Labor Shortage Caused by Government
A Commentary by John Stossel
America has a record 8.1 million job openings.
The media call it a "labor shortage."
But it's not a labor shortage; it's an incentive shortage.
"No one wants to work," says a sign on a restaurant drive-thru speaker in Albuquerque, New Mexico. "Please be patient with the staff that did show up."
I never wanted to work. I got a job because I had to support myself. That was good for me. It forced me out of my comfort zone. It made me a better person.
Had government offered me almost equal money not to work, I never would have applied.
Today, government takes away that incentive.
The American Rescue Plan, passed in March, increased unemployment payments by hundreds of dollars and extended them for up to 73 weeks. Given the cost of commuting, etc., many people find they are better off financially (SET ITAL)not(END ITAL) working.
Denmark once offered workers five years of unemployment. Then they noticed that workers found work after exactly five years. So, Denmark cut the benefit to four years. Then most workers found jobs after four years. Now Denmark, wisely, has cut benefits in half.
Incentives matter.
America's unemployment handouts began during the Great Depression when desperate people really needed help. Still, you could collect for only 16 weeks.
Barack Obama extended unemployment benefits to up to 99 weeks.
"There are no jobs!" people I interviewed waiting in line for benefits in New York City once told me.
But that wasn't true. There were lots of entry-level jobs within walking distance.
My staff visited 79 nearby stores. Forty said they wanted to hire. Twenty-four said they'd hire people with no experience.
People in the unemployment line also said that the government should do more to train them for jobs. But New York already offered "job training" centers, so I sent an intern out to see what they did. The first offered to help her get welfare. A second told her to apply for unemployment. Neither place suggested looking for a job.
When she insisted that she wanted work, not handouts, they directed her to yet another building. There she was told she could not receive help because she didn't have a college degree.
Finally, a fourth office offered her an interview at the sandwich chain Pret a Manger. The boss there told her she'd wasted her time going to the government Jobs Center because she could have gotten that same interview using Craigslist.
Some politicians understand that handouts encourage dependence. Sixteen states are now ending extra unemployment benefits early. Montana and Arizona replaced extra unemployment benefits with a bonus for people who find work.
Even President Joe Biden has noticed the unintended consequences of his party's benefits. "If you're ... offered a suitable job, you can't refuse that job and just keep getting unemployment," he said.
Seems more than reasonable. Yet a New York Times headline says, "Some say it presents an undue hardship."
The reporter interviewed a "Mx. San Martin, 27, who uses the pronouns they and them."
Mx. Martin wants to work with pets. They complained that "there simply weren't enough jobs that I would actually want." Restaurant work "is not in my field of interest."
Too bad.
Bad for all of us when people think they're entitled to our tax money if bureaucrats don't get them the exact job they want.
John Stossel is author of "Give Me a Break: How I Exposed Hucksters, Cheats, and Scam Artists and Became the Scourge of the Liberal Media." For other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit www.creators.com.
COPYRIGHT 2021 BY JFS PRODUCTIONS INC.
Rasmussen Reports is a media company specializing in the collection, publication and distribution of public opinion information.
We conduct public opinion polls on a variety of topics to inform our audience on events in the news and other topics of interest. To ensure editorial control and independence, we pay for the polls ourselves and generate revenue through the sale of subscriptions, sponsorships, and advertising. Nightly polling on politics, business and lifestyle topics provides the content to update the Rasmussen Reports web site many times each day. If it's in the news, it's in our polls. Additionally, the data drives a daily update newsletter and various media outlets across the country.
Some information, including the Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll and commentaries are available for free to the general public. Subscriptions are available for $4.95 a month or 34.95 a year that provide subscribers with exclusive access to more than 20 stories per week on upcoming elections, consumer confidence, and issues that affect us all. For those who are really into the numbers, Platinum Members can review demographic crosstabs and a full history of our data.
To learn more about our methodology, click here.