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I agree with this above completely, I wonder how you can not.
I would go further and say that the weakening and destruction of unions has had more to do with the stagnation of wages than almost anything else. Labor and trades unions may be the key to restoring the middle class if we are brave enough to demand it.
Yes and no. Public sector unions actually are to blame, in part, for the big pension debts that states like Illinois, California, and New Jersey have.
As for private sector unions, some are good and some not good. A bunch of them are actually helping the illegals, even though bringing them in helps drive down wages, a fact that early labor organizers like Cesar Chavez knew quite well and hence were outspoken against the guest worker programs and illegal immigration.
Now, the unions care more about getting more dues paying members so they can get more clout with their pals the Democrat Party than they do for their workers. Same thing where the unions used to protect coal, etc, jobs, but now they don't as much against the Democrats and their phony climate change agenda designed to destroy coal, etc, jobs.
Those things, in factor, have turned off many in the working class from the Democrat Party, which is why, a Center for American Progress memo shows, they actually now rely on the continued importation of illegals , in hopes of getting them to be able to vote, to continue to stay in power and to continue to exist.
What has been hurting the Republican Party has been, in part, first the attacks from the Left, which attacked our morality, which the Democrats slowly shifted away from and which the younger generations, starting in the 1960's, started picking up those immoral attitudes, hence why it became harder for Republicans to win.
Another reason was that the Republican Party has in fact been drifting from its socially conservative roots to being more liberal, causing evangelicals to not turn out as much.
The last election was more of an exception as people were so terrified that a Hillary victory that would mean the end of religious freedom, endless Amnesty for illegals, loads of "refugees" being sent here, and a likely attack on the 2nd Amendment via her Supreme Court pick, not to mention her open threat to kill coal jobs. So people that were more liberal generally or, the reverse, were more socially conservative, jumped on the Trump train rather than let her win.
The workers who can now be denied overtime at 25K a year just by calling them administrative, or management.
This is one point upon which I'm in agreement with the OP, but the challenge is to empower the responsible individual, rather than a "fight promoter" which does little more than peddle class warfare, settle for little more than the market will pay, and collects dues for the "privilege".
Take it from one who spent eighteen years in a union shop, management hates direct incentives, because when they're available, the work force concentrates on that figure, and nothing else. The unwanted aspects of the job simply pile up until someone is forced to address them.
And most managers have to recognize, and early on, that the real challenge is finding a way to get those dirty, smelly, unwanted jobs done. In a more open economy, with stronger local policing of the "safety net", those jobs would gravitate down to the absolute bottom of the dung-heap, but too many union officials (and their political allies) recognize that there is a completely unmotivated hard-core who are their most loyal followers. So the entire operation stagnates, and foreign competition from less-soft societies gains ground.
We need an incentive (possibly, something along the lines of academic tenure) to assure the most loyal and responsible employees that they're not going to be stuck at the bottom of the "pecking order" and forgotten,. Because one unfortunate side effect of the expansion of civil rights and diversity, and the substitution of done-and-forgotten personal service work for tangible industrial production has been to provide employers and supervisors with a much larger supply of "fresh meat".
Last edited by 2nd trick op; 01-20-2018 at 03:27 PM..
This is one point upon which I'm in agreement with the OP, but the challenge is to empower the responsible individual, rather than a "fight promoter" which does little more than peddle class warfare, settle for little more than the market will pay, and collects dues for the "privilege".
Take it from one who spent eighteen years in a union shop, management hates direct incentives, because when they're available, the work force concentrates on that figure, and nothing else. The unwanted aspects of the job simply pile up until someone is forced to address them.
And most managers have to recognize, and early on, that the real challenge is finding a way to get those dirty, smelly, unwanted jobs done. In a more open economy, with stronger local policing of the "safety net", those jobs would gravitate down to the absolute bottom of the dung-heap, but too many union officials (and their political allies) recognize that there is a completely unmotivated hard-core who are their most loyal followers. So the entire operation stagnates, and foreign competition from less-soft societies gains ground.
