I am bothered by telemarketers the same as all of us, and yet after thinking and reading about what will happen to this industry, the demise of this industry, through our collective signing of the DO NOT CALL list it becomes apparent that our inability to tolerate these intrusions will effectively put a large population of people out of work. The majority of folks that comprise the workforce of the telemarketing world are single mothers, displaced heads of households, and other low-income folks. I did telemarketing right after my divorce and believe me, it was no picnic but it was the only game in town at the time until I could get my feet back on the ground.
We've had a similar opt out in the UK for years. It works a treat, I _never_ get telemarketing calls.

The telemarketing industry in the UK is growing faster than ever. The call centres in this region are regularily expanding.