Hacking the Minimum Wage
by Morgan WarstlerIn a recent post, I posited unemployment insurance should be reformed to offset the minimum wage for new small businesses hires. Please continue in comments to help me brainstorm.
This is a “free stimulus,” because it uses current unemployment payments to actually create new jobs. No tax cuts. No deficit spending. No new government program. And only Main Street gets to use it. When was the last time you heard something sane and immediate?
The Elevator Pitch
Example: A company not currently making new $7.25 per hour hires, can bid $2 per hour and if no other employer in the area bids more, and have deeply discounted workers… with the government making up the difference to $7.25.
The discounted employment contract is for one month, so when a higher bid comes in, the current employer will have to meet the new pay. If no higher bid comes in, the small business continues paying $2 per hour. Highest bid wins.
If the economy improves, the bids from the small businesses will increase as demand for employees increases. As unemployment claims go down, there will be less money in the program, so no free rides. If a business loves a new discount hire, and they are afraid of losing her, they can cover the $7.25 themselves.
Think of the unemployed in your community, their work is a deadweight loss of human capital cannot be recovered. Now imagine what an entrepreneur could do with that capital – if she got it at a discount.
The Ugly Reality
Don’t be fooled. Reducing unemployment is about creating millions of CHEAP jobs. Yes, we need middle-class jobs, but the vast majority of unemployed are the people who lost low wage jobs.
- under $12,499 – 30.8% unemployed
- $12,500-$20,000 – 19.1% unemployed.
- $20,725-$29,680 – 15.8% unemployed
We have to wake up here. Six million people are receiving unemployment. We need a return on that money.
Meanwhile, Sen. Reid is talking about a “bi-partisan” $15B jobs bill that experts say won’t do jack.Even the National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB), the folks meant to get this money, admit new hires will only happen when there is greater demand.
“Right now, business owners just don’t have customers,” Rys said. “Until you have work for the employee to do, there’s really less of a reason to hire a new worker.”
And that’s not true at the bottom of the market. According to NFIB:
A higher minimum permanently reduces job opportunities for unskilled and handicapped workers, denying them the opportunity to become productive members of the labor force.
The Judo
At the bottom of the labor market, we’re talking about newly discounted goods and service costs:
- A Day Care Center / Pre-School adds three on staff for the price of one, they can take on more children and can reduce their price per child for all families involved.
- Telemarketers can drop their price per call to compete with India.
- Yard Work, House Cleaning, Dry Cleaning, Car Washes with new lower prices that work for middle class families.
Yes, if we could just get rid of the minimum wage, all of this would occur. The market would solve. Prices on low end goods and services would go down and jobs would be created.
But politically, demanding an immediate end to minimum wage is a non-starter.
This is a workable hack. This is a politically viable approach that increases market forces (price discovery) right away. If the low end economy doesn’t improve this new approach to Unemployment Insurance will drive down the cost of the goods and services we all use, saving us money, and keeping the cheap jobs here.
Republicans and Blue Dogs should prepare this plan and the next time Obama seeks to extend Unemployment Insurance, they should demand this structural change.
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106 Comments
Why not just kick the illegals out? That would save us a fortune and Americans would take those jobs. We need to do this anyway.
Free, Free, Free, Free, Free. Everyone wants the free stuff, the freebie.
For every free thing we get, as a society, we sell our freedoms on the installment plan.
"This is a “free stimulus,” because it uses current unemployment payments to actually create new jobs. No tax cuts. No deficit spending. No new government program. And only Main Street gets to use it. When was the last time you heard something sane and immediate?"
Until we learn one hard lesson, that there is nothing free, that there is no free in free lunch, nothing will change.
Are you going to come over and mow my grass?
Who actually *pays* for this, and who benefits from it? Morgan, you're soft in the head if you really think this is a viable solution. You obviously have no idea how business and payroll works in this country.
Dhasselhoff, the earth just shifted on its axis. You said something I with which I agree.
Who took Dhasselhoff, and what have you done with s/he/it?
No, No, No…..more government involvement in businesses, no way, no how. government subsidized workers and mountains more of required paperwork. Stop using taxpayer money to subsidize everything. It's a noble, progressive idea of yours that would appear to do a beneficial thing, but in actuality, we need less government and less taxpayer money re-distributed to the public. We need people to move off of unemployment, agreed, but the policies that would encourge full employment are not in place and this would just be another layer of government creeping into our businesses. Cut capital gains, cut taxes and employment would go up.
