Mar
24
Quality over Quantity
March 24, 2015 | Leave a Comment
Getting and creating jobs are very good things, don’t get me wrong. But when the quality is overshadowed by the quantity, well, that’s a problem. A 23% decrease in wages, accounting for $93 billion in lost wages is a substantial number. This number is further widening the gap between the rich and poor. Most of the people who lost their jobs were the lower and middle class, while the rich did take a hit during the recession, have more than recovered now. Both household income and median income fell 3% and 2.5% respectfully from 2005-2012.
I think it’s great that the mayors of major cities are coming together when our federal government cannot. Income inequality is a real issue that affects millions of Americans. If our federal government can’t solve it, maybe our state ones can. These states don’t have the name of the party hindering cooperation (at least not as much as in Washington). Precedents and the flow of ideas can easily happen between the U.S. States leadership. They know their cities better than anyone.
A perfect example of this was the raising of the minimum wage in 13 states at the beginning of 2014. States took it upon themselves to raise this and were successful in doing so. A higher minimum wage supports a stronger lower class and increase in domestic income, which leads to more spending and a better economy. Most of the states that increased their minimum wage also saw an increase in employment (all except NJ) and are above the median for the period.
Many, it seems, have just stopped looking for work. They can survive on unemployment, benefits, and hand-outs. Discouraged workers are also common – people who have tried and failed at finding a job. But if you’re living here, you should be productive and add to the economy. Those that are not working because they choose not to are hurting us.
Nearly three million workers have left the workforce since 2007 – this is an astounding number. This means that all of these people (about 1% of the U.S.) is living off of either their own money or taxpayers money. This is not good for the economy the further we are from full employment. The retirement of baby-boomers is a good indicator of why the amount of employees has (and will be) changing so much in the coming years. But this is more than that.
It is good to know that the US unemployment has been decreasing since the Recession, hovering around 6% or so. The government has been adding jobs, but the quality is not there. Jobs held by high school-graduates are now being taken over by college students. A college degree is now basically necessary to get a job, and the cost of a degree has increased drastically. This cycle will make even the most easiest jobs college-level, which will only increase overall competition and increase unemployment if people cannot afford college.
