What Is The Next Created Crisis?

I think about the worker shortage the same way I think about the gas shortage.

It’s a created crisis. A made up mistake.  In other words, and let me be crystal clear on this.

There is no worker shortage.  How do I know?  Because we are a capitalist country.

I see a bunch of old rich white men on television telling me how great capitalism is, and how it works for everybody.  I even get to participate in capitalism.  Like when the news says there is a gas shortage in North Carolina because the sky is falling, I pay double for a gallon of gas.

That is capitalism in action.

Economists call it supply and demand.  When supply decreases, but demand remains the same, prices go up. It can happen when supply stays the same, but demand goes up.  You see it with a lot of things because you participate in capitalism too.  Prices go up when supply is low.

Capitalism.

What you are seeing is not a new narrative.  It’s a bunch of business owners bemoaning the fact that they have to pay a better wage.  Here in Arkansas, café’s pay $3 an hour, plus tips. The way they sold this to low income earners was “you can make more money on tips!”  And sometimes that happens.  Sometimes it doesn’t.  But the wait staff puts up with a lot of crap for $3 an hour.

Oh yeah, did the business owner mention each shift is only 4 or 6 hours?  They need that wage to be low so they can control costs.  Except they don’t.

Beef costs more today because of processing plant changes.  Produce costs more because of increased management at the border. They won’t let workers cross the border, so produce isn’t getting picked.

There is a shortage of truck drivers to deliver all the goods.  It starts to become maddening when you think about it.  Except, I know a guy who owns a trucking company.  He made $250,000 last year.  He pays his truckers an average of $60k each.  His girlfriend works as his Manager of their two man office, and he paid her $180,000.

It’s his company, and he can earn what he likes.  They do work hard, and stay busy.

But theirs is not the only story I know in real life.  I have a friend in the lumber industry who runs close to the same margins.  That is the advantage of owning the business.  And it’s capitalism and it works just fine.

Because low wage earners don’t have much alternative other than to just work for the wage offered.

Until this year.  For six months.  They had a choice.  They got some stimulus money.  And they spent the hell out of it.  The economy grew at 6.8%, a huge number.  Wal Mart reported record breaking earnings.

The stock market and crypto markets surged to new heights because of spendable money.

$3 an hour for a 6 hour shift, plus $20 in tips couldn’t compete with $500 a week.  It never will.

In Arkansas, the governor decided enough was enough.

To continue reading, please go to the original article here:

https://lowrychris.medium.com/what-is-the-next-created-crisis-d485a92e3481