Attention, Doodle!

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vnatale
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Attention, Doodle!

Post by vnatale » Sat May 22, 2021 10:09 am

The below is from the same baseball newsletter I'd just quoted on another topic.

Seems like it echoes what you have many times stated here?

Vinny


The myth of the labor shortage

I talked about the myth of the labor shortage yesterday and how, if companies want to attract more workers, there is a free market solution sitting right there for them: increase wages.

Yesterday that conversation blew up in a number of places, including my daily read at the New York Times newsletter. There David Leonhardt talked about all the ins and outs of the “there’s a labor shortage!” and “nobody wants to work!” lies, and talked about some actual explanations for why companies are having a hard time hiring workers. This one is the least data-driven of them all, but I think it explains more than anything:

That so many are complaining about the situation is not a sign that something is wrong with the American economy. It is a sign that corporate executives have grown so accustomed to a low-wage economy that many believe anything else is unnatural.

And it is a low-wage economy. Real wages, adjusted for inflation, are lower now than they were 40 years ago. Benefits have been slashed. Union work is an endangered species. Corporate profits are way up, and an entire generation � almmost two generations � of business owners and executivess have come of age in an era where the view of workers and workers’ rights has reverted to that which persisted before the 1930s. It’s unimaginable to these people that they may actually � gasp! � have to pay a living wg wage to fill their labor needs. It irks them on a primal level.

On a related note, this article from Columbus Alive about service industry employees being wary of returning to that world is definitely worth your time:

"I don’t think I ever would have left the service industry if it wasn’t for COVID, but now that I have I don’t want to go back.”

There are a lot of people who think that right now. And for good reason.
Above provided by: Vinny, who always says: "I only regret that I have but one lap to give to my cats." AND "I'm a more-is-more person."
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Benko
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Re: Attention, Doodle!

Post by Benko » Sat May 22, 2021 4:53 pm

MangoMan wrote:
Sat May 22, 2021 12:01 pm
While the plan to augment unemployment benefits may have had some merit a year ago, there is zero reason to be continuing it at this point. If they stopped giving away free money, people would be forced to actually work to pay the rent and buy food. And then the labor shortage would magically disappear.
"there is zero reason to be continuing it at this point"

Assuming that those on the left pulling the strings have the same/sane goals as the rest of us may not be a valid assumption at this point as the last 12 months have made clear (IMHO). If one assumes that the results of the left's actions are what the people pulling the strings actually want, what does that tell you?
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doodle
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Re: Attention, Doodle!

Post by doodle » Sun May 23, 2021 9:14 am

Yeah, I'm in agreement that unemployment insurance right now is unessecary and should end...same with this eviction moratorium. There are plenty of jobs out there. I've lived in three states since the pandemic started and found jobs and worked in all of them within a few days of arriving.

That said, I do think maybe this unemployment insurance has given people the means to negotiate more effectively for wage increases...which I have advocated for as an alternative to government intervention. I think labor has underestimated their value and with the end of unions and increase in globalization has had a hard time bargaining.

At the end of the day though, it will be interesting to see how capital class counters. Personally, in my small business I set things up so I didn't have any employees. I didn't want to deal with them...I wonder how many business owners won't use this moment to reconsider how to eliminate more positions. Its going to be a tug of war for sure.
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Kriegsspiel
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Re: Attention, Doodle!

Post by Kriegsspiel » Sun May 23, 2021 10:07 am

doodle wrote:
Sun May 23, 2021 9:14 am
Yeah, I'm in agreement that unemployment insurance right now is unessecary and should end...same with this eviction moratorium. There are plenty of jobs out there. I've lived in three states since the pandemic started and found jobs and worked in all of them within a few days of arriving.

That said, I do think maybe this unemployment insurance has given people the means to negotiate more effectively for wage increases...which I have advocated for as an alternative to government intervention. I think labor has underestimated their value and with the end of unions and increase in globalization has had a hard time bargaining.
Imagine being a Chinese factory worker, saving 50% of your paltry wages in Treasuries, only to see your loans to the US government being doled out to loafs so that they can buy the stuff that you make at Wal Mart. And Trump had the sheer audacity to say it was the CHINESE who were manipulating their currency :) :D ;D Sure, the Chinese are also competing with Americans for American real estate, but let's get real, fast food workers usually aren't buying houses.

