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September 5, 2022
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BY MIKE HUCKABEE

Blessings on you and your family from all the Huckabee staff! Today is Labor Day, which is sometimes jokingly described as the day when Americans honor work by taking the day off work. I hope you enjoy the holiday with your family, and enjoy this special Labor Day edition of my newsletter.

With gratitude,

Mike


DAILY BIBLE VERSE

Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

2 Corinthians 9:7

If you have a favorite Bible Verse you want to see in one of our newsletters, please email [email protected].



Labor Day

These days, it’s easy for free market conservatives to distrust labor unions because of their corrupt leaders or one-sided politics (more on that later.) But Labor Day reminds us of that era in history when unions were more interested in protecting workers than in protecting the jobs of union bosses and Democrat politicians. Labor Day observances unofficially began around the turn of the 20th century as a celebration of the union movement, which was fighting truly dangerous and exploitative working conditions, not to mention violent strike-busting tactics. Those kinds of conditions are not beneficial to labor or management.

Workers who get good pay, reasonable hours and a safe workplace are motivated to work harder and make their employers profitable. America’s prosperity and world leader status were the result of shared benefits between labor and management. Recruiting good employees, treating them well, and giving them a stake in the outcome is good business. When labor and management are partners, everyone wins: stockholders, management, workers, and most importantly, consumers.

Before the Chinese unleashed a virus that knocked the wind out of our economy, President Trump wasn't just helping to bring back jobs, but the strong job market and record low unemployment meant companies had to offer higher pay and more benefits to attract good workers. That's how getting government out of the way of job creation benefits everyone. Currently, businesses are offering higher wages and benefits to attract employees only because the government has been making it easier for them not to work than to work. Now, they’re not only paying their voters’ current bills at taxpayer expense, they’re paying off their old debts, too. But the endless giveaways on the tab of productive workers and our grandchildren are unsustainable, as our $30.8 trillion national debt (up by $2.1 trillion from just one year ago) proves.

Unfortunately, we are living through a dangerous period in which both the White House and Congress are in the hands of a party that is openly hostile to capitalism and doesn’t have clue how businesses work. They’re mostly interested in using government to exercise raw power and to throw another trillion dollars a week of other people’s money onto their dumpster fire of fiscal responsibility. One of the major reasons they are in power is because of the support, monetary and otherwise, of powerful union leaders. For instance, Biden was recently hailed as the most “pro-union President ever,” thanks to his support of laws forcing workers to join unions against their will, and his proclivity for creating so many new unionized government jobs, like those 87,000 new IRS agents.

Union leaders are supposed to be looking out for workers, but does anyone seriously believe that the politicians they’ve helped install into power are primarily concerned with what American workers think are their best interests, as they demonize patriotic working Americans as “semi-fascists,” crush American industries, tax-away job-creating business profits and drive jobs and American capitol back overseas to nations like Saudi Arabia and China?

A union is supposed to act as the voice of its workers, but too many unions today prioritize advancing the Democrats over that. For instance, many energy and pipeline industry workers supported Trump, but their bosses worked to elect Biden…who, upon taking office, promptly picked up his executive order pen and stabbed them in the back with it, killing the Keystone XL Pipeline project, going to war on domestic energy production, and destroying many good-paying union jobs. Union bosses pretended to be shocked that he did exactly what he’d long promised to do by trying to destroy our domestic fossil fuel industry. Likewise, his open border policy that’s flooding the nation with illegal immigrants is taking away job opportunities and driving down wages for low-skilled American workers. This is particularly hard on minority workers, who were finally seeing real wage increases for the first time in decades under Trump.

I also hear these days from a lot of teachers who are horrified at the socialist indoctrination, racist “Critical Race Theory” and graphic and inappropriate LGBTQ sexual propaganda their leftist union bosses expect them to teach, but they’re terrified to speak up about it. One Connecticut assistant principal recently spilled the beans by revealing how they illegally refuse to hire any teachers who are religious, Catholic, conservative or over 30 because they figure they’re more likely to resist brainwashing their students with leftism. Is that how today’s unions “give the workers a voice,” by making them afraid to speak their minds for fear of losing their jobs?

