After very quickly becoming an advanced economy, South Korea is experiencing declining growth and labor productivity. The culprit, as usual, is government intervention in the market to favor certain interests.
State lawmakers possess an infinite source of good intentions. Wielding the power of this limitless benevolence and munificence, politicians are regulating the lives of citizens while eviscerating their existence in the process.
The conservative case against market freedom is based on the belief that if change disrupts the status quo in any way, or if companies impose cost reductions that result in a shifting of employment — or even some layoffs — then government should step in and take control.
Henry Ford's factories had a hard time keeping workers because the work was monotonous. So Ford helped keep workers around through reduced hours, vacation time, and other benefits that are now considered typical.
Many hourly employees in every state are paid higher than they are legally required to be, not because employers are generous, but because of worker productivity and competition over scarce labor.
As dismissive as many of us would like to be toward Marx’s thoroughly debunked labor theory of value, it still holds currency among today’s budding socialists.
The actual policies that labor unions have systematically followed from the beginning of their existence have in fact reduced the real wages of the workers as a whole below what they would otherwise have been.
By abolishing the weekend, the Soviets were in one move able to strike a blow against both families and religious institutions. All that was left was the state — and state-mandated labor.
Some politicians are sure that even average Americans are working more grueling hours than ever. On average we have more leisure time than ever now, and working hours are down over the past 20 years.
