He Cannot Be Serious
The other day, the Kansas City Star published a truly pathetic piece from a college instructor literally begging to be put on the dole. The author, Michael Borich, is demanding that adjunct college teachers be eligible for unemployment benefits. He needs to learn a little about economic reality.
In basic theory, workers offer services in exchange for wages. There is a set (yet always changing) demand for labor in any field. There are a number of people with the skills and desire to perform that labor in exchange for money. If the number of people with the skill and desire to perform a service is greater than the demand for that labor, wages in that field will go down. If, because of the reduced wages, certain workers leave that field, wages may go back up and the wage labor in that field will come to equilibrium. It works the other way, too.
But let me tell Mr. Borich how it does not work, or, at least, would not work unless the government interferes. When the supply of labor in a given field exceeds the demand for their work, not all individuals should be guaranteed employment. By his own admission, there are too many college adjuncts. This means we need fewer of them, not more adjuncts on government assistance. As the author himself explains:
This summer I was fortunate to be promised an English Composition class because more like me want to teach than there are classes.
Alas, enrollment was low; my class was canceled at the last minute.
In a market with a labor surplus, some of those people will, over time, choose alternate jobs. Supply of labor will decrease and compensation for that labor will equalize. That is how it should work. But Mr. Borich wants a system where everyone gets to do what they want whether there is appropriate demand for it or not, and the government will intervene to ensure people do not have to make any hard choices.
Unfortunately, there are far more examples where the government interferes in market decisions instead of staying out of those decisions. Too many people have Mr. Borich’s attitude that the government should subsidize their choices rather than have them compete in the free market.
And do not even get me started on what happened to the stigma of being on public assistance. I am going to stop now before I get myself in trouble. Thanks to johncombest.com for the link.
