• About
  • Contact
  • Give
Newsletter
NOQ Report - Conservative Christian News, Opinions, and Quotes
Thursday, May 19, 2022
  • Home
    • About
    • Give
  • News
  • Opinions
  • Quotes
  • Around the Web
  • Videos
  • Podcasts
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
    • About
    • Give
  • News
  • Opinions
  • Quotes
  • Around the Web
  • Videos
  • Podcasts
No Result
View All Result
NOQ Report - Conservative Christian News, Opinions, and Quotes
No Result
View All Result

New Report Shows Growth of the Welfare State Has Fueled Long-Term Declines in the Labor Force

Policies should incentivize employment; not discourage it.

by Brad Polumbo
October 28, 2021
in Opinions
New Report Shows Growth of the Welfare State Has Fueled Long-Term Declines in the Labor Force
TOP Z-Stack

A massive labor shortage continues to grip the nation and hold back our economic recovery. With countless pandemic and policy factors influencing the shortage, there’s a heated debate over what’s keeping so many workers out of the labor force. But a new study confirms that the growth of the welfare state is playing a massive role—and that this trend began long before the pandemic.

Published by experts on the Republican side of the Senate Joint Economic Committee, the analysis reports, “the U.S. has witnessed an unprecedented rise in disconnected prime-age workers over time.” As shown in the graph below, the men’s labor force participation rate has fallen from more than 97 percent in 1955 to 89 percent prior to the pandemic, while the women’s labor force participation rate has declined in recent decades as well.

Image Credit: JEC Republicans

What’s causing this decline? Well, the study examines popular explanations like displacement from immigration and technological advancements and finds that they do not account for this drastic drop. Rather, it suggests that the biggest factor is that “many would-be workers are voluntarily disconnected from work, and government programs and policies have likely made work less attractive for these Americans.”

There has been tremendous growth in the welfare state over these decades. Per the committee, in 1998 about 20 percent of working-age Americans living in households between the 20th and 50th income percentiles were benefiting from government programs. As of 2014, that figure was up to 30 percent.

Prepper Organics 1

Indeed the study notes that “only 12 percent of inactive, prime-age, able-bodied men said they wanted a job or were open to work.” Why? It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that the widespread availability of robust welfare benefits is a key part of the explanation.

“A significant body of empirical evidence suggests that government transfers— especially those without work requirements—tend to lower employment,” the study reports. “For example, labor force participation and earnings fall after receiving housing assistance, losing Medicaid coverage increases employment and gaining the coverage can reduce it, and the introduction of the food stamp program in the 1960s and 1970s decreased employment significantly.”

We can’t overlook these troubling findings. Yes, there’s no doubt that the pandemic and pandemic-specific policies are contributing to the particularly acute labor shortage currently facing our economy. But in the bigger picture, our long-term labor problems are driven particularly by a bloated welfare system that disincentives work and traps people in poverty.

Yet some are learning the opposite lessons. With their $3.5+ trillion spending plan, progressives in Congress are trying to make the welfare state even bigger! This is bad for the economy and actually bad for the supposed beneficiaries, too—the anti-poverty, mental, emotional, health, and social benefits of being employed are widely and extensively documented. Policies should incentivize employment; not discourage it.

“As the number of Americans who receive government assistance has grown, more Americans have voluntarily left their jobs,” Republican Senator Mike Lee commented in light of this report. “Congress’ plan to spend an additional $3.5 trillion to provide households with new subsidies and fewer incentives to work would only make things worse.”

Indeed it would. Hopefully, this new study injects some much-needed insight into the ongoing conversation about labor shortages. In the big picture, our labor participation problems can’t be fixed without serious rollbacks of the welfare state.

Brad Polumbo

Brad Polumbo

Brad Polumbo (@Brad_Polumbo) is a libertarian-conservative journalist and Policy Correspondent at the Foundation for Economic Education.

This article was originally published on FEE.org. Read the original article.

TOP Prepare Now



We Often Feel Like David Taking on Giants

Today’s Goliath is the Mainstream Media Industrial Complex that brainwashes the masses.

