tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5281550.post5807133308306817582..comments2023-10-17T11:35:17.205-04:00Comments on The Boys Weekend Journal: What if the government subsidized the employment of displaced workers?Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06320185643968172638noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5281550.post-48680493688475482732007-10-23T23:30:00.000-04:002007-10-23T23:30:00.000-04:00I don't know about the above. It seems like it wou...I don't know about the above. It seems like it would have a very detrimental effect on non-displaced workers. Young workers and workers unemployed for other reasons would have a very difficult time competing with the displaced workers.<BR/><BR/>I believe that the best market oriented solution to unemployment is indeed a liberalized labor market. Policies that enhance the compensation and job security of the employed tend to reduce the number of the employed. So a free and unconstrained labor market seems to be the way to go. <BR/><BR/>One could definitely eliminate unemployment, in a technical sense, under a planned economy. But such a situation would lead to many workers being very inefficiently employed. <BR/><BR/>I suspect that workers in such an environment would likely suffer many of the adverse effects attributed above to unemployment. That is to say that being 'employed' in some largely purposeless labor for a token wage would probably fail to serve the psychological needs of the worker. <BR/><BR/>I would say that what people are looking for is a feeling of purpose and control in their life. I think that these things are most likely to be most highly developed under a system that promotes individualism. <BR/><BR/>In fact, I have often thought that one of the major problems in our society is that so many people do not even consider the possibility of acting on their own. Our entire educational system is geared toward developing individuals as cogs in someone else's machine. We are not taught to take initiative (indeed initiative is usually punished) but rather to seek approval and to mark ourselves as efficient and obedient workers. <BR/><BR/>Every person should be taught to think of themselves as self-employed. Even if they quite definitely have an employer. Just think of yourself as contracting your services to your employer (that is precisely what an employee does, isn't it?). So all employees are really like independent contractors. They just don't think that way.<BR/><BR/>If you're running a company that sells a product no one wants, whose fault is that? "Damn those bastards and their unwillingness to buy worn out unpaired boots stuffed with dog shit!" If no one thinks the product you're offering is worth the price you're charging, then that's that. Look around and see what people want. Think about what you can do. Offer a different or better product. Lower your price. If you want to FEEL useful, BE useful. <BR/><BR/>Claiming to be entitled to a wage that is higher than the value of your labor to another person IS asking for a handout. If you want a handout, fine, but don't ask me to pretend that it's really quid pro quo. <BR/><BR/>This psychological shift from dependence to independence could make a big difference in the operation of industrialized economies.Henryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06336290483050347269noreply@blogger.com