Economists have been telling us for years that America was transforming from a manufacturing economy to a "service" economy.

What does that mean exactly? It means Americans (re)selling cheap Chinese **** to each other, while some percent of all transactions wind their way back to China.

I beat this drum a lot, but its not that Americans make inferior things, this is all because of a monetary manipulation by the Chinese central bank. They fix the exchange rate of the RMB to the dollar at an artificially low rate which has the intended consequence of devaluing ALL Chinese labor and products. In other words, it doesn't matter how bad our dollar declines or how cheaply we work... the Chinese will always be cheaper because of this math trick. The result of course is that all our manufacturing has ferreted its way overseas and every day we as a country become less able to make good on the dollars value.

One of these days we might get a leader who will act as an American advocate and start slapping TARIFFS on Chinese crap just to level the playing field and re-engender domestic manufacturing. Until now, they've been content to say NOTHING to China, and I don't know if that's an indication of how far past the fiscal event horizon we've passed ( we're no longer resisting the impending black hole ) or if they just don't understand the mathematics of it. Why is it that protectionism is fine and dandy for all our "free trade" partners to engage in, but inappropriate for us? The politicians say they're worried about sparking a trade war, but the status quo RIGHT NOW involves us getting screwed.

Retail Sales do not pay. Minimum wage, no benefits for temporary workers. It won't cover the Mortgage for your house.

The only positive, is that it is one way to get your "foot" inside the door, for another better paying job on a permanent basis. Stores are finding sales dismal, so that may not be an option, either.

In this economic "climate", the paycheck will be enough to cover buying a Christmas Turkey and some candy canes..

This is not encouraging news. Where are the REAL jobs for these professionals and other out of work people?.

Sorry, the real unemployment rate will stay stagnant.

This is a feel good story, but it sure isn't a money maker for the unemployed. It is dumb.

Muck:

If Mara hadn't taken the job, she would have been totally depressed, like many others in the same situation. The Holidays are the time of cheer, and there is NO cheer, for someone who can't provide a decent Christmas for their families.

It's better to keep busy, while being idle, with no work at all. This story is about those out of work, who are trying to keep their minds off the worst possible scenarios, like losing their home to foreclosure, bills piling up, keeping the family in tact, and being with other people. It is good to give back to the Community in this time of the Holiday Season.

There is no major monetary value in temp work during the Holiday Season. The pay all goes to the Government, draining them of their TAX infested paychecks.

Taxes take away the pennies they have made.

I am sure the Administration, and the President's Chief Economist Adviser (Mrs. Romer) will have a positive spin on this article. They will probably count the plight of Mara as one of the "saved jobs".

I don't see them commenting on the "REVISED" GDP figures which were recently lowered...and this is one area that Mrs. Romer always mentions during her interviews saying that unemployment will improve following an increase in GDP. Guess we will have to wait to see the GDP increase before she gets back on this band wagon.

It is beyond me why the Administration gathered SEIU and entourage, less those who really matters...small business owners, to develop a cohesive plan which will target REAL JOBS. Time to take a look at taxes for those corporations who have shipped jobs overseas. Why not, everything else is being taxed.....i.e., the State of Washingtion has recently proposed taxing refineries .50 for every gal of gas they produce. Guess the refineries will just move out of country. Talk about reverse economics.

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ANOTHER OBAMA SHOVEL READY JOB TO CREATE OR SAVE JOBS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This media must think all Americans are retarded and incapable of rational thought.

Oh, wait. They're right. That's how we got in this position to begin with. Ignorant people voting with their feelings rather than their brains. But here again we can see the problem. When our Public Education system only ranks 26 out of 45 industrialized nations we can see where the ignorance begins. Most people listen to the buffoons in the MSLM and never have had an original thought in their lives. Or better yet they listen to those most competent political authorities,,,,CELEBRITIES!!!!!

THESE CHRISTMAS FEEL GOOD STORIES WILL BE PERMEATING THE MEDIA CHANNELS NOW!!!!!!

