Got Mad Skillz?

And you ain’t got no J.O.B.?

Or

Taxpayer Financed Workforce Training is Stupid….

Or

Outsourcing totally makes sense…

Or

Let’s get back to the Fundamentals…

Anything other than a business directly training its staff is ridiculous, and a colossal waste of taxpayer money.

Only the Business, Corporation, LLC etc. knows what specific skills are needed at any specific moment. And only they have the ability to “re-tool” quickly enough to meet market demand and best practices. Thus, they are the only ones equipped to train personnel in a competitive environment because of their flexibility due to their market participation and the knowledge derived from it.  This was called “On The Job Training”.

Then why doesn’t this happen?

So why is “On The Job Training” a phrase of the past. In other words, what happened to the days when “unskilled” workers would be hired and trained to fill the desired positions within a company?

The Minimum Wage happened.

The Minimum Wage is why you have to go to school and GUESS what skills will be necessary to secure a job of your liking.

Decades have passed since “getting into”, “starting in the mailroom” or “getting in on the ground floor” of the profession of your choice was an option. Now those industries must hire “trained” or “skilled” employees because they cannot afford to spend any time paying you to learn on the job. It is simply too expensive… because there is an artificial Minimum of which they must pay.

This is why “unskilled” labor in other countries such as China CAN be employed to make things like Apple iPad’s because the wages are far lower and make it possible to build the time spent training the workforce into a product cost consumers are willing to pay.

This is why companies, who want to stay in business, outsource jobs…

If they could not outsource jobs… you would not have an iPad to play with in addition to many other things you take for granted.

Are you with me so far?

Outsourcing, because labor is too expensive in the U.S., enables YOU to have cool stuff you would otherwise NOT HAVE.

But instead of illustrating this simple truth for all to understand, we embrace ideas like “The Living Wage”. (As an aside… considering the “Living Wage” kills jobs as illustrated above resulting in “No Wage”, I’m not sure why anyone supports it. But too few out there seem to think past the warm, pleasant, feeling of the inane goo being poured into their ears. I digress.)

Another problem that should be understood is Big Labor’s relationship to the Minimum Wage/Living Wage. If you’ve ever been confronted by someone with a clipboard asking you to sign a petition to “raise the minimum wage” it is always a Union Member or someone being paid by a Union. Weird… right?  We all know Unions don’t get paid minimum wages!

Well, the Unions base their “scale” or pay rate upon whatever the minimum wage is.  So… by raising the Minimum Wage (A Wage hardly anyone other than first time, entry-level, workers earn) you are handing the Unions an exponentially larger raise. For example, a 25-cent increase in the minimum wage can hand the Unions a $1.25 raise in their base scale. Play around with that math for a second… we have lately seen the minimum wage raised from $5.25 to $7.50+ in some areas with Union base wages already at $35. So using this example, a $2.25 raise to a “Living Wage” gives the Unions a… wait for it… $11.25 raise! That’s a 30% increase in pay per hour to $46.25. That’s just for one hours worth of the same work they were doing prior to the law being changed.  That takes a Union member making $72,800 a year to $96,200 plus benefits!  Are we still talking about the “minimum wage” here?  No… no we are not.

What also happens is the artificially higher wages prevents companies from being able to afford to hire unskilled labor and train them to fulfill the need of the company.  And, in the dim thinking of the Unions, assures their employment at their already exorbitant hourly wage rates… right up until the company lays them off, or goes out of business completely.  Hostess Twinkie anyone?  Seems self-explanatory… but apparently it’s just complicated enough for the Union membership not to understand, so the Union dues keep pouring in.  Then pouring out to the Union Bosses and Leftist Politicians for their election campaigns.

So is it any wonder that jobs move overseas?

If you’re still not convinced… let’s take your $750 iPad and multiply the cost of the labor alone ($250) by 30% with a required 33% profit margin on each unit… now you would have to pay $1100… which you would most likely not do, thus too few people would be interested in buying it over a lap-top… so nobody would have one because there would be no profit available incenting Apple to make it.  If you doubt this and think Steve Jobs would have made it anyway just because he was a “caring”, “altruistic” humanitarian… read his book.