Interest rates up 50%. Could be a game changer.
I wish I could get my hands on decent affordable help. The labor market is in complete denial. Stoking wages in the face of wage deflation only means a longer way to the bottom.
The labor market here is still acting like spoiled babies. So I cant give them work. Sux for them. Sux for me.
Andy Stern should face a firing squad.
………and who's gonna build the wall?
We don't need the government to "make up the difference". What we need are tax cuts for small businesses. It works tried and tested!!!!!!! Sooner or later its gonna come down to right and wrong (I HOPE) and we all know whats right.
I can see a big flaw with this. What is to stop a business from keeping that $2 an hour wage for one month and just keep the revolving door of employment going at $2 an hour? Everything else is footed by the taxpayer. So, more taxes instead of less and more government "oversight". Sorry, man but this plan is not what we need. Cut taxes across the board, boot the habitual welfare cases, drop illegals and then you will see stimulus.
CL, there are plenty of instances where the illegals were run off, and the indigenous folks were happy to fill the void. The most recently published examples were about chicken farm workers. Maybe grass cutters are different – I dunno. Hell, I'm an old white man – I'll cut your grass!
I like creative ideas as much as anyone. Unfortunately, if you allowed this current crop of politicians to set up a system like this they would create a bureaucracy large enough to ruin a small country to administer it.
Cut taxes across the board. Cut spending across the board. And remove regulatory hindrances to business and manufacturing.
It will not be long before unemployment payments will no longer be the crisis it has become.
On a serious note, I was being facetious.
Us old white guys can still do alot of work.
Labor is still labor, there is nothing wrong with it.
My husband has been out of work since August 2008. He was making over $40K a year. He is a good man and works hard, but the fact of the matter is there are NO jobs, especially in Vegas where we live. He has filled in applications at fast food restaurants and offices. He is a machine operator and prefers to work with his hands, but in this current economic climate he doesn’t have the luxury of being choosy. We have survived on my wages which are decent and unemployment. His unemployment will run out in 4 weeks. He hasn’t been milking the system or sitting on his butt and it pisses me off that people imply that everyone that is currently on unemployment are just lazy and don’t want to work.
Whether or not this is a workable idea, as presented, I applaud the effort to try to come up with a solution. Too much of the time, bloggers seem to spend more time complaining (ok, to be fair, “identifying problems”) and not enough time trying to propose any promising alternatives.
Thanks for the post, Morgan.
I just got rid of our gardener because I found out the hired 2 illegal aliens, if everyone would do this it would help. I also hired a different group of young men to do it and have a written guarantee they will never bring illegals on my property.
Hmm… the comments that say “this is just more govt. interference” make sense… but so does the “abolish the minimum wage” side of that, with the rest of it coming in as “under-employment” benefits.
It is a step in the right direction… but I can’t see it actually “replacing” unemployment. It will become an “addition to” program… and that’s where it gets ugly.
Employers pay illegals wages Americans won't accept!
Wait! I meant illegals do jobs Americans don't want to do!
Aw crap, now I'm confused! Little help? Anybody?
I'm not in favor of government paying anyone's salary. It's just another socialistic idea. Sorry, but you're way off base here.
Dhass, you sir are living proof of the old adage that 'even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in awhile'.
good job.
You sound like some grumpy old man who formed this opinion while watching tv.
If government gets the HELL OUTTA the way and sets the private sector loose (a totally foreign concept to liberals) businesses will see increases in demand, fueled by more money in the general economy.
The result is higher wages for EVERYBODY because there is competition for EMPLOYEES.
I moved to Austin, Texas (yes, liberall fairyland) and competition for workers drove wages up. If you could manage the higher cost of living you could do pretty well.
Dhasselhoff and some others have spent enough time here that rational thought is starting to rub off on them. I found myself agreeing with "mik" yesterday…one that we have all grown to ignore!!
Semper Fi Comrade Terry!
Higher cost of living? Not higher than JerZ!
Higher cost of living? Not higher than JerZ!
Government should not "make up the difference".
Government should stay out of it totally.
This is "guaranteed minimum income" crap, it should be dismissed out of hand.
This idea does not abolish the minimum wage. It has government creating a "minimum guaranteed income".
Government makes up the difference? That sounds like something I'd hear on far left websites
Then we can set the minimum at $20 and government pays us all!!11!!eleventy
This is a retarded idea
Government makes up the rest?
