Mitch McConnell's View on Labor Shortage

[daisylu]

Is anyone dumb enough to believe this?


link

For over a year, lawmakers and businesses have been bemoaning how they can't find workers.



Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell offered his own theory as to why at an event in Paducah, Kentucky, on Tuesday.



"You've got a whole lot of people sitting on the sidelines because, frankly, they're flush for the moment," the Kentucky Republican said. "What we've got to hope is once they run out of money, they'll start concluding it's better to work than not to work."



Americans built up a huge amount of savings during the pandemic, thanks to several federal rescue packages. Moody's Analytics estimates that households built up an extra cash cushion totaling $2.6 trillion from the beginning of the pandemic through the end of 2021.

[bean29]

After my SIL and BIL ranted about people coming across the Southern Border at my DN's house on Monday, I was thinking that maybe we have such a lack of workers because of our immigration policy.  Not so much illegal immigration, but I understand even Legal immigration has been greatly curtailed.  All our mistreatment of immigrants and our cray cray gun policies and the anti-woman and lack of acceptance and protection for LGBTQ is going to make highly qualified immigrants look to other countries for work.

I don't think there are a lot of workers sitting on the sidelines that are going to jump back into work at some point, but I do think that the last point is true, but only for the better off people. 

DH and I have cut back on our spending.  DH has several deposits out on waiting lists for a new car.  We currently have 4 cars in our driveway, we don't have to buy a car, but when they are more readily available we will trade one car (possibly 2) for something else.  I need new furniture too, and I could buy new appliances.  We can afford all of it, but I feel like I am turning into my Grandparents, afraid to spend my money.  I worry about how much we will truly need for retirement.

[resolution]

Is he talking about the $1600 that they sent out over a year ago? How long does he think that will last for most working class folks?

[pulmonarymd]

Maybe we should dig up some of the people who died as a result of our ridiculous COVID response. 1 million excess deaths in the last 2 years may have added to the worker shortage.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

Jul 6, 2022 10:04:59 GMT -5 pulmonarymd said:

Maybe we should dig up some of the people who died as a result of our ridiculous COVID response. 1 million excess deaths in the last 2 years may have added to the worker shortage.

And a lot of people deciding f*ck they are finally going to retire.  And the people who are suffering from long term COVID who can no longer work. 

And the large number of women who had to leave the workforce and still cannot reenter due to issues with elder and child care.  Not sure they count in Republicans' minds though because we were never supposed to be working anyhow.

Then there are people who found out that without having to do the daily drudge they were able to focus on their side jobs and turn them into thriving businesses instead.  Why would they suddenly hop to working the man again?

Add that to the decreasing birth rate which has been happening since I was born.  There just aren't enough people to fill the spots that are being left behind.  COVID sped up the inevitable.  
Hmm. .. maybe that's why they made abortion illegal. 

[resolution]

Well clearly, the solution is to make sure everyone is destitute, so we will have no choice other than to go back to work.

[djAdvocate]

no, dumbass, they are sitting on the sidelines because they don't want to get paid FMW or anything CLOSE to it.

[daisylu]

He said that in Kentucky, which is ranked 48th in poverty. There aren't a whole lot of people there sitting on piles on $, and certainly not the little amount of stimulus money they received. 

I have relatives there who receive EXCELLENT welfare and other programs. My cousin got her nursing degree paid for by the state AND got paid to go to school. 

[tbop77]

Wait what? I thought Republicans were running on how bad the economy was with gas prices and inflation for the mid-terms.  Now, people are flush with cash?

Typical Republican! 

[djAdvocate]

good catch!

[thyme4change]

I keep waiting for someone to analyze private short-term disability, long-term disability and SS disability claims to determine how many people aren't working due to long covid or something that resembles long covid, which could be diagnosed with something else (and then use statistics to determine how many are long covid).