A near-complete shut down/deportation of unskilled immigration and "refugees" to America also seem like no-brainers. If wages increase for the same level of productivity, and if automation continues, there will be fewer jobs for the people already here, much less a deluge of foreigners.
At the end of the day though, it will be interesting to see how capital class counters. Personally, in my small business I set things up so I didn't have any employees. I didn't want to deal with them...I wonder how many business owners won't use this moment to reconsider how to eliminate more positions. Its going to be a tug of war for sure.
I was in a similar situation to the one HB recommended in How I Found Freedom, where he said to just hire contractors instead of employees. It was pretty unstable (like quasi-temp work) but it was a great situation for me, especially with the Individual 401k I set up and other tax benefits.
You there, Ephialtes. May you live forever.
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doodle
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Re: Attention, Doodle!

Post by doodle » Sun May 23, 2021 11:59 am

MangoMan wrote:
Sun May 23, 2021 11:42 am
doodle wrote:
Sun May 23, 2021 9:14 am
I do think maybe this unemployment insurance has given people the means to negotiate more effectively for wage increases...which I have advocated for as an alternative to government intervention.
LOL, except this is 100% government intervention, albeit unintentional.
Sure, that's because individuals haven't been able to effectively collectively organize to negotiate. Im not saying i agree with the manner in which this turning of tables has come about....but again, we've had this discussion before....don't hire people. Run your business on your own if they add no marginal value or add too many complications. Simple. That's what I did. If they add marginal value, what percentage of that do you feel entitled to? That's where negotiation comes in as far as I'm concerned
Kriegsspiel wrote:
Sun May 23, 2021 10:07 am
Imagine being a Chinese factory worker, saving 50% of your paltry wages in Treasuries, only to see your loans to the US government being doled out to loafs so that they can buy the stuff that you make at Wal Mart. And Trump had the sheer audacity to say it was the CHINESE who were manipulating their currency Sure, the Chinese are also competing with Americans for American real estate, but let's get real, fast food workers usually aren't buying houses.
Yeah, honestly it's situations like this (as well as others) that have gradually brought me over to crypto. I'm still below 1% in the space but I'm definitely warming to the ideas I see being put forth there.
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Kriegsspiel
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Re: Attention, Doodle!

Post by Kriegsspiel » Sun May 23, 2021 12:35 pm

doodle wrote:
Sun May 23, 2021 11:59 am
Kriegsspiel wrote:
Sun May 23, 2021 10:07 am
Imagine being a Chinese factory worker, saving 50% of your paltry wages in Treasuries, only to see your loans to the US government being doled out to loafs so that they can buy the stuff that you make at Wal Mart. And Trump had the sheer audacity to say it was the CHINESE who were manipulating their currency Sure, the Chinese are also competing with Americans for American real estate, but let's get real, fast food workers usually aren't buying houses.
Yeah, honestly it's situations like this (as well as others) that have gradually brought me over to crypto. I'm still below 1% in the space but I'm definitely warming to the ideas I see being put forth there.
Why? What benefits do you see to a world run on crypto instead of dollars?
You there, Ephialtes. May you live forever.
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Kriegsspiel
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Re: Attention, Doodle!

Post by Kriegsspiel » Sun May 23, 2021 1:04 pm

Damn you, extended unemployment benefits + stimmy checks! Damn you!
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You there, Ephialtes. May you live forever.
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doodle
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Re: Attention, Doodle!

Post by doodle » Sun May 23, 2021 1:58 pm

Kriegsspiel wrote:
Sun May 23, 2021 12:35 pm
doodle wrote:
Sun May 23, 2021 11:59 am
Kriegsspiel wrote:
Sun May 23, 2021 10:07 am
Imagine being a Chinese factory worker, saving 50% of your paltry wages in Treasuries, only to see your loans to the US government being doled out to loafs so that they can buy the stuff that you make at Wal Mart. And Trump had the sheer audacity to say it was the CHINESE who were manipulating their currency Sure, the Chinese are also competing with Americans for American real estate, but let's get real, fast food workers usually aren't buying houses.
Yeah, honestly it's situations like this (as well as others) that have gradually brought me over to crypto. I'm still below 1% in the space but I'm definitely warming to the ideas I see being put forth there.
Why? What benefits do you see to a world run on crypto instead of dollars?
Besides an elimination of many unessecary financial industry middle men that can be automated away...primarily a stable currency with an unalterable set of rules. My primary frustration with current system is that the monetary/fiscal rulebook is constantly changing...which makes it very annoying to try to play any game. There is so much human effort that is wasted in present system just trying to interpret the financial shenanigans of central bank and government that could be dedicated to actually increasing actual productive wealth......I have swung back around somewhat towards my Austrian roots.
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