A Day Of Free Training For Employment Works Program Participants: Fill & Download for Free

Priority 1: Big push on Skills India. Everyone agrees jobs is a problem, but no party has given a right solution. The solution to jobs is not giving some income to everyone. It has to be solved by a big push on a whole new program for skills.There has to be a national registrar of skills connected to your Aadhar. The entire population, along with all colleges and bonafide training institutes should be added. Sort of a Mega LinkedIn with proper validation.People could mark them as available and Machine Learning algorithms could connect them to employers looking for everything from short term gigs to long term ones. Your previous employment, degrees, KYC proof and criminal record everything can be obtained from a single place and this would allow employers to hire swiftly with lowest risk.Government could get the skillsets needed from employers and then run subsidized institutes across the country sending notifications to people looking for the job.Getting hired should be as simple as booking a Ola — with trust built on both sides through the platform and government skilling 100s of millions through the institutes.Priority 2: Dedicated freight corridors and rail corridors: India has a very poor logistics network. The goods trains are slow, expensive and unreliable. This make people use trucks that are polluting and unsafe. A key issue is that goods and passengers both run on the same track.The government has to finish the east and west dedicated corridors and build such freight corridors in smaller stretches in places with a lot of mixed traffic. Once goods move on their own track, unobstructed by passenger traffic, we can move 2–3x volume in shorter time and less cost. That would take a lot of trucks off the roads, leading to less accidents and less pollution. Together the speed of logistics network would lead to a big improvement in manufacturing.And as goods start moving off the passenger rails, you can increase a lot more trains and make these go on a constant speed like how the trains in metro go. That would allow substantially more train traffic to utilise the existing tracks and the speed would allow us to remove sleeper trains in most stretches — if Delhi to Mumbai takes only 5–6 hours and Bangalore to Chennai takes 2 hours, would you really need a sleeper? That would again increase more seats and drastically improve the throughput and profitability of railways.Priority 3: Build up a comprehensive water management system. As climate change accelerates we will have more floods and more droughts. That would require a massive change in how we use water. We have to get out of a lot of crops and return a lot of farm lands to forests. India is a huge exporter of water by growing water intensive crops for exports. India is the biggest virtual exporter of waterStart moving out of those crops and even import water intensive crops, while also building better ponds, lakes and reservoirs across the country for proper water storage. We are under a big threat of water.Priority 4: Build 50 new cities with proper planning and employment. Thousands of people leave villages every day. It makes sense. There is no way to provide good teachers, doctors, entrepreneurs and policemen to 640,000 villages of country. Neither can be provide the infrastructure to them in an efficient way. We have to drastically reduce the number of rural population without burdening our existing cities.The new urbanisation with planned cities along the lines of Chandigarh, Jamshedpur or Bhubaneswar has to be drastically accelerated. In the next 5 years we should have started building 50 new cities at a cost of $5 billion each with a plan to host over 400 million people in these new cities over the next 10 years.Priority 5: Bring a massive plan for female workforce participation. There has to be a comprehensive national plan to have high amount women working as this would improve a range of things including kids education, health and small families. We should look to have 70% of adult women in the age group 20–60 to be employed by 2024.The plan should include subsidized childcare for all working women, tax benefits to those companies that have 10% more women in their workforce than their industry average, cash/tax incentives for employers to hire women coming back to the workforce after a break of over 5 years. There should be free skills training for women in rural areas.You can see more here: India Dreams Collection: Ideas for changing India.

