Robert Reich: American Workers Are on Strike Over 'Low-Wage S*** Jobs'

[Irredentist]

When the “safety net” is so generous that it offers serious competition (an alternative?) to ‘low wage’ work, the problem might not be the existence of ‘low wage’ work (capable of attracting millions of ‘undocumented’ foreign workers) - it might be that the “safety net” has simply become too generous.

The benefits offered to American retail, restaurant, and wage workers are absolutely pathetic compared to anywhere else in the western world. On top of that, these jobs no longer pay enough to live comfortably in any American city. How can anyone be surprised that no one wants these jobs? People literally can't afford to work those jobs, and also have a life, or save for the future, at the same time.

 

[Mycroft]

He had a "plan" for healthcare and a "plan" for infrastructure too.

Oh, and also a "plan" to defeat President Biden.

Problem is: none of that happened.

Yes. That's true. As I said, there was a lot of opposition to his plans and a lot of opposition to him winning the election.

Along with that opposition came a lot of corruption and criminality.

But that doesn't mean his various plans were bad. It just means there were a lot of people who were threatened by his plans and did everything they could to prevent them from becoming reality.

And the result? These kinds of comments...

Who here is shocked that the middle class has shrunk after we sent many of their jobs overseas? So the real question is how do we fix the mistake we made over decades. Seems like many aspire to have a large underclass supported by government aping Europe.

 

[bongsaway]

then why do so many illegal immigrants want to take these jobs then? Am I to think that an illegal immigrant has more work ethic than an american who is born here?

Probably for the same reason they are willing to walk hundreds of miles to get here, their own country offers them nothing but poverty so when a person who is used to making five cents an hour with zero future opportunities...

Americans are tired of working for low wages while they see those above them doing just fine. A rising tide is supposed to allow all boats to rise, not just the yachts.

 

[ttwtt78640]

The benefits offered to American retail, restaurant, and wage workers are absolutely pathetic compared to anywhere else in the western world. On top of that, these jobs no longer pay enough to live comfortably in any American city. How can anyone be surprised that no one wants these jobs? People literally can't afford to work those jobs, and also have a life, or save for the future, at the same time.

Yep, but rather than raise the MW at the state/local level the solution has been to increase federal “safety net” benefits. The federal child tax credit has been (at least) tripled since 2015 yet the MW has not risen near that much. I find it odd that the federal government offers its employees “locality pay”, yet does not do any geographic COL adjustment for federal ”safety net” benefits such as the child tax credit or Social Security.

 

[bongsaway]

You are absolutely correct. Immigrant labor (legal or not) is a major factor in keeping US wages lower than they otherwise would be. Most of the non-US citizens are unable to take full advantage of “safety net” programs, yet they are still much better off living and working in the US than they would be remaining in their homelands.

I get sick and tired of hearing about how illegals are ruining america especially from the folks who are using them. When we had the covid outbreaks in the meatpacking industry we heard about it for a couple of days and then it went away. Can't have the press and the authorities snooping around too much seeing things they shouldn't. Who knows how many of those folks who contracted covid died? Bottom line, the plants didn't stay closed long if at all?

 

[DarkWizard12]

Probably for the same reason they are willing to walk hundreds of miles to get here, their own country offers them nothing but poverty so when a person who is used to making five cents an hour with zero future opportunities...

and so, instead of offering them real economic opportunities and real careers, companies exploit their impoverished conditions while leaving american labourers in the cold with nothing.

Americans are tired of working for low wages while they see those above them doing just fine. A rising tide is supposed to allow all boats to rise, not just the yachts.

A house built by illegal labour no less. It's almost like, without their exploitation, we wouldn't be having all these economic and immigration problems to begin with.

 

[danielpalos]

I thought you were affirming the idea that Illegal immigrants do have more work ethic than americans, which i just don't buy. I think illegal immigrants are more exploited, which is independent of any kind of work ethic they may or may not have.

Labor must cost more in the first world.

 

[danielpalos]

I get sick and tired of hearing about how illegals are ruining america especially from the folks who are using them. When we had the covid outbreaks in the meatpacking industry we heard about it for a couple of days and then it went away. Can't have the press and the authorities snooping around too much seeing things they shouldn't. Who knows how many of those folks who contracted covid died? Bottom line, the plants didn't stay closed long if at all?

Government should have provided better masks at lower cost.

 

[bongsaway]

Government should have provided better masks at lower cost.

Why would the trump administration do any such thing when they were in denial of the seriousness? Remember it was a democratic hoax, trump told us so himself.

 

[Slartibartfast]

Vaccine passports/mandates.

I have not seen evidence that this creates a measurable problem.

