Writing Inspired by The Thomas Sowell Reader, pages 39-40, Foreign Domestics
Canada’s Minister of Finances, Jim Flaherty, made the controversial statement “There are no bad jobs, the only bad job is not having a job [1],” on May 15th, 2012.
There may be dangerous jobs and there may be unpleasant jobs, but there are no bad jobs. If you consider that we have a free job market where we choose to work or not, there can be no bad jobs because every working person is doing so of his own accord. The person may not like his position, but he obviously is willing to make the exchange of his time for the employer’s money or he would be out looking for another job.
People can complain all day that there are no jobs out there but what they really mean is that there are no jobs that they want to do. I recently heard of a road contractor offering a flagging job that would pay twenty-five dollars an hour and require no previous experience. He was unable to fill the position because cell phone use was not permitted on the job.
Besides being unwilling to give up certain comforts, people are not willing to work because many readily available jobs are looked down upon as lowly and dishonorable places of employment. Restaurants like McDonalds are not considered honorable places to work but they do bring a stream of income. For a college graduate, working at Subway is not what he planned but it is better than wondering what to do while his debts increase.
The American entrepreneur and blogger of The Art of Non-Conformity, Chris Guillebeau once said, “Never despise small beginnings, and don't belittle your own accomplishments. Remember them and use them as inspiration as you go on to the next thing. When you venture outside your comfort zone, wherever the starting point may be, it's kind of a big deal.”
[1] Flaherty, James M, CBC NEWS Toronto, May 15, 2012.
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