Nebraska's quandary: Can it force more citizens to work?

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Even in normal times Nebraska has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the nation, with fewer than two million people and plenty of jobs to go around. But with some workers slow to return to work after COVID-19 shutdowns, the state has hit new depths, recording the country’s lowest-ever state unemployment rate of 1.8% in November.

Now Gov. Pete Ricketts, who frequently expounds on the value of work, is confronting an intriguing question: Can a governor force citizens to work, even if they apparently aren’t eager or able to do so?

Ricketts is certainly trying every option imaginable to get Nebraskans into jobs, including requiring people to confer with job coaches before seeking unemployment benefits.

“There’s going to be a lot of different things we’re going to have to do to reach each individual and, if they’re not working for whatever reason, get them back into the workforce,” Ricketts said recently.

https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-business-health-nebraska-pete-ricketts-5cf5cef955a79c466281fd43f32cc358

[Bernardo de La Paz]

1. Here's a novel suggestion

Pay them more.

It's the law of supply and demand. It is something capitalists should study. Supply is low and demand for labor is high. In a free market, prices for labor (wages) would rise.

Perhaps make the market more free, hunh?

[Captain Zero]

2. Here's a suggestion. Require vaccines.

So all workers concerned about Covid in the workplace feel safe enough to go back to work.

Republicans all act like Covid is over. It's NOT.

[Volaris]

12. And red america is going to find that out the hard way around the middle of january

When the omicron wave crashes the hospital system (again).

[KG]

3. how bout them repubs 'keep govt out of peoples lives' - like they love saying

[SWBTATTReg]

4. How about letting the free markets determine what labor costs should truly be, and let them

decide what to do w/ the limited labor markets, that is, if the labor rates get so high that folks will indeed work for a fast food place or other place, then so be it. This is another example of repugs trying to interfere w/ free market actions that are driving labor rates upwards, as it finally should be.

Pathetic. And this is the party that favors the free markets and such, eh? They failed to raise the minimum wage rate for so long, and then an epidemic comes and goes and messes w/ their long-term suppression of labor rates at below market rates (still stuck at 1980s rate (but they let everything else go rampaging upwards in price)).

Now the genie is out of the bottle and nothing they can do seems to help (the GOP) put the genie back in the bottle/force labor rates back down. And this is the party of Economics, eh? A joke. Maybe some of these GOP thugs should go back to Economics school and study the law of supply and demand, that a limited amount of labor (and the rate it's paid) can only go so far.

Good. About time that labor was valued at what it should be. And yes, the inflation rate probably will go up a tad, but why shouldn't it? The labor rate was suppressed for so long, that this hidden 'inflation factor' was suppressed and buried for so long, artificially that when it was finally released into the free marketplace, BOOM! people are slowly being appreciated somewhat for their valuable labor and NOT the stock markets, NOT the high price of homes and housing, land, and other heavily appreciated assets, LABOR.

It didn't help that rump in his ignorance suppressed labor from coming into the US either. It didn't help that they kept the labor rates so low. It didn't help that they favored those that had assets vs. one of the biggest assets, LABOR. Maybe now, LABOR can write its own ticket, and set the rules as they should be set, and not the ones who did it for so long, that kept everything artificially so low for so long, for their selfish purposes.

[lindysalsagal]

5. Wait- I thought they didn't like hand-outs or welfare or entitlements? I thought

those people believed no one should be getting free money?????

[LonePirate]

6. I have no doubt Republicans would repeal the 13th Amendment if they could

[XanaDUer2]

13. This nt

[ProudMNDemocrat]

7. Is the Guvna going to force RETIRED people to go back to work?

I would tell him to "Fuck off! You can't make me."

[NickB79]

9. I've been trolling my Trumper coworkers that we need to raise the retirement age

It's an easy way to fix the labor shortage. That, or open the border to immigrants.

Since most of them are in their 50's, it doesn't go over well 🤣

[NickB79]

8. This part says it all

Nebraska has about 49,000 job openings listed on a state website and 19,000 working-age residents who are not working. About 4,300 people are receiving unemployment benefits.

Get everyone in the state off unemployment and you still have 45,000 empty jobs. It's a drop in the bucket.

Almost sounds like we need more immigrants, huh?

[musette_sf]

10. From the Elaine Chao (Mrs Moscow Mitch) playbook:

“And because of Covid, some people have retired early, some people have decided not to come back,” Chao said. “So this is a real issue. As the economy continues to recover, we’re going to need these workers to do their patriotic duty to come back, and help the economy to come back.”

https://www.mediaite.com/tv/former-labor-secretary-elaine-chao-calls-on-americans-to-do-their-patriotic-duty-and-help-the-economy-by-rejoining-workforce/

[WhiskeyGrinder]

11. Pay them and attract people by providing an inclusive, vibrant culture. There's a lot that's great

about a lot of areas in that state. But backward-ass social policies aren't going to attract many.