Our mission is very straightforward: To counter the false narratives and nefarious agendas destroying America today. It isn’t easy for obvious reasons; despite incredible growth over the last year we are still a very tiny fish in a huge media pond. But we’re fighting and we will continue to do so, Lord willing, for as long as we possibly can. The battle for America’s present and future is too important for us to back down to the giants that stand in our way.

We need help. I don’t want to say “desperately,” but the need is definitely great. If you have the means, please donate through our GivingFuel page, PayPal, or our brand new GiveSendGo page. Your generosity is what keeps these sites running and allows us to get the truth to the masses. We’ve had great success in growing but we know we can do more with your assistance.

Thank you, and God Bless!

JD Rucker


Tags: BusinessEconomyFEELaborTop StoryWelfare State

Bypass Big Tech Censors



My Show

The Midnight Sentinel

Our Sponsors

MyPillow Promo Code NOQ

MyPatriotSupply
Z-Stack Life
Our Gold Guy

Shows

The Pandemic Treaty's REAL Threat

Kathy Barnette Can Win in November

Falling on the Sword for Dr. Mehmet Oz
Is Trump Losing Touch With His Base?

The Israel Vaxx Study

Bypass Big Tech Censors


RSS The Federalist

  • Elon Musk: Democrat Hate Drives Me To Vote Republican
  • Media Moves To Profit Off Of Ridiculous J6 Commission
  • Soaring Gas Prices Reach New Record High For 12th Day Straight
  • Federal Judge Blocks Biden From Forcing Religious Objectors To Bankroll Gender Experimentation
  • Pennsylvania’s GOP Senate Primary Too Close To Call As Counting Snafus Mount

RSS The Blaze

  • Several GOP senators introduce bill to block President Biden from canceling student loan debt
  • Amish man runs horse and buggy into police car after low speed chase. He was allegedly asleep with a Bud Light can next to him.
  • 'An abortion is an act of love': Bisexual woman says she would prefer abortion over having a kid who gets 'adopted by white evangelicals'
  • Biden crime family: Why Hunter’s secrets are REALLY about Joe
  • Florida sheriff applauds motorcyclist for pulling a gun on a knife-wielding driver to end a road rage incident

RSS PJ Media

  • Is Biden's 'Success' Our Mess?
  • Guess Which Theme Parks Are Conspicuously Missing From USA Today’s Top 10 List?
  • 'Loyalty to Allah' Prompts a Muslim to Murder a Christian
  • In College? You’re About to Lose Your Due Process Rights
  • Pop Some Popcorn: Dems in New York Begin to Eat Their Own After Gerrymandering Failure

RSS National File

  • Biden Blames Tucker Carlson for Buffalo Massacre
  • Netflix Lays Off Dozens of Employees Involved With ‘BIPOC’ & ‘LGBTQ+’ Projects
  • General Flynn Files $50 Million Claim Against Feds
  • Trump-Endorsed Ted Budd Celebrates NC Senate Primary Victory
  • Video: Radical Leftist Endorses Infanticide, Wants to Kill Infants After Birth

RSS Townhall

  • States Must Stop The Next Election Power-Grab
  • Here Are the Nutcases Who Believe in 'Replacement'
  • Liberate DC Children from Government Schools
  • Mass Shootings – A Dark Mirror to a Broken Culture
  • Black and Brown Pro-Lifers Endure Racial Attacks from White Abortion Activists at Weekend Rallies

RSS RedState

  • BLM Founder Tries to Explain Financial Mistakes Made With ‘White Guilt Money’
  • WATCH: Congresswoman Claims There Are Two Sexes, Graduating Class Blasts Her With Boos
  • Elon Blasts Dems With the Truth, Predicts They Now Will Be Coming for Him
  • Blaming Wet Sidewalks for the Rain
  • Disney Launches Its 'Pride Collection' Product Line
  • About
  • Contact
  • Give

© 2021 NOQ Report

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
    • About
    • Give
  • News
  • Opinions
  • Quotes
  • Around the Web
  • Videos
  • Podcasts

© 2021 NOQ Report

Session expired

Please log in again. The login page will open in a new tab. After logging in you can close it and return to this page.

>