“Real change, not spare change”I think a perfect example of this, is a facility that I am familiar with in Colorado. I can’t speak for what it may stand for today, as the founder passed away in 2013 and sometimes vision leaves with those whose eyes and mind saw, but as best I can tell through my research and from hearing others speak about him, Bob Cote was a man beaten down by substance abuse and homelessness, also believing that you can’t coddle the homeless into rebuilding their lives.More “mantra” than “slogan”, Mr. Cote’s words to describe how the homeless needed to be treated were tied together in one small sentence, “A hand up, not a hand out.” The philosophy was simple, "Work works" – whereby residents are required to pay rent and be employed – received accolades from the Wall Street Journal to Readers Digest. A place to live, three meals a day, job training. In the beginning, the road to change might have looked something like this — making coffee in the morning and the responsibilities grew from there. As long as a man continued to progress, Bob continued to help. But stop working and Bob gave his aid to the next guy.Bob Cote’s short road to homelessnessBob grew up in Detroit, MI, and was a well-known boxer, after deciding it was time to move on, he headed to Denver, and it was during this time where addiction took hold of Bob and would chart a different course for his life -- a course marked by adversity and, ultimately, triumph.Consumed by his addiction, this former Golden Gloves boxer wound up homeless, living on the streets homeless, far from the streets in Detroit where he was making a name for himself boxing. In a moment of clarity he saw the demise and occasional death of other homeless addicts. Bob knew he might suffer the same fate so he emptied his bottle to become and remain sober. He would recruit others in his effort to help homeless addicts gain their sobriety which led to his founding of Step 13.Coté rejected any government funding for Step 13 declaring taxpayer dollars enabled non-profits to become addicted to government money and were unnecessary to run an effective program.President George H.W. Bush designated Step 13 one of his "Thousand Points of Light." ABC's 20/20 and John Stossel featured Bob and the simple, yet effective approach to helping residents become sober and self-reliant.Bob parlayed this recognition into tackling an issue near to his heart: Reforming Supplemental Security Income (SSI). Bob witnessed firsthand the devastating effect SSI had on the homeless: Individuals receiving SSI – originally designed to help those with disabilities – were using their checks to purchase drugs and alcohol. His outspoken passion caught the attention of then-Speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich, who tapped Bob to lobby Congress and successfully incorporate changes to SSI under the Welfare Reform Act of 1996. [1][1][1][1]Bob’s “hand-up” was his program that didn’t exist, or if it did, it just hadn’t made its way to Colorado. What Bob Cote saw, was the homeless being given hand-outs. He had a program for his clients to bring them back to functioning lives by steadily adding work responsibilities.Residents were required to labor (work) to earn their keep. The hundred or so men (It was, and still is, a men’s only facility / peer recovery program) who occupy the building at any one time pay rent for their rooms, which increase in comfort and luxury as the tenants proved their personal advancement to Cote.So, as you can see. That was one example of a program for the homeless that didn’t involve peppering the homeless with “gifts” — a free lunch, and no road to recovery.There is another program in Boulder, Colorado that shares some of the same thinking, the Bridge House, Ready to Work program in Boulder. That program for the homeless and working poor has a more guided approach.In Mr. Cote’s program, the homeless had a strict “if you don’t like it, leave” house rule that governed nearly any situation where a resident would challenge the program.Drug tests were random using a “lottery-type” system, making it harder to game. As a Case Manager of the Ready to Work program often says (paraphrasing), “Let’s be real, someone who is an alcoholic or drug user WILL FIND a way to get their drug — and that takes quite a bit of intelligence to do that sometimes, the odds are seemingly insurmountable — just think of all the crazy ways you know about where addicts have overcome impossible odds to get their substance, be it alcohol or drug.” Alcoholics (in Step 13) were required to go on antabuse, a drug that makes residents feel extremely sick if any alcohol touches them — even a “honey bun” has the potential to make you blow-positive on a breathalyzer test.AntabuseThe reaction is so unpleasant that most users would rather abstain from drinking than feel profoundly sick. In addition, the drug stays in the body for up to two weeks, making the alcoholic sick all over again anytime he or she consumes any alcohol during that period. The entire Step 13 facility has non-alcoholic hand sanitizers, non-alcoholic mouthwash (only) is