[teen persuasion]

Jul 6, 2022 20:05:03 GMT -5 thyme4change said:

I keep waiting for someone to analyze private short-term disability, long-term disability and SS disability claims to determine how many people aren't working due to long covid or something that resembles long covid, which could be diagnosed with something else (and then use statistics to determine how many are long covid).

A discussion on Twitter (someone else asked why there aren't enough service workers) brought up all the reasons Drama listed.  Somebody said 7.5% of US had long Covid, but no source given.

They were squabbling over *1 million dead* vs *they were all old people, not service workers*, vs *75% old people, 25% workers*, but 7.5% of all US is much larger. Then add the 2 million fewer immigrants (claimed), and underpaid mothers forced to drop out of work force because daycare imploded, and all the boomers who retired leaving openings for service workers to move up into...

Yikes,I just did the math - that's 25 million with long Covid!

[djAdvocate]

Jul 6, 2022 21:06:35 GMT -5 teen persuasion said:

Jul 6, 2022 20:05:03 GMT -5 thyme4change said:

I keep waiting for someone to analyze private short-term disability, long-term disability and SS disability claims to determine how many people aren't working due to long covid or something that resembles long covid, which could be diagnosed with something else (and then use statistics to determine how many are long covid).

A discussion on Twitter (someone else asked why there aren't enough service workers) brought up all the reasons Drama listed.  Somebody said 7.5% of US had long Covid, but no source given.

They were squabbling over *1 million dead* vs *they were all old people, not service workers*, vs *75% old people, 25% workers*, but 7.5% of all US is much larger. Then add the 2 million fewer immigrants (claimed), and underpaid mothers forced to drop out of work force because daycare imploded, and all the boomers who retired leaving openings for service workers to move up into...

Yikes,I just did the math - that's 25 million with long Covid!

that seems really high, considering that only about 100M have had the disease.  one in four?

[thyme4change]

Jul 6, 2022 21:06:35 GMT -5 teen persuasion said:

Jul 6, 2022 20:05:03 GMT -5 thyme4change said:

I keep waiting for someone to analyze private short-term disability, long-term disability and SS disability claims to determine how many people aren't working due to long covid or something that resembles long covid, which could be diagnosed with something else (and then use statistics to determine how many are long covid).

A discussion on Twitter (someone else asked why there aren't enough service workers) brought up all the reasons Drama listed.  Somebody said 7.5% of US had long Covid, but no source given.

They were squabbling over *1 million dead* vs *they were all old people, not service workers*, vs *75% old people, 25% workers*, but 7.5% of all US is much larger. Then add the 2 million fewer immigrants (claimed), and underpaid mothers forced to drop out of work force because daycare imploded, and all the boomers who retired leaving openings for service workers to move up into...

Yikes,I just did the math - that's 25 million with long Covid!

I heard one dude break it all down, and his conclusion was the lack of illegal immigrants was the **real** problem.

Not sure if that is true or whatever. But I could see how restaurants and warehouses would be suffering if a bunch of immigrants went home and no-one came to replace them.

Also - with long covid - they were (early in the pandemic) saying it was half of the people who survived covid had lingering problems 6 months later. Later in the oandemic I heard a third of survivors got long covid. That doesn't mean they weren't able to work, and I am hoping that vaccines reduced the number of long covid cases. But if it was 50% at one time, it being 20- 25% now would not be crazy unreasonable. Especially if a bunch of them are like "I'm still not back to full energy, but I go to work" type of complaints.

[justme]

Jul 6, 2022 21:33:09 GMT -5 djAdvocate said:

Jul 6, 2022 21:06:35 GMT -5 teen persuasion said:

A discussion on Twitter (someone else asked why there aren't enough service workers) brought up all the reasons Drama listed.  Somebody said 7.5% of US had long Covid, but no source given.