Maybe the union bosses think it’s worth it if the Democrats can shove through their PRO Act bill that would essentially unionize the entire economy. Booster claim polls show Americans strongly support it, but that’s because the people selling it as a piñata of goodies that will empower workers and protect their rights, but they haven’t been told that it’s actually full of poison pills that will kill the economy and their jobs and force Americans to hand over billions of dollars in union dues to union bosses, along with much of their freedom to choose how and when they will work. It would repeal state right-to-work laws and destroy the modern freelance/gig/contract worker economy that many workers prefer.

https://www.independentsentinel.com/dems-re-introduce-bill-to-kill-millions-of-jobs-and-destroy-the-gig-economy/

It’s no wonder that when given a choice, many workers stop paying union dues because they believe their unions aren’t doing enough to deserve them and are actively working against their interests and personal beliefs.

I have nothing against unions in theory, and they did a lot of good in the early 20th century to give workers a voice, to protect their safety and to assure fair wages and reasonable working conditions. But like most things that become entangled in Democrat politics, they forgot their original mission and became corrupt. Like much of our federal Deep State, they’ve outlived their time but are so embedded into our system that they’re now concerned chiefly with protecting and expanding their own power even at the expense of the people they claim to be serving.

That’s why on Labor Day, we can reflect on the positive historical role that unions played a century ago, but mostly, I prefer to think of it as a day to celebrate today’s American workers: the people who put in a hard day’s work, sweating through their clothes on farms and in factories…those who don police and firefighter uniforms and rush toward danger when the rest of us are running away from it…and the ones who kept working through the pandemic, from the doctors and nurses to the truckers, delivery drivers and grocery shelf stockers, to keep the rest of us supplied with the necessities of life. The ones who are literally, and figuratively, carrying the load for those who can’t or won’t.

These are the real heroes of America who deserve a holiday in their honor. So this Labor Day's for you!

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The Value of Work

We hear a lot of talk from politicians about values…but do we truly value work and the people who do it? Labor Day seems like a good time to think about that question, especially in a time where our elites seem more out of touch and contemptuous of working people than at any time since the French Revolution.

Companies should pay employees as generously as they can, because good workers have worth. This is why you should always be skeptical of any politician who claims to “care” about workers, but also wants to raise taxes, both on workers and businesses.  When taxes are high, it’s a sign that the government disrespects the worker by believing that what it will do with their salary is better than what the person who earned it will do.  When we see employees as having worth, we see their work as valuable.  That’s the value of work. I believe YOU are valuable and therefore what you DO has value. 

A lot of politicians don’t understand that a job is more than just a way to put bread on the table.  From man’s beginnings as recorded in the book of Genesis, we were hard-wired for labor.  God told us to earn our bread by the sweat of our brow.  It’s natural for us to want to prove our value by producing. 

From the time we are children, we imitate our parents in their work.  It’s part of our DNA to want to be grown up, and one sure way to feel grown up is to work.  That’s why the loss of a job is far, far more than an economic setback. It’s de-humanizing to want to be productive and not be able.  There is pride and dignity in sitting down to a meal that your work provided. 

The CDC studied suicide rates since 1928 and found that they mirrored the economy.  Suicides took a big uptick during the Great Depression.  They plunged during World War II, and spiked again in the recessions of the mid-70’s and early 80’s. Suicides dropped to their lowest levels ever in the year 2000, when the tech boom dropped unemployment to just 4 percent. But after the dot-com bubble burst, America's suicide rate began steadily climbing. Recently, because of the endless shutdowns forcing people to stop working, we saw a new spike in suicides. 

It’s a stark reminder that employment is more than an economic issue.  Good jobs and rewarding labor save lives by making us feel that we're valued and needed.  A government handout might provide bare sustenance, but it doesn’t feed the soul. It only demoralizes us.

 

LEAVE ME A COMMENT, I READ THEM!


How to prevent young people from falling prey to socialism

I got a comment from a reader arguing that one reason young people fall prey to socialism (aside from being brainwashed by their teachers) is that they feel the capitalist system is failing them. They were told they had to get college degrees if they wanted good jobs, and encouraged to take out huge student loans. Now, they’re saddled with crippling debt, and those degrees aren’t opening the doors to jobs that pay enough to ever get out of the hole.