And where does government get the "rest"?
From the businesses maybe? from others who are working? They should subsidize some else's job now?
Bad bad idea.
I hope you know this is not what we think. We all want the economy back and people back to work.
Hey Morgan, you ALMOST got it. Just eliminate the minimum wage altogether and if an employer can hire someone for 2 bucks an hour, then someone makes 2 bucks an hour. Stop extending the unemployment benefits. If another employer offers the worker more, I am sure he'll take it. Increasing the minimum wage is a major part of what got us into this mess, one of the issues that is either ignored or just goes unnoticed. Every time the minimum wage goes up, so does unemployement.
Please continue in comments to help me brainstorm…. OK i will.
Your ideas are Kooky… but plausible. Your time would be better spent pumping the fairtax though. Labor market minimum wage fights are a band aid.. The fairtax is the cure. IMHO.
Hey Tiffani, do us a favor and ask your husband to get off his butt and go out and do some work for a living. Anyone on unemployment for that long is a sponge. Are you trying to say that with 10% unemployement, which means that apparently 90% of people have jobs, that your husband can't do any better than warm the couch for two years?
Watch how quick he finds a job after the unemployement bennies dry up. What I am sick of is hearing people whine about being called lazy, but yet they won't stop holding their hand out for that gubment check.
Since your husband seems to have so much free time on his hands, why doesn't he volunteer to go work with the Minutemen and stop illegals from crossing the borders and taking our jobs?
When ICE came in & arrested a whole slew of illegal workers in the local beef processing
plants, Cargil put out the rumor they might have to shut down. Guess what, I don't know if
they did or didn't, but all the beef counters in the grocery stores around here were full.
they'll build the damn wall when we're all trying to get the hell outa' this sumbich, just wait & see.
Tif,……..I'm truly sorry for the circumstance you find yourselves in. I personally know a 20 yr old man who
had only been in the workforce about 18 months. Of course he was one of the first to be laid off at the mine
where he worked. He's single, still lives with his parents, & this is a paid vacation for him. His father, a retired
postal employee, who collects disability, but works illegally as a freelance carpenter & fix-it man, has advised
him not to try to find work. This has gone on for 6 or 8 months. It's criminal.
You didn't ask for my advice, but consider relocating. Dave Ramsey has good advice for people in your pre-
dicament. Good Luck
But the government is already subsidizing these people through unemployment checks. What this proposal would do is get people working for that money. It would reduce the government cost by whatever the businesses pay, while still allowing people to receive a decent wage for work actually done.
I'm with you Mal,……….these workers are already collecting unemployment, so they are in the system.
Seems to me there should be some way to submit their job earnings & subtract them from the unem-
ployment check. There would be some bookkeeping costs & hassle, but to save the system it would be
worth consideration. I think folks who are abusing the system, not even looking for work, would HATE
this. They'd have to get up, go to work instead of sleeping & breeding.
Written guarantee heh, if you really want to put them on the spot, ask for a copy of each employees
i 9. If they don't have i 9s they are not following proper procedure, which probably means they are
paying cash, which means they are running a shady, maybe underground business. If they don't
know what an i 9 is, disassociate.
Not at all; this was nothing to do with consumer borrowing; it's the bank's emergency overnight loan rate….
Because the next month another company might bid $2.25; if you want to keep your employees, you need to pay $7.25.
What's perhaps underlooked here is that it gives a business a one month "try before you buy" which for minimum wage jobs is usually a crapshoot anyway.
I think you might be right.
Some people just don’t get the bottom line. NONE of this crap is constitutional. Fed getting involved with unemployment, minimum wages, and yes, even the 16th amendment giving Congress the power to tax income is unconstitutional. “How can the 16th amendment be unconstitutional, since it’s in the constitution,” you ask? Look it up. If you can find any evidence that the 16th amendment was legitimately ratified then you’re smarter than I am and I have searched the world over.
The fact is that people with power have pushed through a lot of unconstitutional crap over the last century or so and it tends to become legitimized through precident and institutionalization. That doesn’t make it right or constitutional, it just means we are used to it.
I have had it. If you want ANYTHING other than protection of your liberty from government, then cry to your state and leave the feds out of it. This i snot a nation built from the top down with power at the top. This was a nation that the states agreed to give only certain powers to at a federal level, all other powers have been usurped.
