Should we replace/reinstitute draft in the form of social work?

[Admiral Yi]

I've changed my mind. She seems happy enough.

No way that chick deserves a 6 attack factor.

[Zanza]

I've changed my mind. She seems happy enough.

I was in a ski hut in Austria a couple of years ago. When washing the dishes, one of the other persons found a plate that read "Reichsarbeitsdienst 1937" on the back.

[Habbaku]

The draft should be reinstated, but only for the gays.  They can form their own penis battalions.

[Tonitrus]

This "draft" for social work should consist of 18-20 year-old females working in pleasure baths, and 18-20 males in gladiatorial combat.  All for the amusement of us over-30 types.

Everyone else ages 20-30 can slave away in the mines/factories.  At age 60...time to go into the tanks. 

[Ideologue]

This "draft" for social work should consist of 18-20 year-old females working in pleasure baths, and 18-20 males in gladiatorial combat.  All for the amusement of us over-30 types.

Everyone else ages 20-30 can slave away in the mines/factories.  At age 60...time to go into the tanks.

I want a tank.  Wasn't there a movie about that once?

[Tamas]

All that'll do is drive down the need and value of actual social workers with real skills and replace them with people who not only don't want the work but will probably be terrible at it. Do you really want your mom taken care if by some 18 year old idiot who doesn't want to be there?

wins the thread

[Tamas]

I think that what we really need is more participation in the workforce by healthy 50-70 year-olds. But that will need a change of attitudes. A lot of people in their 50s jack their career in because they are sick of the stress and have enough cash. How can we lure some of these folk into having second careers that are very useful whilst being less stressful and less well-paid?

This is what's been happening.  Every single employment report is showing that older people are working it's the 16-25s who are getting shafted.  There's not the jobs, the old aren't retiring and they're expected to do numerous free internships - which is fine if you've got somewhere to stay in London but if not you're screwed.

I think you are getting close to the lump of labour fallacy here. Older people continuing to contribute are not the cause of youth unemployment. Fear of the double-dip is a more relevant factor I think, it takes a lot of time and cash to make a young worker productive...........in the current circumstances short-termism is rife 

Yes, but in general terms, if someone over 50 has enough money to voluntarily retire from the working world (well, that ain't a very much Hungarian phenomenom, gotta' tell you), wouldn't it be better for society if he/she did? He would continue to consume, while emptying a spot for someone else.

[Josquius]

There should certainly be more schemes to help young people get jobs but conscription is just criminal, whatever they're being used for.

[Ideologue]

Okay, we should conscript old people.  They can still carry a gun.  They can still absorb a bullet.

[grumbler]

Yes, but in general terms, if someone over 50 has enough money to voluntarily retire from the working world (well, that ain't a very much Hungarian phenomenom, gotta' tell you), wouldn't it be better for society if he/she did? He would continue to consume, while emptying a spot for someone else.

I've never understood this kind of thinking.  The number of jobs in an economy may be finite, but it isn't fixed.  The fact that random person A holds a job may actually increase the chances that random person B can get a job, rather than reduce it.  This particularly true where person A is experienced enough to train newly hired but inexperienced perople, which wouldn't be hired at all if there was no one to teach them the job.

Maybe this kind of thinking is "a very much Hungarian phenomenom?"