I admit that’s a serious problem, but it won't be solved by electing people who will expand the very policies that raise taxes, kill jobs and wages, and encourage making college even more ridiculously expensive and pursuing useless degrees. And promising to “forgive” student loan debt is just a bait-and-switch. Your student loan debt might disappear, but your tax bill will double or triple, while colleges will raise tuition to take advantage of the new government subsidy. Will that solve your problem? And talk about redistributing wealth from the poor to the rich! Working people who never attended college will pay higher taxes to pay off the college loan debts of lawyers, doctors, lobbyists and Ivy League grads.

We need action on a number of fronts for young people to be able to access the American dream. I’ll lay out a few proposals, knowing there’s no chance of them being put into effect until after the next two elections.

First, we do need to restructure student loans, so that rates are lowered and terms easier to handle. It would also help if states that control the colleges’ purse strings would make them pull back on the leftist indoctrination, speech policing, racial discrimination and propaganda about things like logic and productivity being “white surpremacy,” and instead go back to teaching things that can help students get decent jobs.

Government policies need to be aimed at helping grow the economy and encourage private sector expansion and business creation instead of punishing it, so that jobs are plentiful and wages keep rising. We need to stop using our tax code and unemployment system to disincentivize work and success. Future generations need to be taught to be more judicious in choosing majors, or that maybe college isn’t the only alternative. Just as the pandemic sped up evolution of the work-from-home movement, it also introduced many people to learning from home. Did you know that you can now watch all of MIT’s classes on YouTube for free?

https://www.youtube.com/user/MIT

There are also many good-paying jobs in skilled trades that employers desperately need to fill (just ask Mike Rowe.) Trade school is faster and cheaper than college, and doesn’t come with a heaping side order of communism. There’s dignity in all work, and it’s a heck of a lot better to be a busy, well-paid plumber or mechanic than an angry, underemployed gender studies major (they obviously have way too much free time on their hands these days.)

Besides, as our current political leaders have proven beyond a doubt, having an Ivy League degree is no guarantee of superior intelligence, ability or even basic competence. It might just mean that your parents bought the school a gym. Academic credentials are fine, but they don’t mean as much to me as native intelligence, a strong work ethic and an eagerness to learn.

Before I entered politics, I worked with a fellow named Gary Underwood to build a community TV station on a shoestring budget. Gary had no formal education in television production, but he figured out things, like how to make work lights from Sam’s Club do as studio lights, and how to run lights and a camera off a car battery so we could do remotes. If he’d had formal training, he might’ve told me it was impossible on our budget and given up. But since he wasn’t a "trained expert," he found ways to do the impossible. Later on, he ran media operations for the Arkansas Governor’s Office for me.

There are people with more education than others, and who certainly think they’re smarter than the rest of us. But you’d be hard pressed to find people with more “smarts” than someone like Gary. Have you ever heard it said that someone was “educated beyond their intelligence”? We’ve got plenty of people like that these days. Washington is crawling with so many Harvard and Yale alums that if they could all get a tuition refund, they could probably pay off the national debt. And frankly, based on their competence and intelligence, many of them should demand a tuition refund.

As both a Governor and a business owner, I’ve hired a lot of employees over the years. Some would figure out how to get something done, while others would spend more time explaining why it couldn’t be done than it would’ve taken to do it! Give me a smart person with a can-do attitude any day over one with an expensive “education” who lacks the resourcefulness to solve problems with whatever is available.

Remember the story of the eminent scientist who proved through incontrovertible laws of physics, gravity and aerodynamics that it was impossible for a bumblebee to fly? The bumblebee ignored all his arguments about how flying was impossible and flew anyway. The moral: If you want to succeed, be like a bumblebee and don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t fly.

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Comments 1-7 of 7

  • Jerry

    09/06/2022 09:24 AM

    Biden is brining in deadly drugs from China and Mexico as the 2 countries work together to kill our Americans. Biden if he gets his 10% or not is important to him. Families are none of his concerned when a person is killed by Fentanyl. Migrants are allowed in the country that carry the posion across the open border and given a hotel room to continue its distrbuion all around the country. More amenities are added to keep the poison available. Biden is the ultimate drug dealer getting the drugs into the country for distribution and of course selling his product. Also a main part of biden's empire is Human Trafficking doe sex emporiums and Humans USED hopefully for the filling of 11 million low income jobs. Today biden is howling about his discontent of the MAGA movement I can only only hope Americans feel how poorly biden is treating American with energy prices I had my gas bill increased by 50 dollars a month I heat water and fry a few eggs in the morning I grill outside most of the time people of America better wake up the suicide of OUR America is under way only YOU, Americans can prevent SUICIDE of your country. Stop Biden and his Administration of killing America!