permitted, any little bit of alcohol, can mean more suffering than a hangover. [2][2][2][2]Step 13Slip up and you get punished, also known as one-and-done. Their answer: If you don't like it -- you can leave.Residents pay rent for their military-squad-bay-type beds, which can be exchanged for a room when personal and program advancements are met. This is a form of encouragement and morale builder. Their answer: If you don't like it -- you can leave.Was 2-years in length, but is currently 1-year in program length (2016).In contrast…Bridge House, Ready to WorkDoesn’t believe in the one-and-done philosophy. The way this is successfully incorporated into their program is by looking at the gamut of causes for the slip, while finding a road to recovery that incorporates the causes and solutions into the program, because a large percentage of the homeless nationwide is due to “mental illness”. Why would you throw a person struggling with their brain chemistry adjustments and they get time under their belt for sobriety into a cold and unforgiving winter? A large percentage of those homeless are military veterans, as well as those suffering from domestic abuse, extreme health conditions, depression or various mental illnesses and you may be the last place they can turn to before they decide to “check-out” from life.Doesn’t have a one-size-fits-all program, as every resident and program participant is considered “unique” in their needs/requirements to move away homelessness, substance abuse, incarceration, and so forth.Doesn’t limit residency/program participation by gender.Doesn’t limit residency/program participation by duration. Some graduate earlier, some graduate later. This is where the needs analysis during internship and the assessment for program acceptance works in the program’s favor.Uses the “Housing First” concept. This is where a program gets it’s complete edge for exactly what you asked: Is giving to the homeless and beggars always a good thing or will it encourage them to not change their lives? because the single greatest cause of homelessness and the biggest hurdle to overcoming homelessness — is having a home.Is giving to the homeless and beggars always a good thing or will it encourage them to not change their lives? The philosophies of empowerment, understanding, recovery, and life-building are the core of many programs, especially the Bridge House, Ready to Work program whose goal is set in stone, to make sure you get a home at the end of your 1-year in their program — Step 13 has no transitional residency program, which means when you walk out of their doors onto the streets of the Larimer bar district — you’re on your own.Footnotes[1] Robert Coté's Obituary on Denver Post[1] Robert Coté's Obituary on Denver Post[1] Robert Coté's Obituary on Denver Post[1] Robert Coté's Obituary on Denver Post[2] Antabuse[2] Antabuse[2] Antabuse[2] Antabuse

Um yeah. This is the most depressing reality of all. Men like Paul Ryan have for some reason related to harsh ideology dreamed of this moment all their lives. They believe that providing a government-hosted security program to provide income beyond retirement constitutes an “entitlement” that goes against the supposed principles of free-market capitalism.The same goes for the Medicare and Medicaid programs that provide medical support to millions of people, typically beyond the time in their lives when they are working full-time jobs.Here’s a quick story to explain the importance and viability of both these programs. My late father-in-law was one of the “self-made men” who took over the company started by his father-in-law that manufactured hydraulic presses and shipped them all over America and the world.They employed 10 people in their shop in a suburb of Chicago. All earned a decent wage and many worked there for decades. A truly American story of collaboration and industry.A true conservativeMy father-in-law was a highly conservative man. He bought his cars by paying cash. He lived in the same house for sixty years. He loved history and knew it well. He was a self-taught astronomer who did not believe in climate change on scientific, not political grounds. We’d debate that and other things because he was a thinking man.As time went by the market for the machines he made and the machining his company did for other firms began to dry up. American manufacturing was being shipped overseas. The markets for his company literally dried up and blew away.A saving principleBut he’d carefully saved his money over the years, and played by all the rules for social security as well. Ultimately he closed the company and retired. He gave his employees severance checks, and that included his own son.A part of him was a bit bitter about the fact that America had essentially abandoned his firm. Where our nation once relied on manufacturing for 49% of its GDP, these days it is 9%. The rest of it went overseas. It followed “capital” to cheaper labor markets and supplies.So my father-in-law knew the realities of life like no other man I knew. But he lived well with the support of his savings by collecting social security, the