In his Second Inaugural Address, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued what he called his "Second Bill of Rights."

One of the "rights" FDR enumerated was the right to a job. So, yes, according to FDR, you are owed a job.

It is this attitude that is behind a lot of misguided political action today.

In a terrific piece at The Federalist, Michael Blatt explains how this view of a job as a right influences politics today:

Donald Trump says if he were president, he would force companies that outsourced jobs to bring them back to America. Bernie Sanders says he would raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour to put more money into people’s pockets. Occupy Wall Street activist Harrison Schultz said we should all get free houses and he shouldn’t have to work a “menial” job as a dishwasher or a waiter.

All of them share a common viewpoint: Americans should be entitled to material benefits from somebody else. It’s time somebody told them there’s no such thing as a free lunch and no one deserves anything by virtue of his existence.

. . .

But it is really Trump’s (or President Obama’s) responsibility? Is Trump running for CEO of Carrier? No, he’s running for president, and the president isn’t in charge of the business decisions of private companies.

As Blatt says, it is never easy to see people lose their jobs (though Mexican immigrants might be grateful to  step in when people have priced themselves out of the market). But we act as if people are entitled to a job. That is different from being sorry if they don't have one and urging them to try to get one. We now feel people are entitled to a job. We aren't. If you have a job, you are lucky–and you should realize that. When somebody is laid off, the correct course of action is not to be angry at government policy but to do what can be done to hang on and pursue another job. Blatt writes:

There will be struggles in life. Maybe you might even think it is unfair at times. Life is not a cakewalk. But we must work hard to overcome adversity. Throughout history humans have shown exceptional fortitude to survive and prosper in circumstances much tougher than having to change jobs and move. People can and do find new jobs every day. It’s a mark of bad character to demand the fruits of other people’s labor rather than fulfilling your responsibility to support yourself.

If this sounds cruel, it is only because we have begun to believe that government must solve all our problems.

It should also be noted that many people are "functionally unemployable," which means they don't show up on time, don't work diligently, don't have the requisite skills, and can't pass a drug test. Do these people have a right to a job?

Instead of trying to force companies to come back to the United States, we need to create a business-friendly atmosphere.

Part of that will be educating workers not to regard their jobs as rights. 

If you see your job as an arrangement between you and an employer rather than a right, you are more likely to be willing to perform your tasks in a way that makes the employer want to keep you.

As for "rights," stick with Madison's enumeration instead of FDR's–his list is mostly just a call to enlarge government anyway.