Our state just used this ‘labor shortage’ canard to cut the number of weeks the state will offer unemployment in the future. Thing is, it won’t take effect until next year, long after the federal supplement expires. But they used this current situation to justify it. Meanwhile, the chamber of commerce and restaurant owners who support this likely won’t see a drop in their unemployment insurance premiums that they pay, and they will make people more reluctant to go into a highly variable job market like hospitality.

The restaurant owners fought raising the minimum wage, got PPP loans during the shutdown and didn’t pay employees, fought to end unemployment benefits. And now they think people are going to want to work for them?