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New Report Shows Growth of the Welfare State Has Fueled Long-Term Declines in th

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Ptarmigan:
New Report Shows Growth of the Welfare State Has Fueled Long-Term Declines in the Labor Force
https://fee.org/articles/new-report-shows-growth-of-the-welfare-state-has-fueled-long-term-declines-in-the-labor-force/


--- Quote ---A massive labor shortage continues to grip the nation and hold back our economic recovery. With countless pandemic and policy factors influencing the shortage, there’s a heated debate over what’s keeping so many workers out of the labor force. But a new study confirms that the growth of the welfare state is playing a massive role—and that this trend began long before the pandemic.

Published by experts on the Republican side of the Senate Joint Economic Committee, the analysis reports, “the U.S. has witnessed an unprecedented rise in disconnected prime-age workers over time.” As shown in the graph below, the men’s labor force participation rate has fallen from more than 97 percent in 1955 to 89 percent prior to the pandemic, while the women’s labor force participation rate has declined in recent decades as well.

What’s causing this decline? Well, the study examines popular explanations like displacement from immigration and technological advancements and finds that they do not account for this drastic drop. Rather, it suggests that the biggest factor is that “many would-be workers are voluntarily disconnected from work, and government programs and policies have likely made work less attractive for these Americans.”

There has been tremendous growth in the welfare state over these decades. Per the committee, in 1998 about 20 percent of working-age Americans living in households between the 20th and 50th income percentiles were benefiting from government programs. As of 2014, that figure was up to 30 percent.   
--- End quote ---

Welfare is causing a labor shortage.

DefiantSix:
Gee.

Incentivize sitting on your ass instead of being productive, and the lazy-inclined half of America will sit on it's gi-normous ass.

Who'd have thunk it?  :thatsright:

DLR Pyro:
Joe biden's America

Old n Grumpy:
Welfare may be the cause for low end minimum wage jobs, but I don't think it's the cause for skilled workers. I think the problem is that there aren't enough people with the skills to do a lot of the jobs. And some of the problem is to many with college educations and no technical skills.

Eupher:

--- Quote from: Old n Grumpy on October 30, 2021, 09:03:14 AM ---Welfare may be the cause for low end minimum wage jobs, but I don't think it's the cause for skilled workers. I think the problem is that there aren't enough people with the skills to do a lot of the jobs. And some of the problem is to many with college educations and no technical skills.

--- End quote ---

Mike Rowe of "Dirty Jobs" fame explains the problem far better than I can. Yeah, the culture we've created in that "you'll never amount to much unless you go to college and get a degree" has worked famously well -- including for those youngsters who spend enormous amounts of money chasing a dumbass "gender studies" or equally woke course of "study." Then, with no Plan B in their back pocket, they whine like little bitches when that gender studies degree is about as impactful and meaningful as a fart in a hurricane.

Decades ago I learned that studying music was a great thing from a personal satisfaction POV, but putting food on the table was going to be a very long stretch if I put all my eggs in that particular basket. Back then we didn't have auto-tune (right, Brittany Spears and Justin Bieber?) and you actually had to be proficient on one or more instruments in order to be hired at all. So getting a degree was something I had to do as I'm not a welder, plumber, or electrician and when I finished with the Army as a musician (having learned to shuffle papers for a living and inspect things in addition to playing multiple instruments), I found something I enjoyed and paid well. I had to resort to Plan B, IOW.

Yesterday I had a guy come over and install a shower door on a recently-tiled shower. Afterwards, he revealed that in his construction company 2 years ago, he had 3-4 crews with about 9-10 guys in each crew. Today they're down to one crew with him and 2 other guys, and the boss who does no physical labor any more. Why? Well, all that free money that the politicians (including Trump) threw at the Covid problem had a lot to do with it and as long as the government pays these guys to sit on their asses, they won't work. Simple as that.

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