As we celebrate Labor Day, let's remember that the hard work of Americans built this country. And keeps it going. A wise country invests in its workers. A foolish nation outsources its work to foreigners and then tries to build a welfare state for its workers from the profits. We've been foolish for quite a while now. It's about time that we tried being wise.
President Donald Trump’s harsh criticism of immigration programs and Congress’ refusal to lift a cap on work visas meant many seasonal businesses had to hire American this summer — and pay their workers more.
That's good news for Trump, for U.S. workers, and for supporters of Trump's “American First” agenda, but business groups complain that increased spending on wages will ultimately cost jobs and sap company profits. Across the country, enterprises ranging from oyster shuckers to landscapers say they were forced to give up contracts and forgo revenue because they just couldn’t find enough workers to do the jobs this summer.
"There were a lot of businesses that lost a lot of revenue,” said Laurie Flanagan, co-chair of the H-2B Workforce Coalition, a lobbying group with a membership that includes the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
No doubt. In the short term.
If you put money back into the pockets of American workers, you create more customers for your business. The alternative is to keep cutting prices by cutting labor costs by hiring foreigners and outsourcing work to be able to sell to a poorer working class. And the declining middle class. Or chase the narrow sliver of the upper classes by upselling your products.
And then propose a guranteed minimum income against the profits of the remaining businesses so that the lower classes can buy your products.
It's all in whether we want to do the hard work of growing a national economy or just keep looking for shortcuts.