Extensions of Remarks

September 17, 1985 EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS 24013 EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS OPPOSITION TO JOB CREATION: icans-that they do not share the values and business cycle has registered a higher unem A CONSERVATIVE IDEOLOGY aspirations of working Americans, that they ployment rate than the preceding peak. The do not respond to the incentives and oppor rate of unemployment declined to 3.4 per tunities of the market in the same way as cent in the late 1960s, rose by about a per HON. SANDER M. LEVIN the more prosperous. Although a very old centage point during the peak of recovery OF MICHIGAN idea, the association of poverty and unem from the 1974-75 recession, and now, 30 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ployment with deviance seems to acquire months into the recovery from the 1981-82 new life with every generation. recession, unemployment still hovers be Tuesday, September 17, 1985 Conservatives seldom question whether tween 7 and 7lf2 percent. Mr. LEVIN of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, for deviant lifestyles are of the poor's own In May 1985, the Bureau of Labor Statis the past 6 months I have had the privilege choosing or simply reflect the harsh reali tics reported that 8.4 million persons, ac ties of deprivation. They are content to be counting for 7.3 percent of the labor force, of chairing the House Democratic Caucus lieve that the poor are unmotivated and un were seeking but could not find jobs. In ad Task Force on Job Training. This task willing to work unless coerced to do so. It dition, 5.9 million persons sought full-time force was constituted to take a hard look at follows, therefore, that even an affluent and work but had to settle for half-rations be the need for job training and retraining compassionate society should limit assist cause there was not any full-time work across America, how we are currently ance only to the truly needy poor, those available. There were some 2 million more meeting that need, and what changes must who cannot work and support themselves. people in this category in May 1985 than be made to face the economic challenges of The rest can fend for themselves because there were 31 months after the recovery the future. As part of this effort, we have according to the Reagan-Murray vision of started in 1975. Similarly, the 1.1 million the world, there are plenty of jobs available discouraged workers exceeded the compara held a series of meetings with recognized for anyone seeking work. ble number in 1977 by about 300,000. All experts in the employment field. Today, I The most vivid examples of the conserv this tells us a story of loose labor markets would like to share with my colleagues atives' refusal to acknowledge labor market where millions of people cannot find full some particularly pointed remarks made by realities can be found in President Reagan's time work. Clearly unemployment is not due Dr. Sar Levitan to our task force this past faith in job availability amidst postwar to the failure of the idle to seek work, as June. Dr. Levitan is the founder and direc record unemployment. During the worst re President Reagan asserts, but because jobs tor of the Center for Social Policy Studies cession since the Great Depression, he clung are not available for all those who desire at the George Washington University. At to the theme that opportunities for work work. abound: In mid-1983 when more than 10 million this time I would ask for unanimous con Pick up the Sunday paper and look at the Americans were actively looking for work, sent to insert Dr. Levitan's remarks into number of help wanted ads. Here are em President Reagan focused on the Horatio the RECORD: ployers begging for employees, taking ads Alger dream of unlimited opportunities for OPPOSITION TO JOB CREATION: A out for them at a time of the highest unem self-advancement rather than on the prob CONSERVATIVE IDEOLOGY ployment that we've known since the war. lems of those who were seeking work. One <By Dr. SarA. Levitan> <Ronald Reagan, December 18, 1982> could hardly disagree with President Rea In the great metropolitan centers . you gan's hope that "this remains a country An underlying vision of the American wel· count as many as 65 pages of help wanted where someone could always get rich." fare system as it evolved over the past half ads. These newspapers ads convinced us Dreams are fine, but we should not lose century is an abiding belief that the nation that there are jobs waiting and people not sight of reality. Regrettably, opportunities is not condemned to passive acceptance of trained for those jobs. <Ronald Reagan, Oc to get rich are limited only to the very few. inequality of opportunity, forced idleness, tober 4, 1982) On the other hand, there are millions of and poverty. The designers of the welfare The administration's only concession to people who labor, some full-time year-round system have assumed that our future is not widespread joblessness lay in the acknowl and still remain poor. In 1983, the latest predetermined, but can be molded by our edgment that workers with a record of sus year for which such data are available, more energies, resources, and faith in the Ameri tained unemployment may lack the skills to than 9 million Americans were in the labor can future. obtain available jobs. force, including 2 million who worked full In contrast, applied to job creation and Charles Murray, whose views have re time year-round remained poor. The image economic opportunity, the conservative ide ceived widespread acclaim in conservative of the lazy and unmotivated choosing pover ological vision of the welfare system can be circles, seems to hold similar views. Accord ty in order to avoid work is irrelevant to this reduced to three simple propositions: ing to Murray, in the good old days before large body of improverished Americans, 1. The poor and the unemployed are not society developed programs to aid the unem whose devotion to the work ethic is tested trying hard enough; ployed and the poor, any physically able to a far greater degree than that of more af 2. Help to the unemployed and the poor person could find a job to support himself fluent workers. encourages indolence, and is therefore an and his family. George Gilder, whose star The persistence of secondary labor mar obstacle to self-sufficiency; and has recently been overshadowed by Charles kets, barriers to entry in selected occupa 3. Given poverty and unemployment is the Murray, carried this belief in the availabil tions, and discriminatroy employment prac fault of individuals, federal intervention is ity of jobs even further. Following an old tices all limit opportunities for advancement counterproductive. Society would presum economic theorem that supply creates its and self-sufficiency through work. Current ably gain a great deal more by allowing the own demand, Gilder contended that individ labor market conditions strongly support haves to keep most of their income and uals can "create their own jobs" because the hypothesis that the labor market is seg wealth because they would, of course, invest "the supplies of work and human capital mented, offering relatively high wages, good in productive enterprises rather than spend can engender their own demand." working conditions, job security, and ing their resources boosting the consump During the past 15 years our economy has chances for advancement to the majority of tion of the indolent. The added investment generated an unprecedented number of American workers while providing the rest will create more jobs, and as we all know, jobs, but not enough for all those who seek with low pay, poor working conditions, un rising tides lift all ships <or is it yachts?>. work. The pious declarations of the 1946 stable jobs, and few promotion opportuni Anyway, poverty and unemployment are in Employment Act and the 1978 Full Employ ties. Because workers in secondary markets evitable and there isn't much that we can do ment and Balanced Growth Act notwith are often forced to accept intermittent em for the poor. standing, public policy has not been directed ployment their incomes tend to fall short of THE POOR ARE NOT TRYING toward providing jobs for all. On the con their fulltime earnings capacity and thus At the heart of the conservative opposi trary, during the past two decades a number below the poverty line. Moreover, since the tion to federal job creation initiatives lies of factors have contributed to creeping un working poor frequently hold unskilled jobs, the suspicion that the poor and unemployed employment. The unemployment rate they are unlikely to upgrade their skills in are morally different from the rest of Amer- during each of the succeeding peaks of the their current jobs that would assist them in e This "bullet" symbol identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by the Member of the Senate on the floor. Boldface type indicates words inserted or appended, rather than spoken, by a Member of the House on the floor. 24014 EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS September 17, 1985 the transition from secondary to primary and made welfare the more attractive alter clearly at odds with the record. Prior to gov labor markets. The existence of prunary native. A society that places a high value on ernment intervention, private voluntary ac and secondary markets side by side leaves the work ethic should also be willing to pay tivities managed to provide only the most unskilled workers trapped in dead-end jobs a price for inducing the poor to work.

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