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Employers Beg for Workers: 'It's the Economy, Stupid'
Townhall.com ^ | May 11, 2021 | John Kass

Posted on 05/13/2021 8:00:57 AM PDT by Kaslin

Have you ever wondered what happens to flat-earthers?

Not all spend their days eating pudding with plastic spoons and rewatching old sitcoms -- or as fabulists hanging at the end of the bar, boasting of their heroic exploits until closing time.

Some become president of the United States.

Or they find power in President Joe Biden's administration and join him in gaslighting the nation about that dismal April jobs report as businesses struggle to emerge from those government pandemic shutdowns.

With so many Americans now vaccinated, economists predicted about 1 million more Americans would find work, but only 266,000 jobs were added to the economy. According to Biden, this has nothing to do with generous federal unemployment benefits that are scheduled to last until September, on top of state unemployment benefits.

According to Team Biden, it has nothing to do with the federal government (i.e., taxpayers) paying workers to sit on their couches, watch Netflix and collect unemployment checks, even as small-business owners across the country are on their knees begging workers to return now that many are vaccinated and the pandemic is winding down.

"I know there's been a lot of discussion since Friday's report that people are being paid to stay home rather than go to work," Biden said after the April jobs report was made public. "Well, we don't see much evidence of that."

To see evidence, you have to open your eyes. Just like if you want a job you have to take one.

The National Federation of Independent Business says a record 44 percent of all small-business owners have job openings they cannot fill. And according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, in some states workers can collect unemployment for up to 46 weeks.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce wants to end those extra government payouts because they're enticing people to stay home.

And on top of trillions already spent, Biden wants to spend trillions of dollars more. Will this bring a workless utopia or long-term inflationary disaster?

I don't begrudge workers. People make decisions based on what they're offered. If the government pays them not to work, many won't work. Not all want to become entrepreneurs or work extra hours and get promoted. Some are content to just get by. And the government is making it easier right now to do that.

Jason Webb, owner of G.D. Ritzy's, a restaurant in Huntington, West Virginia, was forced to put up a sign: "MISSING -- JOB SEEKERS. IF FOUND, BRING INSIDE."

"I feel like I am competing against the enhanced unemployment benefits and the stimulus," Webb told the Herald-Dispatch. "It is making it hard to find workers when they can make so much not working."

The other morning, I stopped for breakfast with Chicago business owners, including restaurant guys, who said the same thing.

"I don't think Joe Biden ever had a job," said my friend Jimmy Banakis. "Has he ever had a job or run a business?"

Before Biden spent his life as a politician, he was briefly a public defender, gaining a small measure of fame for successfully defending an accused cow thief. But he really loved talking about being a lifeguard. During his presidential campaign he told America stories in which he was the hero, all about his leg hairs turning blond in the sun and his epic confrontation with the mythic "Corn Pop."

He's good at stories. But the one about how generous unemployment benefits don't keep people from working didn't have legs, hairy or otherwise. Biden's handlers realized this, so they reshaped the message.

"In order to receive any kind of unemployment benefit, claimants must be available and actively seeking work, and workers are not permitted to refuse suitable work and continue to receive benefits," said Jen Psaki, his press secretary.

OK, Jen, but that's just talk. Fraud in the unemployment system rose sharply during the pandemic. Biden and the Democrats want to make it last even longer.

To see evidence, you have to open your eyes. Just like if you want a job you have to take one.

The National Federation of Independent Business says a record 44 percent of all small-business owners have job openings they cannot fill. And according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, in some states workers can collect unemployment for up to 46 weeks.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce wants to end those extra government payouts because they're enticing people to stay home.

And on top of trillions already spent, Biden wants to spend trillions of dollars more. Will this bring a workless utopia or long-term inflationary disaster?

I don't begrudge workers. People make decisions based on what they're offered. If the government pays them not to work, many won't work. Not all want to become entrepreneurs or work extra hours and get promoted. Some are content to just get by. And the government is making it easier right now to do that.

Jason Webb, owner of G.D. Ritzy's, a restaurant in Huntington, West Virginia, was forced to put up a sign: "MISSING -- JOB SEEKERS. IF FOUND, BRING INSIDE."

"I feel like I am competing against the enhanced unemployment benefits and the stimulus," Webb told the Herald-Dispatch. "It is making it hard to find workers when they can make so much not working."

The other morning, I stopped for breakfast with Chicago business owners, including restaurant guys, who said the same thing.

"I don't think Joe Biden ever had a job," said my friend Jimmy Banakis. "Has he ever had a job or run a business?"

Before Biden spent his life as a politician, he was briefly a public defender, gaining a small measure of fame for successfully defending an accused cow thief. But he really loved talking about being a lifeguard. During his presidential campaign he told America stories in which he was the hero, all about his leg hairs turning blond in the sun and his epic confrontation with the mythic "Corn Pop."

