I saw on FOX today we have a labor shortage. If that's true why are wages going down and not up?

Question

Isn't this another simple matter of supply and demand?

Answer 1

There isn't a labor shortage.

There is a fair wage shortage!

People call housekeeping and agricultural (farm) work menial....yeah I'd like to see these college edumacated softies try to do a 'menial' job for 1 week!!

Our labor system is backwards...we pay the people who do the actual labor the least amount and the ones who do nothing as far as actual labor higher wages.

There is no labor shortage...people are tired of being taken advantage of and want better pay!!

Answer 2

I say BS. the reason the economy is faltering is because: 1) the banks and credit card companies have been raping their customers and it has hit a wall where the the payees have simply not been able to repay the 21%...it's a spiraling effect where the banks expect thew 21% and finally the loanees have been unable to repay and default....and 2) the industrial economy is failing (look at the price of oil dropping...when the price of oil drops, it is a symptom that the world industrial economy is in a slump). People are experiencing a financial problem where they cannot afford to bank on the future. There is no labor shortage. This is a creation of of the Banking system and the stock market being heavily weighted to oil

Answer 3

I think this is a power play by the forces that want an amnesty. They are pushing real hard just in time for harvest season. Of course, they arrest and deport some illegals and others run away. Crops don't get harvested and the politicians point the finger at those who want border control. The fact is that we want control of the border, not that we want everyone out. We want to know who has come into our country and what their are doing. We want to know where they are living and when they leave. We do not want to give noncitizens the right to vote in our elections. The White House, in my opinion, is trying to stampede the electorate into an anmesty by putting pressure on consumers. We want control of the border not a mass expulsion. Wait a couple of weeks and listen to what the politicians say. I bet that I'm right.

Answer 4

Its because the shortage is being filled by non-citizens who work for less with the blessings of our government. H1Bs and illegals.

I get a raise every 1 1/2 to 2 years which is always eaten up by a raise in insurance costs.

Answer 5

There is a shortage across the board and it's getting worse.

The reason is because baby boomers are getting to retirement age and there aren't enough people to take those spots.

The places where there will be the biggest "crisis" are jobs which require people to problem solve, to manage and to lead. Essentially, people who are highly educated and highly skilled will be in greater and greater demand as we approach the peak of the problem - sometime in 2010.

Pay, benefits and perks are actually going up for those who are highly educated and skilled.

Pay, benefits and perks have suffered for unskilled workers due to illegals willing to work for less money.

Answer 6

ever notice that conservatives who talk about pay raises... only talk about "salaries"... that doesn't include hourly wages... right?

what about the other 70 percent of America that don't work on salary?

oh that's right... that hasn't gone up that much and you hope no one knows the difference.. .right?

in reality... talking about "how much salaries have increased" only says "the rich are getting richer"... and as you guys show... they are getting a lot richer...

if you look overall at all wages... the increases aren't nearly as much... and the "salary increases" are pulling the average WAY UP... distorting the numbes...

I would love to see what the median increase of all wages has been... if anyone even bothers to find that number?

truth is... they will pay as low as they can get away with... and really... few people leave jobs because of low pay...

Answer 7

You'd think that if there were a labor shortage we could name our price.
I don't believe there is a labor shortage unless you're taking about more illegals for minimum wage and no benefits.
Good question.

Answer 8

The shortage that we're experiencing is menial labor. People who are basically unskilled.

I think what I find troubling with this is the fact that we do have many citizens who are simply not qualified to do anything else. Yet instead of working their way up (and YES, that's possible), they would rather sit on their butts and let 'lessor' people do that work, while they collect.

Now that's not true in all cases, but it certainly covers many of them, and it infuriates me. That is what has forced me into being a conservative.

Answer 9

It should be supply and demand. But I think employees are trapped by accumulated debt and living month to month. Employers know employees won't leave and are free to treat them any way they like.Not to mention many recent "employment" laws that favor the employer. Like the newest overtime rules that actually deny overtime.

Answer 10

Bush is running out of educated advisers.....the US and Fox News need to import more educated Russian immigrants