Americans were told since the early 80s that all that wealth would trickle down on them like so much rain. They'd be swimming in wealth. The middle class would be healthier and have more wealth than ever before.
Well, that didn't happen. Every single cent that could be saved was sent straight to the top and paid out as bonuses or ridiculously inflated salaries to the handful at the top or paid out as dividends.
The workers were the only ones who didn't enjoy the benefits of a more successful company. In fact, quite the opposite. As companies grew larger and got the taste of blood (ridiculous profits), the companies in turn cut benefits and wages and froze hiring...because they realized that workers in a recession would work twice as hard for half as much if they had to in order to keep their jobs.
The fallacy here is that politicians always say, 'Nobody likes a recession. Nobody.' Which is clearly not true because companies have been posting record profits for some time. They're getting very skilled labor in some cases for the same price they would pay them back in 1997. Maybe even before that in some industries.
It really does create a type of wage slave who has no opportunity for a raise, continues to lose benefits and pension opportunities... all the things that unions protected and demanded back whenever the labor movement took hold and created a thriving middle class that became the envy of the rest of the world.
All that stuff is gone now because Americans stand alone. There is no union. There is one guy who is in debt to his eyes who is standing against a company worth billions who care in the least about the worker. Because when the economy is bad, there are hundreds lined up who will do the same job for less because they, too, are in heavy debt and running out of options.
There's a formula here if anyone would care to work it out and put it into historical context:
The funny thing is that we know what makes a strong middle class because fortunately at this point, we have about 100 years of economy to explore and research and put together the pieces of the puzzle that created a strong middle class.
Fortunately for the corporations, Americans today seem very disinterested in history and economic context and seem perfectly happy allowing the wealthy to dictate how the economy will run as the middle class continues to slide off into the lower class.
Americans have spoken loud and clear: They absolutely do not mind working for lower wages and having no real future to speak of. That is the collective decision that most Americans have agreed to. I know it, you know it and most certainly businesses and corporations know it.
You think that the middle class was started because companies were kind and handed things like high wages and vacation days, benefits, overtime pay, health care, etc? Keep thinking that. Those things were all established (and well established) because Americans stood up together and demanded it. Back then, they were smart enough to realize they were in control. They held the cards and they were the cogs in the system that allowed the company to profit at all. Those unions fought (literally), some died in making progress and building a middle class.
This generation handed all of those gains back to corporations and businesses on a silver platter without so much as a death rattle. Why wouldn't companies ask for it? No solidarity, no strength, no power of any kind. They basically kick workers around as they please until the worker gets sick of it and decides it's better to be impoverished than to work their asses off 55 hours a week to barely make ends meet.
No conspiracy theories here. This was all very much planned and well executed by the wealthy who controlled the strings. It worked like a charm and it will continue to work because Americans aren't smart enough to stand together to demand more, use their weight, their strength and their anger to say, 'We want better than we're getting or you won't continue to make profits. It's that simple.'
Who said that? Union workers back in the day, setting higher standards for wages and working conditions, vacations, days off, overtime pay, lunch breaks, etc.
If you think unions are 'outdated' or 'are only for labor positions', keep telling yourself that. I suppose that's much easier than actually learning how unions are applicable to any employment situation and that the strength drawn from unions is big enough to bring even the largest corporation to its knees, if necessary.
Otherwise, enjoy your scraps and forget about the future. Where you're at now is as far as you'll ever get most likely. Think about that for a minute because studies have shown that right now, it's more than likely true for most of you: This is as good as it's going to get financially if you're between the ages of 20 and 45.
And, oh yeah...you certainly will never be able to retire. Pensions and retiree benefits are a thing of the past.
Why? The people who fought for those things and won them have either died off or are dying. Why give that shit to a bunch of whiny, inconsequential workers who aren't even smart enough to stand up for themselves?
Corporations generally give you the least amount of pay and benefits as legally possible. They would most certainly give you less if they could. And believe me, they try. Every day in DC, they have lobbyists and special interests groups fighting against your interests and you have nobody fighting for you or your interests and that includes yourselves.
Stand up, organize and fight. Or sit down, take the scraps you're handed and shut up. Those are literally your only two choices. And that's the truth.