They were squabbling over *1 million dead* vs *they were all old people, not service workers*, vs *75% old people, 25% workers*, but 7.5% of all US is much larger. Then add the 2 million fewer immigrants (claimed), and underpaid mothers forced to drop out of work force because daycare imploded, and all the boomers who retired leaving openings for service workers to move up into...

Yikes,I just did the math - that's 25 million with long Covid!

that seems really high, considering that only about 100M have had the disease.  one in four?

Only 100M have? I figured it was more because (anecdotal I know) those I know that have had covid far outweigh those that haven't.

I'm just glad I got it after I got boosted and it had watered down so I didn't get long covid even though I have other health issues.

[thyme4change]

How many uncounted cases are out there? My husband and daughter tested positive on a home test, stayed home for a week, tested negative and went about their business. My daughter called in sick to her grocery store job - I don't know if employers are reporting it, but I doubt it. I also tested positive on a home kit, but I did call my doctor - so I am more likely to be counted.

[djAdvocate]

Jul 6, 2022 22:28:36 GMT -5 thyme4change said:

How many uncounted cases are out there? My husband and daughter tested positive on a home test, stayed home for a week, tested negative and went about their business. My daughter called in sick to her grocery store job - I don't know if employers are reporting it, but I doubt it. I also tested positive on a home kit, but I did call my doctor - so I am more likely to be counted.

you can extrapolate based on deaths, but it won't even get you to 200M, even with "generous assumptions".  i rounded up to get to 100M.  the current number is 88M.  but yes, it could be hitting a million per day now, and nobody would know it, because of home testing.

well, that is not quite true.  we can tell by sewer loads.  but that is not a national measure.

[djAdvocate]

Jul 6, 2022 22:21:40 GMT -5 thyme4change said:

Jul 6, 2022 21:06:35 GMT -5 teen persuasion said:

A discussion on Twitter (someone else asked why there aren't enough service workers) brought up all the reasons Drama listed.  Somebody said 7.5% of US had long Covid, but no source given.

They were squabbling over *1 million dead* vs *they were all old people, not service workers*, vs *75% old people, 25% workers*, but 7.5% of all US is much larger. Then add the 2 million fewer immigrants (claimed), and underpaid mothers forced to drop out of work force because daycare imploded, and all the boomers who retired leaving openings for service workers to move up into...

Yikes,I just did the math - that's 25 million with long Covid!

I heard one dude break it all down, and his conclusion was the lack of illegal immigrants was the **real** problem.

Not sure if that is true or whatever. But I could see how restaurants and warehouses would be suffering if a bunch of immigrants went home and no-one came to replace them.

Also - with long covid - they were (early in the pandemic) saying it was half of the people who survived covid had lingering problems 6 months later. Later in the oandemic I heard a third of survivors got long covid. That doesn't mean they weren't able to work, and I am hoping that vaccines reduced the number of long covid cases. But if it was 50% at one time, it being 20- 25% now would not be crazy unreasonable. Especially if a bunch of them are like "I'm still not back to full energy, but I go to work" type of complaints.

omg.  we are so fucked as a nation.
this is going to affect economic growth, productivity, healthcare, etc for a generation.
jesus.

[pulmonarymd]

The estimate is that 1 in 5 people who had Covid get no long covid

[tbop77]

Jul 6, 2022 23:19:14 GMT -5 djAdvocate said:

Jul 6, 2022 22:21:40 GMT -5 thyme4change said:

I heard one dude break it all down, and his conclusion was the lack of illegal immigrants was the **real** problem.

Not sure if that is true or whatever. But I could see how restaurants and warehouses would be suffering if a bunch of immigrants went home and no-one came to replace them.

Also - with long covid - they were (early in the pandemic) saying it was half of the people who survived covid had lingering problems 6 months later. Later in the oandemic I heard a third of survivors got long covid. That doesn't mean they weren't able to work, and I am hoping that vaccines reduced the number of long covid cases. But if it was 50% at one time, it being 20- 25% now would not be crazy unreasonable. Especially if a bunch of them are like "I'm still not back to full energy, but I go to work" type of complaints.

omg.  we are so fucked as a nation.
this is going to affect economic growth, productivity, healthcare, etc for a generation.
jesus.

