The end of Monday

The fatal flaw of the Abolish Monday Act stems from a fundamental misunderstanding about the nature of employment. Jobs are not services provided by employers. They are a commodity sold by workers. You are the vendor of your own labor, and Big Government distortions of the labor market interfere with your ability to sell your product to your customers. A federally-mandated bonus day off is not a “gift” to you… it’s a price control on the labor you sell to earn your livelihood.

Passing laws to dramatically increase the cost of labor would force small and struggling businesses out of the market. Others would cope by reducing services, shortening hours to get by with fewer employees. Those companies which responded in the “desired” fashion, by hiring more people to cover the new government-mandated day off, would pass the costs along to their customers. Raises and bonuses would become very hard to come by, as the general cost of labor exploded. It’s the same sad old song we’ve heard from collectivists for decades: a targeted constituency receives favors, and everyone else becomes more impoverished, and less free.

Prosperity cannot be commanded into existence. Businesses hire people when they grow. The private sector contracts when the government drains money and freedom from it. Forward-looking companies make the long-term commitment of employment when they see new opportunities in their future. No pork-fried “stimulus” bill can replace the power of growth, or the allure of possibility. A law that forces people to work fewer hours would not result in increased employment, but rather diminished production… one more example of wealth crumbling away to dust, as the government tries to force it where it doesn’t want to go.

If you agree the Abolish Monday Act is a silly idea, then ask yourself: why would price controls and supply restrictions be any more sensible when applied to health care?

John Hayward is a computer consultant and freelance writer living in Florida. He has been a regular contributor to the Green Room section of Hot Air since April 2009, and launched his own Web site, www.doczero.org, in December 2009.