Goal is to create wealth, not jobs

Americans can be so gullible. When and by whom did this notion that working people owe great gratitude to business owners and employers for providing jobs? The American worker owes nothing other than mutual respect and an honest day's work. Mutual respect begins with the employer because the employer reaches out for help with his business.

A prospective business owner just does not wake up one morning and decide that his primary goal in life is to provide jobs for working people. His goal is to make money, period.

When the prospective owner conjures up his business plan, he finds that it cannot be done without help from employees, so the search for capable workers begins. The thought of paying a decent wage or salary has nothing to do with altruistic notions of helping workers attain a decent standard of living. In fact, the core of his business plan is to attract competent workers at the lowest wage possible so he can keep more of the profits for himself. He may be compelled to offer benefits, not because he has an urgent interest in the employee's welfare but to be competitive in the labor market.

To be sure, the prospective business owner puts his assets and financial well-being at risk, it is the gamble he chooses and he is entitled to a respectable profit. This gamble does not subordinate an employee to inferior status or humble him to the owner.

VAN RIEHL, Jackson