Left-Wing Activist Roasted After Saying Business Owners ‘Chose’ To Lay Off Workers
Millions of Americans have been laid off as the novel coronavirus continues to wreak havoc on the economy.
Employees and employers are both feeling the brunt of these difficult times.
So leave it to a dogmatic leftist to blame hard-working business owners for the suffering of American workers.
Author and liberal activist Sally Kohn seems to think that businesses suffering significant losses during this crisis “chose” to lay off their employees.
I’m really tired of reading how business owners are “forced” to layoff workers. No one made them do that. They *chose* to do that. Not saying it isn’t a hard choice, during a hard time, but to say they were *forced* obscures their agency AND casts owners/CEOs as the victims.
— Sally Kohn (@sallykohn) April 9, 2020
“I’m really tired of reading how business owners are ‘forced’ to layoff workers. No one made them do that. They *chose* to do that,” Kohn tweeted Thursday.
“Not saying it isn’t a hard choice, during a hard time, but to say they were *forced* obscures their agency AND casts owners/CEOs as the victims.”
Thankfully, conservative comedian Steven Crowder was there to set her straight.
Crowder, known for his wildly popular YouTube series “Louder with Crowder,” had some choice words for Kohn and her ignorant statement.
Actually, yes they were forced to close, and that’s why they had to layoff workers. No money coming into the business, no money to pay employees. https://t.co/UE6oYZvrJj
— Steven Crowder (@scrowder) April 9, 2020
“Actually, yes they were forced to close, and that’s why they had to layoff workers. No money coming into the business, no money to pay employees,” Crowder wrote.
The activist tried to defend herself from an avalanche of criticism in several condescending follow-up tweets, all the while standing by her claims that it’s a business owner’s “choice” to fire employees.
“Oh Lordy, Twitter. Grasp the nuance of what I’m saying. I am NOT saying that it’s not a hard, sometimes impossible decision. But it’s still a DECISION. A CHOICE. Think about the meaning/implications of the word forced. No one is literally being forced to layoff workers,” Kohn wrote.
“AND that attitude in general, that business owners/CEOs take certain steps because they HAVE TO as opposed to because they CHOOSE TO, helps mask exploitation of workers in general in a million other ways — ‘have no choice’ but to pay low wages, no benefits, etc,” she said.
Kohn’s logic falls in line with the Marxist dogma of the left — workers are always the victims, and private employers are exploiting them.
In reality, American businesses and workers are free to enter the consensual exchange of payment for services. If workers don’t like the wages they are being paid, they are free to go elsewhere.
Unfortunately for Kohn, Crowder wasn’t the only one to speak up against her ideological misconceptions.
Several business owners also voiced their displeasure with Kohn’s comments.
I’m not laying off my employees because I want to, I’m letting them go because I have no income coming in and, therefore I can’t pay their salaries. Get a clue.
— Rossana Rolón Grau (@Je_suis_Rossana) April 9, 2020
There’s no income coming in for small businesses and most operate on small margins without a huge amount of capital. I own one and this is an incredibly stressful time. Paychecks would bounce. It’s not a choice, it’s excruciating.
— Harmony Wright (@harmonyrwright) April 9, 2020
My Mom cried when she had to lay off her 125 employees.
Most “speakers/authors” who live in Brooklyn have literally no clue how 95% of America lives. #rufftaek
— Mark Spiegelberg (@MarkSpiegs) April 9, 2020
Kohn is implying that by laying off their workers, business owners are making a greedy “choice” that is only best for themselves. That couldn’t be further from the truth.
These businesses cannot afford to pay their workers.
By laying them off, they are giving those employees a chance to make money elsewhere, whether that be through another company or through unemployment benefits.
Before the next time Kohn decides to preach from the pulpit of Twitter, she might want to read up on basic economics.
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