Comments (26) (Please sign in to comment)

1. 

   Radish said, 5 months ago

   Its a living.
2. 

   Lavocat said, 5 months ago

   America, circa December 2012.
3. 

   masterskrain said, 5 months ago

   Does that mean that Mall-Wart is opening more stores??
4. 

   mikefive said, 5 months ago

   A man used to go to where the work is.
   America, circa 1933.
5. 

   ghostkeeper said, 5 months ago

   @mikefive

   Yes, except there was no work there either.
6. 

   sclark55 said, 5 months ago

   Interesting approach to supply & demand in the labor market…
7. 

   Michael wme said, 5 months ago

   @mikefive

   Yes, back in ’33, there was full employment. Everyone who wanted a job had a job.

   
   Of course, 25% of working age men back then were lazy bums having a great time enjoying themselves and goofing off all day long, and they just said they were unemployed to get the great free meals from the soup kitchens.
8. 

   jrmerm said, 5 months ago

   This is a good one: funny and trueand sad. However, the aging boomer cohort should be retiring in droves over the next few years and this may help. I do wonder where the TV viewer went in the last panel. Did he just give up, went to get a sandwich, is gonna commit suicide, what?
9. 

   mikefive said, 5 months ago

   @Michael wme

   I think your satire is misplaced on this one. Your first paragraph negates the need to go anywhere to find a job.
   ♦
   There are currently ten states with unemployment rates below 6% and of those ten, four are below 5%. Of those four, 3 are below 4%. In the thirtyies these states would have had men traveling to these states to look for jobs.
   ♦
   Where I live the unemployment rate has ranged between 8.5% and 9.5% over the past six months. Over the last four years, of the many unemployed that I know, only two have emigrated to find a job which they did and they were a well paying jobs. In their visits back here, they have encouraged people they know to go back with them but to no avail.
   ♦
   Getting to the point: In the thirties people were willing to go where there was the hope of finding work. Today, not so much.
10. 

    mikefive said, 5 months ago

    @ghostkeeper

    But there is work available in some areas of the country. Not so much available in the thirties, but they were trying.
11. 

    californicated1 said, 5 months ago

    To me, this cartoon was just as relevant in 1989 and 1991 as it is now, only the years have changed.
12. 

    Oscar54 said, 5 months ago

    The new American reality distilled to four panels. Brilliant!
13. 

    Uncle Joe said, 5 months ago

    @mikefive

    Those states with low unemployment are almost all low population Great Plains states. If all of the unemployed packed up Beverly Hillbilly style & went there, I doubt the locals would be thrilled. There certainly aren’t enough jobs there for all those people.
    
    It’s also hard to leave friends & family. But, you do have a point. Some people hang on to the idea that they will get their old job back, long past the point of realism. People need to be open to the idea of retraining & relocating.
14. 

    Uncle Joe said, 5 months ago

    States with unemployment below 6%:
    
    

    1NORTH DAKOTA 3.1
    
    

    2NEBRASKA 3.8
    
    

    3SOUTH DAKOTA 4.5
    
    

    4IOWA 5.1
    
    

    5UTAH 5.2
    
    

    5WYOMING 5.2
    
    

    7OKLAHOMA 5.3
    
    

    8HAWAII 5.5
    
    

    8VERMONT 5.5
    
    

    10KANSAS 5.7
    
    

    10NEW HAMPSHIRE 5.7
    
    

    10VIRGINIA 5.7
    
    

    13MINNESOTA 5.8
15. 

    decimuscaelius said, 5 months ago

    the official unemployment figures are always a lie! Reworked statistics to justify our misery and blame the unemployed for not finding jobs.

    work as we know it is on the endangered species list. overproduction and automation are the cancers killing global capitalism.

    we must fight for full employment, 30 hours work for 40 hours pay, universal unionization, and the ending of poverty. c’mon y’all, exercise your gift of vision.
16. Load the rest of the comments (11).