Last Thursday I was a panelist on Beyond Beijing's "Today" Show on China Radio International. The topic was unemployment. Thankfully, I did well enough during the discussion that I won't have to worry about my own job.

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The highlights of my comments:

*      Youth unemployment is a successful case of educators and government working together to block youngsters. A lot of educators and politicians complaining about youth unemployment are like criminals returning to the scene of a crime—they help put restrictions on business, undermine motivation to work with generous social benefits, and champion a mentality that demeans the private sector in favor of public service, volunteering, and public works jobs. Then they say they are `shocked, shocked, shocked' to find young unemployment.

*     The minimum wage law as enforced by government is a job-killer. President Obama is discussing raising the wage from $7.25 to $9.50 an hour. Young people should have booed him because many of them will be priced out of the market.

*     About people feeling they are underemployed, I don't trust such "self-reporting" statistics. Most people think their boss is dumb, that they aren't paid enough. I'm curious about the number of unemployed people who walk past "help wanted" signs without even stopping to check.

*      As important as education is in preparing youngsters for work, let's not confuse that with the ongoing push to keep youngsters in school, even after they demonstrate a lack of interest. If you major in puppet studies, then you should not complain about Wall Street blocking you from getting a job.

*      About job training programs: The best job training programs are already out there—McDonald's Pizza Hut. They teach better skills than job training programs do. It is for real. If you work at Pizza Hut, and the customers want their pizza delivered on time, with the toppings they wanted, then you have to get it right. (The other panelists all voiced their disagreement about this point). The best job training is a real job. But some people work hard to put restrictions on young people to block them from their first jobs.

*      Internships are criticized, this is another example of blocking opportunities. The Department of Labor puts many restrictions on internships—employers can't offer back pay to interns, they can't promise them jobs, the employer is not supposed to benefit. People block the door, then say they are shocked, shocked, shocked that youngsters are unemployed.

A few random thoughts:

1)   Concentrating during a radio interview: It can be tough because I am listening to what the others are saying, thinking about what I will say in response but also trying to organize my thoughts about the question itself.

2)  There never seems to be enough time to say even most of what I want. There are so many things the other guests are saying that I want to respond to, but I have to just let it go.

3)  My views usually get attacked on these shows so I must always be ready for a fight.

4)  There are some times that I don't want to answer or don't care about the questions I am being asked. But I am supposed to do so anyway.

5)  I prefer radio to TV. On TV, I was advised to sit at a certain angle. The makeup person would put powder on my head as well as makeup. I was supposed to be well-dressed (in one case, because I was out of the office and dressed casually, a radio station bought me a dress shirt for $35. I was often reminded to look at the camera or interviewer. TV always felt staged, even radio. With radio, I can just relax and do my thing. I can look up information while I'm talking or can have notes with me. I don't have to get dressed up. The focus on radio is on what you say, not how you look while you are saying it. I have been amazed by people who complained about the way a TV panelist was dressed, perhaps at the look on the person's face, even at the angle the person sat while talking. The content often seemed to be an afterthought.

6) As always, I would say some things differently and put more emphasis on some things.