Thought for the Day

Fair Earnings

Benjamin Harrison was the 23^rd President of the United States, 1889 to 1893.  He said this:

“I pity the man who wants a coat so cheap that the man or woman who produces the cloth will starve in the process.”

Back in his day woolen mills and clothing manufacturing shops relied on cheap labor. Hourly wages were low. Little or no benefits accrued to the workers. That means no sick time, vacation time, health care costs, and the like. So much of those benefits came later.

But focus on wage rates. Employers got away with the least amount payable. If someone didn’t like it they quite or were fired, and a long line stood out the door to fill the vacancy. Instantly.

Things are different today. We have safe work places earned by generations of workers who died or were injured by poor decisions made by employers who built the work place in the first place. Government rules and regulations entered the picture and jobs became healthier and safer. Everyone benefited.

So too the introduction of employee benefits we take for granted today.

Only, maybe we don’t take them for granted these days! Wage increases are barely keeping up with the cost of living. Benefits long relied upon are disappearing or becoming very costly as employers pass premium increases on to the workers.

The pendulum swings. There are those who wish to see all employee benefits removed or their costs passed on to the beneficiaries. Trouble is, who is the beneficiary?

It certainly is not the worker alone. But also their families, their neighborhoods, communities, and lo and behold!  Also the employer! He has a stable, healthier workforce that is happier and more able to work when needed. The benefits have wide spread uses and value.

But today we have also been threatened with loss of jobs by moving those same jobs overseas to poor countries where wages are dirt cheap and benefits nonexistent.  Competition you say? Hogwash. Avoidance of fair pay and fair working conditions.

The cheap coat President Harrison speaks of is far too costly to calculate. Think on that this weekend. See if this topic comforts you or moves you to action.

October 5, 2013