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posted by martyb on Saturday July 15 2017, @03:29PM   Printer-friendly
from the Stockholm-Syndrome dept.

I saw an story in Slate about stagnant wages in an economy that is growing otherwise:

There's a disturbance in the force of the U.S. economy. An airline canceled flights because it couldn't find enough pilots to steer them. Despite high demand, homebuilders in Colorado are throttling back activity because they can't find the workers to erect frames. Farmers in Alabama are fretting that crops may rot in the ground for a lack of workers to bring in the harvest.

[...] There are a whopping 5.7 million job openings (well over twice the level of eight years ago). Meanwhile, baby boomers are aging out of the workforce at a rapid clip and Mexicans, many of whom crossed the border to work, have been leaving the U.S. for years. The demand for workers is high.

Given these conditions, wages should be rising sharply. But look at this chart from the Atlanta Federal Reserve: They haven't been, and they're not. … Last week, the New York Times featured a Columbus, Ohio, cleaning company owner mystified that he couldn't find applicants for his $9.25-per-hour jobs ("I sometimes wish there was actually a higher unemployment rate," he actually said) and a Nebraska roofer who couldn't figure out why nobody applied for the $17-an-hour jobs she was offering. "The pay is fair," she said.

Actually, if not a single person applies for your job, the pay probably isn't fair. But that's where America remains stubbornly stuck: Employers won't pay enough, and workers either won't or can't demand more. There are likely a lot of reasons, but the biggest, or least most fixable, may be psychological: From an economic perspective, both sides of the hiring market should have the power to increase overall wages in the current climate—but they aren't.

[...] There could be a skills gap in which the workers out there simply don't have the training necessary to fill the open jobs. Or it could be that, as Binyamin Appelbaum of the New York Times ventured on Twitter, that "a lot of American businesses have lost the muscle memory of how to compete for workers." That is to say, they have literally forgotten the words to use, and the tools to deploy, when workers aren't lining up in droves to fill their positions.

I also found this in the Daily Caller. It discusses the shortage of H2B workers this year. Most folks here know about H1B workers... H2B is program for low skill seasonal workers which has seen rule changes and cuts this year.

Businesses in Bar Harbor, Maine are turning to locals to make up for a shortage of foreign guest workers that normally fill summer jobs in the bustling seaside resort town.
Because the H-2B visa program has already reached its annual quota, Bar Harbor's hotels, restaurants and shops can't bring in any more foreign workers for the rest of the busy summer tourist season.

[...] The shortage is so acute that companies are sweetening incentives for local workers. Searchfield says some businesses are offering flexible schedules that might appeal to older workers who might be interested in working only a day or two each week. And other companies have gone so far as to offer higher wages to entice locals.

Imagine that.


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  • (Score: 1) by khallow on Sunday July 16 2017, @08:43AM (7 children)

    by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Sunday July 16 2017, @08:43AM (#539841) Journal

    It is a major restraint on anyone who has a modicum of familial responsibility.

    But not enough familial responsibility to save money.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 16 2017, @07:17PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 16 2017, @07:17PM (#539977)

    Not everyone is a Physically and Mentally Perfect John Galtian Ubermensch like you khallow, some people know their limitations and just want a decent job.

    • (Score: 1) by khallow on Sunday July 16 2017, @10:41PM

      by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Sunday July 16 2017, @10:41PM (#540064) Journal

      Not everyone is a Physically and Mentally Perfect John Galtian Ubermensch like you khallow, some people know their limitations and just want a decent job.

      Sure, they do. It's really bizarre to think that saving money is somehow a trait of some superior sort of humanity.

  • (Score: 2) by deimtee on Monday July 17 2017, @01:34AM (4 children)

    by deimtee (3272) on Monday July 17 2017, @01:34AM (#540113) Journal

    How does saving money get you out of the health insurance mess? If you try to pay yourself, hospital costs are vastly inflated. The insurance companies have cozy deals where they pay only a fraction of the "official" bill that you get handed. Sure, if you're earning megabucks you can pay private insurance or just pay direct, but for some poor slob on minimum wage that is not really an option.
    Also, even if you do save, given the system as it exists there are better things to do with savings than be the lone nut bucking the system.

    --
    If you cough while drinking cheap red wine it really cleans out your sinuses.
    • (Score: 1) by khallow on Monday July 17 2017, @06:52AM (3 children)

      by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Monday July 17 2017, @06:52AM (#540202) Journal
      Even if things really were as you claim, you are completely missing the power of savings here. Let's review the original complaint:

      It started as a way around Government limited wage rises, but employers quickly realised how it could be used as a leash. Not just your healthcare, but your family's was dependent on you not telling an abusive employer to go fuck himself. It is a major restraint on anyone who has a modicum of familial responsibility.

      It's not the insurance that's the leash here, but the risk of the insurance being dropped, should you lose your job. Here's where savings works. You pay the insurance premiums from savings until you get a new job and then you have employer insurance again. So even in the situation where we work completely within the employer-based system, we still see the power of savings to allow you to both weather the risk of layoff (you do know that employers do layoffs and fire people, right?) and actually look for jobs better than the one you have.

      Also, even if you do save, given the system as it exists there are better things to do with savings than be the lone nut bucking the system.

      And one of those huge things to do with savings aside from being the "lone nut bucking the system" is fuck you money: the ability to leave a job without compromising your familial responsibilities.

      • (Score: 2) by deimtee on Monday July 17 2017, @01:42PM (2 children)

        by deimtee (3272) on Monday July 17 2017, @01:42PM (#540296) Journal

        If you leave an employer, can you continue to pay the employer's insurance company the same premium, and continue with the same coverage? Serious question, as I do not know.
        If not, then you are subject to all those waiting period and existing condition exclusions on your new policy.

        But more than that, it is a mindset thing. People look at their take home pay, $X per week and their expenses, usually almost $X per week.
        You are proposing that they not only give up $X when they quit, but that their expenses suddenly go up by $Health_Insurance at the same time. That's scary, even if you have another job lined up.

        --
        If you cough while drinking cheap red wine it really cleans out your sinuses.
        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 17 2017, @04:55PM

          by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 17 2017, @04:55PM (#540397)

          It's more or less possible, with some details left out. Same premium - yes, but not same premium to you. You have to pick up your employer's side of it as well (since they're not longer putting money in that kitty), which generally doubles it.

        • (Score: 1) by khallow on Tuesday July 18 2017, @01:50AM

          by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday July 18 2017, @01:50AM (#540688) Journal

          You are proposing that they not only give up $X when they quit, but that their expenses suddenly go up by $Health_Insurance at the same time. That's scary, even if you have another job lined up.

          There are a lot of things worse than fear, for example, being the fall guy for multiple felonies. And leaving a job may not be voluntary. Fuck you money works just as well when you're fired or laid off.