Let's value working people

#271

My Dear Friend of Democracy,

I met a couple the other day over dinner. A friend of ours had brought us together.

Snowing outside, he had delicious Käsespätzle (German Cheese Spaetzle) with salad at our warm place (a typical dish from the south of Germany), and we talked, among other things, about our jobs.

They both have a job I want to talk about here.

It’s a job that is one of the most important for society.

The two of them help people get back into working life - after accidents, after drug use, after psychological crises.

The couple, both in their 40s, teach people professional skills. How to communicate on an equal level. How to be punctual. How to keep appointments. Things like that. The course lasts 11 months. After that, 75 per cent enter the private job market. The other 25 per cent try state-supported jobs.

Why am I telling you this?

Because work is the prerequisite for a functioning society.

For two reasons:

Firstly, jobs make a valuable contribution to others, to society. Cashier, landscape gardener, doctor. Every job creates added value for others. Otherwise, they wouldn't exist in a free society. Because that's what is special about jobs in democracy: they are taken on voluntarily. And those who accept the results of this work usually do so voluntarily. So, we can assume that in a democracy, jobs always create added value.

Secondly, work is the basis for social coexistence to be possible at all. Work finances society. The financing of our society works according to a simple principle: We work, receive a salary and give a portion of it to society through taxes. Either directly with our salary (in the form of income tax) or later when we shop (in the form of VAT).

✊ Functioning labour markets, as the economist would say, are the financial basis for successful social coexistence. The portion of their wages that people give to society is used to finance public tasks: road building, aid for people experiencing poverty, school education. Things like that. We should, therefore, value working people. Like the jobs of my new acquaintances, who use their work to help others get jobs.

See you in Democracy,

Johannes