You nailed that perfectly.
I have several friends who own businesses. Hiring is the last thing on their mind right now. If the climate improves they will rather pay overtime to existing employees than hire new.
I have been hearing the same thing. I have some friends who are middle managers at large corps. No hiring there either.
Temp agencies here are making a killing. One company has 200 temps running the production lines. Only permanent (I use that word loosely) help is HR, accounting or receiving.
This is very common here. It is almost impossible to get a job except through a temp service. As you would guess, that means our “underemployment” rate is a lot higher than 20%.
Now kids (meaning you brilliant Dems), any idea of why this is happening? A slew of reasons, most all of them government interference. If you layoff a permanent employee you will spend a hell of a lot of money paying (65% of) the 18 months of COBRA the feds require.
Friend of mine is sales manager for a group of rental stores. He says they can’t afford to pay the employees they have, and thanks to the COBRA regs, they can’t afford to lay off any. Irony here is that this has the real potential to drive them out of business. Then *all* of the employees will be SOL for jobs and insurance. Thanks Washington! For making everyone equally miserable.
Keep illegals illegals, and do the black market employment thing, is what is going to happen. Why be forced to match health care costs and risk huge fines if the accounting is wrong for some reason?
The repeat of the 1930s is obvious to anyone who has read Amity Schlaes’ book The Forgotten Man. Whipsawing business with loads of new mandates and every changing regulations is no way to lead the country to economic recovery, as FDR proved by extending what should have been a 3-4 year bad recession into a decade-long Great Depression.
If we let him, Obama will do the same and worse.
Oh, and for those who haven’t read it - The Forgotten Man is the taxpayer, the guy who doesn’t directly benefit from all the government programs, but who does have to pay for them.