Political commentator Sally Kohn doesn’t understand how businesses work.
And by that, I mean she really, really doesn’t understand how businesses work.
According to Kohn, businesses are never “forced” to lay off their workers – not even when a mandatory government shutdown due to, oh for example, a global pandemic bans them from opening their doors and making money to pay said employees.
“I'm really tired of reading how business owners are ‘forced’ to layoff workers,” she whined on Twitter. “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. 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.
After Twitter pointed out the sheer stupidity of her statement, Kohn doubled down.
“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,” she rambled. “Think about the meaning/implications of the word forced. No one is literally being forced to layoff workers.”
“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 continued, shoving her foot even farther into her own mouth.
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.
— Sally Kohn (@sallykohn) April 9, 2020
It appears to be lost on Kohn that when the government forces a business owner to close his or her doors, cutting off their revenue stream and thereby wiping out the money that they use to pay their employees, that employer is, in fact, “forced” to lay off the workers they can no longer pay because they have been “forced” to close by the government. Absolutely none of which is a "choice," unless Kohn is implying that an employer should retain their workers without pay. Which is called slavery.
Then again, one would actually have to work for a living to understand such things, so we can’t really blame poor Sally for not grasping this basic concept.