The Gray Ceiling: The truth about Age Discrimination
September 20th, 2010 . by TexasFred‘Great Recession’ over, research group says
The “Great Recession” has ended, officially.
At least, that’s the word from the private research organization that calls the beginnings and endings of recessions, the National Bureau of Economic Research.
The NBER said Monday that the recession which began in December 2007 ended in June 2009, which marked the beginning of an expansion. The announcement rules out the possibility of a so-called “double-dip” recession, because any new downturn would be seen as a brand new recession.
President Barack Obama said that even though the NBER officially named an end to the recession, the economy has a long way to go and much work to be done to become healthy again. “Something that took ten years to create is going to take a little more time to solve,” Obama said at a town-hall-style meeting shown live on CNBC.
Full Story Here:
‘Great Recession’ over, research group says
That’s marvelous news. Simply marvelous.
The stocks are UP, the Dow Jones is at 105.31 as of 12:30PM today. Standards and Poors and NASDAQ are up appreciably as well. For once I can almost agree with Barack Hussein Obama’s statement, “Something that took ten years to create is going to take a little more time to solve,”
What he meant was, ‘It’s Bush’s fault’, he just didn’t come out and say it.
Obama is partially correct though, it is going to take some time to resolve this mess, I’d say sometime in January of 2013 would be a good target date, that being the time that hopefully we have a CONSERVATIVE Congress, Senate and White House!
So, as we read the We can ALL feel good the recession is over report, we get this:
‘The new unemployables’: Workers over 50
VASHON ISLAND, Wash. — Patricia Reid is not in her 70s, an age when many Americans continue to work. She is not even in her 60s. She is just 57.
But four years after losing her job she cannot, in her darkest moments, escape a nagging thought: she may never work again.
College educated, with a degree in business administration, she is experienced, having worked for two decades as an internal auditor and analyst at Boeing before losing that job.
A growing number of people in their 50s and 60s who desperately want or need to work to pay for retirement are starting to worry that they may be discarded from the work force forever.
Full Story Here:
‘The new unemployables’: Workers over 50
There’s not supposed to be ANY discrimination regarding American workers and their right to employment, regardless of age, race, color, religion, sex, disability or national origin. We have LAWS to that affect. SOURCE
Sounds real good on paper, too bad it’s not a reality.
There is a ‘gray ceiling‘ regarding the hiring of older Americans.
I personally know a lady that is incredibly well qualified. She has a college education, she is highly experienced as a load planner, dispatcher, office manager, safety manager and in every other aspect of the trucking and transportation industry.
She even holds a valid Class *A* Commercial Drivers License.
She has been employed in the trucking industry for 39 years and is very well qualified.
Now, here’s the truth about age discrimination. She’s about to turn 60. She gets called in for an interview(s) and they see this gray haired woman and that’s about as far as it gets.
Qualifications and experience go right out the window once you pass the age of 60. As you approach 60, it’s nearly impossible to compete with the younger, and in most cases, far less experienced individuals in the job market.
The interviewer won’t say, ‘Well, were looking for someone a little younger‘, they can’t DO that, it is against the law. What they can say is, ‘Thank you, we’ll get back to you‘. Yeah, right…
Age discrimination, and many other forms of discrimination (silent discrimination) aren’t supposed to exist in this new and modern world, but they do.
Beware the “Gray Commandos”.
Discrimination is common practice for being human. We each have likes and dislikes. The problem is how overwhelming age discrimination really is. Companies are usually looking to hire long term. They are looking for an employee that will be beneficial to the company for ten or more years. A person 58 or older is not a long term candidate and will often be removed from the pile.
This short sited view of hiring is one of the reasons many companies perform so poorly. You are denying employment to the most resourceful, highest experienced, best work ethical group of employees. How could you be looking at success if you are willing to compromise in any one of those areas? Why compromise when you have the best applicant right there?
She’s right; it’s not just age discrimination in the 70s; it’s in the 50s as well.
Everyone has to be somewhere, at a time when the FEDERAL government is INSISTING that workers KEEP working PAST 65.
Nice to do, except employers don’t want old people or persons whose wage rate is high because of the long years they’ve already put into a given job.
They want younger workers to whom they can pay an entry wage.
But on top of that, even young people aren’t getting hired. This summer has been the worst for young employment on record.
Why? Because businesses are hedging their bets, knowing they’re going to be royally SHAFTED come January 1st of 2011 with regard to taxes. They also know they’re going to get royally SHAFTED with regard to ObakaKare AND they know they’re going to get royally SHAFTED if CapNTax comes around.
So WHY invest money now, expand your business or hire employees when you can’t even BEGIN to predict what’s going to become of you or your business a few mere months from now?
Think about it: no SANE businessman would do that, in this environment, unless he or she simply has money to burn.
Obama’s full of SHIT. The economy is not getting any better. Just ask someone who pays wages and pays taxes.
BZ
I knew people in their 40′s who could NOT find a job in 1965!!!!
Age is Age. That’s it.
I have no answers.
Yeah, discrimination is pretty hard to prove. But even if it is true, what difference does it make? Seems to me it is the employer’s right to decide who to hire as much as it is the employee’s right to decide where to work.
All things being equal, I’m against discrimination in employment. On the other hand, I believe that a private business has the absolute right to hire whomsoever they want to hire. So I have no answers either. I guess geezers like me need to have more & better skills than the young guns, and a better rap when it comes to the job interview.
All this equal opportunity laws BS is just that, BS…
It’s not discrimination if you don’t say the *old, fat, homo, ethnicity* words…
The recession ended in June 2009? I don’t see much evidence of that in my circles.
Of course, many in my circle of friends are over 50.
And even those younger than 50 are struggling to find a way to pay for their kids’ college education. Those pre-paid college funds took a real hit.
Everyone knows business needs youth, they also need experience. With age comes problems and benefits. The older we are the more health problems we will face. Some companies understand the value of an older employee some don’t. We just hired an older guy, he’s around 53 or so. BUT he’s an electrician. He has skills. Companies need skilled workers if they are still trying to be competitive.
I really hate the age discrimination issue but it happens. When it happens there are very few avenues of retribution. Now if you are Gay, Black, Mexican, or handicapped you have all kinds of help…
Is the recession “over” because the economy can’t get any worse than it already is? After all, the temperature can no longer drop after it reaches absolute zero!
I have over thirty years’ experience in IT, including some recent certifications, and I have not been able to get any work in that field for two and a half years. For the past six years, we have cut our expenses to the bone. We do not owe money.
I am currently working part-time as a retail clerk. That job does not bring in enough money to make ends meet. We may have to emigrate to a foreign country in order to survive.