Wealth and Employment

I agree that employment is a significant component of wealth both for states and individuals, but this is certainly not the only factor. High or full employment in a state will ensure economic stability because it will keep money moving. Similarly, a person with a job is more likely ensured to be economically stable because he or she has a reliable and consistent flow of cash. However, making a generalization that there is a direct connection between employment and wealth is risky because there are so many exceptions to this rule.
First of all, plenty of people have minimum wage jobs that don’t pay enough to support a family. Even though an individual may have a job, he or she might still need government aid in order to put food on the plate and keep a roof over the head of the family. Being employed does not necessarily equate with being wealthy. Contrarily, there may be an individual who, for some reason or another, does not need to work to be wealthy. Perhaps he inherited money or made enough money earlier in his life and no longer needs any source of income. Just because this person in unemployed does not mean he is not wealthy.
On the state level similar arguments can be made. A majority of people in a state can be employed while the state remains poor because wages are too low or other factors like other prices of goods are inflated. If people aren’t making enough money to consume, the economy is in just as much trouble because the money will be moving around less. I am no expert on economics whatsoever, but it’s clear there are factors that will keep a highly employed state from being wealthy so I don’t think Ruggie can say with any sort of certainty that a wealthy state is one with full employment.
Just as we discussed in class on Tuesday, what does it mean to be wealthy? Does it mean that members of a wealthy state are just able to scrape by or that the members are living a life of abundance? I think full employment will ensure that members of a state survive, but I would not say that this would make them wealthy because that word implies abundance to me. Wealth is a loaded word and an unattainable goal. We can always strive toward wealth, but it’s not possible for this concept to be fully achieved. Employment is one of the means to this end.