As much as I (usually) admire Thomas Friedman's columns in The New York Times, I really disagreed with one he wrote this past week about the new class of "Untouchables." It was an odd choice for a descriptive term, since "Untouchables" also refers to the lowest class of the Hindu caste system. However, here Friedman means just the opposite ... the new group of people whose jobs will be safe in the new, broken economy that seems to be taking shape for the next few years. He seemed to make a case that those who have lost jobs brought it upon themselves by being, well, so much useless dead wood.
It seemed a harsh assessment that didn't take into account so many other factors, such as the implosion of easy credit and the housing market, or the way that so many corporations have overextended themselves. I'm not quite as ready as Thomas Friedman to dismiss so many millions of unemployed Americans who are ready, able, and willing to give "good value" to employers if given a chance.
Tags:
thomas friedman, untouchables
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