Jobs exist for a simple reason. A job is created when a person is willing to do a task for less than the amount of money that labor can earn the employer. It is that simple. Employers are not interested in providing health care, life insurance, maternity or paternity leave, helping to correct past discriminatory behavior, or otherwise affecting social change. The employer wants a task done for a lower cost than what the output produced is worth. If the employer cannot make a profit through the addition of that employee, the employer will not hire the person. That is basic Economics 101.
In situations where a prospective employee is willing to work for less than the profit that she could earn the employer, there is room for negotiation with each party hoping to capture a larger share of the profit being produced. The problem with forcing employers to address social problems through employee benefits is that the cost of those benefits reduces the room for negotiation. As the cost of all these benefits (paid leave, health insurance, etc.) adds up, at some point there is no room left and the person does not get hired.
People with good intentions, thinking they are making the world a better place, have added so many mandatory benefits to the cost of an employee that companies are looking for any alternative to hiring more employees. Companies strive to produce and sell more each year while simultaneously reducing their number of employees. Doing more with less is the mantra of the day.
That's from Jeffrey Dorfman on Real Clear Markets, and he's exactly right. Once again, well-meaning statists come up with programs to help people, motivated either by genuine desire to help or a more cynical desire to create political advantage. The programs wind up helping some, but the net impact on society is negative. Unfortunately, these programs can't be undone, because we're so focused on purported motives instead of actual results. Conservatives need to shift the focus back to results.
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