government program into which he’d contributed all his life.I’d say he deserved that money. It was his money. Sure, it didn’t earn high- interest rates or invest in American industries the way stocks sometimes do. But it also stayed there all those years and wasn’t gutted by the fluctuations of markets that were volatile and thus, unreliable sources of income.Medicare to the rescueAnd when his health started to fail, he depended on Medicare to support his needs. Health insurance was expensive for his small company to sustain during its existence. Thus when it closed down he turned to a reliable source of insurance, which was Medicaid, for his retirement years.How can anyone say that this was “leaching off society” or spending money the government does not have? This highly productive man, who literally taught himself to engineer the machines his company created, without any formal training, was simply taking care of business the best way he knew how.But men like Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell think they know better how to live than my father-in-law. While they leverage their political power to considerable wealth for themselves, they take a bitter attitude toward all those who simply want security in their old age.Free market for pain and sufferingI’ve also lived the reality of competing for personal health insurance during eight years of cancer treatment for my late wife. I know what it means to pay $2000 a month for premiums after a company fired me the day after they learned that my wife had cancer. Oh yes, they can do that quite easily when the company is small enough. I got to experience the whims of bosses and lawyers and judges all in a fell swoop. And it happened several times over.So I take a dim view of these jerks who insist that somehow the “free market” is going to adjust the rates of health care. (Note: During the Bush years of 2000–2008, rates for health insurance rose by more than 96% (Source: Crains’ Chicago Business)And I don’t buy that the “free market” (the ultimate oxymoron if you ask me) will even protect the savings I do pump into investments. And I do. I participate in several ways.Managing affairsSo I’m no Luddite. I also managed my late father’s financial affairs, and his social security was critical after fifty years of gainful employment because he had a massive stroke that disabled him both physically and socially. He lost his ability to talk. Can you imagine trying to negotiate with a financial advisor when you can’t even speak?Social security took the place of all that negotiation. My father also wisely saved up, with help of my mother, more than half a million dollars that I effectively managed during the thirteen years he continued living after her passing from cancer and stroke at age eighty. They had long-term care insurance too. I learned how to juggle money better than anyone I know. I even conceived the plan in which we pumped money into a secure form of investment that returned 7% for the remaining years of my father’s life after his long-term care insurance ran out. But all along, the social security checks kept coming. Because it’s social security.Why can’t Republicans get that through their thick heads? All that many Americans want is a dose of security. Many of us don’t care if we get rich or have many of the things that people supposedly value. We want a basic, decent quality of life that is dependable, somewhat predictable and allows us a dose of dignity as we turn old and physically or mentally challenged.But Republicans hate that plan. They want to take it away to shovel more money to the wealthy, who “deserve” their tax breaks because they are Jobs Creators. Well, so was my late father-in-law. But true conservative that he was, he did not abide the idea that his security was somehow a compromise of someone else.Parental guidanceBoth my parents depended on their social security and their Medicare to keep them going long after they retired. My dad retired from the fiber optics industry and mom retired after more than forty years as a public school teacher. And yes, she had a pension too. When she died, that money was funneled into my father’s account. Well earned.But Republicans want a radical version of “free market” economics implemented in America. They want to take away pensions as well as social security and Medicare and Medicaid. If they get their way, they’ll privatize the Post Office and dispense with the EPA so that Americans have to pay more for everything they do and live at more risk of pollution-driven illness and reduced quality of life. And it’s not by accident. THIS IS THEIR PLAN. For you. For me. For every goddamned person in America. And this is not Make America Great Again.The Republican plan to gut both social security and Medicare is inhumane. It is ignorant, selfish and at some level, an entirely fascist approach to force people into their control. I hate the actions they propose because they are cruel, dimwitted and un-Christian. So there, I said it. They are a party without a conscience, led by a man with no morality and no compassion.They are, in a word, despicable.