Yep, and before that as well. The way many “safety net” programs are structured, $2 of additional ‘on the books’ income reduces “safety net” benefits by $1. That creates a situation where any ‘on the books’ income nets only 1/2 the nominal hourly wage - often resulting in working for less (net) than the MW. ‘Off the books’ income is thus a great alternative (opportunity?) even if it pays slightly less than the (nominal) hourly MW.

My opinion is that everyone should get some sort of monthly tax credit and a tax rate beyond that (with no deductions for things like houses). That way it avoids the problems of mean testing. Depending on the stipend size, we could look at even reducing or eliminating the minimum wage. In effect, it would mimic the thing we are facing now where people will simply avoid shit jobs (so no need for a MW).

 

[Napoleon]

You are absolutely correct. Immigrant labor (legal or not) is a major factor in keeping US wages lower than they otherwise would be. Most of the non-US citizens are unable to take full advantage of “safety net” programs, yet they are still much better off living and working in the US than they would be remaining in their homelands.

I don’t think so and particularly when it comes to farm labor. Farms operate on revolving debt and there are no hourly wages. People are paid based on the volume of produce they pick. Migrant workers are willing to do it because it’s more than $0. Anyone who thinks farmers can match the COVID cash giveaway plus benefits is out of their mind.

 

[danielpalos]

I don’t think so and particularly when it comes to farm labor. Farms operate on revolving debt and there are no hourly wages. People are paid based on the volume of produce they pick. Migrant workers are willing to do it because it’s more than $0. Anyone who thinks farmers can match the COVID cash giveaway plus benefits is out of their mind.

Farmers should ask for public assistance with upgrading their private infrastructure, for efficiency purposes.

 

[calamity]

When the “safety net” is so generous that it offers serious competition (an alternative?) to ‘low wage’ work, the problem might not be the existence of ‘low wage’ work (capable of attracting millions of ‘undocumented’ foreign workers) - it might be that the “safety net” has simply become too generous.

That's actually just stupid rhetoric. Present some evidence from credible sources backing up your case because I call BS.

Unemployment is below 5%. There is a legitimate worker shortage. There is not a chronic refuse to work because "the benefits of unemployment are too high" movement. There simply are not enough workers to fill the jobs, likely because moron Republicans made it too hard for cheap foreign labor to come ashore.

 

[ttwtt78640]

I don’t think so and particularly when it comes to farm labor. Farms operate on revolving debt and there are no hourly wages. People are paid based on the volume of produce they pick. Migrant workers are willing to do it because it’s more than $0. Anyone who thinks farmers can match the COVID cash giveaway plus benefits is out of their mind.

Migrant farm labor is nothing compared to construction trades and hospitality (service?) labor. Many seem to concentrate on farm labor since it uses a higher percentage of immigrant (legal or not) labor, but don‘t look at the raw numbers of immigrant (legal or not) workers by occupation.

Compared with U.S.-born workers, unauthorized immigrant workers are more likely to be employed in service and construction occupations. About a third of unauthorized immigrant workers (32% in 2014) are employed in service occupations, compared with 17% of U.S.-born workers who hold these types of jobs. Construction jobs employed 16% of unauthorized immigrant workers in 2014, triple the share of U.S.-born workers (5%) in those occupations. Production and maintenance jobs employed 14% of unauthorized immigrant workers in 2014, but 9% of U.S.-born workers. Only 4% of unauthorized immigrant workers held farming jobs in 2014, but about 1% of U.S.-born workers did.

2. Occupations of unauthorized immigrant workers

Although unauthorized immigrants made up 5% of the nation’s civilian workforce in 2014, they accounted for a much higher share (26%) of the workers in

www.pewresearch.org

 

[Grand Mal]

Trump had an overall plan to fix that mistake that you speak of. Unfortunately, the globalists...the ones who profit from that "mistake"...and their paid minions...Congressional Elites...opposed Trump and his plan at every turn.

And now, with the Biden puppet masters, we are right back where we were before Trump came along. (and they are desperately trying to make up for lost time)

Trumps plan? Like the Health Insurance plan he's going to unveil in two weeks?
Spare us the Trump plan bullshit. Trump knew that your attention span doesn't last past nightfall so he could promise you anything tomorrow and never have to come through on it.

 

[americanwoman]

Trump had an overall plan to fix that mistake that you speak of. Unfortunately, the globalists...the ones who profit from that "mistake"...and their paid minions...Congressional Elites...opposed Trump and his plan at every turn.

And now, with the Biden puppet masters, we are right back where we were before Trump came along. (and they are desperately trying to make up for lost time)

Only Trump can save us from globalists! Only Trump who always puts America First!

