Leadership Quote by Tim Bishop

He’s doing a neat bit of political jujitsu: talking about unemployment without letting it stay an abstract number. The line hinges on “of course,” a small phrase that tries to smuggle in inevitability. By invoking “the working of supply and demand,” Bishop frames wage stagnation not as a partisan failure or a moral scandal but as a mechanical outcome. That’s a classic move for a politician who wants to sound sober, competent, and above ideological drama: the economy as physics, not a fight.

The specific intent is to widen the indictment. Joblessness is already bad; his point is that its damage radiates outward, quietly disciplining even the employed. A “larger number of people unemployed” becomes leverage against everyone’s paycheck, because employers don’t have to compete as hard. The subtext is solidarity-by-threat: if you’re working, don’t get comfortable. Your wages are being negotiated in the shadow of someone else’s layoff.

Notice the precision of “do not rise at the normal level,” which softens the blow before the harsher landing: “a drop in real wages.” He’s distinguishing nominal pay from purchasing power, translating economic pain into lived reality without getting sentimental. “Last year” anchors it to a recent, measurable moment, signaling accountability and urgency.

Contextually, this is the language of post-recession politics: leaders trying to explain why recovery doesn’t feel like recovery. It’s not just that people can’t find jobs; it’s that the jobs that remain can’t reliably buy a life.