I’ve heard a lot of chatter with the recent political campaigning about US jobs. “What do you plan to do about the current unemployment rate in our country?” “What do you plan to do to bring back US manufacturing?” The simple answer to these questions should be to support and encourage citizens to take personal responsibility for these issues. It’s not the responsibility of government to create jobs. It’s the responsibility of American citizens.
The scenario goes a little like this. People want the absolute best price on everything. In order to give it to them, companies must offer their products at a cheaper price which means less profits. To boost their margins, companies resort to using a combination of overseas manufacturing and political coercion to legislate profits. The result is people get cheaply made products that they end up being unhappy with. Overseas manufacturing puts American workers out of jobs. Then they have no choice but to buy cheaper products and the problem propagates into a vicious cycle.
The solution to the problem is three fold. First, companies need to use restraint in always focusing on the bottom line. They need to quench the greed and simply accept that a little lower profit margin is better for the general state of affairs in our country. Keep manufacturing within our borders, employ American workers, and offer the highest quality products. Second, citizens need to use restraint when seeking to purchase the cheapest product available. Pay a little more for quality American made products that will not give you buyers remorse after the purchase. Know that you are helping to employ your fellow Americans in the process and are contributing to our national prosperity. Third, eliminate the possibility of profiteering from lawmaking. Cooperate coercion of profit from legislation is not capitalism. It does not produce quality goods and services that we Americans can value.
It seems like whenever the unemployment rate is high, people seek to blame the government. The government reacts by trying to create jobs. Sometimes they do this through subsidization. Subsidization cost money, which they get through taxation. Once again we enter into another vicious cycle. Tax a nation of people with a high rate of unemployment, to fund subsidization of industry to attempt to create a job market for the unemployed. Ladies and gentleman, logic has left the building. There is no need for subsidization, only to clear the path for legitimate, honest, free enterprise sans coercion.
An interesting parallel to this topic is that of education. I heard a discussion recently about the merits of online education and a rebuttal that it would put teachers out of work. Taking this stance has a lot of parallels to arguing that the internet and digital media will put record distribution moguls out of business. Quite frankly, we no longer need them in their former capacity. Now, since these people are generally one trick ponies, their approach to try to ensure future prosperity is to legislate their utility to the world. (and we all see how well SOPA and PIPA went over) Generally teachers over the past decade or so have spent spend less time teaching relevant subject matter and more time teaching what they are mandated by politicians, and acting like parents, policemen and moral dictators. I say, that like media moguls, its high time they either adapt to the modern world and overcome their upcoming challenges or find a new line of work.
Most of the brightest minds in our world take their education into their own hands. They don’t play the victim and blame their lack of success on poor schools and teachers. They are responsible for learning new things on their own. Technological advancement depends on this. What if electrical engineers were still trying to push CRT televisions because that’s the only thing they knew how to design? Adapt to the changes and figure out what you can offer to society. Quit waiting for a politician to ensure your future employment. You cannot fix the national debt and government spending problems by taxing more. You have to eliminate all the bloated and redundant government departments and agencies that have crept up over the years. One of the caveats to this is, you have to actually unemploy some people in their current capacities and repurpose them in a way that will work towards the big picture.
What is the point? In order to truly fix the problem with a sustainable solution, the government has to trim the fat which means INCREASING the unemployment rate. We Americans need to accept responsibility for our own destiny’s. Work hard producing quality goods and services and pay a little more for them. Send a message that we don’t want the cheapest products and will no longer purchase them. Stop blaming the government for your lack of a job and stop looking for a handout. Thank yourself for your success when you achieve it.
The Jaundiced Monocle 