#retirement #WorkUntilYouDie #labor #jobs #employment
There’s talk in the public sphere about abolishing retirement.
That means, of course, working until you die, unless you have a disability.
The conversation is coupled with talk of cuts in Social Security and Medicare, even if such cuts come from only “waste” in those funds.
First, if you have a great job, and your employer will let you work until you die, congratulations.
But, that’s hardly the case in most places. Despite the need for labor and many unfilled positions, employers definitely look at older workers, many of whom are making the most money in their categories, for places to cut. Ultimately, they may replace those workers with younger, cheaper ones.
The generous employers will offer these older workers separation incentives, commonly called buyouts, to leave by a specified date.
The less generous employers will just lay off older workers, despite laws that may put them in a protected class.
These protected class laws put the burden on the employees to sue to keep their jobs. They have to show, in most cases, that their employers fired them simply because of their ages. That’s hard to prove, since employers can come up with other – legitimate or illegitimate – reasons to let a person go. Many employees are also so-called “at-will” workers, meaning they can be fired for any reason. Also, most employees won’t bother suing, and the employers know that.
But, even if your employer WANTS you to work until you die, do YOU want to work until you die – particularly at a job you hate?
Retirement is designed not just to protect older people from workplace abuse, but also for the workers to live their golden years with some degree of well-earned pleasure. It’s designed for people to enjoy, and have control of, some part of their lives before they die. Also, it is designed to make jobs available for younger workers.
When Social Security was created as part of the New Deal after World War II, most people didn’t live but a few years after their retirement at, say, age 65.
Now, with advances in medical care, people are living decades after retirement, placing a burden not just on Social Security, but also on public and private pension funds. Some actuarial studies show these funds might not be sustainable for the near term, never mind perpetuity.
Making people work well into their so-called retirement years conjures up many awful scenarios. Would you want your parent or grandparent in a factory line, working his or her tail off in their 70s or 80s?
Would they even survive it?
In addition to medical advances, people are living longer likely because they are not working.
No one should discriminate against a worker because of his or her age.
But, no one should make someone work past a certain age, if he or she chooses not to.
And, yes, we need to take care of older people who are not working.
It’s not an easy problem to solve. But imaginative people in all sectors of society can, and, hopefully, will find ways to make retirement more achievable, enjoyable and sustainable.
Peter
Tag Archives: labor
LABOR SHORTAGES TO AFFECT SUMMER VACATIONS, TRAVEL
#LaborShortages #SummerTravel #labor #jobs #workers #employers
Resorts, restaurants and other entertainment venues are reporting labor shortages.
These employers say the number of applicants for work at summer hot spots are down. They may not be able to fill the jobs they have available.
NBC News reported on this problem May 15, 2022.
There are a number of issues here. First, these jobs are usually seasonal. The ideal applicant is a college or a high school student out of school for the summer.
Why aren’t they applying? There could be a number of reasons, but suffice it to say that the workplace, in general, is changing.
Since the pandemic, workplace safety is a bigger concern than ever. These young folks may be more cautious about a job that involves interacting with a lot of people, particularly if they don’t know the vaccination status of those people. After all, they don’t want to get sick, or worse, over a job.
Also, many of these jobs, particularly in hospitality, don’t pay well. As employers of all stripes are fighting over fewer workers, perhaps these students may have found other, more lucrative and less stressful job options.
Thirdly, as much as kids want to hang at, say, a beach area for the summer, what are their housing options, and are they affordable? No one wants to spend everything they earn to eat and sleep near a resort workplace.
These labor shortages contribute to the inflation we all see. If employers have to pay more to attract workers, customers will have to pay more.
That goes for every link in the supply chain. If there are labor shortages at the end of the chain, there are probably labor problems throughout.
It’s great for the economy for workers to have options. As an employer, perhaps you have to make working for you a better option. You have to find the “sweet spot” that makes you, your employees and your customers happy. It’s a tough balance for some establishments, so one has to be creative to make it work.
If you are a worker, by all means evaluate any available option you have. Money is certainly important, but a work situation that fits your needs and that you like is critical. Otherwise, you will not be happy no matter how much they pay you.