Our politically correct society will look at some former engineer, accountant or hourly worker that had 25 years in with a company and now they're all unemployed. But the stories will show how WONDERFUL the $TIMULU$ is working as they are all working at Wal Mart as a GREETER!!!!!!!! And it only cost you and me $200,000.00 DOLLARS to create that wonderful government job.

NOW THAT'S SOME REAL CHANGE WE CAN BELIEVE IN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The worst part is, some LIBERAL DIMWIT will actually see that as an improvement and brag about how well his PARTY is doing!!!!! And yes, as some have already observed so correctly, once this retail disaster of a Christmas Holiday is over all these temp jobs will be let go and we'll be back on track for more unemployment numbers.

BUT HEY, I'M SURE THE JOB SUMMIT THIS PAST THURSDAY WILL COME UP WITH A FEW MILLION JOBS OVER THE NEXT 20-25 YEARS!!!!!!

OUR GOVERNMENT HARD AT WORK FOR US.

GOD HELP US ALL.

This is an unfortunate lesson that I think the current generation needed to learn. It is sad that it had to be the hard way. In the late 70's early 80's when I was growing up not many people had a credit card only the very wealthy had them and then only one card. Then came the late 80's and 90's when the credit card companies went nuts and gave them to everyone whether they had a job or not......myself included ( I was in college making 3.25 an hour the minimum wage at that time). They gave me a credit card with a 500.00 limit. Now it doesn't seem like that much but if you take my hourly wage and figure out how many hours I would have to work to pay off 500.00 the limit was ridiculously out of proportion for what I made and what I paid out each month in rent and utilities not to mention my cost for college books and tuition I paid.

The piper has come and expects to be paid. The last 25 years it has been a spending spree to 'keep up with the jones'', buy more buy bigger, buy better. Back then you saved for what you wanted and it took time. The closest thing most people had to a credit card was 'layaway'. You didn't get your purchases until you paid them off the store just held them until you paid.

The dimwitocrats will and have continued to blame the economy on former President Bush when in fact we have 25 years of overspending to blame it on. The current administration thinks throwing money and corporations that ran themselves into the ground is going to fix it when all they did was take taxpayer money to foot the bill for bonuses and exhorbitant corporate parties for those companies. Not one job has been created or saved from any of that money. Now to distract from his ridiculous overspending Obama is going to cram 'health care reform' down our throats whether we like it or not. The only people to benefit from it will be those that don't want to work and are just looking for someone else to foot the bill for them. The ones who will pay for it are those that are willing to work or those that are currently working. The others that will pay for it are the elderly who have paid their taxes and are on Medicare and the bill flat out says that the benefits they get now WILL be reduced to pay for others to get health care coverage. Now how fair is that......steal from the elderly to pay for someone that can get a second job or even a first job. There are people that will say that health insurance is a right........they are mistaken not one place in the bill of rights or constitution does it guarantee you health insurance.....no where. Do not steal from the elderly to give health care to the young. The elderly are the generation that fought in WWII and Korea and Vietnam and have kept this country safe. For those that think this is fair and just are people who are greedy and think that it is someone elses job to pay for their life. If you want to live in a socialist country where that is the case then you should MOVE. This is America earn your own way and quit expecting others to foot the bill for you.

The boom is over and most of the jobs won't be coming back. America has lost it's manufacturing and has become a nation of services. Free trade does to a nation what alcohol does to a man. Saps him first of his vitality and energy, then his independence, then of his life. America today exhibits the symptoms of a nation passing into late middle age. We spend more than we earn. We consume more than we produce. The evangelists of globalism who once promised our trade deficits would disappear now tell us that trade deficits do not matter. Free trade is the death of American manufacturing and the trojan horse of world goverment. It is the path to the loss of economic indepedence and national sovereignty. Free trade is horsecrap.

What was I thinking? McCain and Palin would have done much better... everything would have been fixed by now.

Yes, I'm upset with my choice because now that I compare it to the "Rogue" alternative, my emotional and ignorant self should have known that more Republican Laissez-faire is in order. The country was doing great... why would we need intervention now?

