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No Jobs for Vets - Why?
Excerpt:
When Joe Tryon left the Army in early 2009 he
assumed his six years as an officer and command experience in Iraq
would make him an attractive employee. More than
a year later, he still hasn’t found a job. "I thought my combat leadership
would outweigh boardroom experience," the 32-year-old
said. "But apparently it does not."
At least part of the reason for that, say veterans
groups, is a lingering stigma among some employers who worry what else
combat troops carry with them: post-traumatic
stress disorder, traumatic brain injuries, or similar mental health problems.
Tryon said he heard that concern in several job
interviews.
Earlier this week a group of lawmakers led by
Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., pushed once again to undo that stereotype,
proposing legislation to help veterans better
showcase their skills to potential employers through job training programs,
expanded GI Bill benefits and career counseling
advice.
"I've had veterans tell me they leave their military
status off their resume, for fear of the stigma of the invisible wounds
of war,”
Murray said at a press conference Tuesday. “How
can these heroes … who know how to lead be struggling to find work
after they come home?" The newest unemployment
data shows that Iraq and Afghanistan veterans are still bearing the brunt
of the latest economic downturn, finding fewer
jobs than their civilian counterparts.
Among all recently separated veterans the unemployment
rate now stands at 14.7 percent, well above the national rate of 9.7.
Among veterans under 24 the situation is even
worse; Labor officials estimate that more than one in five could not find
work last year.
On the other hand, what good is combat experience
and cool under fire at Burger King?
How does courage and adapt-and conquer help you if you're delivering
furniture?
When Clinton was president, the military had other problems.
Soldiers left their $27K government jobs to go private and make $80K.(And
they hated Clinton for that)
Clinton's economy was so good, they accused him of
"decimating our military"
because there were so many great jobs avaialable - wish we had that
problem today?
If only the Democrats would list the facts and say, "The
economy crashed and there are no jobs because
Bush borrowed 2 trillion dollars from China
to give the super-rich tax cuts - and they're not hiring now.
Tax cuts (and hands-off Wall Street greed)
kille dthe economy, but you won't hear that from a Democrat.
Democrats never take advantage of the opportunities they have - because they want to win "fairly."
If Clinton or Obama crashed the economy, the GOP would hammer that 1,000
times a day until there were no Dems left.
But our Dems are too stupid and too unwilling to engage the enemy with
the damn facts.
Jesus, I'm sick of playing fair and losing to the do-anything-to-win
racist bastards.