Originally Posted by Renegade Nation:
Don't blame the employers. They are faced with making cutbacks wherever possible. They have to worry about surviving in the downturn. They are not hiring for a reason...and it's not because they are "evil" or "spiteful". But employers are the only ones that can "actually do something" about unemployment...it's a lie and myth that "congress" or the "president" can "do something"...the only thing they can do is either place more burdens on employers or do what they should and remove those burdens.
Lower labor costs now and permanently, not a short term tax credit that benefits no one...And stop extending unemployment benefits.
The saying "if you subsidize something, you get more of it" applies to unemployment benefits (just as it applies to welfare)...increased unemployment benefits will simply give us more unemployment.
The expansion of unemployment benefits amount to telling a lie to people, that they can continue to hold out for higher wages when the most important thing workers can do is to lower their offering prices for labor on the market...As the article said "it's a buyers market" right now.
Another great step would be to eliminate the minimum wage. This would give workers the freedom to offer their services at any rate privately negotiated between the employee and the employer. The minimum wage merely puts a floor on wages and acts like any price control...in this case, it creates a surplus of labor services that go unpurchased. It actually outlaws some jobs that would be productive at say $5 an hour, but not at minimum wage.
But the simple fix to the unemployment problem (and nearly every politcal/economic problem) is to get the federal government out of the way...lower labor costs that the government imposes that burdens hiring new employees.
But of course critics say we'll all be dead in a ditch somewhere without our wise overlords!
Nonsense...we need a dramatic change in the way we think of the role of government in our lives. It is just simply not the role of the federal government to do these things. And it is certainly not the role of the federal government under the U.S. Constitution to do them. It is not the purpose of the federal government to provide unemployment insurance, provide job training for someone who is unemployed, be concerned with who is or isn't employed, or "do something" about unemployment. Neither is it the purpose of the federal government to make laws regarding minimum wages, child labor, family and medical leave, discrimination in hiring, collective bargaining, or workplace drug testing.
The best way to get more jobs would be: Lower Labor Costs Now.
Don't blame the employers?
Corporations Sit On $1.8 Trillion Until They Get Their Way
Back in early 2008 when the primaries were heating up between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, a friend with contacts in high corporate places whispered a secret in my ear. The secret he told: Money sources will tighten and corporations will hoard cash in an effort to make whichever Democrat is elected a one-term wonder.
At the time I shook it off as wishful thinking. After all, he's one of those corporate guys, and saw the handwriting on the wall. Knowing he wouldn't get another Republican administration for awhile (If I had my way, it would be forever), he was just whispering silly scare threats in my ear to suppress any enthusiasm I might have had for a Democratic President.
Fast forward to July, 2010 and his words practically scream at me. Anyone who doubts what is happening in this country right now should go read Fareed Zakaria's column about why corporations are hoarding cash. Hoarding to the tune of nearly 2 TRILLION dollars, by the way.
Note to those who insist on Obama's corporatist stature: Corporations aren't happy. They're kind of angry, actually, because after all the years of freedom from regulation, they're being regulated. And they're being regulated by a Democratic administration, which means they're actually being effectively regulated.
Now, the CEOs have some core beliefs, and Obama just doesn't fit the mold of the corporate go-to in the Oval Office for these guys. There are no CEOs in his cabinet, he has no private sector cronies, and he believes in good government. See? Those are core Democratic values. Republicans, on the other hand, worship at the Altar of the Bottom Line, think CEOs should run the country and the world, and DROVE US INTO THE DITCH WITH THEIR BUDDIES CHENEY AND BUSH.
Anyone who thinks the unemployment situation is a product of poor governing on the part of this President can't recognize a class war when they see it. The real issue on the table here is corporate power and control.
Consider the recent Luntz-style attacks on the unemployed. Rather than addressing the reasons for the stubbornly high unemployment rate, they choose to demonize those who are unemployed. We're too stupid,too lazy, or we want to be paid too much to rehire.
Of course, none of these things are true, but they offer cover for CEOs to duck the true questions about why they'd rather simply sit on the cash and forego expansion for now. They'd rather do it because they can. Because they can afford to wait until they have a puppet in the oval office who will do their bidding, who will call off the regulatory dogs, and who understands unique corporate challenges.
So what are we to do? Well, one possibility is looking to (or creating) small businesses. The problem there is that small businesses are concerned about hiring people when consumers aren't buying anything. And consumers aren't going to buy anything if they have no money because they have no job and their unemployment benefits have run out.
It looks to me like it's time for the President and the Congress to start listening to Paul Krugman. After all, what is government for if not to be the safety net for people when out-of-balance power players such as the top 500 corporate CEOs decide they're going to outwait the unemployed until they write the rules?
http://crooksandliars.com/karo...llion-until-they-get