Thank you President Trump for screwing the US in more ways than one!  

[teen persuasion]

Jul 6, 2022 21:33:09 GMT -5 djAdvocate said:

Jul 6, 2022 21:06:35 GMT -5 teen persuasion said:

A discussion on Twitter (someone else asked why there aren't enough service workers) brought up all the reasons Drama listed.  Somebody said 7.5% of US had long Covid, but no source given.

They were squabbling over *1 million dead* vs *they were all old people, not service workers*, vs *75% old people, 25% workers*, but 7.5% of all US is much larger. Then add the 2 million fewer immigrants (claimed), and underpaid mothers forced to drop out of work force because daycare imploded, and all the boomers who retired leaving openings for service workers to move up into...

Yikes,I just did the math - that's 25 million with long Covid!

that seems really high, considering that only about 100M have had the disease.  one in four?

The CDC  said (in April) that 58% of Americans had had Covid - and that was based on February data. We had a big surge here with BA 2.12.1 in late April into May. That's when my brother and sister in law, a nephew (not their son, but my sister's), my son, me, my boss and her SO, and two other people I know had Covid. We'd all successfully evaded it until mandates were lifted. Most of us are uncounted, officially, because we used home tests that are excluded from our state's dashboard. I think DB got a PCR, so he's counted.

The increase was seen most dramatically in children. In kids ages 0 to 11, seroprevalence jumped from 44.2% to 75.2%, and in kids 12 to 17, it rose from 45.6% to 74.2%.

The lower percentages were from Dec 2021, before the Omicron surge, while the latter numbers are Feb 2022. Seventy-five percent of kids!

[teen persuasion]

Jul 7, 2022 5:27:23 GMT -5 pulmonarymd said:

The estimate is that 1 in 5 people who had Covid get no long covid

So if 20% do not get it - that means 80% DO get long Covid!

Am I reading you right?

[resolution]

That will be lovely later this year when the Public Health Emergency gets lifted and we drop 5-10 million people off of Medicaid.

[pulmonarymd]

Jul 7, 2022 7:18:48 GMT -5 teen persuasion said:

Jul 7, 2022 5:27:23 GMT -5 pulmonarymd said:

The estimate is that 1 in 5 people who had Covid get no long covid

So if 20% do not get it - that means 80% DO get long Covid!

Am I reading you right?

Sorry, 1 in 5 get long COVID. Should wake up fully before posting

[Tiny]

Jul 6, 2022 22:23:28 GMT -5 justme said:

Jul 6, 2022 21:33:09 GMT -5 djAdvocate said:

that seems really high, considering that only about 100M have had the disease.  one in four?

Only 100M have? I figured it was more because (anecdotal I know) those I know that have had covid far outweigh those that haven't.

I'm just glad I got it after I got boosted and it had watered down so I didn't get long covid even though I have other health issues.

Perhaps it's because some people have had Covid19 several times.   I know people who have had it at least twice (as they were actually sick enough to get tested and it was positive) and possibly a third time maybe more times  (didn't feel well but didn't bother to test - because they felt much better after 48 hours so maybe it was something else or "allergies").       
 
They say they were vaccinated but to be honest I doubt they bothered (as in they had Covid19 early in the pandemic thought they were now immune - and then had it again months later and thought they were more  "immune"  and then for the 3rd + time maybe had a brush with Omicron or a variant. 


To be honest - I don't think there's a reliable number for how many Americans have had Covid19 (at least once).   Especially once people were using home tests.   

FWIW:  The last week of June, I was notified by my employer that someone on my floor reported a positive covid19 test  and that they were in the office the same day I was that week.    That means who ever tested positive was nice enough to inform our employer.   I'm kind of glad they did. 

