Dr. Anne Bradley, Vice President of Economic Initiatives at the Institute for Faith, Work & Economics, helps us to better understand economics 101 when it comes to the relationship between creating wealth and creating jobs. Job creation is a hot political talking point and constantly in the news. The article below should help us deepen our understanding and inform our own opinions about how to thoughtful consider these important ideas.
Will the coming new technology, like driverless cars, destroy millions of jobs in the U.S.? How should we think about this kind of innovation and job loss through a biblical lens? Should the government get involved by creating new jobs, or by other means of supporting the economy (i.e., Universal Basic Income)?
While I won’t answer all of these questions in this article, I do want to focus on one important idea in this discussion, and that is the difference between creating value and creating jobs.
The video below helps us understand that there is a significant difference between creating value, which leads to wealth accumulation, and creating jobs, which may actually destroy wealth and create dependencies.
It’s easy to be persuaded to support a government job-creation program to solve the real need for jobs. However, these jobs come at a cost and often put an overwhelming burden on the private sector. This actually costs us future jobs and opportunities.
Thanks to Pepi Stojanovski for his photo from Unsplash
