I was at a local big-chain grocery store this week. Needed to pick up a couple of things. Grabbed my stuff and headed for the checkout line. Since my stuff was large (big boxes of cat litter) and over the 15 item limit for the self-checkout, I got in line for one of the manned checkouts. Didn’t have much of a choice where I stood since only two registers were open so I picked line B. There were three overloaded carts in front of me.
And I waited…
And I waited….
And the line behind me grew to six carts. And we’re on about a half-hour standing there.
So I did what any red-blooded American with a cell phone would do. I called the store and asked to speak to the manager to find out what was going on.
All except two of her cashiers had called off. She was answering the phone from where she was working the self-checkout. The manager said she has job openings galore, but they’ve only been able to hire four people. (The two cashiers that were working I believe came from our local operation where developmentally disabled folks work for local stores to gain skills. They are generally enthusiastic but are pretty slow moving. ). After about an hour, I was able to pay and get to my car.
*****
Judging from the ‘We’re Hiring’ signs all over town at grocery stores, restaurants, etc. and from talking with managers, the consensus is that folks have too much money coming in from unemployment. Why work when you can sit on your duff and still pay your bills (or not, as the case may be)?
Most unemployment has a percentage of your former income (60% in Indiana) with a hard cap of around $300/week (so if you previously earned much more, you are hard capped at $300/week, NOT your 60%). Most unemployment systems work that way–the thought being that if it was much more, there’d be no incentive to find a job. And lo and behold, here we are–proof of concept achieved.
Seven states have decided to cut off the extra $300/week from the feds. More will probably follow. What made me laugh from the article I’ve linked was this:
“People do actually want to go back to work; they are willing to do that,” Federal Reserve Governor Lael Brainard said on Tuesday, adding that school closures meant many needed to look after children and couldn’t look for jobs.
People are people. Some, given a choice, would sit on their lard forever. I don’t think that Federal Reserve Governor Brainard is connected to the world as we know it. I’m betting he didn’t know that last fall, in many states, the requirement to actually be looking for a job was removed from the rules regarding the receiving of benefits and has not yet been reinstated. So these folks didn’t even have to give lip service to trying to find a job.
I do know some people who have been actively looking the whole time, regardless of requirements or rules. However, most were the invisible population of over 50’s whose jobs were ended as part of ‘restructuring’. They will be adversely impacted by the ending of the federal benefit. But they are a small portion of a system that is one-size fits all and doesn’t look at experience or resumes. They are the ones who are having problems finding a ‘suitable job‘. For someone with thirty years of experience in a particular field, a suitable job is a different thing than a front line job.
The Biden administration wanted socialism–they created it. They wanted higher minimum wages–they’ll get it as long as the dole brings in more money than work. They want to destroy the fabric of this country–they are on the right track.
Midwest Chick's Place 
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