Issues: Unemployment


Protecting you out of a job





Episode 2: I Love Gov

Alexis wants to start a business and hire Libby. That sounds dangerous, so Gov is here to help!

New to the series? You might want to check out our pilot episode here.

Days of training legally required for different jobs:
There's nothing more dangerous than a business, according to Gov.

Group Created with Sketch. < 5 DAYS (on average) to become a Bounty Hunter, but most states have no training requirements 5 DAYS to handle hazardous materials with HAZMAT 415 DAYS to become a barber to become a preschool teacher 1728 DAYS 2190 DAYS to become an interior designer 1, 2 3 4

Sources:

  1. BountyHunterEdu.org
  2. National Conference of State Legislatures, Bail Bond Agent Licensure
  3. Bureau of Labor Statistics, How to Become a Hazardous Materials Removal Worker
  4. Governors Highway Safety Association, Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) Laws
  5. The Institute for Justice, Table 3: Burdens of Licensure Occupations Ranked by Average Burden

How is government involved in unemployment? Well, it's:

  • Passing lots of rules and regulations that make it more expensive to run businesses and hire new people.
  • Picking winners and losers according to nepotism, favoritism and cronyism.
  • Hiring bureaucrats. Lots and lots of bureaucrats.

The government has a lot of good intentions in the job world. Bureaucrats want to protect consumers, workers, and the environment. But in practice, they end up protecting people from jobs.

As starting a businesses and navigating all the regulations becomes increasingly complex and expensive, it gets harder for businesses to expand and make new jobs. Lest you think there's a level playing field, this is all to the advantage of large corporations that can afford lots of lawyers, and to the detriment of your friend who wants to make custom t-shirts in his garage and can get shut down from one little misstep. The government helps the most with job creation by doing the least, but politicians never get credit for not doing things.

But if you can’t get a job, at least the government can pay you unemployment and give you food stamps to at least make you more comfortable with joblessness. Yay.

Check out these links to learn more: