Jobs are not a commodity that can be manufactured by the government.

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Thursdays with John Hayward

09.01.11

Jobs are not a commodity that can be manufactured by the government, to be showered upon a deserving populace as gifts.  The Obama Administration always speaks of them in such terms, discussing “job creation” as if the government need only add a bit more water and fertilizer to make the American garden bloom with lush and vital employment. 

In truth, a job is a transaction.  The employee sells his labor to the employer. 

Why would you hire someone?  The short answer is “because you need them,” but to be more precise, you would hire someone for the same reason you would engage in any other voluntary transaction: because you value the employee’s labor more highly than the money you pay for it.  Conversely, the employee values his paycheck more than the time he sells you.  Many variables affect this equation, but it always comes down to a mutually beneficial exchange, in which both parties come away with increased value.

The government has considerable power to distort this transaction.  It can increase the cost of labor through regulations and mandates.  It can turn employees into ticking time bombs of liability, through aggressive government agencies on the prowl for reasons to sue employers.  It can tip the scales in favor of labor unions through raw government power, creating uncertainty that raises the cost of all labor… especially when the government is actively working to help unions recruit new members.

Meanwhile, class warfare and bottomless welfare benefits distort the ability of workers to appreciate the value of their own labor.  Poor economic growth from a shrinking private sector makes new hires less appealing to business.  Politicians have made a naturally simple and attractive transaction become confusing, opaque, and unappealing.  If you want a job, you should push for the overhead cost imposed on your labor to be reduced, so your value will become more evident to employers who have a good reason to hire you. — John Hayward