I am glad to see that finally, starting with Virginia and Texas, many states are starting to take the 10th amendment to heart. I think it is possible the first time anyone in any state government has actually read it in a hundred years or so. States are always so happy to illegally and unconstitutionally hand over power to the feds for a bribe here and a kickback there. ENOUGH!
One example is this : most people assume that the legal drinking age in the United States is 21. Incorrect. There is no federal drinking age. It would be unconstitutional for the federal government to set a drinking age without a constitutional amendment at the very least. How did they get around this little obstacle? The states took federal tax dollars for highway funding as a bribe to raise the legal drinking ages to 21. This was all political, did zero for decreasing deaths caused by drinking and driving and made some organizations like MADD rich.
Our founding fathers, (George Washington in particular, being a tobacco farmer) must be rolling over in their graves over the punative tax rates set on tobacco products!
We would have no deficit or debt problem, let alone an unemployment problem if the damn federal government would just get to the job they are constitutionally supposed to be doing and keep out of the rest of it.
you got that right
That's far worse than interest rates under Carter !
I haven't seen your posts here before, but I thought you were very judgemental with your comments. I take it you are employed and enjoy all the perks that go along with that. There are a lot of people in this economy that truly cannot find jobs…… If no one is hiring, it's not his fault. At least he is still trying. I guess he could volunteer to join the Minutemen…… but how will that help him find a job? Did you notice that the wife is working and they are trying to make ends meet? Unemployment doesn't pay enough to put a roof over your head, or pay the bills, but it might put food on the table. So no, the unemployment check you refer to as the "gubment check" is nothing any law abiding, tax paying, hard working citizen wants to take. It is very depressing situation for those that have worked hard all of their lives. I was glad they were finding a way to survive.
A friend of mine in TX was in the same situation in 2008, and her hubby couldn't find a job until recently. I know how stressful the situation is, but at least you guys are doing OK. Anyone who puts down people that are getting unemployment most likely are employeed full time (for now…. it could happen to them tomorrow). They do not understand the impact emotionally and financially it has on those that have worked hard their entire lives and NO they haven't every taken a "gubment" check. Don't hang your head. You are not alone in this unemployment mess. I got an e-mail from a friend in FL today that she was getting layed off. Another friend in Chicago expects to be layed off by end of April. Best wishes to you and your family.
Thanks corn. I truly didn't comment for sympathy, but only to point out to people that there are hardworking people that just can't find jobs right now. Believe me, I don't and wouldn't ever just allow my husband to sit on his ass. He was let go in August 2008 and he waited until the end of November 2008 to even file for unemployment because we both have always been opposed to unemployment, welfare, section 8. Well, after finding ourselves truly needing it, I appreciate that it has been there to help us out.
We are looking to relocate, but are hesitant to do so because I have a job right now and i don't have guarantee of having one where ever we were to move to. I've been wanting to get Dave Ramsey's book, so maybe when I take our son to the library this weekend I'll look it up. thanks for the tip.
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If I know anything about the government getting involved, there will be no net savings. Even if this program somehow saved $100 million a year, the government would then use this " saved " money on another entitlement program. They have no concept of actually saving money.
Coffee Maker…
[...]Listed below are links from authority web sites that have been used as a reference to this post [...]…
Its better that we think about employees welfare first. Pay them good wages, take care of their health, their living, food, etc. Its the man power which is really important for every kind of work.
Anna Maria Perez,
I have read your comments and, while a little on the cold side in the case of Tiffany, are logically unassailable. What a refreshing change! Thanks!
i'm afraid you're right. the idea actually has some merit in that it wrings some productive labor out of what is currently producing zilch- not counting better Neilson ratings for daytime TV. however, that five bucks per hour the govt is kicking in will require $48.50/hr of bureaucratic bullsh!t 'oversight', over and above what's already being pissed away to administer the unemployment funds now…
Sorry. You are talking cnbc and I'm not. I went significantly short. Axelrod. You know what is going down.
This "nothin'" to do 'with thingy' is in poor taste.
They didn't raise interest rates because they wanted to dunce cakes. They raised them because they had to dunce cakes. The bond market did it for them. What they did do is stick it to the chinese who can't GET OUT.
Many are missing the big picture. We can't sell our bonds. What would stoke demand? A total collapse of everything NOT US BONDS…including the stock market.
So. Political Lies? You were making a point?