We need an incentive (possibly, something along the lines of academic tenure) to assure the most loyal and responsible employees that they're not going to be stuck at the bottom of the "pecking order" and forgotten,. Because one unfortunate side effect of the expansion of civil rights and diversity, and the substitution of done-and-forgotten personal service work for tangible industrial production has been to provide employers and supervisors with a much larger supply of "fresh meat".
I read your post with interest. I agree that positive incentives need to be incorporated into the work place. Management compels their subordinates to do unpaid overtime with the threat of unemployment. With paid overtime, employees would be lined up down the block for the opportunity. Paid overtime could be a reward for top performers. The vague promise of a management position somewhere down the line remains what I called it, a vague promise.
Back in 1938, Roosevelt meant the wage classification of "salaried" to be for upper management. The level at which overtime was mandated was $23,660. This has never been re calibrated for inflation. When you think of those should be salaried in 1938 keep in mind that Lou Gehrig and Joe DiMaggio were making $30,000 and $25,000 respectively.
One of the more memorable quotes from FDR on this topic ( apologies if someone else already posted this):
“The liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerated the growth of private power to a point where it becomes stronger than the democratic state itself. That in its essence is fascism: ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or any controlling private power.”
It's more than passingly strange that so called "conservatives" in the heartland are playing right into this, through their passive acceptance of Citizen's United for example. They ACTUALLY BELIEVE that illegal immigrants are more of a threat to them than handing over the sanctity of the electoral process to the 1% monied interests.
Yes and no. Public sector unions actually are to blame, in part, for the big pension debts that states like Illinois, California, and New Jersey have.
I can't speak to pension debt in Illinois, California, or New Jersey, but I can speak for New York. Thomas DiNapoli Comptroller for the State of New York has been doing a stellar job managing the New York State employee pension fund. In fact pensions are funded from the dividends and interest payments alone in NYS.
New York State employees have two major unions and a number of minor unions so one should be careful when one listens to those who have an anti-union agenda like the billionaires and the Republicans.
Do you ever ask yourselves why your beliefs as a conservative are such a close match to what CEOs want?
Do you ever ask why?
Do you ever ponder that treating business as the enemy and the government the solution for everything will eventually destroy America? Or does that even matter to you?
Lou Dobbs and Pat Buchanan both have good conservative credentials. Lou Dobbs had a prime time show. Pat Buchanan ran for President. Lou Dobbs is no longer a prime time anchor and Pat Buchanan was denounced as an extremist when he ran for President.
People who watch FOX news don't trust science. Scientists don't have an agenda. They only have evidence and proofs.
People who watch FOX news hate liberals but Medicaid a liberal program is a major way to get medical attention in primarily the red states.
People who watch FOX news fault the Federal Reserve for the Great Depression and the Great Recession but can't tell me why.
Why do you believe that the minimum wage shouldn't be raised even though it would only raise prices by 1.45%?
Why do you think that the recent tax cut is so great when it is only throwing you the crumbs for only eight years at that?
You don't support unions.
You vote for people who appoint judges who rule against working people.
Do you ever ask yourselves why your beliefs as a conservative are such a close match to what CEOs want?
Do you ever ask why?
Do YOU ever ask yourself why there are so many DEM CEO's?
Do you ever ponder that treating business as the enemy and the government the solution for everything will eventually destroy America? Or does that even matter to you?
Threats of "Destroying America" are greatly exaggerated. To even quote such things is a measure of naivete.
We were fine before Obama and we are mostly fine after. The UN has not taken over the US, we are not a communist nation, Texas has not been invaded, and I still have my gun. Perhaps the Democrats aren't the devil and neither are the Republicans.
Do you ever ponder that treating business as the enemy and the government the solution for everything will eventually destroy America? Or does that even matter to you?
LOL, right now they are one and the same.
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