Economics
Times Record "Sustain Maine" op-ed series
Work and Well-Being We are what we do
October 2003
David Vail
Ever since Ben Franklin's Poor Richard preached the virtue of self-improvement through hard work, Americans have defined themselves by their livelihoods. Today, we continue to live by Franklin's adage: we are what we do. In The Overworked American, Juliet Schorr documents that, more from necessity than from Poor Richard's virtue, Americans log longer work hours than we did 20 years ago. We work more than our counterparts in any other industrial society. Paradoxically, at the same time several million Americans cannot find jobs at all and millions more are not adequately educated or trained for the skilled and well-compensated jobs that are available.
The Buddhist expression right livelihood conveys an affirmative notion of work that contributes to personal wholeness and well-being. In an economy where nearly all of us work for wages or salaries, a right livelihood would mean employment that is secure, challenging and fulfilling, pays a livable wage, and allows ample time for family, community and leisure activities. A sustainable economy would guarantee all its participants opportunities for both quality employment and quality time, over their lifetimes and across generations. Since quality work and quality time are so central to our overall quality of life, it seems obvious that an enlightened society would make these core priorities in the social contract with its members.
A glance at employment and demographic patterns in Maine makes it clear that many of our daughters, sons, and neighbors are unable to find right livelihoods here. Although our official unemployment rate is below the national rate, many Maine working people face serious problems. The numbers of long-term unemployed, as well as discouraged workers who have given up the job search, are exceptionally high. For more than a decade, low-end service jobs have been replacing well-paid manufacturing jobs. Only two-thirds of workers earn a livable wage, according to the Maine Economic Growth Council. A shrinking proportion of small employers offer health benefits. Maine has the sad distinction of topping the nation in the share of workers who must hold multiple jobs to make ends meet. Education and training slots are available to just one-eighth of the adult workers who need re-skilling to stave off human obsolescence. And, not surprisingly, there is a continuous out-migration of talented young people - the key to ensuring Maine's long term economic sustainability
A small and comparatively poor state like Maine has little capacity to wag the dog of federal policy or to counteract national economic conditions. The reckless slashing of federal assistance to states and America's current "jobless recovery" are essentially beyond our control. That makes it all the more heartening to see Maine initiating its own efforts to enhance work and well-being. Our minimum wage is 20% above the federal level. The Dirigo health initiative will eventually ensure basic care for all. The new community college system will broaden adult education opportunities. The Governor's Office has made a strong verbal commitment to post-secondary education and career opportunities for Maine's youth. And option 1.B on next week's ballot gives voters a chance to support crucial property tax relief directly targeted at low-income homeowners and renters.
Several core policies could enhance working people's chance to find right livelihoods. These include lifetime learning opportunities for all; paid family and medical leave; four weeks or more of paid vacation; movement toward a standard 36 hour workweek; single-payer health care that decouples insurance from businesses' payroll costs; and a blend of labor market policies and small business assistance programs to create lots more livable wage jobs by boosting workers' productivity. Proposals like these may seem utopian, but in fact, each of them has been adopted by Canada or by European countries.
Moving this bold agenda will require a renewal of political organizing around the issues of work and time, inspired by a renewed commitment to the well-being of working people. That was the vision that animated progressive legislation from the New Deal to the 1960s, instituting reforms we now take for granted: the minimum wage, unemployment insurance, the 40 hour workweek, occupational safety standards, the right to organize, and other measures benefiting all working people.
With crony capitalism rampant in Washington, building a movement committed to the well-being of working people will be a heroic effort, especially in these fiscally strapped times. It will demand leaders dedicated to equal opportunity and determined to look beyond media buzz and short election cycles. Common sense says that this should be a winning agenda. After all, working people make up the vast majority of America's voters. If we are smart and tenacious, we can make a start by affirming our commitment to quality jobs and quality time here in Maine.
David Vail is a Maine Center for Economic Policy board member. Much of this article derives from a MECEP report, Getting By - Livable Wages in 2002, available by calling 622-7381.