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Is There Really a Labor Shortage? Policy Expert Says "No"
Border Hawk News ^ | April 19th, 2023 | Allan Wall

Posted on 06/19/2023 9:00:15 PM PDT by River Hawk

One of the biggest arguments in favor of mass immigration – whether of the legal or illegal variety – is that we need the workers.

You’ve probably heard claims such as, “We need more workers,” or, “Immigrants do jobs Americans won’t do.”

A recent article by American Compass CEO Oren Cass in The Atlantic magazine takes these arguments on, making the case that a labor “shortage” is actually a good thing.

Cass’s solution: “If employers are struggling to find workers, they should offer better pay and conditions. If that comes at the expense of some profits, or requires some prices to rise, well, that’s how markets are supposed to work.”

If our rulers really cared about Americans from the middle and working classes, they would shut down immigration - both legal and illegal - and allow wages to rise.

(Excerpt) Read more at borderhawk.blog ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; Miscellaneous; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: economy; h1b; immigration; labor; wages
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1 posted on 06/19/2023 9:00:15 PM PDT by River Hawk
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To: River Hawk

Of course not. There just isn’t enough people willing to the do the jobs for $15/hr that should pay $100,000/yr.


2 posted on 06/19/2023 9:19:24 PM PDT by Jonty30 (If liberals were truth tellers, they'd call themselves literals. )
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To: Jonty30
There just isn’t enough people willing to the do the jobs for $15/hr that should pay $100,000/yr.

Like McDonalds? Convenience store clerk?

3 posted on 06/19/2023 9:32:41 PM PDT by MileHi ((Liberalism is an ideology of parasites, hypocrites, grievance mongers, victims, and control freaks.)
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To: River Hawk

Everywhere I go there are help wanted signs and apologies for the slow service due to not enough staff.


4 posted on 06/19/2023 9:37:02 PM PDT by AlaskaErik (There are three kinds of rats: Rats, Damned Rats, and DemocRats.)
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To: River Hawk

That little snippit of the article explains exactly why this mass influx of illegal aliens is being allowed. Big business wants the production and they want to keep wages low.
Reall,y if big business was losing money because of illegal aliens streaming across the border, you can bet your bottom dollar that wall would have been built long, long ago.


5 posted on 06/19/2023 9:56:17 PM PDT by vpintheak (Live free, or die!)
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To: vpintheak

Yes, good point!


6 posted on 06/19/2023 10:02:31 PM PDT by River Hawk
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To: vpintheak
I disagree with you. I think the massive influx of immigrants is driven by a desire for more consumers, not labor. Every business and government office has a vested interest in propping up the demand for their products and services — from auto companies to hospitals to school administrators.

And the major flaw in the argument that raising wages will address the “labor shortage” should be obvious: What happens when all the employers are trying to hire from the same labor pool, and there simply aren’t enough warm bodies to fill the open jobs at any wage?

7 posted on 06/19/2023 11:54:55 PM PDT by Alberta's Child ("I've just pissed in my pants and nobody can do anything about it." -- Major Fambrough)
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To: Alberta's Child

Business wants more workers, and they also want more consumers.

Government bureaucrats want more welfare recipients.

Hispanic activists and other ethnic activists want more of their fellow Hispanics to build political power.

Democrats want more voters.

They’re all getting something out of it, except the historic American nation.


8 posted on 06/20/2023 12:01:51 AM PDT by River Hawk
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To: River Hawk

the poisonn of higher wages, with the unspoken higher taxationhas always been a demmocrat carrot.

paying people to stay home also is a poison because as the necessary skills in offices increase staying away from using those skills lessen one’s marketable experience.
whether covid induced or at a beach i n the bahamas same effect.


9 posted on 06/20/2023 12:50:23 AM PDT by Terry L Smith
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To: River Hawk

There’s no labor shortage. Employers claim there’s a labor shortage because they want to hire foreigners for lower wages.


10 posted on 06/20/2023 1:55:46 AM PDT by Tired of Taxes
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To: River Hawk

Exactly. “Shortage” of workers?

Well when demand exceeds supply, prices go up until equilibrium is reached. Isn’t that what we were all taught? That’s the free market. Can’t find workers? PAY MORE! Offer higher wages until you can find workers.

