So while the things you mention can likely be true, the behaviors you are talking about are very much related to people having difficulties in their 20s finding jobs and potentially getting laid off or fired and then struggling to get a new job. Basically my thought is that many of these people need some place that will really "help" them. Meaning that they need a type of job that will give them a good chance and allow them to make mistakes. Then help them get off drugs or other things that are hindering them.
I really like Germany's trade school concept. There are tons of people who could do those jobs well and if you give them a shot to do that at a young age you give them a marketable skill. Some people just honestly don't do well in a super academic environment.
I think the government would be very smart to say lets make it practically free to have people in various areas hard hit to do some trade skills programs.
We as a society benefit if there are more plumbers and welders and carpenters.
Current situation in 2017: I pay a plumber to fix my pipes $800 for 2 hours of work. Ouch. 1000 other people in my area pay that same amount. $800,000 USD has been transferred from many different people rich or poor to the plumbers.
Future, where we have more plumbers competing for the same job: Job costs $400. 1000 people pay only $400k to get the job done. So the people in that area have $400k more in their pockets to spend on other things. The now greater number of plumbers all make less money than the small number of plumbers that existed before. However, you have maybe 50 plumbers in an area instead of 25. So you have more people who are working a job that keeps them alive and busy and happy and far less likely to be doing drugs and likely they will have kids and get married.
So basically the concept of asking a community to cover the cost of paying for trade schools for more people is I think extremely smart to do. And the people who get cheap education to do these trades generally are going to feel pretty happy about that as well -- like "hey people in my area care about people doing these jobs..., so I'm a valuable person in my community.."
These people aren't sitting at home watching TV because they lack education. They lack education for the same reason they are sitting at home, which is a much more complex topic, and not solved by simply making education even more accessible.
I'll also add there's huge benefits to live collaboration and apprenticeship, namely the ability to solve roadblocks with the help of others at a pace that's likely to be faster than working alone.
Also, many libraries nowadays have been turned into "after school" centers where there's a whole load of talking on the kids section of the library.
There is a "quiet" zone, but people still whisper and really just straight out talk and you can very much hear the kids down the hall yelling and what not.
Unless you live in a huge metro area with a very large library (even then, the computer limit is still there) and instead of loud kids you get loud bums who are told every 10 minutes to be quiet by the guard...a library isn't really a great place to "sit down and gain skills across a variety of professions".
The only kinds of library where that romantic environment exists is at Universities, which many can only be accessed if you're a student there.
I mostly remember because of the pain it was to get clearance from security at those unis to be able to get out of the hackathon (at their libraries) and get back in; had to leave ID and take my visitor badge with me.
I'm sure many state unis are open to residents of that state, but I know not all. To be honest, I prefer it to be that way for the same reason "actual" public libraries just aren't conducive for actually studying something that takes a lot concentration.
Also, I say "education" in quotes because today in an age where anyone can learn anything on the internet, a lack of degree does not mean a lack of education. A degree just shows you're willing to be compliant and follow an arbitrary education system for years just to improve your social status. It doesn't mean you're unable to learn.
Where did you get that idea? As a farmer, I see endless work opportunities where the employers would just be happy to have someone show up. It seems most aren't willing to do the work though[1]. Which is fine. It's not everyone's cup of tea. Even more comfortable or 'higher status' work is also easily attainable with a bit of effort.
However, none of this addresses the reason for the situation they are in, and I don't mean just because they are lazy like you insinuated in another comment. There are a number of reasons why some people struggle in the workplace and it is related to the same reasons why they struggle in school, or even learning on the internet for that matter. To pretend that we can just throw education at this problem is misguided. Lack of education isn't the problem.
[1] https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2013/05/15/north...
Specifically, the people I know who fall into this category have one or more problems:
1. One (big) problem is that they often have an enabler -- that is, someone who is supporting these folks not working in some way. The fact that they don't do more chores or childcare supports this hypothesis. As the video said, sometimes it's the wife, sometimes it's the government via disability, sometimes it's family.
2. Another problem is issues with authority -- some of these folks are difficult or impossible to manage. Of course, sometimes it's because the company/manager is dysfunctional. Other times, the "issue" is that an employer sets healthy boundaries, and someone who does not have healthy boundaries will struggle to work within such an environment.
3. A third problem is simply drug use. There are a not small number of jobs that can be done by people with low education and low skills, but the employee must be drug-free or must be a "functional" drug user. There is definitely a chicken-egg question about drug use, but once drug use begins, getting and keeping a job becomes much more difficult.
In the video, they say education is one of the keys to help the situation, and I am not convinced that this is true with the current state of education in the US. The education that needs to be done is more social/psychological in nature, imho. Until this happens, these dysfunctional people will continue to be dysfunctional. I don't want to pretend like this type of education is easy, but I think that it's closer to the solution.