Ok. So the rumor mill has it that obese workers are treated unfairly during the hiring process and those already on the job. So what is the problem? Should obese [potential] employees get treated fairly? I mean like, such employees care little about themselves but somehow employers should care more about such workers? That just isn't the real world. Obesity on the job is not only costly to the employee i.e. health risks, job performance but also costly to the bosses that be i.e. increased group health care premiums, lost job performance, moral, etc. Sure there are the few that have valid medical conditions contributing to the weight issues but most of the time obesity points to a lack of self-control. That's simply something employers don't want to deal with. Who can blame them? The bottom line is that having weight issues is a visible sign to hiring managers that you may not be able to a) perform the required duties b) cost the company a bunch of money in health care costs. So if you really want the job [or keep the job you already have] it may be a good idea to demonstrate commitment to one’s own health first. Chances are high the boss will notice which could even lead to new opportunities given the demonstration of commitment to a rather personal challenge such as losing weight. Food for thought.

In the not so distant past, for those looking for new employment opportunities it was "...go south young man..." Now, it seems like jobseekers, entrepreneurs, and even large corps are changing that slogan to "...go south young man..." So much for the Golden State huh. So what’s driving employment opportunity seekers to head south? Well for one thing, job growth. If the jobs head south, so too will the people. What about businesses, why would a business from the North or West go south, knowing the history of the south? One word -- taxes. Even better -- three words - "dirt cheap taxes." For business owners, entrepreneurs and large corps the huge reduction in taxes adds up to millions in savings. Think about it...why else would anyone want to live in Alabama versus say New York or California? Bottom line is cheap taxes for business means jobs growth in the south -- especially in Alabama and Georgia. The flip side [there's always a but] is that such a move may not be so good for job hunters, who often have to trade in certain rights found in more progressive states such as New York or California, to have a job in the south. Oh well, guess that's an individual decision...maybe a job with no rights in the south is better than no job in New York with rights.

pretty much everywhere you look today there is talk about the increase in jobs and hiring. So why is unemployment still high? Go figure. Not only is unemployment still high it is virtually unchanged. In the USA, as a whole, 227,000 new jobs apparently wasn't enough to move the unemployment rate from 8.3% not even .1% come on...Some states like New York and New Jersey are seeing declines in unemployment. Take the 139,400 jobs added last year in New York, which was enough to drive down unemployment to 8.2%. Let us not forget about the 13,300 jobs added last month in New Jersey, which almost erased the 18,700 jobs the state lost for the whole year of 2010. Finding a job in the northeast sure has gotten a lot easier but here again, if some states are seeing major gains like New York and New Jersey then why is the national unemployment rate refusing to move south? The first thought is that maybe so many other states are doing so bad that increases in jobs and hiring in only a few states doesn't make a dent in the big unemployment picture. Makes one kind of wonder who stands to gain by unemployment rate remaining high? Uhhh oh, who said that? It wasn't me...

Although unemployment is trending downward, it is still not enough and not fast enough. So what's the problem? The economy itself...the private sector is simply too private to fix. Deal with it people. This is democracy at work. Isn't that what the masses wanted...to be free of government control? Well here you have it. That's not to suggest that having the government control every element of what employers can and cannot do and when they will do it. Conversely, it is simply a reflection of reality. It is what it is.

Why then do so many people fault the government when jobs are not created fast enough? Unfortunately, too many people are misinformed, miseducated, and others just simply brain dead. The private sector is called private for a reason. The Feds have little control over what goes on in the private sector. Guess what? The private sector knows that very well. Moreover, high or higher unemployment is good for the private sector. People who have jobs are scared to death to quit and put up with a lot of crap to keep a job. Wage increases are virtually unheard of during high unemployment periods. On the contrary, salary cuts are popular during high unemployment periods as is increased levels of unpaid overtime. All this translates into higher profit margins for companies at the expense of workers; most of the time middle class workers.

Wake up and smell the coffee. The private sector has little incentive to post a lot of jobs and hire a bunch of unemployed people when their doing just fine with the workers already on the payroll. If the whiners and complainers really wanted change then they would not have voted the wealthy special interest favoring officials into office during the most recent mid-term elections. Therefore, the real problem is the none other than ignorant voters. Now factor in that the private sector is simply too private to fix and you have a recipe for bad employment news for a while to come. Maybe voters will get smarter -- one day. Keep hope alive!