General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Krugman: When a business owner complains about being unable to find workers, ask how much he pays. [View all]JoeyT
(6,785 posts)One I still take time off to do when season hits, one I quit because I was sick of it, and one the owner took back over because he was tired of all his money going to employees. After which he cut their pay and hours, they all quit, he lost all his contracts, and he went from taking in a huge profit without lifting a finger to losing his ass - sniveling all the while that people just don't want to work.
The rich don't hire gardeners anymore. Now they contract out to a landscaping company that charges $20-30 an hour per employee, pays the employee $10 an hour, and makes the employee use their own vehicle and equipment. And they have to buy their own gas. I wish to god that were a joke. Those are actual rates of a local company as well as their pay rate and policy. If you wanna see true horror stories about small businesses, ask anyone that's ever installed satellite TV or Internet about them.
For every one small business owner having trouble hiring because of the bad economy, there is at least one that is a selfish asshole trying to take advantage of a bad economy(*cough*rightwingers*cough*). I know lots of people in both categories.
The number of people employed by small business is usually skewed by what's considered a small business. Koch Industries is a "small business": http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39317328/ns/politics/t/report-big-business-turns-small-tax-purposes/#.ULR-AKCfXix
I definitely agree with your solution in the last paragraph, though. I'd also add either raising the minimum wage or a guaranteed minimum income. If you really want to help small businesses, giving people more money to spend with them is probably one of the best ways to do it.