What was on my mind? Bush-Cheney left us in the best possible shape! We were flourishing with no layoffs, recession or foreclosures and they had a great surge going in Iraq. Afghanistan was not an issue. Those Democrats... they never should have interferred with success... the mission was accomplished! smh

Chuck lay of the weed and read between the lines, this is a culmination of several administrations.

I think you should speak for yourself "stackedhippiechick". I was referring to USAROGUE's post but you couldn't possibly know that without reading. In addition, in my opinion we had an administration leave with a surplus within the last ten years... but I suppose I should read between the white lines on your coffee table.

It is interesting that employers are building a time bomb into our economic system that is going to eventually blow up with so much force that I doubt that the economic system can absorb it. In September women became the majority in the workplace. Why? Because they work for 70-80 cents on the dollar. That means an extra 20-30 cents on the dollar more profit for the employers. Employers have also caught onto the "overqualified" scan and can often hire employees for as little as 20 cents on the dollar. Gee, Mom, that's 80 cents more profit.

Any fool that thinks this will last is an MBA. Eventually, these companies will have to adjust their expenses because either labor will become more expensive, their overqualified employees will find work elsewhere, or there will be a general wage rebellion (probably conducted by women.) In any realistic scenario, this is nothing but a "labor bubble" constructed by MBA's who hope that they can "make their nut" and move on before the bubble bursts.

pjam09,

You're uninformed. Labor statistics are seasonally adjusted.

Stackedhippiechick is correct. There are many jobs that will not come back and many administrations have contributed to this crisis.

McCain would not have been able to fix it either; not even close. Nobody will be able to fix this crisis. It is all about out of control debt caused by the irresponsibility, ignorance and greed of past (and present) administrations, lobbyists and regulators.

Hey Muck....you are so full of it! As a chef trained by a well known celebrity chef, I can tell you, I would flip burgers at McD's if I could but they won't hire me!! I am over qualified and they feel having a professional chef there would be "bad for the morale" of the mexicans they have working there! I have been trying to get a job for nearly four years now at any place to cook and cannot get my foot in the door. That celeb chef after his big opening here, fired all the professionals and hired mexicans in so he could increase his profit! He didn't care at all that the quality went down hill and there were huge complaints. He lost the restaurant after a year and half but what did he care? He got his $$$. The rest of us are still looking. Can't afford to open my own place. So don't yap about what you do not know about! I am sick and tired of standing in line with a bunch of dirty illegals with snotty noses to get in at Burger king and other such places. They would rather hire them than me because they are cheap.

Hell, I worked at an over the hill costly private country club and the staff was half mex and they found it funny to put mouse droppings and crumbled cockroaches in the food! I didn't so was considered an outsider. I am not going to play those type games....The executive chef said he had no control over them as "they run the kitchen" and he was getting out for that reason. I don't and never have collected unemployment. I am just trying to get a decent job. And with the market the way it is, there is little available in my field....and yes, I have applied at cooking stores, stores that sell anything at all related to cooking including stores that sell appliances! No one is hiring, they are laying off. I have no savings left and am fortunate I was able to move back home so my outlay is low. The most I can do now is some private catering. Can't do it full time as I have to cook out of my parents home....so wake up and smell the coffeecake......we are in a depression!

They are lucky to get a job, when I was looking for a job I would be laughed out the door for being over qualified, or get the line we don't want to insult you because you make to much money and We can't afford someone like you, these people are more afraid of losing their job to someone like me, so I'd have to down play my resume and shoot for an entry level position, some time it's better to be the every day Joe instead of management ....there is only so much a person can lie, then it's pressure hoping they don't check which could lose you that job ....It's funny because people lie to impress, I lie to get through the door as an entry level employee, Best of luck to those that are looking .....

Richie...I did much the same...25yrs ago...After being told several times that they didnt have a job for someone like me, I changed my resume to be less impressive. The people hiring just would not believe that I would accept the job that was available on a long term basis and that I would be dissatisfied with the pay. I cant blame them, I had a similar attitude when I was hiring people shortly before that. I didnt want to hire people who thought they knew it all and would be unhappy. I preferred people from smaller towns that thought working for the company was a great step forward and I have to say that usually worked out better.....For myself, I took a two year job and then one that lasted seventeen years, never attaining the title that I once held. That was OK. I took up investing in real estate and that helped satisfy my management abilities.

lol! Hope the 'uneducated' are all smart enough to go on welfare and let the 'educated' pay the bill! LOL!!!

