Job Creationism

"Trenton Makes, The World Takes." -- Obsolete slogan on a Delaware River Bridge.

"And the candidate said, Let there be jobs. And there were jobs."

   Jobs are not created fully formed from the minds of wishful politicians. Nor do they spring, geyser-like, from the groundwork of backyard inventors or entrepreneurs and innovators.
   Moreover, the prime directive of labor unions is to preserve existing jobs and improve wages, benefits and working conditions. Adding jobs is to some extent an adjunct to increasing membership.
   An employer's decision to hire more workers depends on the demand for the firm's product or service, not on an altruistic desire to help mankind. (There are exceptions, of course, but altruism is an expensive commodity, not generally available to startup companies.)
   Political candidates may praise the can-do spirit of a bootstrap tradition, but that is no solace to those without shoes.
   The job market is Darwinian. As society and technology change, workplace skills evolve and grow in response to changing demand.

   Here's an example.
   Fifty years ago, publishing a daily newspaper was labor intensive, requiring dozens of typesetters, compositors, proofreaders and engravers to prepare the copy and get printing plates ready for the press room
   Then came computers.
   Today, typesetting, composition and page makeup are often done by non-union employees in the art department adjacent to the newsroom, and there are fewer workers in the composing room. Yet the overall employment throughout the building is higher, so that there are more reporters and editors gathering more stories, and the newspaper is able to publish more pages, faster and more efficiently, every day.
   In addition, laptop computers enable reporters in the field to transmit stories directly to newsroom computers, bypassing teletype operators and the need for additional workers to set type so the story can start on its way to the presses.
   What happened to Linotype operators and compositors? Some learned the new skill of paste-up, which replaced hot-metal typesetting. Attrition accounted for some other workforce reductions, through retirement and, in some cases, buyout offers.
   Even so, the total employment level and the size of the newspaper increased.
   Granted, the Great Recession that began in 2008 affected newspapers as much as it affected business generally. But it's important to keep in mind that a newspaper's primary source of revenue is advertising; the cover price of a newspaper barely pays for the paper it's printed on. It follows, then, that as advertisers cut back on expenses, there is a direct effect on newspaper revenue.

   In any event, while political candidates prattle about the need for more jobs and their supposed ability to create them, government is not the private sector. The only way government can create jobs is through public works projects, or by subsidizing the private sector. Either one requires more government revenue, which calls for an increase in taxes. The alternative is deficit spending, to stimulate the economy until it revives. Government can then step back and turn its focus to balancing its budget.

   It's a matter of priorities.
   In the 1920s, President Calvin Coolidge cut government spending, reduced taxes, focused on balancing the federal budget, and showed little interest in foreign policy.

   History records what happened next.