  • Jerry

    09/06/2022 08:37 AM

    Biden is selling his snake oil his lies that call people that want safe streets affordable energy a strong food sorce affordable goods and a chance to manufacture goods in this country extremists. Biden knows the dependence on the federal government for peoples living expenses is where the democrats find their mayor voting block. That also mean corporations will support the Dems for cheap labor and in exchange want the government to subsidize employees that do not receive a living wage with government handouts a good gig for those concerned biden is selling socialism and a large portion of the population does not understand they are being attacked threaten and manipulated to vote against making America great again the hope is Americans can figure this out the GOP has not gone to work to offset this blasphemy of the truth about America needs to be

  • Robert E. Carter

    09/05/2022 06:37 PM

    Most of us need the reminder that we work to enable having a meaningful life. You've written a great reminder that if we want to change how our youth see life, we need to be setting the example, and sharing it. I think that will also help us to now that we're pleasing God when we do it; it's art of the big picture of helping the needy of every kind and age.

  • Paul Kern

    09/05/2022 06:06 PM

    Interesting as I have to work on Labor Day.
    Growing up I learned how the left started takeover of the Democrats. If interested should study about Tammany Hall and how it took over Chicago as a start
    Before the last election it was shown that the NEA, PP and union bosses colluded to buy the election and make Joe their anointed king. Union bosses made their members vote for Joe and then he betrayed the real workers.
    Growing up I realized this day and other days were just ,"3 day drunks" Must celebrate Cinco De Mayo but not legitimate holidays like the 4th and Christmas. As a veteran I do not participate knowing how corrupt it has become out here. True patriotism comes from the heart and blood of those who served. Not a lineup of flags and " thank you for your service" from people who hate us!

  • Anne Turner

    09/05/2022 12:06 PM

    There is one thing I know for sure. If the GOP does not get a majority in at least the House to be able to stop this nonsense, this country is doomed to abject failure. I am so afraid that the DNC will manipulate the election to their benefit. Our system demands that we have some degree of integrity and conscience. Without that freedom fails. When one controls the media and national law enforcement it is difficult to see how sanity will prevail. I still cannot understand how supposedly intelligent people can possibly believe this clap trap. Hatred can cause bad things, Hitler was clever finding a scape goat and many people bought if on it. The DNC scapegoat is of course Trump and any who voted for him. We must give the DNC credit for understanding how to foment a coupe. Anyone with any knowledge of history can see what is in their face.

  • Jerry

    09/05/2022 12:04 PM

    Working is essential for economic and mental health reasons is so true at an very elderly age I am at I extended my work schedule and wore myself out so I took 15 days off traveled had a great time and rested my body with about 6 days off resting and catching up on my household chores I did find sitting around did make me feel bored and a bit irritable people laying around become dangerous creatures and become predators and that’s what our democratic run cities have a dangerous uncivilized society that is why I am so concerned about the upcoming midterms the election of a democrat they will ruin this country the democrats oppose work they do embrace a dangerous society and love the chaos it brings

  • Charles Sigars

    09/05/2022 11:56 AM

    Yes, I was sold the "You gotta go to college" line. I graduated with my BA in the very early 70's. Took out loans, had a partial scholarship, and worked through 4 tears.

    After graduating, guess what. No job was available with my degree. Teaching. What to do?

    I volunteered for the Army.

    Guess what? I was earning more money per year as a private than I would have as a teacher. PLUS, I leaned a trade. Electronics. After 8 years, I got out and went into civilian life. I go hired after 3 months, and spent the next 30 years working in technology, specifically Telecom Engineering (which I earned a Masters in later).

    I paid off the loans I took out, so pardon me if I don't cry for these kids who are belly aching about being "mislead". I will not be the only time this happens in their life. They need to toughen up. In most cases, a whole lot. They especially need to pay their way and satisfy the obligations the voluntarily committed to; not have the taxpayer bail them ou.