Can you imagine the cool stuff we would have if the government, and those people with the very best of intentions, would just keep their fingers, and noses, out of the Free-Market.

There’s no telling how great our lives might be…

We’ll never know, because this issue is too easy for the Demagogues to make anyone speaking the truth about a Government Mandated Minimum Wage out to be evil.  Which, frankly, illustrates the ignorance of the masses who allow themselves to be manipulated by the Unions and Politicians.  Too bad… it’s a huge loss for all of us, including them.

This is a very important concept to understand as it’s a building block in the foundation of basic economics.  Once you can wrap your mind around what is being explained here you are half way to fully understanding how the world works.

So if you got Mad Skillz and ain’t got no J.O.B. it’s your fault if you support a minimum wage…

…Biaaoootch!

(Originally posted 111112.  But some things need repeating.)

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When did Socialism become a Race?

If there is any doubt my being an Anti-Socialist, you don’t read enough of my crap. But a quick primer might be necessary regarding Socialism…

It requires Force.

It requires Balkanization.

It requires the Magical absence of Self Interest and Self Preservation.

It results in unintended consequences.

It is a, if not The, Governing Theory of Oppression and Subjugation.

But until recently… it has not been classified as a Racial Ethnicity.

I had an interesting conversation evening before last.  We had a friend over who brought a date.  So far so good…

After an enjoyable dinner and pleasant chit-chat… patter… whatever…  the subject of Obama Care came up.  We began to discuss the economic ramifications of the legislation and the detrimental effects yet to be realized on top of what is already happening.  (It should be noted that I make no separation between Politics and Economics.  I believe that is one of the biggest attempts to confuse and mislead our college going youth ever perpetuated.)  So, of course, the conversation moved into the Socialist underpinnings of Obama Care, why it is anathema to the Founding Fathers intent and what we should desire in this most unique Country.

It was at this point that “the date” said she just couldn’t go there with me because she was a Political Science Major.  She was concerned she would embarrass me with her intellect and knowledge on the subject.

So my eyes lit up and I begged, pleaded and cajoled her to school me in political philosophy.

This led us to a long, tortured, back and forth while she explained to me everything I already know about the Elitist Liberal mindset and how you folks are simply too stupid to know what’s best for you and even on the outside chance you stumble upon the “right” decision you never make it.  And, my attempting to explain that being “free” is having the natural right to make the wrong decision even when you know what the “right” one is…

She then went on to educate me on Mixed Economies and how we are one.  And, I attempted to explain how Free-Market Capitalism and Socialism are mutually exclusive Governing Theories which made the real problem our trying to exercise both in this country.

After several more pauses and the repeatedly expressed desire to terminate our conversation because I was possibly not equipped mentally to understand what she was explaining to me, she took one last shot at teaching me about evolutionary government and “the benefits of Democracy as it is used to move us in towards our Collective goals”.  (I sh*t you not.  Her words.)

It was here that I cut to the chase.

I tried to illustrate the basic, most fundamental, difference between what I, and the Founding Fathers, believed versus what she was taught in school.  (She made it clear to me she received all “A’s”… and I don’t doubt it.)

Force.

I stated My preferred Theory of Government is one where Force is absent…  What Force that exists must be reserved to the States and local communities because one can always leave that State or local community.  Force, again what of it should exist, must be kept close to home so we can “reach out and touch” those attempting to apply it, or escape from it all together.

I then challenged her to explain to me how Her preferred system of Government does not require Force at every level…

She delved again into Democracy, which I quickly dispatched as Mob Rule.  What was stunning was it appeared to be the first time the A-student Political Science Major had ever heard that indictment of Democracy.  (Again, I believe that.)

I took this opportunity to offer how Socialism/Statism covers everything from Fascism to Theocracy to Communism to Monarchy… all theories of force.

The Political Science Major looked right at me and said “Monarchy Worked for thousands of years!”