He's good at stories. But the one about how generous unemployment benefits don't keep people from working didn't have legs, hairy or otherwise. Biden's handlers realized this, so they reshaped the message.

"In order to receive any kind of unemployment benefit, claimants must be available and actively seeking work, and workers are not permitted to refuse suitable work and continue to receive benefits," said Jen Psaki, his press secretary.

OK, Jen, but that's just talk. Fraud in the unemployment system rose sharply during the pandemic. Biden and the Democrats want to make it last even longer.


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; Editorial; Government
KEYWORDS: economy; employment; jobs; jobsandeconomy; joebiden
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1 posted on 05/13/2021 8:00:57 AM PDT by Kaslin
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To: Kaslin
"In order to receive any kind of unemployment benefit, claimants must be available and actively seeking work, and workers are not permitted to refuse suitable work and continue to receive benefits . . "

This is a loophole so big you can drive a tractor trailer through it. A person with a degree in XYZ Studies wants a job as a college diversity administrator and can refuse to take their old job back at Starbucks slinging coffee.

2 posted on 05/13/2021 8:10:22 AM PDT by Vigilanteman (The politicized state destroys aspects of civil society, human kindness and private charity.)
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To: Kaslin

Not seeing this in my area. If it were true, then salaries would be going up.

Instead I see jobs that make me laugh out loud at the ridiculous requirements employers have in order to offer peanuts in return.

I especially like when I see a job posted with no salary for a few weeks. Then it disappears and reappears with a laughable salary. Apparently they got tired of people who were interested, interviewed, and then walked away laughing after hearing the salary. Saves time to post it up front and get the laughing over at the beginning, before everyone wastes their time. I’ve seen this occur about half a dozen times in the last few months.


3 posted on 05/13/2021 8:16:15 AM PDT by chrisser
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To: Kaslin

I would hold my nose and waive the rules to allow the benefits to continue until Labor Day with no requirement to report additional income. Let everyone work and collect UI and waive the payroll tax until September. The people going back to work now will get the better jobs. I know this sucks, but the money is gone already and the economy will begin to recover.


4 posted on 05/13/2021 8:17:52 AM PDT by granite (The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but the heart of the fool to the left.Ecclesiastes 10:2)
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To: Vigilanteman

This is a loophole so big you can drive a tractor trailer through it. A person with a degree in XYZ Studies wants a job as a college diversity administrator and can refuse to take their old job back at Starbucks slinging coffee.
———
Um, no they can’t. At least in Colorado.

If you were a college diversify administrator you can and should refuse work at Starbucks slinging coffee.

That’s the real issue. Millions of low paying near minimum wage jobs with no benefits refused to be filled by millions of skilled career-level blue and white-collar workers still unemployed as their industries are still shut down..


5 posted on 05/13/2021 8:20:05 AM PDT by Starcitizen (So Indian H1B crybaby trash runs Free Republic moderation??? Seems so. )
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To: Kaslin
So here we have an example of what would happen under a Universal Minimum Wage.
Basically, no one would volunteer to get up at 3 am every morning and go from house to house collecting the trash in the sweltering heat and the bitter cold.
6 posted on 05/13/2021 8:23:29 AM PDT by Falcon4.0
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To: chrisser

I have no ideas how it is in my town. First of all, I am a senior citizen. I will turn 80 in August. Second I am handicapped and couldn’t even work if I wanted to. I can hardly do my house work


7 posted on 05/13/2021 8:23:36 AM PDT by Kaslin (Joe Biden will never be my President, and neither will Kamala Harris)
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To: Vigilanteman

“A person with a degree in XYZ Studies wants a job as a college diversity administrator and can refuse to take their old job back at Starbucks slinging coffee.”

Ain’t quite that easy. They can’t refuse an offer for employment they interviewed for or they lose their benefits. They have to actively seek employment or they lose their benefits.

The only thing they can do to refuse employment is be refused. Go in dressed dirty without bathing, and act stupid, and you’ll get refused an offer. Then you have satisfied the basic requirements.

But you are at the mercy of the state and feds. You can get Extended Benefits only after your regular unemployment benefits and other extensions, like PEUC, have run out. Due to the lower unemployment rate in my state, Washington state, the U.S. Department of Labor notified them that the state’s Extended Benefits program is ended March 13, 2021. So much for federal support and the states are dependent on that money. Don’t know about other states.

wy69


8 posted on 05/13/2021 8:29:04 AM PDT by whitney69
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To: Kaslin; All

“And on top of trillions already spent, Biden wants to spend trillions of dollars more. Will this bring a workless utopia or long-term inflationary disaster?”

Both. All by design, Comrade. All. By. Design.


9 posted on 05/13/2021 8:35:03 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin (I don't have 'Hobbies.' I'm developing a robust post-Apocalyptic skill set. )
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To: whitney69

All red states should eliminate all unemployment benefits. All government assistance should be eliminated for those that are single. If there’s a health issue they can die trying.