As stated above… nope. No micromanagement from another bureaucracy…. tax cuts and let employers create jobs. Government is almost always the problem and never the solution if it goes against our foundation.
Thanks for posting about this news. I am always interested in locating deals on things. I have bookmarked this and will be back to check out more.
[...] Morgan Warstler at Big Government has an idea. And it has some merit. But when he starts getting into the details it gets seriously Rube Goldberg. Well, see, we have a sort of auction, and there is bidding, and if the best bid we get for a position is $3 an hour and the minimum wage is $7 then the government subsidizes the job at $4. But then if someone else bids $3.75 then he gets the worker and the government only subsidizes $3.25. And then … [...]
you know, alot of undesireables – aka criminals – come in on all kinds of "temporary worker" visas including the 9/11 Hadjis.
Shut that deal down. One for Dhassel.
LOL!! Same here Tex!! I actually agreed with 'mik' also…I hope they're coming over to 'the right' way of thinking and not the other way around! HAA!
Best would be to allow recipients of unemployment to retain their UB for a set period while beginning a new job.
I've never understood why benefits get cut off upon starting a new job as it takes time to get that first paycheck, it usually is at a lower beginning rate because the new hire gets the lowest pay, unemployment causes one to put off/reduce payments for many items that are needed if one has a job (i.e. car maintenance, commuter costs, wardrobe, purchasing lunch).
That would provide a help for both the worker and the employer without changing much administratively. The benefits would then expire at the normal time (if soon) or would taper off if the unemployed worker has many weeks to go on their UB.
How does an employer gain by this? They can offer a much lower starting pay and get a much more qualified applicant due to the extra boost while the new hire acclimates plus the new employer would be off the hook for unemployment benefits during the trial period so rejecting an unsatisfactory employee would be less costly.
The thing about government ( being the 'cause' and the 'solution' to every problem was said best by Gerald Ford (I always thought it was Thomas Jefferson!)
Gerald Ford (14 July 1913 – 26 December 2006) , the 38th President of the United States.
"A government big enough to give you everything you want is a government big enough to take from you everything you have.
Presidential address to a joint session of Congress (12 August 1974)
The problem is, there are too many people on welfare (lifetime) and foodstamps because the government wants it like that! If they can make people dependent on them, they can also make them do what ever they (government) wants…losing our freedom would be their first step!
The earned income tax credit already pays low-income workers. So get rid of the minimum wage altogether and don't add any extra wage-paying bureaucracy… just let the EITC boost income up to the current minimum wage. In other words, we can do everything you suggest by simply abolishing the federal minimum wage law. Added benefit: the state minimum wage laws would fall like dominos as the more socialist states go bankrupt.
Here's a plan: Give the younger generations a choice to opt-out of social security and save on their own. The elimination of 6.5% payroll taxes on both the employer and employee would go very far in creating new jobs while lowering prices as a result of lower costs. How about elimination of the minimum wage, which artificially inflates the cost of goods and services and creates job losses as a result of forcing employers to pay certain employees more than their services are reasonably worth. The minimum wage also attracts illegals and gives employers incentive to hire them under the table.
WOW… for the last couple of days YOU are making some sense. did you fall down and bump your head?
Just as Slavery benefited rich farmers to the detriment of the white middle and lower class, H1B1 visa holders benefit the rich corporations, and are detrimental to the middle and lower class workers.
Some of these executives would replace every worker they could with a low cost slave if we let them.
Get government out of business and get business out of government. The evidence is overwhelming that they don't mix.
Call me politically incorrect, but I'm just going to go ahead and let this known. I live on Nantucket Island, in Mass, and who I see holding these lower payed jobs are not Americans. They do not even plan on living here after their work visa expires. They will take their American money and move back to their home-country and live a more lavish life than they could ever imagine. I admire Jamaican's, Bulgarians, Eastern Europeans, Mexicans, and others who are here, for stepping out of their country and trying to make a better life for themselves, but it must be said that while they are doing this, Americans who were born here are not the ones getting hired to build, repair, work at the stores, learn trades in America, and contribute, and so on. If we would end the Work Visas for a time, it would cause conflict, but it would put Americans back in the work place. Enough said.
Smoke crack much?
I mean really, if you're trying to say something, just say it.
Again, I reiterate: the rate raised has nothing to do with consumer borrowing, and it's a move that's been expected for some time. If anything, the Fed kept it at 0.5% for far longer than anyone thought they would.