After a pregnant pause I asked her how it worked if not for Force?

She finally looked at me and said “You just don’t like the guy in the White House…”  (She was implying it was because of his skin color.  But this is what cognitive dissonance does when one runs out of rational arguments to use in order to validate their point of view.)

While I shouldn’t have had to, I simply replied that I don’t care Who is in the Office… I disagree with how the current guy, and many others in the past, Think.  I explained to her that I will never find favor with those who wish to remove my Liberty and Independence with force of Government.

It was at this point that we decided to terminate the evening.  Smiles and hugs were handed out upon their departure.

(This is a heavily edited version of am hour-long exchange.  There were also the other players in the room, but I left them out for simplicity sake.  Also for the sake of brevity I omitted the discussion surrounding The Default State of Economics and American Exceptionalism… in addition to the multiple protestations from our Political Scientist when I referred to her ideas as Socialist in nature.)

So why am I tapping about this?

There is a concerted effort to attach Race to Socialism.

In other words, If you disagree with Socialism, or more specifically a Socialist, you are a Racist.

This is dangerous not just to the Country, but to every Individual.  We are being set up.  And it is becoming too easy for those who wish to create this kind of relationship between one of the most oppressive theories of government known to the mankind and minority groups to make such statements without challenge.

This is the line that cannot be allowed crossed.

It is upon hearing this that we must all stand up and challenge the very Foundation of what those who wish to imply Racism, and apply Force, are saying.  We must expose them not just to all those around them… but in many cases, to themselves.  (I do believe the Political Science Major had the “best of intentions” in her heart… but she had used that feeling to shield herself from reason.  She had abandoned using her Mind.)

In the end I had to Beg this person to patronize me, educate me and stay with the debate in order to travel with her down a road which may cause her to reflect in her private moments.  I did not expect, at any point, to “win”.  I did not expect her to acknowledge or affirm anything I was saying as correct.  The only reason I engaged her was that she votes… she influences others… and she is a Political Science Major which holds weight with some folks in polite conversation…  her unchallenged opinion may matter to others at some point.

And most importantly, I was also not going to allow her to validate her mindset with something as petty and cheap as positioning me as a Racist.

It was my obligation to do so… as it is yours.

Maybe, just maybe our conversation may haunt her and cause her to re-evaluate her world-view.

I am full of Hope… for Change.

How much is a Ivy League degree worth?

I regularly read material from Ivy league types. All seem intelligent while many are brilliant and many are misguided, malevolent Elitists. (“Malevolent Elitist” is redundant…)  These people remind me why I drink.

I’ve started questioning the value assigned to having credentials from one of these Ivy League schools. Apparently I join a very large group of people who also do not think the ROI is very good.  It’s amusing that Leftists consider a degree from one of these institutions as ‘ridiculous’ when it’s held by someone they disagree with, as in George W. Bush. (And, Al Gore if you have any sense what so ever.)

But there is a very current example of this… Barack Obama.  I raise the example because President Obama cannot seem to identify Socialism.

This strikes me as astounding.

If I’m not mistaken, Mr. Obama has a Law degree from Harvard. He has been surrounded and has surrounded himself with Leftists his entire life.  It would seem he should be able to reasonably expect to have received a basic understanding of political philosophy by the time he was awarded his diploma, let alone a Juris Doctor. This being said, if I were the president I would be seriously angry and demanding my money back. I would also be yelling from the mountaintops what a waste of someone’s hard-earned dollars my degree was.

When President Obama can stand in front of the American people and, in his own mind, honestly assert that neither he nor his policies are Socialist in foundation, then he clearly is unable to identify the most basic differences in governing theory.

I feel sorry for him.  He seems like such a nice guy to be taken advantage of in such a terrible way.

This ruse perpetrated upon our President during his formal education also explains his apparent dismay that the Supreme Court might have concerns regarding his attempt to force Americans to do things.

I know that once you reach a certain level of power you run the risk of being surrounded by sycophants.  Thus I don’t think anyone around him would be willing to tell him directly he has no clothes…

I hope he reads this post.