Wanna Buy a Rat?

One thousand rats
up for adoption
in California.

If I were not so old I would definitely go back to school and study economics and business. There are obviously mysterious things about the dismal science and business I do not understand. I was never very good at basic arithmetic, and anything beyond that is a complete mystery to me. Similarly, I know next to nothing about business. Even so, I do not hesitate to comment on these apparently strange and mysterious fields.

You must have seen today that Businesses (Corporations) in the last quarter (the 3rd quarter of this business year) made more profit than at any time in the 60 year history of keeping records of such things, profits in the one trillion six hundred plus billion dollar range. Not bad, huh? Interestingly enough, however, they are still complaining that President Obama is “the most anti-business President” ever. In fact business has thrived ever since Obama has been in office. And, of course, he has supported the banks, the auto industry, and business in general ever since he was elected, to the point that he has been, and continues to be, harshly criticized by his own Democratic “base.” But never mind this hypocritical ingratitude, there is a more important issue here (I think).

At the very moment that business has turned in record profits, and Wall Street has been rising for some time now, we still have the problem of unemployment. People are asking why, if business is so good, are there no jobs, and no jobs being created? My apparently simple-minded understanding of this leads me to believe the answer to that question is really quite simple, the success of business and employment are diametrically opposed to each other. If business is enjoying record profits they must be doing the right thing, that is, employing the requisite number of employees they need. If they were to employ more workers than they need it would cut down on their profits, so, being sensible businesspersons, they don’t do that. Businesses also succeed by keeping the cost of employment down. That is, the less they have to pay workers the more profit they can expect. Thus our international corporations that can find cheaper labor elsewhere (overseas) naturally go there, it’s just good business. Many of the jobs that were formerly held by Americans are now held by foreign workers, and, in many cases, because of our shameful neglect of education, foreign workers are also more highly qualified for those jobs. So, my simple-minded analysis of this issue tells me that you cannot have monumental business success and profits while at the same time employing surplus labor.

In the current human situation there are obviously more workers available than there are jobs for them. There are different solutions to this problem. In many countries you can find these surplus people neglected and living in shacks, going hungry and barely staying alive, on the outskirts of the large urban areas. In a few countries there are maintained certain basic levels of existence for everyone, provided by their governments, variously described as welfare systems or more often than not, socialism. Here in the U.S. socialism has come to have such a negative connotation it seems not to be a solution considered, and welfare is considered even more undesirable. In a few countries the problem is partly alleviated by cutting down the hours individuals have to work, insisting they take longer vacations, giving more time off for new parents, and so on.

Here in the U.S. we have not yet truly come to grips with the problem of unemployment, welfare, socialism, or other solutions. The Democrats for the most part tend to favor unemployment benefits, employment for all, even if it has to be artificially provided by government, and perhaps shorter work weeks, longer vacations and other means. Republicans, on the other hand, are staunchly opposed to welfare, government jobs, shorter work weeks, or anything that would help alleviate the problem. Being primitive social Darwinists they cling to the belief that surplus populations exist because workers are lazy, don’t really want to work if they can get welfare, should not be entitled to unemployment benefits beyond a minimal amount, and, I guess, should just starve and eventually disappear. Similarly, they don’t believe people should have health care if they can’t afford it, older people should provide for their own retirements and medical care, and in general should not expect any better. Some people, like me, think of Republicans pejoratively as “rats,” and know they can easily be “bought” by those very businesses they routinely help to make their obscene profits. It’s the American way.

LKBIQ:
Economics is extremely useful as a form of employment for economists.
John Kenneth Galbraith

TILT:
The reticulated python can reach a length of 30 feet.