A Review of: The United States of Work

By Hunter Lee

A Review of New Republic article:  The United States of Work


Most of these articles start out with “Income has remained stagnant since the 1970s.” But then never offer up an explanation. It’s not a coincidence. Nixon ended Bretton Woods 1971.

As far as college, the more aggressively you increase the demand for something, the more aggressively the price for that product is going to increase if the supply remains relatively stagnant. The U.S. government has began massively subsidizing and guaranteeing student loans for decades which has caused this massive price inflation. The Department of Education now relies on income from student loan debt, so the bubble will keep going. It is exactly like the housing bubble. “We just want everyone to have a good home/ education.”

The author seems to think that unions are the reason people don’t have to work 12-hours a day. As if people all the sudden didn’t want to do that. Or as if people all the sudden didn’t want to shove their children in coal mines. This would imply that the reason places like the Congo have so much child labor is because of a lack of child labor laws, or if they simply implemented a 40-hour work week, or $15 higher minimum wage, they would all be rich. Obviously, this would simply cause more desperation poverty. The reality is technological advances (almost exclusively created by free markets) are how overall work hours are decreased. This has been the case since the beginning of time.

Not long ago, the majority of households were able to live with only one income earner. Now with the combination of the excessive taxes, most notably the income tax, as well as inflation, dual income households are the majority.

“Unlike the state, these private governments are able to wield power with little oversight, because the executives and boards of directors that rule them are accountable to no one but themselves.” This is just laughable. The state is god. If you boycott the military, men with guns will come to your house and murder you. At this point, to claim that the government operates with any oversight just shows you were the author is coming from. It’s just Marxism. Meanwhile, the Uber CEO single-handled solved drinking and driving and yells at an employee and people boycott. If they don’t, they have the ability to.

“Yet because employment contracts create the illusion that workers and companies have arrived at a mutually satisfying agreement..” This is a logical imperative when people voluntarily interact. “I am doing this because I prefer to do it/ I believe it will be in my best interest. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t.” Any unfair advantage other than that is always caused by the state, and therefore that is the enemy. It’s not Apple and Samsung who will come to your house with guns if you don’t work for them.

These articles are always written by people who have little or no entrepreneurial experience. The reason for this is that when you go down that route, you realize you have no real control as business owner. The customer decides everything. Unless, of course, you partner with the state via regulations that prohibit competitors from entering the market, or you receive funding from tax dollars. Then, you are no longer to the customers demand and they are now your subjects.

“Lecturer of art history at the University of Melbourne. Author of Do What You Love. And Other Lies about Success and Happiness.”

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