Recently I read an article, “It’s Time for Congress to Stop Paying People Not to Work” by Phil Kerpen and Adam Berkland, published December 5, 2011, www.foxnews.com. It became strikingly obvious that these two authors are not going through the hardship and indignities of unemployment and are impervious to the harsh realities of the job search in this economy.
According to Kerpen and Berkland, “There is less incentive to search for new employment when the government pays people as much as 60 percent of their previous salary to do nothing at all.”
I wonder if the authors have tried living on 60 percent of their salaries for an extended period of time. I don’t believe anyone would choose unrelenting embarrassment of unemployment over actually having the self satisfaction of a full time job that pays a living wage.
Positions being offered by employers in this “employer’s market” are few and far between and mostly consist of a 30 hour or less week, so as not to have to pay or even offer benefits, at minimum, a slave wage I would like to see the authors attempt to live on.
Phil Kerpen and Adam Berkland are representative of the kind of people that have turned American on American for the almighty dollar. Spreading words of contempt and prejudice on a subject they embrace with one narrow view. Wouldn’t it be interesting if these authors and people of their ilk would stop proclaiming a Class War is being instigated and try living on what they deem as an incentive to not look for the non-existent jobs?