Still Need More Voice for Choice

One year ago today I wrote a post critiquing an article from Newsweek entitled “Baltimore restaurant owner can’t get employees to return because they make more in unemployment.” Here’s my piece:

The Truth About Choice

It’s striking that one year later we are still seeing the same arguments of why low wage, high risk workers should be forced to return to work. In other states there’s talk of removing benefits to make it happen. This sentence I wrote last year still rings true:

I continue to be enraged by the attitude that “affluent people like us” are naturally responsible and trustworthy, while low-wage workers are treated like bad children. 

Whenever you see politicians and business owners holding forth on what “those people” need to do, you will know instantly that this kind of paternalism is at work. 

I had to laugh when I read this headline this morning:

Desperate for workers, US restaurants and stores raise pay , Christopher Rugaber, AP

Shocking, isn’t it? Employers might actually have to do a better job recruiting. That old supply-and-demand thing might be in play even for “those people”. If you want people to choose you, you had better made that choice worth their while.

But if you don’t think that “those people” deserve a choice then you are clearly revealing a mindset that champions a rigid class system. Your view of the economy is that it will only function successfully for you if others are forced to do things they do not want to do. 

... “affluent people like us” are naturally responsible and trustworthy, while low-wage workers are treated like bad children. 

I find this attitude loathesome and I don’t believe that it makes for a successful economy, either. I’m rooting for low wage workers to get better pay and more choice to make the decisions that are right for them and their families. 

In the meantime, I see that the Ellicott City Diner is hiring. I don’t know anything about the rate of pay but it would be interesting to find out.