11-01-2022, 01:15 AM
(10-31-2022, 04:03 PM)JasonBlack Wrote:(10-31-2022, 01:29 PM)David Horn Wrote: Working in the South is do-or-die. There's not much in the way of social safety net, so failutre to work offers two options: mooching and crime. I fail to see that as a net plus.
Working is supposed to be "do-or-die" (at least, not being unemployed for like a year plus). Yes, wages are lower, but cost of living is also much, much lower than in most of the rest of the country. Me 10 years ago would have extended a bit more benefit of the doubt. I have been unemployed a few times, and it's a horrible place to be, but more and more I see the younger millennials and Gen Z openly....bragging about quitting work. Doing it as a social/moral statement and not applying for more jobs when possible. We don't tolerate those people in the South.
I'm not even particularly extreme on this issue, but I'm sorry to say, this is a clear instance of "give'em an inch, they'll take a mile".
Research shows that guaranteed income actually works, and people still work when they can. I support welfare and unemployment insurance, but they are so small that they are no incentive not to work. I guess your "do or die" goes along with your willingness and promise to shoot any burglars. Not much respect for life, nor any aspiration to make life better and more enjoyable instead of nose to the grindstone or suffering on the street. I disagree. I much prefer a blue state where people take responsibility to help one another. Individual initiative is great as far as it goes, but blue states provide insurance for losing your job, which is more often than not the fault of the employer. Self-employment is not for everyone. More justice and fairness is better than do or die. Fewer guns is better than gun-violent anarchy. Democratic Party policies are better than Republican all the way around and in every case. And the South is the most reliably Republican and the most reliably inferior on every measure, and that is no accident, but deliberate political decision by Party dominance. And it is largely due to white votes.
Unemployment is low everywhere right now, so saying the south has lower unemployment now does not mean much. And the pandemic has encouraged workers to seek better jobs and better pay for the work they do, which pay because of Republican policy is a mere pittance. $15 an hour minimum wage is not even adequate, but is better than the Republican policy of $7.25 which is not anywhere near a living wage anywhere in the USA. I admit that in coastal blue states cost of living is higher, because that is the desirable place to live and the South is a cruel swamp. Minimum wages need to be higher than $15 in blue states and cities and sometimes they are.