THE MISSING ONE-FIFTH

David Brooks is a New York Times columnist that I rarely agree with; however, I must compliment him for writing a very important and revealing piece titled “The Missing Fifth”.

Here is the link so you, too, can fully understand the gravity of Brooks’ work:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/10/opinion/10brooks.html

With 20% of our work force between the ages of 25 to 54 unemployed, this has devastating long-term economic implications. While Brooks frequently trumpets the current White House line, he presented an extremely significant warning and suggestion when he said, “Reinvigorating the missing fifth – bringing them back into the labor market and using their capabilities – will certainly require money. If this were a smart country, we’d be having a debate about how to shift money from programs that provide comfort toward programs that spark reinvigoration.” WOW!

Can you imagine President Obama putting his toe into the water suggesting that we redirect important portions of the existing entitlement dollars into programs that would get a significant portion of this critical 20% of the workforce off their backsides and work? My God, we would hear the screaming across the country about the vicious attack being directed at all those misunderstood loyal citizens who have just given up and decided to play the system to their personal advantage.

Obviously there are some in that 20% who justifiably should receive disability assistance, but you and I know that percentage is far smaller than the number collecting today. Currently we pay far too many to have “no energy.”

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