The term starts with classic media manipulation
For too long, big businesses and media conglomerates have propagated messages that suggest that only wealthy individuals can be graced with that moniker: “job creators.” The time has come to reappropriate and annex this title from the privileged minority.
News outlets are masterminds at twisting words to fit this greater script. Their training must be incredible, because they’re naturals at it. The trite, overused, and vapid phrases support a message that “wealthy people create jobs.”
The wealthiest elite stole the term, job creators. Instead of saying “rich,” “wealthy,” or “top one-percent,” the term puts a positive, flattering spin to scary inequality. What could possibly be wrong with job creators? Why would we want to discourage job creation? We need to help these job creators do their job — create jobs! (You can find beautiful examples of this media manipulation on Fox.)
This widely circulated logical fallacy has long been hurting the masses. Billionaires are often seen as the lubricant for our great American society. The dream that we are born into is promoted by their unique skill set, intellect, and economic wherewithal. Where would we be as a country, people, and world without the wealthiest people creating jobs? What would the world look like if we just removed the economic power that is trapped within the economic elite — our infamous one-percenters?
Started from the bottom now we here…
Let’s clear up this myth real quick. Below, I have ten (off the top of my head) of the greatest entrepreneurs of the last few decades. None of them were billionaires or part of the wealthy elite prior to creating thousands of jobs.
1. Steve Jobs (Apple)
2. Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook)
3. Elon Musk (PayPal, Tesla Motors, SpaceX)
4. Larry Page (Google)
5. Sergey Brin (Google)
6. Bill Gates (Microsoft)
7. Sean Parker (Napster, Spotify, Facebook)
8. Jeff Bezos (Amazon.com)
9. Howard Schultz (Starbucks)
10. Kevin Plank (Under Armour)
There’s no doubt that we’ve benefited as a world and country from these entrepreneurs. But to suggest that their billionaire status created jobs would be naive and dangerous. They created jobs through grit, timing, and intellect, but it came before the money.
Jobs was tripping on LSD and going through spiritual journeys, and then segued to the computer industry.
“[Steve Jobs] never finished college, dropping out after 18 months to take random, creative classes (such as that calligraphy, which he said is one of the main reasons why the graphics look so great on Apple devices). He was dropping in on these classes and just grabbing as much knowledge as possible without actually getting a grade in them. During the course of that he slept on the floor of friends’ dorm rooms, returning Coke bottles for food money, and getting weekly free meals at the local temple. (Source)”
He wasn’t wealthy, just a hippie looking to find salvation in the next great technology.
Larry Page and Sergey Brin were mere graduate students at Stanford University when their lives were forever changed. They weren’t rich, just motivated entrepreneurs.
Who are the real job creators?
We have entered a centralized, monopolized, anti-trust-ridden epoch where only a select few companies, organizations, and people control the dialogue. Fox News shouldn’t be able to manipulate the American people into thinking that wealthy people are job creators. And the short answer: they’re not.
Today, we must reclaim the title of “job creators” to their rightful owners: consumers and small business entrepreneurs. Every time we choose to search through Google, check/update our Facebook status, click and clack over our Apple keyboards, and slip on that Under Armour for a run, we are making an active, consumer-based choice. We are supporting jobs for that company and industry. That purchase and usage is our choice; ultimately, we create and support those jobs through this spending.
Trickle-down economics doesn’t work, and neither does trickle-down job creation. Let’s get our title back.
Michelle Jackson says
I love that this post examines the individual’s power in our economy. Not only do our spending choices have power so does our creativity.
Kirsten says
You had me with the screen shot from a Office Space, which should be required viewing in all Engineering 101 classes… But I digress from the point of your article – I wonder how many jobs HAVE been created by the 1% )and how long those jobs survived or didn’t get transferred overseas) versus the talented, but less wealthy individuals. Your article was food for thought.
Sam Lustgarten says
Haha! Glad someone noticed this! Loved that movie.
Thias says
I completely agree with your analysis. Once companies get large and mature, a lot of their growth comes from acquisitions of small to medium size companies that have already hired up employees. I personally enjoyed the analysis of the 10 entrepreneurs you pulled out. It’s always a nice reminder that those companies came from an idea and grew to what they are now.
Sam Lustgarten says
Thias,
You got it! It starts with simple ideas that meet consumer needs/wants. Then, successful entrepreneurs tend to develop wealth and jobs. That’s the traditional business timeline. We’re talking about trickle-up economics. 🙂
Sam
Kayla @ Red Debted Stepchild says
these are all great points. None of these “famous” people were famous when they first started their work and created jobs. Though, it is true that jobs continue to be created even more-so now that they are big companies that can afford to hire more employees.
"She Said" ~ frugalvoices.com says
If you get the chance, check out “Generation Like” on PBS ~ http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/generation-like/ . It’s a great companion piece to this article. Love your focus on these things, Sam. Thought provoking, as always.
Sam Lustgarten says
Thanks for the recommendation to watch this! I’ll definitely check it out. Thanks so much, Sam
thebrokeandbeautifullife says
I think it will be really interesting to see how things evolve in the coming years. People are turning away from the big corporations, not just as consumers, but also as employees. The shift towards entrepreneurship and local, grassroots innovation I find incredibly exciting.