Sharke, you should ask for a hand written job application, in cursive. You'll save yourself some time and trouble. BTW, our local schools no longer teach cursive. My wife went back to college in the 90s, she got a masters degree in 4 years. When she first began I remember the stories about all the freshmen who could not write a complete sentence. That is appalling. I was a "C" and "D" student back in the 60s but I picked up more and know more than today's "A" student because they actually taught so much more. Math of any kind was always alien to me. I never got it but in my 30s I made myself memorize tables etc. I was always able to add, subtract, multiply, and divide with pencil and paper and still can but I always had trouble knowing off the top of my head.
I'm wandering again... all I meant to say is to ask for a hand written application with some sections that require writing out some thoughts. You will cull out a lot of people right there. I heard somewhere recently about an employer doing that.
I'm talking to someone tomorrow beginning the process of selling my business. I am glad.
 
J 

Back in the late 90s in NY I taught English 1&2 at Brooklyn College - required, 1st year courses needed to graduate.  Several of the worse students I had were "Education" students in their graduate year.  They couldnt even right a gud sentence, nuch less papar (this was before computers and spell check but we did have dictionaries).  I got to hear all about how I ruined their lives when I didn't pass them, since they would have to take summer school.  I thought I was saving lives - 30 at a time in public schools, but I guess I didn't. 
 
That being said, anyone coming of age in this century has an uphill climb.  The stock market ain't really worth anymore than it was in 1999, the medium income is stuck in 2007 and middle-class wealth has actually gone down.  And to get there we've borrowed $36,000 in every citizen's name and those that are working need to pay their almost $2000 in taxes for servicing just that part of the debt (I've always like that phase, "servicing," which sounds like exactly what it is in economic terms).  Hard to blame that on any other generation as you shave in the morning (or put on lip gloss).
 
@

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Hard to blame that on any other generation as you shave in the morning (or put on lip gloss).

You re right about that. We are all people and most of the time we are like water and will take the course of least resistance however some more than others. We surely all need to pay more attention to what the clowns in government are doing.
A lot of the problem is that holding someone accountable for their decisions has become politically incorrect, but people ARE responsible for most of what they are or are not, what they have or don't have. Society and those who came before hold some responsibility for the lack of education that younger people have and for leaving them in debt before they even begin working.
I remember telling my wife some 40 odd years ago that we have two choices. We can be dishonest and get what we can however we can or we can be as honest as possible and work hard enough to earn enough for us and at least one other household. I was wrong... it is more like three or four other households... but it is just the way of the world. We are all very small cogs in a very large wheel. 200 years ago a person, an average person could make a difference. These days not so much. Even after WW II Truman was known for morning walks around Washington D.C., by himself and would stop to talk with people. I remember when you could just walk up and enter the congress and go up into the balcony. I was young at that time and ran every step to the top of the Washington monument. I don't even think you can go up there now and you certainly can't just walk up and go into the capital building. The White House was known as The People's House and people who wanted to talk to the president would go in and sit outside the oval office, and it wasn't that long ago.
Things have changed in MANY ways over the last 40 to 50 years. Too many people in too small a space, the world has gotten too small too.
I am convinced that these same people who don't want to work will be the first to come try to take what they want from those who did work when the poo hits the fan... and it will.
Anyway, yeah. We are all to blame but what can we do? Does it help to vote? I don't know anymore. Do we just stay as prepared as we can without becoming a prepper? They will be the first to fall because they are making themselves a prime target. If there is ever an EMP attack and you have an old car, pre-computer, it will surely get you killed if you drive it... I am going to ask a question in it's own thread about that because I am curious about what people think.
J

Two possible reasons for this mess as I see it. 
 
Firstly, as others have said, the age of the participation trophy sent kids on a downward spiral. Whichever idiots were resonsible for this philosophical shift have it totally ass backwards. They see success as a product of self-esteem when in actual fact it's the other way around - self-esteem is a product of success. You have kids walking around who think that everything they do is earth-shatteringly awesome simply by virtue of them having done it. Instant recipe for all kinds of douchebag type behavior. 
 
Secondly, I really think that the popular culture being propagated by modern TV and social media is turning people into giant asswipes. First of all you have this celebrity culture consisting of the most infernal, talentless, godawful cretins who seem to be famous for being famous. TV has been infested with these idiotic reality shows in which these pointless, narcissistic morons are hoisted from obscurity, thrown onto TV shows and encouraged to behave like self centered, confrontational, finger wagging douchebags to one another, and they become national stars because of it. Kids are watching shows like this and figuring that they too can achieve the heights of stardom without actually achieving anything difficult or developing any talent. Just strut around like a toddler on PCP and hey presto, instant notoriety and boundless wealth. So that's how they behave, just like the gormless reality TV heroes they strive to be. 
 
These "celebrities" are much closer and far more accessible to the masses than celebs of the past were, because of the interaction they have with their fans on Twitter and Instagram. They're shooting photos of themselves using the same corny Instagram filters as everyone else and that blurs the line even more. Look at the way teenagers (and even people in their 20's and 30's) pose for photos now. Hands on hips, duck face monstrosities. It's the drug-addicted society girl/anorexic fashion model look. Everyone thinks they're a celeb. It's no wonder these kids can't hold down a job, they clearly think work is beneath them. 

Here's a "reality" show that I'd probably watch...  Invite all the useless asshats that you referenced above to participate in a new popularity show that's guaranteed to be seen and talked about.  Then have them all stand on a platform in the middle of a lake that's actually filled with hungry crocodiles.  Have a "platform malfunction" and, there you go!  Instant hit!
 

Where do I sign up to pull the lever? 
 
One thing I'm noticing more and more with job applicants is that they give you this really haphazard schedule of what hours they can work, as if they fully expect to have those hours accommodated. So I'll get:
 
"I can work Tuesday mornings between 9:45 and 11:15, Wednesday afternoons between 3:15 and 5:30, Thursday lunchtimes and Saturday evenings. Do you have anything with those hours?"
 
I swear, this is not an exaggeration. 

how is yr ad worded sharke? mention hrs!

backwoods
how is yr ad worded sharke? mention hrs!

Oh I do! Whenever I put a call out for a job opening I always say "must be able to work Mon-Fri full time"

if it's flexitime people will put in their preferences. nothing weird there.

or do u expect them 120hrs mon-fri? cant blame people for acting normally...