Companies should not be allowed to flood the market with cheap labor. That’s not the free market. That’s rigging the game in their favor.

Also, workers are not just mindless worker bees. They are people. They have a culture and ideas of their own. Sometimes their cultures and their values are incompatible with ours. Sometimes they don’t have the job skills to be productive workers. We should keep people fitting these descriptions out. They don’t do us any good. And after all, this is a sovereign country, not a charity, nor the world’s dumping ground.


11 posted on 06/20/2023 2:09:47 AM PDT by FLT-bird
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To: River Hawk

“They’re all getting something out of it, except the historic American nation.”

Perhaps true, but perhaps “historic Americans” aren’t a strong enough force to stop what’s happening. Culture wars is the story of civilizations.


12 posted on 06/20/2023 5:10:34 AM PDT by cymbeline
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To: River Hawk
Cox Communications has been working in my neighborhood the past week. Every single member of their work crew, as best I can tell, is from south of the border.

When I sit on my front porch and listen, it's as if I am in a foreign country.
13 posted on 06/20/2023 5:18:29 AM PDT by Dan in Wichita
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To: River Hawk
Cass’s solution: “If employers are struggling to find workers, they should offer better pay and conditions. If that comes at the expense of some profits, or requires some prices to rise, well, that’s how markets are supposed to work.”

If our rulers really cared about Americans from the middle and working classes, they would shut down immigration - both legal and illegal - and allow wages to rise.


I agree. Most pro Americans and the working class agree.
14 posted on 06/20/2023 5:20:15 AM PDT by central_va (I won't be reconstructed and I do not give a damn...)
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To: Alberta's Child
What happens when all the employers are trying to hire from the same labor pool, and there simply aren’t enough warm bodies to fill the open jobs at any wage?

Wages go up!!! Then there is plenty of incentives to get the training needed to get those higher paying jobs!!! Nursing is one of the best examples.

This is how the FREE MARKET FOR LABOR WORKS. The supply of domestic labor is not STATIC.

15 posted on 06/20/2023 5:23:14 AM PDT by central_va (I won't be reconstructed and I do not give a damn...)
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To: River Hawk
There are certainly shortages in fields they can't fill with illegal aliens.

Pilots, the military, law enforcement, nursing, truck drivers, and just a few of the fields facing severe shortages. Causality is multi-faceted, including Pfascist mandates to take the Jim Jones Jab, low pay and compensation, and risks far outweighing the rewards.

16 posted on 06/20/2023 5:44:04 AM PDT by T.B. Yoits
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To: central_va
That's not how it works here in my neck of the woods.

Many of the employers in this area are all competing for the same semi-skilled labor. There simply aren't enough of those people to fill the jobs, so the businesses all cope in their own way.

- The roadside diner that used to be open 24/7 is now only open five days a week ... and it closes at 7:00 PM on those days when it is open.

- The convenience store/gas station right off the interstate that used to be open 24/7 now closes at 9:00 PM every night.

- The major national-brand truck stop right next door to them is open 24/7, but half of the functions inside aren't available during overnight hours.

- The major manufacturing facility and surrounding warehouses up the road have bought a bunch of 15-passenger vans, and they bring in workers from places 50+ miles away.

17 posted on 06/20/2023 7:14:27 AM PDT by Alberta's Child ("I've just pissed in my pants and nobody can do anything about it." -- Major Fambrough)
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To: Alberta's Child

OK, both then. More consumers for their products, and influx of poor desperate people to keep the wages down. Deal.


18 posted on 06/20/2023 9:07:28 AM PDT by vpintheak (Live free, or die!)
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To: AlaskaErik
At my local mega-mart they are not hiring and the many of the staff has been moved to part time.
19 posted on 06/20/2023 9:12:41 AM PDT by Harmless Teddy Bear (Follow the money. Even if it leads you to someplace horrible it will still lead you to the truth.)
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To: Jonty30

When employers & the job tasks require DRUG TESTS——the job stays open.

You would be surprised how many ‘applicants’ cannot pass a drug test.

Legalizing marijuana has had a large impact.

IF I were still hiring & firing, you can bet I would be demanding drug tests.


20 posted on 06/20/2023 9:29:37 AM PDT by ridesthemiles
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