T

 

[Napoleon]

Farmers should ask for public assistance with upgrading their private infrastructure, for efficiency purposes.

Federal meddling is part of the problem. The federal government subsidizes overproduction of milk and certain crops to depress consumer prices.

 

[danielpalos]

Federal meddling is part of the problem. The federal government subsidizes overproduction of milk and certain crops to depress consumer prices.

Farmers still benefit.

 

[Napoleon]

Farmers still benefit.

Forcing consumer prices down by overproducing doesn’t help farmers.

 

[danielpalos]

Forcing consumer prices down by overproducing doesn’t help farmers.

Why not?

An agricultural subsidy (also called an agricultural incentive) is a government incentive paid to agribusinesses, agricultural organizations and farms to supplement their income, manage the supply of agricultural commodities, and influence the cost and supply of such commodities. Examples of such commodities include: wheat, feed grains (grain used as fodder, such as maize or corn, sorghum, barley and oats), cotton, milk, rice, peanuts, sugar, tobacco, oilseeds such as soybeans and meat products such as beef, pork, and lamb and mutton.[1] A 2021 study by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization found 87% of the $540bn farmers given every year between 2013 and 2018 in global subsidies are harmful to both people and environment.[2]

Agricultural subsidy - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Integrityrespec]

U.S. Workers Are on Strike Over 'Low-Wage S*** Jobs'—Ex-Secretary of Labor

Low job take-up is not a result of a labor shortage, the former labor secretary argues, but American workers demanding better wages and childcare support.

www.newsweek.com

"In reality, there's a living wage shortage, a hazard pay shortage, a childcare shortage, a paid sick leave shortage, and a health care shortage – and American workers are demanding an end to all these shortages. Or they won't return to work."

Among other aggravating factors, BLS' report highlighted parents struggling to return to the workplace as a result of high childcare fees.

Reich added that since the COVID-19 pandemic, some workers retired, found other income or "simply don't want to return to backbreaking, low-wage s*** jobs."

It appears the general population is starting to react to the shrinking middle class in this new way.

Another left wing liberal who was a bust as labor secretary. The answer isn't more money or more benefits, it's willingness to forge your way with education, work, and perseverance. Stop telling people they are victims, start encouraging work and effort. The entire idealogy of liberals is destructive to individual success. They will not be happy until we are a social/marxist country where everyone has the same thing. Except for the 10% of the oligarchs at the top. Who of course will be the liberal politicians and the super rich. You want success in this country get out and work for it. No body said it would be easy but success is waiting to be had.

 

[Slartibartfast]

Another left wing liberal who was a bust as labor secretary. The answer isn't more money or more benefits, it's willingness to forge your way with education, work, and perseverance. Stop telling people they are victims, start encouraging work and effort. The entire idealogy of liberals is destructive to individual success. They will not be happy until we are a social/marxist country where everyone has the same thing. Except for the 10% of the oligarchs at the top. Who of course will be the liberal politicians and the super rich. You want success in this country get out and work for it. No body said it would be easy but success is waiting to be had.

Did you cut and paste that because nothing in your little rant actually addresses the contents of the article.

 

[JMR]

When the “safety net” is so generous that it offers serious competition (an alternative?) to ‘low wage’ work, the problem might not be the existence of ‘low wage’ work (capable of attracting millions of ‘undocumented’ foreign workers) - it might be that the “safety net” has simply become too generous.

Are you advocating that people who lost well paying jobs due to the pandemic should accept minimum wage work now? How do you see that affecting their long range earning potential? Should they give up their homes, default on student loans and send the kids to work?

Many of the red states curtailed the "generous" unemployment benefits, and that action has been shown to be completely ineffective in reducing the number of unemployed.

 

[ttwtt78640]

Are you advocating that people who lost well paying jobs due to the pandemic should accept minimum wage work now?

Nope.

How do you see that affecting their long range earning potential?

Better than relying on “safety net” assistance to get ahead.

Should they give up their homes, default on student loans and send the kids to work?

Nope, but relying on “safety net” assistance may cause just that.

Many of the red states curtailed the "generous" unemployment benefits, and that action has been shown to be completely ineffective in reducing the number of unemployed.

So you say, but was that coupled with adding (or reinstating) work requirements for other “safety net” assistance?

 

[calamity]

Trump had an overall plan to fix that mistake that you speak of. Unfortunately, the globalists...the ones who profit from that "mistake"...and their paid minions...Congressional Elites...opposed Trump and his plan at every turn.

And now, with the Biden puppet masters, we are right back where we were before Trump came along. (and they are desperately trying to make up for lost time)

Stupid posts like this ^ are why no one ever takes what you write serious. It's unhinged babble.