Skilled workers Quote by Don Watkins
““Low-skilled workers tend to bid down wages for low-skilled work, which sounds bad until you remember that this lowers the cost of the products we all buy. And high-skilled workers bring us all the benefits of their ability, which includes starting new businesses (see the careers of Andrew Carnegie, PayPal’s Elon Musk, Intel’s Andy Grove, and Google’s Sergey Brin, among many others).””
About This Quote
Source Speech: Economic Commentary, 2020
Skilled labor drives innovation while low-skilled labor reduces product costs, balancing economic growth and affordability.
In simple terms: Skilled workers innovate; low-skilled workers cut costs.
Key Takeaway
Recognize both roles in the economy.
Themes
economics
labor markets
innovation
Mood
analytical
balanced
Type
explanatory
informative
When to use this quote
- policy making
- business strategy
- consumer pricing
- career planning
Key Concepts
human capital
comparative advantage
Questions to Reflect On
- How can we protect low-skilled workers while maintaining low prices?
- What policies support skill development?
A Different Perspective
Low-skilled wages can depress living standards for those workers.
![“We ought to be opening up our borders to skilled labour from all parts of the world because [the state of the world is as follows: ] if we were to do that we would increase the supply of skilled workers that our schools have been unable to create and as a consequence of that we would lower the…” quote by Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/b66/alan-greenspan-1834_average_we-ought-to-be-opening-up-our-borders-to_163888.jpg)
![“This [Gang of Eight bill (S.744)] is far, far too many low-skilled workers that are going to take jobs and pull down wages of people unemployed and underemployed right now.” quote by Jeff Sessions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/186/jeff-sessions-2380_bills_this-gang-of-eight-bill-s-744-is-far-far_247686.jpg)
