A classic solution to so-called worker shortages: offer higher pay. That would probably convince workers to invest in acquiring coveted skills and enter the manufacturing workforce.

Which is one reason why Oren Cass, the chief economist and founder of American Compass, a conservative think tank, says he’s skeptical whenever employers complain about worker shortages.

" I have less than zero sympathy for employers who go around complaining about labor shortages and skills gaps," Cass says. He joked that he has a side hustle, running an “incredibly innovative” biotech firm. “It employs leading scientists at $10 an hour to develop extraordinary cures. I have 500,000 job openings as well, and I have not been able to fill one of them.”

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