I loathe people who make these ignorant statements. Just because you had the money to afford a piece of paper doesn't make you a pilar to stand and say someone who is less fortunate then you is "uneducated" and it also doesn't make it right to assume anyone who didn't get a fancy degree is on welfare or doen't work as hard as you or is a "lesser" person then you! Shame on you, but hopefully karma will come back to bite you in the rear...

James:

Education at this time in our Depression, not recession, EVERYONE is affected. A college education is a good thing to have. If the job market turns around in the next couple of years, they have the biggest edge over those who have none, or have a GED. The jobs will be there for them.

Earning power is much larger with the college education, anyway you slice it.

18 per cent Unemployment has nothing to do with educated people out of work.

James:

Ask the people who don't have educations. Do they have more jobs now, than the educated? We're all in the same boat together.

Love one another, because the person sitting next to you, could be your next Employer!

Hawaii2-The fact is that it is those that have been 'educated' that have looked down on those that they considered uneducated and are finding that they are taking jobs 'they considered beneath them' prior to being unemployed. This is a lesson that this generation needed to learn. There is NO job beneath anyone period. If you work hard every day you are part of what makes America great if you have your nose in the air thinking you are better than the guy in the mailroom distributing mail, or better than the person changing your oil or bagging groceries you are wrong. Maybe and hopefully when and if the economy turns around those people that thought themselves 'too good for' or above certain jobs will have a bit more respect for those that work those jobs on a regular basis.

winkiesixtysix

That's a good point, I applied for a 7-11 clerks position a couple of years ago and I had to take a Math test, they allowed 15 minutes to complete the test I did in in 3 minutes and scored a 100% the person came out and told me, I'm going to be honest with you, there is no way We will hire you for the simple fact that you are over qualified and would take a better job offer in the near future and We won't waste our time with someone like you, So imagine all these college grads out there, they are in the same boat as I was, So things are not that great for the educated taking these entry level positions because employers look for people that will make the long term commitment before those that will make a short term one..

Capitalism is predicated upon the need for infinite growth. One person cannot be wealthy unless 100 more people are needy enough to work for him.

Yes, but then those 100 people wouldn't have a job otherwise.

Debbie:

Which world are you talking about? The one we live in, or the one we used to dream of, and had.

Dewintre200

That's the most RIDICULOUS statement I have ever heard.

So regarding Capitalism as such a bad thing, your only argument is to have 101 people needy enough not to work for ANYONE.

That makes sense.

I didn't say capitalism was a bad thing. I was just pointing out one side effect. Capitalism has put more stuff in more hands at the least expense than any other system in history. But it is INDEED predicated upon the need for infinite growth, i.e. continual young people who have nothing and need to work. You cannot have a uniformly affluent society subsisting off their great wealth without a grillion others whose financial desperation gives your stack of paper money value. The standard of living in the USA requires an imperialistic economic relationship with people in other hemispheres. Globalism and free trade in many ways served to undermine it. Think about it : do YOU on a daily basis contribute as much value to the world economy as you consume? Probably not.

That was after a seasonal adjustment. The main jobs have been created in other sectors (like temp work) and not seasonal. However, the November numbers are just one month and not a trend.

This is the economy 'they' created, now 'they' can wallow in it.

You're kidding, right? Someone working at a low-level for the state has nothing to do with this economic crash. And I thought you crazy right-wingnuts always say that it's evil for women to be working out of the home & should stay with their children?

Dam tired.....Don't badmouth all college educated people because of the greedy evil people out there. College education is something they cannot take away from you. The trick is trying to find a job using your education.

