Where are all the workers?

Incomes are up, savings rates are up, free money flows to Americans with more to come, the housing market is on fire with a bubble surely in our future and …

there is a shortage of workers❓

The political left is spinning the cause; employers are not paying enough, $15 an hour will get workers on the job.

They may be right, but if they are, it sure doesn’t say much for the motivation or drive of Americans. I need a job, but I don’t need it that badly. 😢

However, more accurately, lingering fear of the virus, kids not in school full time and high unemployment benefits are the cause.

Is there any doubt Americans are rapidly becoming the worlds spoiled brats? But isn’t that what happens when you create victims, envy, and entitlement?

I hear, a few times each week, that capitalism is all so unfair. When Elon Musk did SNL a couple of weeks ago, he was great (in my opinion). However, some cast members didn’t want to work with him due to his wealth. I can say that I never begrudged folks like Henry Ford, Steve Jobs and Bill Gates their billions. They created products and services that enhanced my life. The problem with Musk, however, is that he was, is, continues to be a rent seeker – gaining access to and leveraging tax preferences for the purchase of electronic vehicles. The same folks who don’t like Musk because of his wealth fail to recognize just how he gained much of that wealth – by leveraging a leftist, Democratic government intent on choosing winners and losers (Solyndra, anyone)?!

These suffering from envy, entitlement, and victimization are sometimes the same folks who pursued occupations where their employer doesn’t offer health coverage or a pension, or where wages are low – reflecting the demand for their contributions. It is all so unfair!

Those same individuals also tend not to appreciate why there is a difference – that others invested time and resources in education, or long hours of effort, had the tenacity not to give up after each failure, or simply had different capabilities, God given talents. And for others, they simply pursued a different occupation because of the financial rewards it offered.

I can’t hit a baseball like Bo, dunk a basketball like Dr. J, and my golf game is a different four letter word. I can’t sing like John Denver, act like Russell Crowe, nor speak as Madison and LIncoln once did. I’m not the inventor nor the businessman Tom Edison once was.

So, I’m mediocre, and I know it. That never stopped me from slogging my way through 50 years of employment, while concurrently completing higher education – working full time (and overtime) while going to class full time, at night, for 11 years (finishing my last degree at age 60).

I didn’t see many other people as I journeyed along (and as I continue my journey today).

In this country, nothing stops others from taking the same path I did. I volunteered my draft, spent a couple years “wearing the green” during the Vietnam era then leveraged veterans benefits.

I say, choose an occupation that offers rewards that meet your needs – financial or fulfilling. I am envious of those who pursued their dreams – without regard to wages or benefits.

However, you make your choices, and you live with the consequences – good AND bad. So, while I envy those who pursued your dreams, regardless of the rewards, those who love what they do, I wouldn’t trade places with you.

And, I wouldn’t attempt to somehow confiscate what you’ve received/gained from your efforts. Please give my choices the same respect.

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