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Do We Really Need a Program for Summer Jobs?

Hey, I have an idea for how the president can boost youth employment: instead of urging “corporations, nonprofits, and government to hire at least 250,000 teens this summer,” how about we send illegal aliens home and stop importing scores of thousands of foreign students for summer jobs?

New on The Corner. . .


COMMENTS   26

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   01/05/12 22:54

There was no more room for After School Programs.

Besides, the smartest guy in the room himself said, "I want to talk about stuff people are interested in, like programs and stuff."

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   01/05/12 23:11

It sounds like Obama's approach is working. From the article:

"So far the Obama administration says it has received commitments from such companies as AT&T, Bank of America, and CVS/Caremark to hire 180,000 youthful workers this summer..."

And re:immigration:
"Since 2009, the annual average number of deportations has approached 400,000, according to the Department of Homeland Security. That’s double the annual average during President George W. Bush’s first term and 30 percent higher than the average when he left office."

External Link 

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RichBarnett
   01/05/12 23:16

Obama should encourage these aspiring young capitalists to open summer lemonade stands.

Then all the fines collected from closing down those greedy non permit filing capitalists can subsidize midnight basketball everywhere.

"hey mrs. Smith, need any yardwork done?"

"are you licensed and insured, bobby??"

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   01/05/12 23:38

Is the author calling for mass deportation of illegal immigrants?

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 Dave
   01/06/12 08:16

First try clicking on his link to understand what the author is talking about.

In a word: no, jeez.

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 cab
   01/05/12 23:42

And lose all those "registered" Dem voters? Not gonna happen.

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   01/05/12 23:48

The problem with that suggestion is that any old high graduate could figure it out.

It isn't complex, doesn't require a Harvard Law degree, doesn't require thousands of new bureaucrats to administer it, and doesn't involve a thousand page bill in which you can bury billions of dollars in bribes, kickback, and pork.

And worst of all, it's an un-post-American attitude to have.

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   01/06/12 00:33

Illegal immigrants aren't the reason for the current youth unemployment rates. Historically, the efficiency of teenage employees has been significantly behind that of older ones (which is only a natural conclusion). Combined with the significant uptick in costs associated with hiring (particularly on minimum wage and part-time employees... thanks, Obamacare), the almost inevitable result was a surge in youth unemployment (higher regulatory costs => impetus for seeking out more highly-skilled workers).

If you want to make moral or even legal arguments against current immigration policies, fine. But don't conflate either with real, economic analyses. Because when you look at the raw data directly, you have to take everything into account. Including the tangible benefits of cheap labor sources.

The single biggest hurdle towards youth employment is the state of crippling regulation coming out of Washington. That's it.

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Grass roots C
   01/06/12 02:02

Obama's hypocrisy on this is stunning, but of course the media won't call him on it.

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RichBarnett
   01/06/12 02:04

Obama should encourage these aspiring young capitalists to open summer lemonade stands.

Then all the fines collected from closing down those greedy non permit filing capitalists can subsidize midnight basketball everywhere.

"hey mrs. Smith, need any yardwork done?"

"are you licensed and insured, bobby??"

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   01/06/12 03:46

Republicans are always whining about how there are so many jobs for those "welfare cheats" to take. Now there aren't so many jobs? Get your spin straight people.

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   01/06/12 04:43

Liberals like this moonbat are always confusing republicans with conservatives. Like all religious fanatics, they only see "us" and "them."

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   01/06/12 06:25

Democrats are always whining, period. Cue Hughman...

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 EBL
   01/06/12 05:39

That was an awesome article and I linked it and expanded on it. The links to your article were really informative and as they say...read the whole thing.

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Sunnyside
   01/06/12 06:58

Now here's something I can get behind.

Not the idea that the President isn't doing enough to deport illegals, because every number says that deportations are up drastically, but this overseas recruitment of cheap summer labor is definitely objectionable.

I used to rent a house on the Jersey Shore every August and our first stop would be at the grocery store to stock up and every single cashier in the place was Eastern European and brought in for the summer. That bugged me to no end.

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   01/06/12 11:09

As Mr. Krikorian pointed out recently, the deportation numbers are questionable.

External Link 

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 Bugg
   01/06/12 07:36

There was a time until the 1980s that American companies did just that-hired teens, college kids and working poor to do those jobs. And without a governmenr program. Amazing what happens when the government stops knocking out rungs on the wage scale for voters (in the Dems case, they hope someday soon) and cheap labor (as big business crorny cap GOPers now hope).

When Bush Jr. talked about "jobs Americans won't do" and Rove chimed in with awfulness of his kids changing sheets in Vegas hotels, I knew they and the GOP establishment were a bunch of idiots. I peeled potatoes, bussed tables, worked fast food counters and washed dishes. zIwas not alone. Everyone I grew up with worked 15-20 hours during the week, and more during summer and breaks. Working a low level job was a better learning experience than any classroom education, including law school.

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CherylD
   01/06/12 08:43

Why don't we lower the minimum wage, if hiring teenagers is so important? I think the unpaid internship is one response to the minimum wage being too high to justify paying to an unskilled teenager. Then the kid loses out on earning a paycheck and all of the good things that come with that.

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   01/06/12 08:49

"scores of thousands" is the most awkwardly worded phrase I've read today. Why not just write the actual number?

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   01/06/12 11:05

If it weren’t for Lincoln, the word "score" would likely have died out as a counting term.

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