I have seven years post high school education. Three months ago I was laid off. I put out lots of applications and resumes. Finally, the other day I was offered a job part time, minimum wage, delivering food at a dollar a delivery. I am not sure they were really offering me the job because I politely declined. I am not going to lose money driving and possibly get robbed for a lousy minimum wage job. Somebody else is welcome to have it. Rack up the miles on your vehicle, waste your gas, perhaps with a good attitude you might be able to get a tip.

dam tired of this, I agree with you 100%!!! Those who sat on their lofty perches and looked down their noses at the working poor are now either working alongside the working poor or trying to get a job on the same level as the working poor. You'll get NO sympathy from me because actually, I'm quite GLAD that this happened to show all the snobs that you can definitely be brought down several pegs. Didn't think it could happen to you, did ya???!! Well..it did!! Now, pull up a chair and join me and the rest of the working poor. Enjoy your visit with us and we hope you stay a long, long long time!!!!

Unfortunately, I have to say that the smart (not just the educated) are to blame, but in a different way. The really smart people in this country do not want to run for public office and lead. We do not want to subject ourselves to the BS of running for public office. We concluded that in order to get elected, you must look good on camera. You must pander to superstitious people whose beleifs have very little bearing on the realities of the real world. You must make promises that you have no way to even fulfill. You know the answers to fix what is going on, but every wackjob from the far left to the far right wants the government to step in to do their bidding. In most of those cases it is not the governments job to do this. If we actually got to fix the problems, people on both sides of the isle would scream bloody murder. Now, you need to ask yourself the following. If you think that you are smart (a college degree has nothing to do with it), are YOU willing to step up and take the reigns leadership? Most are probably not since we refuse to be a part of this. Thus, we are doomed to be governed by those who are dumber than ourselves.

Well said Chris-795881. I've thought about serving in public office. But pandering to idiots isn't in my repertoire. I'd never get elected because no one would like my answers to their questions. Nobody would want a leader who actually 'told it like it is'.

To Isabella-1133504

I cannot believe your ignorance. To say you're glad this happened? How selfish can you be. Or is it just that you are a little jealous of the fact that you never got an education and are now taking out your frustrations on those who did. If it wasn't for people who went on to higher education, where would we be now? Still in the industrial revolution more than likely. What you seem to forget is all of us, undereducated and highly educated work together to make what we call our world a better and safer place to live. From the white collar engineer to the blue collar Assembly lineman, all of us are needed. For you to blame what is going on in this country on people who have decided to go on to higher education is just plain crap. Like so many other, for years as a child, I was told that a good education is important. I decided to do just that, and I have never once looked down my nose at anyone less educated than I. I am an educator, and I could not fathom for one moment telling my students that education doesn't matter, and "If you go to college, you will become a snob and just ruin our country.". "It's better for you children, to go and flip burgers at Mickey D's so you know what the real people are like.". Yeah, bet that would go over well with their parents. (And no, I am not putting down anyone who works at Mickey Ds, but if you can do better for yourself, then damn it, you can and should!!) We all aspire to be something great, and if we can achieve that, what a great feeling. Just because you maybe didn't have the chance to do that, doesn't mean you have to turn your nose up at those who did. It's not their fault that the economy is failing, it's the powers that be, the powers that we undereducated, and highly educated people put there.

Wow. People who are not college-educated couldn't even begin to try to run a country. Sure, there are some people who are college-educated and don't do a very good job of it, but consider this: not a SINGLE person who hasn't been educated would run a country well.

And you must be joking when you say this country was founded by people without educations. That's just untrue. James Madison, the "Father of the Constitution" went to Princeton, Thomas Jefferson went to Thomas & Mary, Alexander Hamilton went to Columbia, John Adams went to Harvard, and so on and so forth. There are certain modern anti-intellectual conservatives who may have you believe that our Founding Fathers never went to college, but this is simply not true. However, it seems like uneducated people don't really know the difference.

Megan....that is just a stupid statement...and self serving. I am not impressed that just because a person got a diploma that they have proven superior intellect and management abilities.....I recently read a post (by a lib bragging about how Bill Gates was a liberal) but you have disqualified him as second class.....I also never received a diploma, but over the years I had supervision over some who had....I also knew quite a few managers, owners, etc. that were in the same situation......I have always wondered why those college grads so often wore that single long ago experience on their sleeve their whole lives....Maybe it is because some of them accomplished little else......It is just ignorant for you to judge the public in such a manner....apparently you are not qualified.....

