It's sometimes hard to follow a radio article. You might tune in late, miss parts due to loud noises, not pay attention due to some driver cutting you off... So I'm guessing when I say that I heard an opinion piece on public radio this morning. Maybe it was supposed to be hard news? Either way, the gist of the article said that during the Carter administration, folks lost their jobs and got new jobs at a rate of about 3%. Today that rate is 2% which is an improvement. So the person on the radio wondered why people have the perception that 'lifetime' employment was available at some time in the past but is no longer available today. He said the media are responsible for promoting this myth.
At this point, I was outraged so I snapped off the radio. I'm easily outraged, as you know. Maybe he should go talk to folks in Detroit or Gary, Indiana or former textile and furniture workers here in the South or IT folks from Silicon Valley and the Northeast whose jobs have been and are being outsourced to India and China. And what's this idea of 'lifetime' employment? I'm not sure anyone ever expects that nor that they ever did. I've been laid off from a job - haven't you? In what way does the statistic cited measure that anyway? An annual turnover rate doesn't measure the number of people who have held jobs for a 'lifetime.' Who created this statistic and what exactly does it mean? I've contacted NPR to find out and I'll put the link here if they send it to me. The intent of the piece seemed to be to chastise the public for their perception that things are worse than they are - which sure sounds like rah rah government propaganda to me.
Update: NPR responded that the piece was neither produced nor distributed by NPR. I'm now checking with my local affiliate WUNC.
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