Whatever happened to companies bearing the responsibility to hire people as apprentices for on the job training?

When did it become the taxpayer’s responsibility to fund or help fund the training of perspective employees or employees of a private company?

At some point a few decades ago the burden of paying for perspective employees was shifted from the private company to the taxpayer and now we see a move for employees training to be paid for or partially paid for by us the taxpayer.

The Ann Arbor News/Mlive.com has reported on House Bill 5936 introduced by State Representative Gretchen Driskell, Democrat from Saline, which would create an apprenticeship tax credit program.  This tax credit program would allow students working toward a high school diploma or GED to work part-time while receiving onsite job training.

Every employer would receive a tax credit of up to $2,000 per year for each registered apprentice they train.

State Representative Gretchen Driskell was quoted in the article stating:

I'm confident we can rebuild Michigan's economy and keep our kids right here in Michigan by strengthening opportunities for them to develop the skills they need to enter the 21st century economy.  Small businesses are innovative, hardworking and locally driven, representing the best of Michigan's values.  They're also the engines of job growth in our economy. In order for Michigan to succeed, we need our small businesses to succeed.

My thought on her statement is if small business are the engines of job growth in our economy then why does the Democrat party put so many roadblocks in their way.  Why does the Democrat party make it so difficult for these “engines of job growth in our economy” via needless regulations and a higher tax burden?

I want people to be trained in the skill set they need to succeed in life but is that the responsibility of the taxpayer and not the individual.  Again at what point did we move from the responsibility of the individual to achieve these skills sets to the taxpayer?

One's philosophy is not best expressed in words; it is expressed in the choices one makes... and the choices we make are ultimately our responsibility.

Did we create this problem when we emphasized that a college degree is the path to a successful life when it comes to a job and money?  Did we de-emphasize the work of the blue collar job when we emphasized the work of the white collar worker?

Let’s talk about this today on The Live with Renk Show which airs Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to noon. To let me know your thoughts during the show please call (269) 441-9595.

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