Megan....the qualification for success "have you and can you do the job well". There is no other qualification worth beans....

We in this nation are a bind and other nations are not going to help us to get out of it

Excuse me, but WHY should they?? Other nations figured out years ago what was in the works while Americans were playing with their bright, shiny, expensive toys. Other nations were getting their citizens prepared while Americans were busy looking down on people who were less fortunate and thinking how smart they are to be at the top.

It makes me sick to read stories of people who made six figures and spent it like drunken sailors and now want to whine, piss, moan, blame and complain that enough is not being done to keep them in their comfortable house in the burbs, keep their SUV, Blackberry, Wii, PlayStation 3, 52 inch flat screen hdtv, etc. You're getting exactly what you deserve. I hope you are enjoying your new lowered status.

By the way, I enjoyed taking advantage of your yard sales and garage sales this past Summer. Paying pennies on the dollar for your shiny gadgets made Summer especially enjoyable for me this year.

And who's not looking down their nose, HMMM? Just another idiot calling the kettle black!!

Why shouldn't other countries help us? Do you know how much money we pumped into Europe & Japan after WWII? We helped them reconstruct their countries. I'm not saying those countries should help us out right now, but I am saying it's not totally ridiculous to ponder the notion.

That's what their college educations taught them................how to point their finger.

Well I have a finger too, it's my middle finger and it's pointed straight up!

Nicely said.You have my vote.

Well...it seems that each of you are upset with your plight. You can always enlist and head straight to Afghanistan. You'll have a job, isn't that what you want?

Why the hell do you people think they're sending more soldiers to Afghanistan? They don't have enough jobs in America for civilians. What do you think would happen if they had every soldier come home from Iraq and Afghanistan? The unemployment rate would be even higher than it is. Many soldiers that have come back from their deployments are in the same boat as the rest of the unemployed, they're looking for a job that no longer exist. Washington is trying to stall for time by continuing a war in Afghanistan when it's been reported that no one has a clue where Osama bin Laden is and he's the reason we're supposedly in Afghanistan. I've barely found one news story online in over a month regarding Iraq other than the one about Iraqi refugees that are in America are not staying where the government wants them to stay, but are heading to Detroit.

You figure it out!! The clues are all there!

Isabella....you are one negative person....I would bet that your relatives frequently say "oh no, here comes doom and gloom again"....You probably would wish to die, but I think that you would be afraid to miss all those years of enjoying the suffering.....and letting everyone know about it....

Hey, it has not been a cycle that has been unbroken for a century. The early twentieth century was all about regulation and reform. Theodore Roosevelt and Franklin Roosevelt both helped the country steer away from being run by corporations. It's only in more recent years (especially after Reagan) that the country has reverted to this non-regulated corporate-run mess.

I stopped shopping at Wallymart 15 years ago............and have never regretted it.

As an FYI, most retailers get the products they sell from the same places and sources that Walmart does. If you want only U.S. made products you can find plenty of them on the web, but none of them are big box retailers and their products cost substantially more.

I have actually grown to like shopping at Walmart. In addition to low prices, I can find just about everything I need under one roof.

peter7,

Since you can find everything you need there, you might want to get your employment application ready...........once Wallymart and the internet have finished the job of shutting down all the grocery stores, hardware stores, gas stations, etc., the only retail jobs left will be at a warehouse filling boxes for shipment with internet orders or wallymart.

Actually I am retired now. But I wouldn't mind picking up a few bucks as an official "greeter".

I does seem, however, that at least in the area I live that a number of both small and large businesses have been able to compete with our Super Walmart and the other big box retailers nearby like Kohl's, Costco, Best Buy and Target. And there are several big malls and outdoor shopping areas that seem to be doing OK as well.

If any of you were actually hurting in this economy you wouldn't say to boycott Walmart. I don't know what we'd do without Walmart. Hmm $2 juice or $5 juice? It's the exact same thing, the difference being what the local grocery store charges and what Walmart charges. When the difference is a dollar or more per item and every dollar counts, you'll go to the cheapest won't you?

