LETTER FROM MATT WEBER

FROM MATT WEBER

We’ve talked a lot on these editorial pages about the demand for skilled trades throughout the U.S. and the huge gap between qualified tradespeople and the many

jobs available to fill. Meanwhile, many college graduates across the country are finding difficulty landing employment in their preferred field of study. Plumbers and electricians are in high demand, while students who major in Art History or Shakespeare Studies are facing much stiffer competition to fill far fewer positions. Like it or hate it, this is an economic reality that is simple for me to understand.

What I don’t understand is the gap between available jobs and the unskilled labor force who once filled them but now seem to have disappeared. Since the onset of the pandemic, every gas station in my area has posted a “help wanted” sign. Same thing with grocery stores. Fast-food restaurants? Forget about it. The once-thriving burger joints of my hometown have had to close their lobbies and resort to “drive-thru only” status for the past several months. And they’re so understaffed, that even if you wait in the car line, you’re lucky if any food is prepared once it’s time to take your order.

What happened to the workers? For a while, government stimulus checks were lining people’s pockets, but in most parts of the country that financial aid has dried up, yet bill collectors still continue to send invoices. At least, that’s the way it works at my house. So, if these former workers aren’t working, then who is paying their bills and why?

“People are sick of working for peanuts and won’t do it anymore,” summarizes an answer I’m often given when I pose this question, but it does nothing to enlighten me. In my experience, every worker in every job everywhere would like to earn more money doing what they do. That’s nothing new, but those same people keep clocking in to fulfill their many adult responsibilities, such as providing food and shelter for themselves.

“I think some folks have decided it’s just simpler to live in Mom’s basement,” is another answer I was told by a good friend. And this is a sad state of affairs because it illustrates not only a lack of ambition and a sense of entitlement, but it reflects the juvenile assumption that other people, such as their parents, owe them a living.

Something tells me if a person embraces that kind of selfishness, then they would probably be a lousy employee anyway. The nonworkers should maybe drop that attitude, though, because free rides rarely last forever, and not everybody shares their lazy outlook. Smart people who enter the workforce will recognize that everyone has to start somewhere. The folks who are first to remember that simple truth will be filling those entry-level jobs, climbing the ladder, and realizing new opportunities much faster than the stragglers. From my experience, hard workers generally enjoy more success in life than folks who sit around and sponge off of others.

So, get back to work America! The country needs a strong, reliable workforce and a plentiful supply of cheeseburgers.

PUBLISHER JEREMY HOLLINGSWORTH jeremy@HIRpub.com

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF MATT WEBER matt@HIRpub.com ADVISORY BOARD JIM BUTTERS RANDY STEPHENSEN DUSTIN SCHWAIGER JEFF WINKLE CHIP LOVELADY MARK CLEMENT EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTERS CARTER SWIFT TOM MATTHEWS

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