10 posted on 05/13/2021 8:36:05 AM PDT by DIRTYSECRET (`)
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To: Kaslin

Which worker is mostly in demand?

Certainly not the college educated scientist.


11 posted on 05/13/2021 9:11:51 AM PDT by 353FMG
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To: chrisser

laughing after hearing the salary

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

The one that made me laugh recently was for a pizza delivery person, it said:

MAKE UP TO $20.00 PER HOUR WITH TIPS!!!

Why limit to $20? With very generous tippers, one could make UP TO 50 or 100 even.


12 posted on 05/13/2021 9:15:08 AM PDT by Graybeard58 (The China virus doesn't scare me, Venezuelaism does.)
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To: Kaslin

Well I know multiple people who have to settle for significantly lower wage jobs due to non compete clauses with their former employers. I am one of them! Yes there are openings but if you can’t hire the qualified person what do ya do?


13 posted on 05/13/2021 10:10:27 AM PDT by TermLimits4All (Biden will never be my President. There’s only 1 option left and it won’t be pretty.)
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To: Starcitizen
If you were a college diversify administrator you can and should refuse work at Starbucks slinging coffee.

Right, because it's the American way to expect others to support your mooching ass until a job comes along that one deems to be "suitable" for them.

Moocher.

14 posted on 05/13/2021 10:55:06 AM PDT by usconservative (When The Ballot Box No Longer Counts, The Ammunition Box Does. (What's In Your Ammo Box?))
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To: whitney69; Starcitizen

What you both say is true in theory. What is true in actuality may be quite different as I have never seen the local McDonald’s offer $500 sign-on bonuses as they are advertising in our area, one of the ring counties around Pittsburgh which isn’t exactly booming economically.


15 posted on 05/13/2021 11:22:06 AM PDT by Vigilanteman (The politicized state destroys aspects of civil society, human kindness and private charity.)
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To: usconservative

If you were a college diversify administrator you can and should refuse work at Starbucks slinging coffee.
Right, because it’s the American way to expect others to support your mooching ass until a job comes along that one deems to be “suitable” for them.

Moocher.

—————

Go back and shovel you horse shit and menial blue labor traitor


16 posted on 05/13/2021 11:34:02 AM PDT by Starcitizen (So Indian H1B crybaby trash runs Free Republic moderation??? Seems so. )
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To: Vigilanteman

“... McDonald’s offer $500 sign-on bonuses...”

When the employee hired is done so at minimum wage for the state, that $500 is not going to be taken too much by people that will stay with the job or move to another higher paid one when it surfaces. Fast food restaurants don’t have a lot of loyalty from their employees when the employees can do better and right now, they can do better with unemployment. A no brainer job like McDonalds should be getting a lot of hits without the incentives as it is a true entry level employment and federal bailouts. If they can’t even get college or high school kids to fill their slots, or out of work people that weren’t college grads, then that’s why they are offering. It’s not incentive...it’s a bribe.

wy69


17 posted on 05/13/2021 12:32:40 PM PDT by whitney69
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To: Starcitizen
You're still a moocher. A REAL MAN would do whatever they had to do, to take care of themselves and their family and not be a burden on others.

You refuse to do that, instead choosing to be a burden to others. That makes you a moocher.

18 posted on 05/13/2021 1:24:39 PM PDT by usconservative (When The Ballot Box No Longer Counts, The Ammunition Box Does. (What's In Your Ammo Box?))
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To: usconservative

You are an asshat and now a stalker.

Go back to your menial labor. That’s all you are capable of doing. Not enough gray matter to do anything else.

Shoveling horse crap like the horse crap constantly streaming out of your mouth.


19 posted on 05/14/2021 3:33:42 AM PDT by Starcitizen (So Indian H1B crybaby trash runs Free Republic moderation??? Seems so. )
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To: whitney69

If they can’t even get college or high school kids to fill their slots, or out of work people that weren’t college grads, then that’s why they are offering. It’s not incentive...it’s a bribe.
———-
Not to mention out of work people with decades of experience.

Got an email from a veterans group here in Colorado about positions hiring.

About 500 jobs in the list. 85% entry-level no-skill jobs. Lots of McDonald’s, Walmart, Amazon and FedEx jobs. The remaining require 8 to 10 years experience in either the medical field, require a TS clearance or some sort of industrial management experience. There was seemingly no middle ground.

Yet certain so-called conservative stalkers (see above) expect people to take such slave labor jobs to be “REAL MEN”

Gives conservatives a bad name. No wonder pretty much more and more of society hate us with attitudes like he has. The old “I’ve got mine, eff everyone else” nonsense.

Cuz bootstraps.


20 posted on 05/14/2021 3:43:27 AM PDT by Starcitizen (So Indian H1B crybaby trash runs Free Republic moderation??? Seems so. )
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