Saturday, July 14, 2012

Long Term Unemployment Doubles Under Obama

It's not bad luck. It's bad policy.
President Obama has promoted long-term unemployment by adopting policies that make it harder and more expensive for employers to hire people.  He has relentlessly pushed for higher taxes, higher energy costs, compulsory unionism and, of course, Obamacare.  One doesn’t need a Harvard degree to figure out that when government makes hiring more difficult and expensive, there’s likely to be less of it.

Obama’s policy of extending and re-extending unemployment benefits is another culprit.  Many academic studies show how unemployment benefits undermine the urgency of finding a job.  People can afford to be more picky, and as a result they’re out of work longer.  But the longer they’re out of work, the more out of touch they’re likely to be and the harder to find a another job.

From an employer’s point of view, it’s always difficult to determine whether a job seeker will be able to do what he or she is supposed to.  Calling references often doesn’t reveal much, since an employer might be sued for making candid comments about a former employee’s performance.  An employer might be willing to confirm only that a particular individual was an employee at the firm.  Moreover, many washouts have had glowing resumes.  It’s no wonder employers seem to feel more comfortable making an offer to somebody who has a job rather than somebody who lost a job.

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]

<< Home