Set aside all the snake oil that sleazy, slippery-tonged solons have sought to sell us, now comes the Bush behind Door #3 to tell the teeming masses of tailing media what we need to do … if Americans want to grow economically as a country, and succeed individually.
We need to work more.
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush was just casually tossing about that four-letter word in a recent meeting with the editorial board of the Union Leader in Manchester, N.H.:
My aspiration for the country and I believe we can achieve it, is four percent growth as far as the eye can see. Which means we have to be a lot more productive, workforce participation has to rise from its all-time modern lows. It means that people need to work longer hours and, through their productivity, gain more income for their families. That’s the only way we’re going to get out of this rut that we’re in.
Work more? Harder? Longer?
How dare Jeb suggest that our future success, together or individually, should be dependent on us … of all people?
Democrats immediately pounced. A statement from the Democratic National Committee called Bush’s remark “easily one of the most out-of-touch comments we’ve heard so far this cycle.”
“Americans are working pretty hard already & don’t need to work longer hours,” tweeted John Podesta, chairman of the 2016 Hillary Clinton presidential campaign, “they need to get paid more.”
We all “need” a lot of things. The point is we are all better off when we go out and earn what we need.
Well, that’s my point, anyway.
And, perhaps, Jeb Bush’s.
This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.
8 replies on “Work Longer?”
No incentives to work at all, let alone hard in the socialist democratic utopia.
Those that are working should not have to work harder to support those that will not work.
Of course in all of the protestations about Bush’s comment, nobody said the government should get the HECK out of the way and let the economy work as it should.
Perhaps if the govt. hadn’t created incentives for businesses to reduce employees to part time status we would already be logging longer work days.
Totally agree, Paul. In previous articles you have also stated that Government can’t create jobs. Agreed. The private sector creates jobs. And as already noted, Private Sector will not create jobs if they are continually hamstrung by red tape, burdensome tax codes & the every rising health care costs. Capitalism means that corporations need to show increases in their bottom lines. So if it is too expensive to grow business because of the aforementioned, American Workers will suffer.
The knee jerk responses of our elected officials that the proper response to jobs means tax more & increase workers salaries & where needed, increase subsidies is nothing new or different. And you would think that Greece would be the cautionary tale.
However if Jeb Bush (or Bush the III) is the nominee, say hello to President Clinton II.
Sorry, Paul, any Bush saying we should all work harder is like a Mafia don making threats of more broken arms if his protection racket clients don’t pony up additional payments. Or a concentration camp commandant yelling at the prisoners if they don’t make quota, their rations will be cut. “Make more money so you can give it to the New World Order to whom it belongs!”
People like Bush need to work harder, do hard labor, when we send them to jail for stealing elections, corrupting politics for their crony criminal friends, and sundry acts of treason. Bush is a psychopath like the rest of them on both sides of the aisle. Who cares what he says?
It’s not easy to work longer and harder when your job is going overseas or when overseas workers are being brought in to replace you. (That’s happening to me and many of my colleagues.) I’m forced to train my replacements. How much did Jeb favor H1B and L1 visa workers displacing American workers who did what they were told and trained for higher-level knowledge jobs? How about all the illegals taking job “Americans won’t do”? Sorry but I’m through with dynasties of any party. That includes both Jeb and Hillary. To coin a phrase: what difference, at this point, does it make?
Are you kidding, Paul? Jeb “Yet Another” Bush is a sleazy politician, and when he says something, it’s a sure bet that it’s for some self-serving reason. Of course he wants Americans to work more hours — so they can pay more taxes, and he and his cronies can live in ever-greater luxury and play ever-bigger control games.