And saying "Interest rates up 50%" is a teeny bit misleading when the rate is only up 1/4 point…
Now, go back to your crack pipe.
[...] See original here: » Hacking the Minimum Wage – Big Government [...]
This will not work.
Eliminating the minimum wage would help.
Reducing Emplyment Taxes would help.
Reducing Healthcare costs would help.
But we NEED a game changer economically.
We need VOODOO Economics!
End the Department of EDUCATION.
END THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY.
END THE ARTS AND PBS PROGRAMS.
DE-FLOWER THE EPA.
And go to the craziest pro-growth, pro American Economist you can find
and promote his/her crazy VOODOO Idea and
Let's ROLL!
Yea Fairtax….I totally agree……
They got rocks in Texas, right? One person walks out to the border, sets a rock on it. The next day, he does it again. People see him, people join him. Pretty soon, a wall is built. The government isn't going to "waste resources" building one, you think they'll waste resources tearing it down?
(Probably, but even so it's worth a shot.)
I thought this was a fair idea at first, but there are better ways to go about it. As other posters have suggested, let's start by cracking down on employing unqualified workers – illegals, namely. Then, let's sharply cut back H1b visas, which are supposed to only be usable when there are no qualified Americans to take the position.
My opinion of your thought process on this idea radically shifted on the line "with the government making up the difference". The "government" doesn't do jack shit here, *we* do. You idea is better than the current system, in the same way that it is better to lose a finger than an arm – neither are outcomes that I would choose ahead of time.
Changes of this nature take much political capital to make happen – and that time, money, and energy is best devoted other places.
I think that's a pretty good idea. Getting a job is about selling yourself to your employer (not like that!). In the free market, you have to find balance between what you're worth and what people are willing to pay. A person's skills may be the best in the business, but if no one is willing to pay that person's minimum fee of $1,000,000 per hour, that person wont' find work.
$2 an hour is better than $0 an hour, but I'm not sure that many high school graduates can do that kind of math.
The concept of Minimum Wage is ridiculous.
It doesn't count food stamps, well fare, earned income tax credit etc.
The progressives want minimum wages to limit the supply of labor to drive up wages. It is the same rationale for using unions that create super minimum wages in sub sections of the economy. In fact, progressives don't want a minimum wages, they want HIGHER minimum wages. Progressives must therefore be educated that only actual productivity growth increases real wages, at which point they would no longer be progressives. Good luck.
Good ideas, but as was said earlier–not everyone on unemployment is lazy. Many newspapers have stopped having job classifieds because there's nothing to print. No jobs. If you get laid off, or your contract doesn't get renewed–it's hard to find something that doesn't exist.
Unemployment insurance, paid for by the employee, independent of the employer may be a good start, but it's not going to help right now. Ending the minimum wage is an excellent start. It doesn't take much to work at a phone bank, and if we can undercut India's prices, American companies will hire American phone operators and keep that money flowing within our borders, instead of a one-way trip out. Depending on the price, we could be the nation that others outsource their jobs to, instead of sending our jobs to other nations.
I don't think anyone was accusing people like you and your husband of being loafers. They were simply stating that there are plenty of people whom have worked the system long before this and they know whom they are. Habitual work six months and get fired people. Refuse a government offer of education because it would ultimately mean you would have to give up your welfare. Have more children to get more welfare. Some of these people I see paying for food with food stamps drive off in brandy new Escalades. The system is broke and I am damb tired off it.
It all comes down to, do I want the government funding this with tax dollars?
Mr. Warstler, can you brainstorm on the fallacy of tax cuts when combined with deficit spending. You can cut all the taxes you want and just ofset them with borrowing more. Deficit spending is nothing but a tax increase, just like the 800Billion plus stimulous was nothing but a tax increase. the pols just fool the people with word games
Hello MaxineCA,
How very astute, you are absolutely correct. My comment was very judgemental. And? It's about time that people started being judgemental instead of always trying to hide behind a politically correct facade of tolerance. The time for judgementalism having a stigma is gone. The time for speaking one's mind and standing up for the principles of individual responsibility, exceptionalism, and liberty are returning. It seems to me that it has been a very long time since anyone has actually read the U.S. Constitution while simultaneously being within the borders of the District of Columbia. Under no circumstances does the Constitution endorse or allow any form of federal charity, handouts, helping hands, welfare, dole, whatever you want to call any kind of personal assistance when times are tough.
