IN DEFENSE OF COMMON SENSE
By Hetty Gray
“Labor Day”
September 2, 2013
Every time I hear that the government is about to release the latest “jobs report,” I cringe. It’s not that I expect too much, it’s that I’m not surprised when they are less than expected. By that, I don’t mean an actual jobs figure. It goes deeper than that. A recent article in The Huffington Post confirmed my worries. That publication’s reporters put a different slant on the jobs numbers.
You see, jobs numbers are far more serious than the government would have us believe.
Yes, jobs are added as the months go by. In many instances, they are less than expected. Pundits jockey for position to put a bright face on this, but they do not tell what Paul Harvey termed as “the rest of the story.”
While millions are out of work, they are not completely counted in the government’s monthly jobs reports. Why? Well, the core of the problem is that the job claims are only for those currently looking for work.
Consider what Huffington reporters had to say.
“The number of Americans in the labor force — those who have a job or are looking for one — fell by nearly half a million people from February to March, the government said Friday. And the percentage of working-age adults in the labor force — what’s called the participation rate — fell to 63.3 percent last month. It’s the lowest such figure since May 1979.
The falling participation rate tarnished the only apparent good news in the jobs report the Labor Department released Friday: The unemployment rate dropped to a four-year low of 7.6 percent in March from 7.7 in February.
People without a job who stop looking for one are no longer counted as unemployed. That’s why the U.S. unemployment rate dropped in March despite weak hiring. If the 496,000 who left the labor force last month had still been looking for jobs, the unemployment rate would have risen to 7.9 percent in March.”
Do you see where we are going here? The economy depends on the labor force. The smaller the force, the smaller the tax revenues. We are spending $200 million an hour of money we do not have. Borrowed money. That’s not good news, folks. It’s hard to wrap your mind around a figure like that. Sadly, we are between the proverbial rock and a hard place.
Unions came into existence due to worker injuries, worker exploitation, child labor, sweat shops…. The list goes on and on. In that light, there is nothing negative about a union. The trades include many talented union workers across the country and we are grateful for them.
The problem comes when we look at how union higher-ups have squandered the hard-earned dues of the everyday Jane and Joe. The most serious cases have soared to astronomical amounts of money. In addition, the difficulty in terminating a poor worker only makes it harder for everybody else in the workplace.
Couple that with stories that defy common sense illustrating how an entire assembly line must shut down because an operator is banned from opening a door on his or her machine to replace a fuse or part (a electrician must do it!), and you can see why union reputation has suffered over the past several decades.
There is room for everyone in America’s workplace, union and non-union. Overseas job losses are more than numbers. We are fast becoming an information-based workforce. Manufacturing, especially heavy manufacturing, is a shadow of what it has been in the past. American ingenuity and work ethic built a nation that led the world in nearly every area. Now, there are millions looking for work.
The Middle East is ready to boil over, and we sit on huge amounts of energy here. Cut off the candy to those oil-rich states. We don’t need them if we tap our own resources. Take a look at North Dakota. Jobs open up daily and the economy is soaring. At the core? Fracking.
I wonder how many of the people who come out to protest tapping our oil reserves can curb our dependence on foreign oil. Don’t scream solar or wind. Both are heavily subsidized. The only reason to subsidize anything is to offset its losses. Electric cars? Ever hear how many miles you can go between charges? Not too far.
Today, as we honor the American worker, take a moment to think about the basics. Businesses must clear a profit to employ anyone. When the cost of doing business rises, there is less money for payroll. Looming health care costs impact the workweek.
James Hoffa claims that the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) will end the 40-hour workweek. I know of several people who were fired from full-time jobs only to replaced by two part-timers.
Here is a good comparison of how the cure is worse than the disease. It is easy to demand more money, but there is just so much money to go around. True, huge businesses report huge profits, but when expressed in percentage, many business owners only clear 2-4 percent profit for a year. That is not a lot of money.
Why do you think that gas stations began to stock food services and small merchandise? It’s because they need to make more money than their margin on fuel. And so it goes…
Getting back to the cost of doing business, especially for the small business owner, get behind the push for a rewrite of the job-killing health care legislation. Among its strong points is the coverage for pre-existing conditions. But, something else doesn’t ring true. It defies commons sense that an 18-year-old is considered an adult — able to vote or serve in the military — yet that same 18-year-old is relegated to “child status” when allowed to remain on parents’ health care insurance until age 26.
So now, we are children until age 26? A hundred years ago, 26 was considered middle age. After all, life expectancy was around 50. And what of my own family? At age 26, my grandparents owned their own homes and took care of themselves. By age 26, my parents had two children and were well on their way to owning their home.
Young people need to step up and take personal responsibility. They should expect work to be hard, and not shy away from the hard jobs. Sadly, most are not taught to have that “fire in the belly” once synonymous with Americans on the job. The “trades” are the heart of America, yet they are roundly ignored. In fact, many high schools abandoned industrial arts and home economics in favor of computer classes.
Take a current example. We have Caterpillar equipment on our farm, yet this summer we spoke with a Caterpillar dealer that serviced the oil fields in North Dakota and he and other Caterpillar dealers cannot find enough qualified mechanics. These are good jobs that pay well. And this situation is replicated in many other large companies.
What’s more, I don’t see a plumber or an electrician standing at an intersection with a sign reading “will work for food.” We cannot all sit in front a computer screen. Our society generates a lot of information, but it also needs to produce tangible, useful items. America needs to regain its spot as the best manufacturing nation in the world. We can start with a government that is “business friendly.”
Moreover, there is nothing wrong with getting your hands dirty at work. Many people do it every day to the benefit of each and every one of us. At this point, and at my age, I risk climbing up onto my well-known soapbox. Therefore, I close on a positive note.
Let’s make a promise to do what each of us can do to help the American worker. He or she is as precious as gold. Whenever you have a chance, take a moment to thank the person serving you. Nothing brings a smile to someone’s face faster than a compliment.
Every time you pick up an item marked “Made in USA”, give thanks for the jobs behind that product. Commend the serviceman or delivery woman who comes to your home or business. Remember that every food purchase in a grocery store represents the work of the farmer, rancher, dairyman, processor, packaging company, trucking company, railroad — and in the case of many perishables — the airline company.
We owe the American worker thanks in so many ways. Thanks to the guys and gals who get up, go to work, show up on time, step up and volunteer for the hard tasks, stay late if necessary and smile. It works!
Push for your representatives in Congress to move toward more energy here at home. It creates jobs. Be willing to spend a little more on large purchases and buy “American.” Think about it.