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This week on CounterSpin: A report showing that fewer jobs were added in April than expected has some business owners and media minions shaking heads and pointing fingers about how people “don’t want to work!” Listeners will have heard the trope, providing a scarcely needed opening for shopworn right-wing assertions about how government assistance to keep folks’ head above water robs people (some people, mind you, it’s always only some people) of their work ethic.
At this point, the fact that data don’t support a connection between unemployment benefits and difficulty in hiring is beside the point. That work “ethic” equals the willingness to work in whatever conditions at whatever wage is an unchallenged, mostly unspoken pillar of corporate reporting. Trouble for them is, millions of people are hearkening to the idea—expressed in a popular meme—that if as an employer you “offer” wages less than unemployment, you are less a job creator than a poverty exploiter. And they’re less and less willing to accept the line that an insistence on a livable life will wreck what we’re told is “the” economy.
Do elite media have space for people who don’t want to risk their lives for less money than they need to live? It’s a big conversation, but we’ll start by talking about breaking through false but hardy narratives with Michael Hiltzik, business columnist and blogger for the Los Angeles Times and author of, most recently, Iron Empires: Robber Barons, Railroads and the Making of Modern America.
Plus Janine Jackson takes a quick look back at recent press coverage of Israel/Palestine, Venezuela and voter suppression.
Transcript: ‘We Need to Stop Taking Employers’ Viewpoint as Gospel’
If by “people don’t want to work any more” you mean “people don’t want to work at crappy, boring, unpleasant jobs and only do so because they need the pay”, that’s quite correct. If the average burger flipper won a lottery today and became a millionaire, there would be a vacancy at the burger place tomorrow. VERY few burger flippers do the job because it is fulfilling, satisfying work that they would do even if they didn’t need the money.
On the other hand, there are lots of people who continue to work even though they’re so rich that they don’t have to. They do jobs like Congressperson, or CEO, or charity fundraiser; in other words, interesting work.
If you want people to work, you’ve got to either pay them or give them interesting, enjoyable jobs.
Where did the download links go? We are happy to run your show KOWS but need the acess to the content.
Thank you, Don. i 2nd this F.A.I.R. This isn’t the first time this issue of technical glitch content posting has cropped up. i get plenty of e-mailer so one would think there shouldn’t be a problem with mere webpage hygiene regimen. i come from the angle of bottom line customer/ consumer: with metered data, then downloading through wifi helps with maintaining digital dieting & preparing for attack from big tech doing clamp down “fixer” damage control & MK ultra rampage b.s.
did someone write in the 18th century, “nobody wants to be slaves anymore”, no because its a transparent complaint. so why are we allowing stupid communicators to act so dumb?
Because our choice to allow or disallow was taken away from us?
If I showed up to work at a minimal-wage job, only to see that demotivating sign ruining the customer/waitstaff relationship, I might not show up the next day either!
You need a lot more posts on economics. Try Michael Hudson or Bill Black. They are great truth tellers.
With all due respect, your tone is a bit sarcastic, maybe even snarky. The problem I have with that is it makes you hard to understand. What I mean is, I do not always understand that you are employing irony or sarcasm, so I sometimes miss the point. I suppose some colorful language keeps your report more interesting, still, I wish you were more direct.
Keep up the good work.
Ahh! FAIR. COUNTERSPIN. I can feel my body going slack, the tension drains from my face and my breathing eases. I don’t have to scream at the radio any more. ❤️
Maybe unemployment should be lowered then. Able-bodied workers working will always be more helpful to the economy than those same people living off of other’s taxes.