For the first time in a long time, workers are in the driver’s seat in many instances. These workers, in general, are NOT sitting home collecting government checks. They want to work, but also want to be treated well, want to feel safe and secure and want to feel, for lack of a better term, at home.
It can be a tall order to create an ideal workplace. Certainly, some jobs or tasks will be no one’s favorite thing to do. But the employer has to make those burdensome, necessary jobs and tasks as rewarding as possible.
The old idea of ruling a workplace with an iron fist will not attract or retain the best workers.
You need rules, certainly, but you also need an atmosphere that workers want to be in and want to make even better.
You might be surprised to learn that you can create such a workplace without too much hardship. You just have to think, ask questions and learn what people want.
It never hurts to ask workers what they are looking for. The answers may yield simple solutions
Peter
CAPITAL, LABOR AND ECONOMIC FUTURE
Are we, or have we been, moving into a trend in which capital surpasses labor as the economic engine?
New York Times columnist and Pulitzer Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman thinks so.
From the working person’s viewpoint, the economy is still quite depressed. But economic figures are improving and corporations are making record profits. Many of these companies are holding on to their cash for dear life, fearing the investment and regulatory climate now and to come.
Krugman points out that manufacturing is moving back to the U.S. from overseas. He uses the example of manufacturing computer mother boards. They are made largely by robots, so the cheap, Asian labor is no longer needed. Perhaps that’s why we hear that China’s economy is contracting.
But let’s look at the way things are, from where you sit. Chances are, if you are still working, you have at least some fear that your job is going to go away before you want it to. Perhaps you are saving your pennies, and not spending frivolously, in anticipation of being shown the door at work. The U.S. savings rate needed a shot in the arm, for sure, but how it is getting it is quite disconcerting.
Perhaps you are out of work, and have been for a while. You scratch your head because the job you had, which you had thought, or even had been told, was vital to your company just went away. It’s not as if you had done a lousy job at it and were replaced. Your job just went away, and it’s not coming back.
Meanwhile, you hear about record profits for companies and wonder why they are not putting some of that money back into their operations, i.e. in creating new jobs. Well, they probably don’t have to. Technology has improved to the point at which machines replace people in big numbers. No matter how much money they have, companies will not create jobs they don’t think they need. Some will actually cut jobs they should maintain.
This phenomenon is detrimental to what we know as the middle class. Because those with the capital have political benefactors, they may be creating a political system that lets them get richer at others’ expense. When the successful are protected in this way, the less successful become more vulnerable. As Krugman says, we’re not talking about a gap between the educated work force and the less educated. In this milieu, EVERYONE gets paid less. When the less successful become more vulnerable, they not only get paid less for what they do. They pay more for what they need.
INHERITANCE TAXES CAN HURT
Krugman says that the rich also are fighting to eliminate inheritance taxes. He may find some disagreement here, because inheritance taxes can prevent family businesses from being given to future generations of that family. Sometimes, families have to sell their businesses to cover the tax bill, and there is something wrong with that. On the other hand, there could be large amounts of wealth being easily transferred to people who are already wealthy, without adding to the economic engine.
If this trend of forced idleness continues, it bodes ill. Look at what is happening in other countries, where young, often educated people can’t find work. Such free time among a disgruntled group can lead to all sorts of bad things.
However, in all this, there is good news. There are lots of ways out there to make money, without worrying about having a traditional job. To check out one of the best, visit www.bign.com/pbilodeau. Hear and see the stories of how average people are making above-average incomes, and helping others do the same. It also attacks the notion of paying more for what one needs.
So if you are working, think about your plan B. Savings will certainly help you, but they may not cover all your bills without a paycheck. If you are not working, don’t be discouraged. Check out one of the many opportunities there are, through which average people, regardless of education, are prospering. Sometimes, becoming successful just requires being open to looking at something different.
It has been said that the best way to help the poor is to not be one of them. The best way to fight the capital vs. labor battle that Krugman illustrates is to find ways to generate more real capital. Kurgman calls the capital guys robber barons. If you help people prosper with you, that’s makes you a benefactor.
Peter