Yes, in Hawaii the typical person I met works at 3 jobs to make ends meet, the young people are leaving the island or they end up working homeless. They say charity begins at home.

I guess maybe some but certainly not most. I know quite a few who came from non teacher and professional jobs who are definitely not in the 6 figure jobs myself included. I would guess those that still have their old homes plus there Florida home might fall into that category. That was one of the main reasons for leaving Long Island and the expenses that went along with living there.

I have to disagree with that. Maybe some but certainly not all. Maybe those who can still afford there 2nd home or had one of those super high end jobs. I know quite a few who are not in the six figure retirement category myself included. That was one of the main reasons for leaving Long Island as we have a much better lifestyle here and our money goes a lot further.

3 jobs: for example, lovely blue eyed blond 35 year old from California, modeled for me and the art academy in Honolulu, works as a nursing home aide, house sits or walks dogs when she can, and she drives for Uber when she can. She is talented and beautiful and has no private life at all too busy eating and sleeping when not working.

People are going to say, that’s not here in TV. But it sounds like it is to me.

I'm not lovely, or blue-eyed. I'm 58, not a model, not trained in nursing or able to lift someone if they fell. I couldn't successfully walk my own dog when I had one, let alone someone else's. After over 40 years of working mostly retail, my hip and spine are starting to fail me so I can't do that full time anymore.

So tell me where I can find a job that will pay the bills, and NOT knock me out of health care subsidies (or provide me with comprehensive health insurance so I don't have to pay for it).

Working 60 hours a week at 2+ jobs (to whoever said that) is not an option for MOST people who live in the Villages and are looking to work.

That is WHY the unemployment rate is so high here. Because the people who are actually willing to do the work, can't work more than x hours per week at entry-level jobs, without risking their Social Security payments, or health insurance, or their actual health.

The majority of people living in Sumter county are seniors, either wealthy enough to not have to work, or on fixed incomes who can't afford to be shut out of Social Security or health care by earning too much.

What I see here in stores, restaurants, and offices are fellow retirees. Sure, they are not getting their previous wages. They like to be involved and like or need a little extra cash.

BTW: once I get settled into permanent residency at The Villages I will be looking for part time work - probably at places like Target, which have policies for break periods so employees can sit down every few hours, and they pay better than minimum wage, which will cover the costs of reduced subsidies for health care.

Jaz, wish you luck selling your house. Coming from New England myself, you need to get your house on the market in April or early May. It's certainly a nerve racking experience.

Some of the health care workers I have talked to here in the Villages live in Ocala, or near Orlando, or in Leesburg, etc. That trend may continue of workers driving from other communities and working at hospitals or other health care services.

Bottom line for the new businesses coming, if they want to recruit the best employees they will need to pay wages better than the competition and/or better benefits. Smart business leaders will ultimately prevail. Those that continue to treat employees like slaves will lose.

They will have to pay a little more and/or rely more on automation. Look at what is happening in some family restaurants, ordering at a screen on your table, afterhours, using Roomba type devices to mop up. Japan is devoting 1/3 of its government spending to developing robots to assist in care of the elderly.

For somethings, you need the human touch. The Roomba needs a person to clean it, or help it when it gets stuck. Personally, I won’t paint a life drawing model who is a robot. And the list goes on....

I can just visualize arguing about free pour with a robot or screen.... talking with robots at TOTV....

I’d rather pay a living wage, whether to an immigrant (like I was) or to a citizen. I especially like hiring vets if they are available, who were willing to sacrifice for this wonderful country.

This post is about the lack of workers not about elderly people that can't work. When I stated that there is nothing wrong with working 60 hours a week I noted that if you are healthy referring to all of those able bodies sitting at home doing nothing. The unemployment rate does not include retired individuals, you have your numbers and thinking all mixed up. If an able bodied individual works 60 hours per week at somewhere between $10 and $12 per hour he would make over $35,000 per year and if he is married and his wife did the same that's $70,000 per year. That is a pretty good living for this area of the country and there are plenty of able bodied individuals out there that are either too lazy or can't pass a drug test. If your health and mobility is limited you should apply for disability and supplement that with a sit down job such as a ticket taker at the movie theaters, there is always a way.

Agree, IF there is a will, a way can usually be figured out.

You assume that everyone who is healthy is qualified to work one of the available jobs, AND that their expenses don't exceed that $12/hour job payment, (such as student loans for a degree) AND that health insurance is available for them at a reasonable cost without subsidies (since that income would disqualify them for ANY subsidies at all). You also assume that every one of these married couples has no children, or is in a $12/hour job that provides them with child-care for every hour they are out of work, or they maybe live with grandma who watches the kids til they get home, or are in school full time already and can get in and out of the house without their parents. You ALSO assume that working a $12/hour job is so simple that anyone who isn't a drug addict or lazy can do it.

In other words, you assume everyone fits your idea of "should work 60 hours and be married to someone who also works 60 hours, OR be lazy or a drug addict."

That's some entitled privileged horsepucky, to me.