑雪，都是人满
为患的。盛夏，河湖海面上的小船、大船、帆船也数不清。
可是整天玩，吃得胖胖得也没有什么意思。
工作，也不要太辛苦的，玩，也不能太轻松的，对么？
玛雅好好倒时差，呼吸空气。
整天没工作，游手好闲，好累啊！这个暑假我可体会到了。再这样下去，书都要读不进去了。玛雅还在逍遥吗？ - Re: 瓒婃潵瓒婂鐨勭編鍥戒腑骞翠汉鏀惧純宸ヤ綔posted on 08/03/2006
A-Shan: 已从一个旧书店，买了你所推荐的所有的书。谢谢你。
趁有空，多到咖啡店转转。或者是贴点照片。 :-)
阿姗 wrote:
再这样下去，书都要读不进去了。玛雅还在逍遥吗？ - posted on 08/03/2006
俺以前有个老美朋友,就因为跟老板有那么一点过结，就辞职回家了。太太在美联社当个无名小记者，挣不了几个钱。他在家带两个小女孩，一家人日子照样过的甜甜蜜蜜的。他们曾经在《北京周报》当过外籍编辑，主要是给中国人写的文章润色之类的。虽然挣钱不多，他们还是周游世界，时不时去亚洲、非洲、欧洲旅游一下，风光得很。他们以前也做过美国和平队，有一笔退休金。
太太上班，老公在家也没有闲着。他艺术造诣很不错，把家里重新改造了一遍，艺术色彩很浓。
我们公司有一个直销点就设在总部。两个月前我的手机坏了，去更换。有个老白销售员见了我，居然跟我说起一口流利的中国话。我十分吃惊。他说他真想去中国，才学中文的。他问我，昆明好不好，他有一个朋友在那边鼓励他去。我问去做什么，他说不知道。我说，昆明是飞虎队的老家，四季如春。他兴奋之极，决意辞职去中国。
老白男人就这么潇洒。
俺也想潇洒过，可是永远不敢下那个决心。 - posted on 08/03/2006
lucy wrote:
A-Shan: 已从一个旧书店，买了你所推荐的所有的书。谢谢你。
趁有空，多到咖啡店转转。或者是贴点照片。 :-)
天啊，买了这么多书！哪个旧书店这么好？我自从“退休”搬到海边，找不到好的旧书店。据说以前这里有个很著名的旧书店，either/or，不久前消失了。很怀念以前的大学城，书店一个连一个，夏天街头还有人天天摆摊买精品 paperbacks，$2 一本。现在只好读书架上的书了。这几天在看 Edith Wharton 的 The Age of Innocence，真真是好看，又是名著，又适合夏天读。
每天都来这里转的，觉得自言自语的时间太多了，不好意思发言。你喜欢读书，我们应该多谈谈书。 - Re: 瓒婃潵瓒婂鐨勭編鍥戒腑骞翠汉鏀惧純宸ヤ綔posted on 08/03/2006
I am reading Chinese books right now and trying to refresh my Chinese.
You are a luck girl...
阿姗 wrote:我自从“退休”搬到海边.
- posted on 08/03/2006
KC wrote:
我们公司有一个直销点就设在总部。两个月前我的手机坏了，去更换。有个老白销售员见了我，居然跟我说起一口流利的中国话。我十分吃惊。他说他真想去中国，才学中文的。他问我，昆明好不好，他有一个朋友在那边鼓励他去。我问去做什么，他说不知道。我说，昆明是飞虎队的老家，四季如春。他兴奋之极，决意辞职去中国。
老白男人就这么潇洒。
俺也想潇洒过，可是永远不敢下那个决心。
这话有些谦虚了。想你当年出国一定也“潇洒”过，也下过决心、也辞过职、也象他一样学过外语。相信这儿的许多人也都有过类似的经历。
美国社会的好处之一，就是它的多样性。愿工作的工作，不愿工作也可不工作。愿勤奋行，愿“懒散”也行。在一定范围内，大家的生活水平、质量都相差不大。正因为我们尊重不同的多元价值观并视它们为等同，我们没有必要去刻意强调和追求某一特点的价值取向，认为“闲云野鹤”的生活一定比有计划有结构的生活更好，或反过来，以为没有职业的人是不务正业或“胸无大志”。
各种职业和各种生活方式都有其长短，我们应该对自己的选择有信心，也为别人的选择高兴与祝福。 - Re: 瓒婃潵瓒婂鐨勭編鍥戒腑骞翠汉鏀惧純宸ヤ綔posted on 08/04/2006
- Re: 瓒婃潵瓒婂鐨勭編鍥戒腑骞翠汉鏀惧純宸ヤ綔posted on 08/04/2006
Kevin, Are you in New Jersy? from Hubei? - Re: 瓒婃潵瓒婂鐨勭編鍥戒腑骞翠汉鏀惧純宸ヤ綔posted on 08/04/2006
Sorry, I'm not. - posted on 08/04/2006
wow，这个是不是来证过婚的那个kevin? 干脆来咖啡店”发挥余热”吧，咖啡店在筹划改版，您若懂网页设计以及网络安全系统管理，是否愿意出点力？
改版主要在增加音像方面，如插入电影片断、音乐等插件。大家一点就可以看影像，听到音乐，供咖啡友一起在咖啡店欣赏电影、音乐，开讨论会等。贴图片也要从一次贴一张发展到能一次贴5张。增加更多的互动功能。
也想加入聊天的功能。反正是想把网络设计最精华的技术应用上来。
具体事情，我会再开个帖子。
至于是否开婚友线，开找工作专区，要听听大家的意见。
咖啡店的访问量非常高，可以进一步开展其他工作了。
KEVIN wrote:
不瞒大家，我在一家名公司作满10年，2002年离职时步入中年。买掉麻州房净得55万，再加25万离职补偿， 共80万(免税)。跑到半乡下卖了15万的大大房子，50万放到共同基金和股票，15万过日子(一年只需3-5万，好日子)。三月中买掉所有投资， 180万 (AFTER TAX)， 百万富‘中年人’了。 已找了10个月的工作了，面谈全是猴子拿我开心的。唉，他妈的(SORRY)，世风不鼓，还是在家待着吧。本人有名校PHD 化工和MS 计算机学位。
不是吹牛，是虚构，请忽当真。 - Re: 瓒婃潵瓒婂鐨勭編鍥戒腑骞翠汉鏀惧純宸ヤ綔posted on 08/04/2006
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