Two GOP candidates running for the 2012 presidential nomination next year had some harsh words for the Occupy Wall Street protesters. Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney claimed the Wall Street protests were "dangerous" and "class warfare." Herman Cain, the former CEO of Godfather's Pizza and a 2012 GOP presidential candidate, said to cut out the "class warfare" and "blame yourself" for being poor and jobless. "Don't blame Wall Street, don't blame the big banks, if you don't have a job and you're not rich, blame yourself!" Cain said. "It is not a person's fault because they succeeded, it is a person's fault if they failed. And so that is why I don't understand these demonstrations and what it is they're looking for."
I know it's easy to point the fingers at various forces because America's economy is in the shape it's in today. I won't deny there are certain forces involved in collapsing our economy such as the Federal Reserve, Congress, and the president of the United States. I know that unbridled capitalism isn't good for America. I am aware of the fact there is corporate greed in some multinational corporations and I know there are those on Wall Street that have made deals that haven't been good for the business climate in America. I'm aware of that. I don't uphold all the actions of certain individuals at Wall Street. However, a person can't go through life pointing the finger at Wall Street or the federal government because of the shape he/she's in financially. Even though it may be difficult in some areas to find a job to provide a livelihood for one's family, a man has the responsibility to look for a job to meet his and his family's financial needs. Jobs don't fall from the sky. They don't fall from the sky like rain. Jobs are created in the capitalistic system as a result of demand. First of all, there must be a dream. There needs to be a dreamer/entrepreneur who can come up with a product idea that would be useful in improving the lives of people. There has to be a demand or a desire for a particular good. Then there's a need for an innovator to come up with a product idea to sell. Then after that he/she must have the capital and goods to produce that product. Following that the entrepreneur can put his product to market. There are certain factors of production that are needed to put that entrepreneur's plan to action. The factors of production are land, labor, and capital.
In a capitalist system, the free market sector determines supply and demand, not a group of central planners. There are numerous people in our society that don't have any concept of how the capitalistic system is supposed to work. There are numerous people today who are employed that possess this mentality that they should be paid simply because they "show up" on the job. In order to produce a product, land, labor and capital are necessary in order to start a business. In order to maintain a business, there must be labor and demand. A business will not survive with deadbeats nor with a lack of demand. If there's a lack of demand for a product, then there will be fewer sales and the costs associated with operating that business will rise unless reductions are made in the cost of operating a business. A business that has deadbeats will have a difficult time in meeting production demands on a timely basis. Neither one bodes well for business. It's very difficult for a business to operate, even more so with the burdensome regulations the federal and state governments place upon businesses today. It's not feasible or possible to create jobs in the private sector when there's no demand and there isn't sufficient land, labor and capital to start a business.
The Bible has much to say about "labor" or "work." I will give two scriptures for this particular post. Ephesians 4:28 says, "Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labor, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth." It's God's will that man labor for his bread. Proverbs 6:6-8 says, "Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise. Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest." The Bible tells the sluggard to learn a lesson from the ant and take notice of how the ant prepares for winter. The ant has more sense that the average man has today. The ant has enough common sense to prepare for winter. That's what they do. They labor diligently in the summer to make sure they have sufficient sustenance for the winter. They don't sit around until the last minute to make provision for food. It's ingrained into them that they must make preparations ahead of time. The problem with many Americans today is a lack of ambition. If we desire to have opportunity to make a living, we must look for opportunity. There are a number of creative ways to generate an income. It takes time and searching in the right places to find opportunity to make a living. It's true that finding a job at the present isn't as easy as it once was.
One of the problems that many Americans are facing when it comes to the state of the economy is structural unemployment. There are numerous jobs in the area of manufacturing that have exited the United States over the last seventeen years as a result of NAFTA in 1994 and CAFTA in 2005. As a result, it's become more difficult to find a job where you can be paid $20.00/hr. for 40 years and retire with a nice pension and all your health expenses are paid for. The days of finding a job like that in the automobile industry today is over with for the most part. A person's not going to be able to find a job at General Motors and earn the kind of salary that GM employees once made. Today's economy requires an educated workforce who knows how to operate a computer and knows how to use the internet. We live in a technological, information age society. We also live in a society where there's a demand for doctors and nurses with an ever-increasing aging population. If a person is going to make a living, they must take time to look for career opportunities in various fields in order to make a living. If you desire opportunity, you must look for it whether it be through the internet, the medical field, or vocational education. There are jobs out there but a person must be willing to take the time to prepare themselves to be marketable for various types of jobs. Opportunities don't normally fall in a person's lap, you must hunt for them.
No comments:
Post a Comment