Almost everywhere you go these days there are “we’re hiring” signs. And not just a few.
A couple of weeks ago I went to our local Wendy’s to pick up some dinner and the lobby was closed. I asked someone inside the door way, why are they’re closed. She said, “they’re not, the drive thru is open. They were short staffed”. Later that same week I went to a Healthy Sandwich shop to get a fruit smoothie. The door had a sign on it that read, “we have shortened the shift due to lack of staff”. The following week I was picking up a few things at Dollar General and the checkout gal told me that the manager was opening and closing evey day because they didn’t have enough workers. She went on to say that when they do hire someone they don’t show up or they come and leave within a couple of hours.
Is it because they’re really is not enough people that need jobs? I don’t think so. We have cultivated a generation of the entitled. Suddenly, even $15-18 per hour isn’t enough of incentive. Now companies like Target and Amazon are advertising that we’ll pay for your college education. Other companies are offering sign on bonuses for entry level jobs.
Recently my wife took classes to become a Loan Officer Assistant. She then had to pass her NMLS test to get her license. The test was 200 questions that took 3-4 hours to complete. After studying intensely for 2 months she ended up passing her test on her first attempt (only 47% pass the test their first time). She then had to be trained for 6-12 months. Presently, she’s making $7.25 per hour while she’s training. The salary for an LOA is 45-55k annually. She is paying her dues.
Today we’ve made it too easy for people not to work. I’m in the staffing industry and I’ve come to find many new college graduates think they can just jump into a triple digit job.
Our government is now trying to pass legislation to make college free. Free healthcare because “it’s a basic human right”. Free child care. Some states are trying to pass a free minium salary, working or not. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to know that nothing’s free. The government produces no product or services. Their money comes from the working middle class. It’s socialism. As Margaret Thatcher once said, “The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people’s money.”
Unless we change this trajectory we will go by the way of Argentina. We’re hiring but they don’t care. They’re just not interested in working.