Quote:
Originally Posted by justjim
While traveling this week we pulled into a McDonald’s just off the Interstate. Nobody to wait on you at the counter - please use kiosk sign. There was a line of about 12 - 14 cars in the drive-thru. On the counter next to the register was a rather large sign. “Sorry for the inconvenience. We need 10 employees immediately will train $15 hour starting wage no experience required.” We waited for food/beverages about 20 minutes after ordering on the Kiosk. 1. There is a serious workforce shortage. Plenty of jobs but nobody to fill them. 2. Apparently it is better for many not to work because child care and medical is so expensive. 3. 1% and 2% wage earners pay proportionately less taxes than do middle class wage earners. 4. Congress cannot compromise for the good of the Country as was done in the past. All of this contributes to spending more dollars than is taking in. No political references intended as there is plenty of blame to go around.
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We can see to a large degree what has happened with our own two eyes. Yes, there is a labor shortage, not only for McDonalds, but in an entire wide range of professions. Including law enforcement officers, doctors, nurses, home care workers, pilots, the list goes on and on.
The pandemic had a big impact on this. We lost 1 million people to the pandemic, and tens of millions more got sick. I don't want to argue whether all the people actually died of COVID or with COVID, there were millions of "excess deaths" above the normal trend line....argue if you want, but it was significant enough to lower average life expectancy by more than a year in this country. Folks were locked down and had plenty of time to think about their lives. Many families decided that living life to the fullest was more important than making as much money as they could. Lots of families decided to downsize and do with less in order to have one parent stay at home with kids. There were millions of "excess retirements," i.e. the number of retirements exceeded the normal trend line by millions. Folks saw that life can change on a dime and decided enough was enough. Look how many early retirements are apparent in The Villages. The result is that we have far more job openings in this country than the number of unemployed workers. 4% unemployment is what the economists call "full employment."
I don't think it's going to change anytime soon and will likely get worse. The next three years are the peak of the Baby Boomer turning 65. Through 2027, 11,300 people will turn 65 in this country every single day. Some may stay in the labor force, but most will leave it. Meanwhile, we have a birth rate that is at its lowest in 100 years. We do not have enough births in this country to match the number of deaths. Without immigration, our country's population would go down every year.
Finally, and this is really not political but a fact, there are some jobs that Americans either can't or won't do. 80% of the workers on farms are foreign born. We need people to harvest our crops, vegetables, fruits and nuts. According to farmers in many parts of the country, Americans won't do this backbreaking work regardless of pay. There are other occupations as well with very few American-born workers.