How and why the government created the so-called “labor shortage”

 

By Steve Halpern

Anyone who drives through the commercial areas of this country will see numerous “Help Wanted” signs. Many restaurants closed and others operate short staffed. So, it may come as a surprise to learn that the United States government has effectively told millions of workers not to work at those jobs.

Reading that sentence might cause many people to ask a few questions. Doesn’t the government normally support the interests of businesses? So, if that is the case, preventing workers from working would cause corporations to lose a lot of money. Why would the government do something that doesn’t appear to make any sense at all?

I can begin this story by looking at the reality of immigration in the United States.

Immigration

There is one issue where the Democratic and Republican Parties are in full agreement. That is their willingness to deport millions of people who were born in other nations and came here so they might have a better life.

Clearly no one has the power to choose what nation we are born in. So, when someone is deported from this country, the reasoning for that deportation is only about punishing people for an issue they had no control over. 

Then, we can say that thousands of immigrants who come to this country have children who were born here. When the government deports the parents, the children oftentimes are placed in foster care, never to see their natural parents again. 

We might think about the reality of those immigrants. First, we can say that about 80% of the world’s workforce receives about $10 per day or less in wages. About half of the world’s workforce receives about $2 per day or less in wages. Understanding these facts, we can see why workers from many countries would be eager to come here and work for wages that might be $10 per hour or more.

We can also say that during the 1960s the United States actively recruited immigrants to come here because of a labor shortage. European nations also had initiatives to attract immigrants. 

Then, starting in the 1970s many manufacturing corporations moved to nations where there were much lower prevailing wages. Presidents of the United States began to implement policies aimed at deporting millions of immigrants. The government invested billions of dollars to restrict immigration and to deport immigrants living here. Let’s not forget all of money spent to build a wall, making it more difficult to immigrate to this country. 

We also might consider that the twelve million immigrants living here provide essential services. Those jobs include farm workers, meat packing workers, restaurant workers, health care workers, as well as workers in research and development. Apparently, the government in this country prefers these workers to live in their country of birth and receive $10 per day, rather than live here and receive a living wage.

Two million people who live in prison

Beginning with the presidential administration of Bill Clinton, the prison population in this country has skyrocketed from about 300,000 to about 2,000,000. There are about six million people who are in prison, parole, or probation. Many former prisoners are prohibited from working jobs because of their prison record. 

We might consider that for each prisoner, the government pays about $60,000 for their maintenance in the dungeons of this country. We might also consider that many prisoners work at jobs while they are incarcerated. The wages of those jobs average at about 63 cents per hour. 

Another interesting fact is that about half of the prison population consists of people convicted of drug related offenses. Yet the nation of Portugal legalized drugs that are illegal here and the drug problem diminished as a result. 

So here again we see again how the government has instituted policies that prevent able bodied workers from working at the same time as there is a labor shortage.

Conclusion

One conclusion we can draw from this reality is that the politicians in the United States are plum stupid. Why would they support policies that prevent workers from working while there is a labor shortage?

Then, we might argue that there are evil geniuses behind these policies. Clearly those people who have power would rather that workers receive salaries of $2 per day rather than $10 per hour. This is what happens when workers are deported or sent to prison.

However, I do not agree with those arguments. In my opinion, we are beginning to see the economy of the United States fall apart. Large and small corporations are going out of business. Corporations as well as the government have no concrete strategy to get us out of this morass. All they can say is “Get your vaccination.” Well, that advice will do nothing to feed the 42 million people in this country who don’t have enough food to eat.

The solution to this problem, as well as the solution to most problems workers face lies in building a political movement aimed at overturning the capitalist system. A government that represented the genuine interests of workers would make human needs and not profits the fundamental priority. That kind of government would give meaningful aid to nations where working people live on the knife edge of survival. That kind of government would work to ensure that everyone’s needs were provided for throughout our lives. Confronting the pandemic, that kind of government would do what is necessary to battle this disease, without any concern for corporate profits.

Many will argue that this kind of strategy is totally unrealistic. However, the political and economic crisis we experience today is not the result of failure. No, the fact that 42 million people in this country do not have enough food to eat is the result of over two centuries of capitalist policies that have been viewed as a success. Given this history, the only logical answer to our problems is to put in place a new government that will confiscate the largest corporations and make the human needs of everyone an absolute right. 

The capitalist system needs to have an international economy that doubles every twenty-five years. We will discover how that kind of growth will ultimately be impossible. So, working to advance the interests of the international working class is the top priority for the entire human race. When more and more people realize that this is our only chance for a meaningful future, then, the seemingly impossible can become a reality.