[daisylu]

I read an article this morning, that I can't locate right now, that said with the variants you could contract Covid again in as little as 4 weeks. 


ETA: Found it. link

[hurley1980]

Jul 6, 2022 22:28:36 GMT -5 thyme4change said:

How many uncounted cases are out there? My husband and daughter tested positive on a home test, stayed home for a week, tested negative and went about their business. My daughter called in sick to her grocery store job - I don't know if employers are reporting it, but I doubt it. I also tested positive on a home kit, but I did call my doctor - so I am more likely to be counted.

Not to mention how many people who were vaccinated and boosted who may have gotten covid, but their symptoms were so little they just thought they had a cold or allergies, or had no symptoms at all.  My mom and I have never taken a test, we are both boosted as much as the recommendations will allow us. In California, allergies are pretty much a year round thing now, so who is to say I did have, and just didn't know it?

There is really no way to get an accurate number of how many people have been infected. 

[djAdvocate]

Jul 7, 2022 6:40:08 GMT -5 teen persuasion said:

Jul 6, 2022 21:33:09 GMT -5 djAdvocate said:

that seems really high, considering that only about 100M have had the disease.  one in four?

The CDC  said (in April) that 58% of Americans had had Covid - and that was based on February data. We had a big surge here with BA 2.12.1 in late April into May. That's when my brother and sister in law, a nephew (not their son, but my sister's), my son, me, my boss and her SO, and two other people I know had Covid. We'd all successfully evaded it until mandates were lifted. Most of us are uncounted, officially, because we used home tests that are excluded from our state's dashboard. I think DB got a PCR, so he's counted.

The increase was seen most dramatically in children. In kids ages 0 to 11, seroprevalence jumped from 44.2% to 75.2%, and in kids 12 to 17, it rose from 45.6% to 74.2%.

The lower percentages were from Dec 2021, before the Omicron surge, while the latter numbers are Feb 2022. Seventy-five percent of kids!

i am just going by available stats, teen.  off by a factor of 2x?  i am not surprised.
perhaps in future i will say 88M verified cases. 

[happyhoix]

Jul 7, 2022 18:33:19 GMT -5 djAdvocate said:

Jul 7, 2022 6:40:08 GMT -5 teen persuasion said:

The CDC  said (in April) that 58% of Americans had had Covid - and that was based on February data. We had a big surge here with BA 2.12.1 in late April into May. That's when my brother and sister in law, a nephew (not their son, but my sister's), my son, me, my boss and her SO, and two other people I know had Covid. We'd all successfully evaded it until mandates were lifted. Most of us are uncounted, officially, because we used home tests that are excluded from our state's dashboard. I think DB got a PCR, so he's counted.
The lower percentages were from Dec 2021, before the Omicron surge, while the latter numbers are Feb 2022. Seventy-five percent of kids!

i am just going by available stats, teen.  off by a factor of 2x?  i am not surprised.
perhaps in future i will say 88M verified cases. 

Don’t forget states like Florida where they actively moved cases out of the ‘Covid’ pile. Had diabetes the died from covid? The states said you died from diabetes.

Don’t want to scare people with morbidity rates.

[djAdvocate]

Jul 7, 2022 18:44:36 GMT -5 happyhoix said:

Jul 7, 2022 18:33:19 GMT -5 djAdvocate said:

i am just going by available stats, teen.  off by a factor of 2x?  i am not surprised.
perhaps in future i will say 88M verified cases. 

Don’t forget states like Florida where they actively moved cases out of the ‘Covid’ pile. Had diabetes the died from covid? The states said you died from diabetes.

Don’t want to scare people with morbidity rates.

there is an easy way around the morbidity issue.  we can look at excess deaths:


www.bu.edu/articles/2022/covid-death-toll-higher-than-official-tally/

the US is probably around 1.2M dead right now.  and we are dying at a rate of 300 per day for the forseeable future, or about 100k per year.