People should shoulder their own burdens of making plans for that rainy day that may come and if they truely wish to have a community socialized savings plan for helping those who are struggling, then that is something they need to take up within the confines of their State government. None of this falls within the Constitutional power or authority of the federal government and the slow growth of this social tumor over the past century doesn't make it any less malignant.
Yes, I noticed that the wife is working and trying to make ends meet. I also noticed that it's been almost two years that the husband has been keeping the couch warm. There should be a scarlet letter of shame to go along with taking any public support (again, NONE of which should come from the federal government), because embarrasment over the situation can be a strong motivator.
Not everyone who loses one job is going to be able to find their dream job right away, but there is no excuse what-so-ever for being completely unemployed for two years. There are plenty of available jobs that can be taken in order to "just get by" for a while.
The internet is still full of hundreds upon hundreds of thousands of jobs available for anyone who cares to look for them. So, I was proudly judgemental.
I apologize for having to split this message into separate portions, it is the only way it would allow me to post it.
Hacking the Minimum Wage by Morgan Warstler: Great Response Cowboy Logic! I'm also confident that anything that the government is involved in will only lead to fraud and waste of money! I'd feel better if the government could somehow be eliminated completely from the whole process and I'm speaking as one of that is a Viet-Nam Veteran and working for three (3) different states for over 30 years service. I think that perhaps this could benefit business more then they can imagine?
Let's keep it simple.
Instead of paying unemployment to someone immediately after losing their job or their factory closes for two weeks, let's pay unemployment compensation as a match on compensation earned up to a specified amount. For example, if you lose your job, you must find another job (any job, minimum wage or otherwise) before unemployment will start. And it matches your compensation up to a specified amount and for a specified time. This would require those unemployed to seek jobs right away instead of wasting a year pretending to look for a job because they can't seem to find a job that pays what they used to make. It's amazing that people always seem to find jobs when unemployment runs out.
Other ideas?
How about having the option of setting up emergency funds tax free where employees can contribute through payroll deductions? Let the people provide their own unemployment insurance when they lose their jobs. Bypass government all together.
Those who receive unemployment should be required to do at least 25 hours of community service each week so that society receives some benefit.
How nice of you to respond Anna. I really appreciate your judgement. Good grief! I wasn't looking for sympathy by any stretch, just pointing out that not everyone is milking the system or want the "gubment" check.
You want individual responsibility, we take responsibility for our situation. My husband has not been on unemployment the whole time he's been unemployed, in fact, he finally went and applied 4 1/2 months after being laid off because he couldn't find a job. He was not being choosy or looking for his dream job. He was looking for A job to help out with our finances. Our son has been in daycare the ENTIRE time he's been unemployed so he could look for a job. We are very very conscious to not have a perception to anyone that we are milking the system. So, I've shelled out $175 a week for daycare even though my husband technically could watch him for free and just collect the "gubment" check. We have depleted our savings, we don't own a house that we can't afford or have car payments, or student loans so spare me the financial lecture.
In the two years, my husband has been on a few temporary assignment jobs but all of them were TEMPORARY. He has done what he could. The weeks that he was on temporary assignments, he didn't milk the system and was honest and told them he worked that week and that's why he still has benefits, if he had milked the system for two years the benefits allotted to him would have been gone a long time ago.
As far as your assertion that the unemployment rate is 10%. Wrong, here in Vegas it is over 13% and probably closer to 17 or 18% if you include people that are no longer looking. On top of that 17-18%, you need to figure in the people that are underemployed. Most of our friends have had their hours and/or pay rates cut. I have been lucky so far, but the writing is on the wall and it looks like my company is going to be cutting hours as well.
Here in Nevada, not ALL the Unemployment has been funded by the Federal Government. Employers pay into Unemployment Insurance and then claims are filed against that. However, the Emergency Unemployment has been funded by the Federal Government.____My husband has put in hundreds of applications and resumes and people just aren't hiring. There absolutely jobs in the LV Review Journal classifieds, but alot of them, he's not QUALIFIED for. So your assertions that there are hundreds of thousands of jobs may be accurate, however, it doesn't mean that everyone is qualified to just hop into a job.
