Sri Lanka is at full employment – Politicians, Pundits & Public want you to think otherwise!

Ask yourself? We all know we cannot find basses, we cannot find housemaids, we cannot find farm workers, we cannot find people capable of working in hospitality, construction, garments, machine operators, now even competent drivers! IS THAT NOT FULL EMPLOYMENT?

The fact that there are people without jobs, waiting for what they want, not what society has places for is NOT the problem of Govt. it is simply a problem of the seeker being unable to modify his demands to suit the environment he is in.

We are lotus eaters, thinking that there is a perfect job for us to do, and until we can find it, we will not take it. It is just THOSE PEOPLE who form the so called unemployed. Tragically there are graduates who we have educated with our taxes who feel the same, and that society owes them a living.

WE MUST NOW SHY AWAY FROM PROVIDING JOBS. WE MUST CONCENTRATE ON TRAINING THOSE WHO WANT EMPLOYMENT,  IN JOBS THAT ARE CURRENTLY AVAILABLE ONLY!

With 250,000 vacancies, the PM is dreaming in Technicolor saying he will provide 1Million jobs. Please change the policy as follows:

“I personally know people you would consider to be poor, with NO qualifications whatsoever, who can only be tempted to go to work, leaving home, if they can be promised Rs50K a month minimum.”

This phrase must be memorized by all. It is the point at which our lotus eaters are willing to exert any effort to enter the labor market. Why? This Country and the Politicians have Set a Bad Example, by giving people Govt. jobs, where they do nothing, earn big, and even get a pension at the end of it. Can you beat that?

Yes, Sri Lanka has an excess of Lotus Eaters, Public Servants, Three Wheeler Drivers (500K more than we need) Security Forces, and non-working moms by choice. Public Servants and Forces are a drain on the Govt. Expenditure!

The $64,000 question any Economist MUST ask is, how the above, can be put to productive use, so that they actually contribute to the growth of the Economy, and add to well-being of the people who live here, so that as a Country, we don’t have to send people overseas for slave labor, and we return to being a Country that takes care of all its people in a fair manner, not favoring any class!