Bring back some old school jobs to reduce unemployment

[mekon]

Just thinking, if we were to bring back positions that have been supposedly replaced by technology we could employ a few more people. I understand some jobs may be menial, but they're paid jobs nonetheless. Can you think of something we used to have but now is gone due to either convenience or corporate greed?

I remember petrol station attendants that would pump fuel (still do round the world, esp. Japan).
Bus/Train conductors

[Barfridge]

bag boys at supermarkets. That would put stuff into brown paper bags for you, then carry heavy stuff out to the car for mums/old ladies/the infirm.
They're slowly getting rid of checkout chicks too, that's not a good thing either.

[WIGARUS]

I don't think there's a problem finding unskilled, lowly paid jobs. There's a shortage of unskilled highly paid jobs, which it seems are the only ones anyone wants these days.

We've been looking for an estimator / scheduler trainee for the better part of 3 months with no-one willing to accept that they aren't worth $40k with zero experience.

[g0zer]

i like robots, they make better chairs twice as fast.

[chief wiggum]

they've those fucking self-serve checkouts at bunnings now. they blow goats

[WIGARUS]

I'd much rather be served by a computer than a moron...

[Commander Keen]

I don't want to bag my own shit, I pay, they do it.

[Old frt]

I'd much rather be served by a computer than a moron...

At least a moron won't go down on you
Oh wai

[g0zer]

cannot remember where i read it, some economist type's blog- they were saying the exact same thing, basically a lot of jobs employ people to spend a lot of time doing nothing useful but this was necessary.

maybe they are right, but there is another way to look at it. all those jobs that can be better done by machines frees up those human resources to do other things. giving those human resources useful work to do is an important facet of a thriving economy and given society is made up of people, a thriving society as well.

[devolved]

Bus/Train conductors have basically been replaced by security guards. This is the funny thing - they got rid of conductors, violence of public transport grew, they had to get security. Maybe if they just kept the conductors.

Letting people have a choice of jobs - even if they're unskilled can be of benefit. Maybe people will be more inclined to take a shitty job if they know that when it pisses them off too much they can go and get another shitty job. It's the shitty job you're stuck in that can be soul destroying.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PFY-Zm8j0E

[Jamathi]

Maybe our unemployed social security system should be abolished and hunger will make the unskilled find the jobs that they NEED to do to survive.
Either work or die from hunger and exposure!
Any Australian Citicen who is permanently incapacitated and or over 65 should be looked after well on minimum wages. but weed out the con artists lazy bastards and revo's
Instead of increasing our National foreign aid budget every 5 years by 100%, stop this stone dead , then we can lower the tax rate and give more incentive to do the hard yards for those who are putting in the effort.
Nowadays you work for someone else's benefit on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday morning, you get sfa for this which is to me a form of compulsary slavery!
Ohh yeah did I mention that I love fishing, so when is the ban lifted?

[timmay]

I don't think there's a problem finding unskilled, lowly paid jobs. There's a shortage of unskilled highly paid jobs, which it seems are the only ones anyone wants these days.

We've been looking for an estimator / scheduler trainee for the better part of 3 months with no-one willing to accept that they aren't worth $40k with zero experience.

When you say zero experience....

[Pkunk]

We should pay people to dig ditches instead of using earth moving equipment!

Yeah thats the ticket

Basically what g0zer said

Hey Jamathi : what's cheaper, paying unemployment benefits for so called "bludgers" or paying for more policemen to attend to crimes committed by desperate hungry "bludgers"?

(you always make me laugh)

[WIGARUS]

When you say zero experience....

high school leaver basically.

[Fastgirl]

pfft...sif any kid wants to work a meniel job. i asked an 18 to come work for me doing gardening work...she umm'd and ahhh'd and then came up with a list of other 'stuff' she had to do. But she's skint on money...go figure.

[chew]

We should pay people to dig ditches instead of using earth moving equipment!

Yeah thats the ticket

Basically what g0zer said

Hey Jamathi : what's cheaper, paying unemployment benefits for so called "bludgers" or paying for more policemen to attend to crimes committed by desperate hungry "bludgers"?

(you always make me laugh)

+1

I am more than happy to pay some people not to drag our workforce down.

[Roger Explosion]

I think you will find we are pretty much as close to full employment as we're going to get.

[Scott52]

Just thinking, if we were to bring back positions that have been supposedly replaced by technology we could employ a few more people. I understand some jobs may be menial, but they're paid jobs nonetheless. Can you think of something we used to have but now is gone due to either convenience or corporate greed?

I remember petrol station attendants that would pump fuel (still do round the world, esp. Japan).
Bus/Train conductors

Sounds great in theory but it doesn't work. Are we prepared to pay an extra 5 cents per litre or whatever it works out to be, to cover the cost of the pump attendant? Most people won't, they'll go down the road to the self serve and save the money.

It's the same with the "Buy locally made goods" mantra ... it's hard to go past the Chinese thing at a tenth of the price. Take your bike paddock stands for example. Back in the 90's they were made in Australia and cost hundreds of dollars. Now they're made in China and cost a fraction of what they used to be.

It was tried years ago with the old Commonwealth Employment Program (CEP). I was working in local government at the time and we had to build various things without using modern methods or techniques to maximise the labour content. For example, we had to mix the concrete by hand and not buy in ready-mixed concrete which was far cheaper and quicker. Then every body complained about the final cost of the structures.

[GreenMeanie]

Elevator driver! It about as far as I want to go these days.

[mekon]

I hear you all. What started me thinking was a yearning for days gone by when service was good, genuine, sometimes not, but you felt (superficially at least) important as a consumer. I'd love someone to pump my petrol. At least I wouldnt have to get off the bike. Need to be female, otherwise we're a little too close to the two cocks rule.