Opinions of recent observations

 
1. The gift of organized labor: Just read (or heard) some gal talking about all that organized labor has given the American people. She was so misinformed it was painful to observe. Organized labor did not give us the 40-hour week, as she said. Henry Ford did that. When he developed the assembly line for making automobiles, the work was so monotonous he could not keep employees. So he cut work time to an 8-hour day, five days a week, and doubled the hourly rate.

It worked pretty well, but later, when a young Japanese engineer named Toyoda sought his advice, Ford taught Toyoda many other things, like giving every employee the ability to stop the assembly line if he temporarily fell behind. These things made working on the line more bearable.

Toyoda employed Ford's advice in his motor car company (spelled Toyota) and became hugely successful. Interestingly, Toyota employees are not often union organized.

I'll tell you what organized labor gave us: an adversarial relationship between employers and employees. After the Great Depression, during which it was almost impossible to find a job, men were so grateful to have a steady paycheck, they believed in giving their employer an honest hour's work for an hour's pay.

Labor unions taught workers to believe they should squeeze every possible dime from their employers, while reducing their performance to the minimum necessary to hold their job.

2. Employer provided health insurance... isn't that a good thing?: Shakespeare wrote about "the tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive". Indeed. "During World War II, Employer-sponsored health insurance plans dramatically expanded as a direct result of wage controls imposed by the federal government.

The labor market was tight because of the increased demand for goods and decreased supply of workers during the war. Federally imposed wage and price controls prohibited manufacturers and other employers from raising wages enough to attract workers.

When the War Labor Board declared that fringe benefits, such as sick leave and health insurance, did not count as wages for the purpose of wage controls, employers responded with significantly increased offers of fringe benefits, especially health care coverage, to attract workers." (Wikipedia, the Online Encyclopedia.)

So, it all began with an effort to 'legally' break the law. Yes, that law was a misplaced idea, but that is all part of the tangled web.

3. Minimum wage laws: Of all the dumb things that originated in the last century, the mandated "minimum wage" is surely the dumbest.Two kinds of people push minimum wage: A: well-meaning, but ill-informed individuals who think they are bettering people's lives. ("You cannot support a family on minimum wage!") B. Well-informed but dishonest politicians who only seek more votes.

I once worked for 10¢ an hour. Hard work, too! I didn't need "support", I just wanted to earn some spending money. But I learned a lot about showing up on time and doing the job I was supposed to do.

I remember when movie theaters hired teenage ushers for 50¢ an hour. They just hung around at the back of the theater and when a customer came in, they used their flashlight to guide the customer down a dark aisle to a vacant seat.

The kids got to see movies for free and earn a little spending money. Like me, they also learned to show up for work, on time, bathed and appropriately dressed. They learned how to relate to people. Valuable experience for when they were ready to seek a full time job.

The minimum wage ended all that. Many kids, who had no skills, could no longer work. What do idle kids do? Many take to the streets and get into trouble. They may later mature. They may learn some skill. But without the experience of actually working on a real job, they are largely unemployable.