The racket they call the "labor market"
Stirling Newberry gives some good numbers on wages. It's nothing that's not known, but it shows up the gall of this country's bosses.
Average hourly pay in 1975 was $4.61. This year, it was $15.88.
If pay had moved up at the same rate as inflation, it would have been $18.31.
If pay had also moved up to reflect productivity growth, it would have been $32.67.
Looked at another way, in 1975, 74% of GDP went to wages, counting health care and pensions. In 2005, that same figure is 57% (BEA) -- counting the busily multiplying millionaires at the top.
How well that golden calf, the free market, has served us!
I don't wish to get stuck in the morass the "reasonable" left detours at, where they expect everyone to realize at once that these numbers are a bad sign. What we are witnessing is a betrayal of our society, and I shall say why.
By its very definition, a republic is something that exists for the betterment of all. Today, those at the top have convinced the rest that it's a contest, and to live well you must defeat those around you. Get a trade! - find the right position! - work your way up! - this is the cheerful, mind-numbing, all too theoretical mantra that, in taking to heart, we have substituted for true opportunity.
The bosses and their friends say if everyone has an equal chance at the start, that means they're equal. But even if this were true (class, race, connections all say otherwise), it would not be equality. It turns this republic of ours into a squalid upward clamber, where it's now understood that if you fail in the race they made for us, you don't deserve to live with dignity.
Differences in skills and ambition are one thing. There will always be a "career ladder" of some sort; that is not the problem. The problem is that over the decades, layoffs, offshoring, automation, monetary policy, and just plain abuse of power have made ladders leading to nowhere, for all but a privileged or lucky few. And into the bosses' pockets the money flows instead.
Society depends on trust and cooperation to work optimally. The bosses have abused this trust, seeing their employees as walking profit drains rather than as members of their community deserving treatment in good faith.
If they keep it up, we reserve the right to take charge and create a society better conforming to our values.
Average hourly pay in 1975 was $4.61. This year, it was $15.88.
If pay had moved up at the same rate as inflation, it would have been $18.31.
If pay had also moved up to reflect productivity growth, it would have been $32.67.
Looked at another way, in 1975, 74% of GDP went to wages, counting health care and pensions. In 2005, that same figure is 57% (BEA) -- counting the busily multiplying millionaires at the top.
How well that golden calf, the free market, has served us!
I don't wish to get stuck in the morass the "reasonable" left detours at, where they expect everyone to realize at once that these numbers are a bad sign. What we are witnessing is a betrayal of our society, and I shall say why.
By its very definition, a republic is something that exists for the betterment of all. Today, those at the top have convinced the rest that it's a contest, and to live well you must defeat those around you. Get a trade! - find the right position! - work your way up! - this is the cheerful, mind-numbing, all too theoretical mantra that, in taking to heart, we have substituted for true opportunity.
The bosses and their friends say if everyone has an equal chance at the start, that means they're equal. But even if this were true (class, race, connections all say otherwise), it would not be equality. It turns this republic of ours into a squalid upward clamber, where it's now understood that if you fail in the race they made for us, you don't deserve to live with dignity.
Differences in skills and ambition are one thing. There will always be a "career ladder" of some sort; that is not the problem. The problem is that over the decades, layoffs, offshoring, automation, monetary policy, and just plain abuse of power have made ladders leading to nowhere, for all but a privileged or lucky few. And into the bosses' pockets the money flows instead.
Society depends on trust and cooperation to work optimally. The bosses have abused this trust, seeing their employees as walking profit drains rather than as members of their community deserving treatment in good faith.
If they keep it up, we reserve the right to take charge and create a society better conforming to our values.
posted by Minivet at 4:55 PM
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