Paychecks are the vehicle for upward mobility, wealth and personal fulfillment in life, says Mike Varney. So why aren’t we doing everything in our power to create more of the jobs that are the source of those paychecks?

It’s all very simple. Companies create jobs. Jobs are what create paychecks. Paychecks are what gives individuals and families purchasing power and choice in their lives. Jobs and paychecks create futures and give humans a sense of purpose, contribution and connection. Jobs are the ticket that enable people to climb from survival to self-actualization on psychologist Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.

Joblessness creates the opposite effect: a downward spiral from hope to despair. Aspiration to desperation. In speaking with many of our local non-profit leaders, I have developed a real appreciation for the link between joblessness and insidious societal problems such as domestic abuse, drug and alcohol abuse, child abuse, homelessness and destruction of the human spirit. Societal ills are generally reported to increase and decrease in direct correlation to employment. Poverty and joblessness have no place to take root in a society where opportunity abounds and where people have a strong work ethic.

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