Five Magic Words to Fix the Economy: Go and Get a Job; GOP Governors Slash Unemployment Benefits as Businesses Plead for Workers

Five Magic Words to Fix the Economy: Go and Get a Job:

Progressives argue it is ‘rational’ for people to sit at home if the government pays them more than would an employer. This is an argument for losers.

On Saturday, my wife and I took our kids to a local restaurant that has mediocre food and a poor selection of beers but makes up for it by featuring a bunch of vintage arcade games and enough TVs to show every sporting event in the world at the same time. It was absolutely packed — so packed, in fact, that the waitress told us before we ordered that the food and drinks might take a little longer than usual. Saturday, she explained, was supposed to be her day off, but, because the place was so chronically understaffed, her manager had asked if she’d be able to come in to help anyhow. This, she said, was the third Saturday in a row on which this had happened, which meant that she’d ended up working every single day for the last three weeks. “I’ll likely work all of next week, too,” she said, before catching herself, apologizing again in advance for the service being a touch slow, and rushing off to another table.

As we left, I noticed that there were no fewer than ten positions being advertised on the front door — for managers, waiters, cooks, and front-of-house staff, among others. Driving back to our house, we realized just how common this was. There’s help wanted at the gas station, at the hardware store, and at every shop in the town center. Landscapers are looking for help. Car dealerships are looking for help. Pest-control companies are looking for help. Everywhere you look, small businesses are appealing for help — and they’re striking out looking.

This is not unique to my town in Florida; it is the story nationwide. The dismal jobs report issued Friday paints the picture. Millions unemployed. Millions of jobs available. And, for now at least, never the twain shall meet. The National Federation of Independent Businesses reports that over four in ten business owners have positions that have not been filled, while the Bureau of Labor Statistics had 7.4 million job openings at the end of February. And still the Help Wanted signs proliferate. —>READ MORE HERE

GOP Governors Slash Unemployment Benefits as Businesses Plead for Workers:

Expanded federal unemployment benefits that were implemented during last year’s pandemic relief efforts are ending earlier than scheduled in Arkansas, Montana, and South Carolina—and Florida is expected to follow suit as Republican governors nationwide respond to pleas from businesses to encourage Americans to return to work.

“We absolutely can put more people to work,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) told reporters during a press conference Wednesday, announcing that Floridians receiving the $300 weekly extra payments will soon have to provide proof that they’re actively looking for a job.

The Republican governor signaled that he would soon follow a similar push from other GOP states in encouraging Americans to return to work.

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) has said that by the end of June his state would no longer participate in the extended weekly unemployment benefits under the Biden administration’s new $1.9 trillion stimulus plan—three months earlier than its expiration.

Earlier, the Republican governors of Montana and South Carolina announced similar plans, claiming that these benefits have discouraged people from returning to the workforce and have become a drag on the recovery. —>READ MORE HERE

Follow link below to a related story:

McConnell: Jobless benefits ‘holding back our economy’

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