In response to your friendly suggestion that my husband should go volunteer with the minutemen and patrol the borders. Well Rand McNally, you might want to check your atlas. Maybe if we lived on a border state, that might be a feasible suggestion. However, last I checked and I could be wrong, Nevada isn't on one of the borders, unless it's Utah, California, Idaho, or Arizona. And when we barely have enough money to keep a roof over our head, how in the world are we going to pick up and move? It's not like jobs are plentiful everywhere.
I would never allow my husband to sit on his ass all day and not look for work. I wouldn't stay with him and that's the honest to God truth. I would take my son and we would leave. I would never want my son to see that it's acceptable behavior to sit on his butt on the taxpayers dime. My husband is a good man and does his best.
Who are you to criticize or judge either of us when ultimately you don't know us or our situation or how we've tried everything we can to better or situation. I'm glad you have the luxury of being so judgemental, some of us are a little more humbled by present circumstances and just perhaps have a different perspective.
Well, that's fantastic if he has actually been looking for work. I wonder how many people would be in this predicament (you're right about the 17% of actual unemployement) if employers weren't forced to shell out for unemployment insurance and other such taxes to begin with. If left the hell alone, which is the Constitutional method by which the federal government is supposed to relate with businesses, none of this would be happening.
I was also not aware that the Minutemen had any requirement that you live in a border state to volunteer to go help them out. And matter of factly, Las Vegas is closer to the border than many towns in border states such as California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. That's a simple fact. I'm just saying, if it were me I would spend half of the week canvassing the internet with my resume and applying for jobs and the other half volunteering for the Minutemen. They could use the help and you don't need to live in a border state to set up a tent and man a radio and pair of binoculars. That's just me though. I only wish I lived close enough to a border to do that even though I am working. I am thinking of taking time off just for that.
And I am going to tell you who I am to criticize. I am one of the 280+ million Americans who don't live in Nevada who still have to suffer from your state constantly electing Harry Reid. Vote him the hell out of office and you might earn a little sympathy from my direction. Getting involved with a grass roots effort to get rid of that moron. That's something else your husband can do with his (understandably unwanted) free time.
Considering I've NEVER voted for Harry Reid or his carbon copy son Rory in my life, preach that to someone else. We've been involved in grass roots efforts to get him out of office as soon as possible.
I don't disagree with your comments in regards to your consitutional arguments, however, I do vehemently disagree your blanket statements regarding recipients of unemployment.
In your very first comment, you said "why doesn't he volunteer to go work with the Minutemen and stop illegals from crossing the borders" that is why I mentioned we don't live on the border. Of course there are not requirements of living on the border, but it sure makes it easier.
Bottom line, I'm just going to say again what I said above, I'm glad you have the luxury of being so judgemental, some of us are a little more humbled by present circumstances and just perhaps have a different perspective.
Best wishes.
Morgan, you're making this more difficult than it needs to be. The concept is a good one in that the minimum wage must be abolished. It is one of the most anti-minority laws on the books in that it prevents inner city youth from getting their first job. When you can't get your first job, then you can' t get your second job either. Economist's call it sawing the bottom rung off of the opportunity ladder (h/t to Kevin Williamson and recent issue of National Review).
But the easiest and best way to accomplish this is to enact a negative income tax which would provide income subsidy to age eligible citizens that would supplement those below poverty line but allow them to earn their way out without some bureaucracy involved in each job posting. You eliminate the minimum wage at the same time you enact a negative income tax. Plus, not only can you eliminate the minimum wage, you can eliminate every other government bureaucracy involved in transfer payments to subsidize various aspects of life including HUD, food stamps, etc. See my post on your earlier post.
Keep your chin up Tiffani. Not everyone is so judgmental. Anyone who thinks were on the road to recovery right now has there eyes and ears shut. Until the crazy policies and spending stop it cant get better. Its common sense you cant spend your way out of debt. You cant create more government jobs when the tax base that supports it is dieing from the burden. And I also think your right about moving. I wouldn't leave a job right now…no way!!! Unless I had already been hired somewhere else. Take care and good luck to you and your husband.
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That would provide a help for both the worker and the employer without changing much administratively. The benefits would then expire at the normal time (if soon) or would taper off if the unemployed worker has many weeks to go on their UB.
Ignacio Perez de Vargas
The original argument was to take the money currently being spent on unemployment benefits to the person not working and use it to subsidize employment. That I am OK with provided no additional funds are needed. If it can be done with money we're already spending, it's a better system, surely, than having someone sat at home watching daytime TV ?
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