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Comment by sonograph | Hacker News Reader

> The issue is that they can't find anybody willing to work for the wage they are offering

While this is accurate, it ignores OP's point that they were willing to work for those wages pre-pandemic, but now the government is paying them something equivalent to 'sit around' (per OPs point).

Is it the job of the employer to raise wages or the government's job to pay people to work vs sitting? Maybe we should bring back the Civil Works Administration

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When people are paid starvation wages and have to have multiple jobs, that's brushed off as "supply and demand" of labor. You get paid what the market is willing to pay for your labor, and it's your own fault if you can't offer anything more compelling to demand a higher wage.

But when the situation is flipped around, and there is a shortage of labor instead? Suddenly the same rules don't apply, "supply and demand" isn't what should rule the price point for labor, instead, these companies are entitled to cheap labor. If people are unwilling to work for the wages offered, it's the people who are defect, not the wages offered.

I don't have the 'correct' answer here, but I think I understand what you're saying. Except the shortage of labor in this case is artificially created. I agree that companies should not be entitled to cheap labor, and I do wish they are paid better though

A fair point, but lots of market situations are "artificial", it's not like a natural disaster caused any of the recent recessions.

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