SWMG,

No, going to the cheapest perpetuates the unemployment problems we face. You see, Wallymart isn't going to hire more employee's to cover the overload, they'll just put up more self serve cash registers.

There is absolutely NO sense in blaming Walmart for this mess. This story is about people who are over qualified for jobs, but are having to take a minimum wage job and you expect them to go online and hunt for some high priced American made product because they should?? Are you people insane? Unemployed and underemployed people do not have the means to shop for higher priced American made products. It's that simple! If you can do it, fine!

Those of you who can afford to buy American made, turn this economy around by refusing to buy from Walmart and we'll all be waiting to see what a difference all 5 of you make in getting America out of this DEPRESSION!!!

Obama, resign

Why should President Obama resign? This mess didn't just magically begin on January 20, 2009!!

I think it's great that the media is pointing it out! It's something that many people already knew. Had these 'educated' people been 'using' that education to create new industries, new jobs, the economy wouldn't be in this shape. I think it's wonderful that the media is pointing out the fact that the 'undereducated' in this country are losing the positions that they are 'qualified' for to the 'overqualified' people who have never worked to their 'full potential'!

Thanks, but anyone who lived through the '70's and 80's knows all about it......first hand.

The sitting congress people who are up for re-election in 1020...temporary.

I think you mean, 2010. So, just who are you going to vote for in 2010? Are you throwing YOUR hat into the ring? After all is said and done and the votes are finally counted, each and every one, the same crap that you voted out will be voted right back in because any new politician that goes to Washington will soon be accepting kickbacks, bribes and perks from special interest groups and other lobbyists. So, keep thinking that you will make a difference with YOUR vote!

I would probably feel the same. I have a friend who is has a MBA and is selling make-up at Dillard's. She is 40 years old and has tons of experience. Her "boss" is 21 and treats her like she is an idiot. My friend has to put up with it in order to eat.

It beats not eating and heading to a cardboard box underneath a bridge when she gets off work. Tell her to consider herself lucky.

Yipee, am another statistic!!! Overeducated and working retail make for a very angry clerk. Being treated as if am not up to their snuff and I have more education than the customer is so much fun.

My daily working mantra about my manager is "Am smarter than she is and this is just temporary!"

I have left work the last couple of days and just wanted to cry because I am worth so much more and, yet, am not! Well, at least to my kids, am a hero!

Overeducated? In what? Not the English language, clearly. Perhaps if you didn't sound like you got off the boat yesterday and your manager and customers could understand you they would be more positive toward you.

If your education is an MBA, as your name suggests, too bad. Those are a dime a dozen right now because everyone with two brain cells has been getting them, hoping to land a fat paycheck in corporate America. Unless you're actually making a product or turning a profit for your employer, your "worth" in the current economy is diddly +/- squat.

wow you have a big head, think retail is to good for you huh? think your smarter than the shoppers, thats such a horrible big headed thing to say, thing is these people still have the money to shop so they must be doing better than you, as usual college smart means nothing when you are as stupid as you sound, i hope someone complains about you with your 'angry clerk' attitude and when your mba self is sacked for incompetence you wont even be able to claim unemployment.

Unfortunately regarding education, there is nothing you can learn to do here in America that Rajneesh in Calcutta can't learn to do for 1/10th your salary. Until there is an economic need to hire Americans, such as punitive taxes for hiring foreigners, it will never be worthwhile for a multinational corporation to hire one of us at a higher cost. That is why many countries, including those as diverse as Mexico and Germany, have business laws which require you, before bringing an American worker to their country, to explain exactly why a Mexican or German cannot do the job. The situation in this country is ridiculous.

Poor james p, we can't hire you yet, you're do for your morning anger management class!! Head on over! No kicking, shoving or pushing. Get a hold of yourself! We'll have you docile in no time.

Fed up has found your silver lining people. Pack up your cardboard box and head on up to Fargo, North Dakota. Problem solved!

sorry its true, north dakota has tons of jobs, but if you are a liberal, obama voter, criminal and worthless individual we dont want you, we want to keep our low debt, conservative views, low unemployment, low crime way of life. thanks