Well, that didn't happen. Every single cent that could be saved was sent straight to the top and paid out as bonuses or ridiculously inflated salaries to the handful at the top or paid out as dividends.
The workers were the only ones who didn't enjoy the benefits of a more successful company. In fact, quite the opposite. As companies grew larger and got the taste of blood (ridiculous profits), the companies in turn cut benefits and wages and froze hiring...because they realized that workers in a recession would work twice as hard for half as much if they had to in order to keep their jobs.
The fallacy here is that politicians always say, 'Nobody likes a recession. Nobody.' Which is clearly not true because companies have been posting record profits for some time. They're getting very skilled labor in some cases for the same price they would pay them back in 1997. Maybe even before that in some industries.
It really does create a type of wage slave who has no opportunity for a raise, continues to lose benefits and pension opportunities... all the things that unions protected and demanded back whenever the labor movement took hold and created a thriving middle class that became the envy of the rest of the world.
All that stuff is gone now because Americans stand alone. There is no union. There is one guy who is in debt to his eyes who is standing against a company worth billions who care in the least about the worker. Because when the economy is bad, there are hundreds lined up who will do the same job for less because they, too, are in heavy debt and running out of options.
There's a formula here if anyone would care to work it out and put it into historical context:
- The busting of the labor unions who made sure benefits remained fair and strong, demanded fair wages and high standards. Get rid of them and the rest is easy.
- Convince people who don't know any better that if the rich continue to get richer, the middle class will thrive and enjoy and reap the rewards of all that money the wealthy gathers. More than 30 years later, the Republicans (yes, even the poor, uneducated ones) are inisisting that it still works that way, despite all the evidence to the contrary.
- Create a system of credit where every American can basically hang themselves in debt. Use the banks and rig the system to create a recession where the ultra wealthy cannot lose either way. Watch the middle class slide off into poverty and watch those who still have a job go a far as humanly possible to keep that job. Working longer hours, sometimes for less pay. Doing the work of 2 or 3 people by themselves after positions are eliminated. Cutting benefits, raising the costs of healthcare benefits, cutting vacation days, eliminating sick days, etc, etc.
The funny thing is that we know what makes a strong middle class because fortunately at this point, we have about 100 years of economy to explore and research and put together the pieces of the puzzle that created a strong middle class.
Fortunately for the corporations, Americans today seem very disinterested in history and economic context and seem perfectly happy allowing the wealthy to dictate how the economy will run as the middle class continues to slide off into the lower class.
Americans have spoken loud and clear: They absolutely do not mind working for lower wages and having no real future to speak of. That is the collective decision that most Americans have agreed to. I know it, you know it and most certainly businesses and corporations know it.
You think that the middle class was started because companies were kind and handed things like high wages and vacation days, benefits, overtime pay, health care, etc? Keep thinking that. Those things were all established (and well established) because Americans stood up together and demanded it. Back then, they were smart enough to realize they were in control. They held the cards and they were the cogs in the system that allowed the company to profit at all. Those unions fought (literally), some died in making progress and building a middle class.
This generation handed all of those gains back to corporations and businesses on a silver platter without so much as a death rattle. Why wouldn't companies ask for it? No solidarity, no strength, no power of any kind. They basically kick workers around as they please until the worker gets sick of it and decides it's better to be impoverished than to work their asses off 55 hours a week to barely make ends meet.
No conspiracy theories here. This was all very much planned and well executed by the wealthy who controlled the strings. It worked like a charm and it will continue to work because Americans aren't smart enough to stand together to demand more, use their weight, their strength and their anger to say, 'We want better than we're getting or you won't continue to make profits. It's that simple.'
Who said that? Union workers back in the day, setting higher standards for wages and working conditions, vacations, days off, overtime pay, lunch breaks, etc.
If you think unions are 'outdated' or 'are only for labor positions', keep telling yourself that. I suppose that's much easier than actually learning how unions are applicable to any employment situation and that the strength drawn from unions is big enough to bring even the largest corporation to its knees, if necessary.
Otherwise, enjoy your scraps and forget about the future. Where you're at now is as far as you'll ever get most likely. Think about that for a minute because studies have shown that right now, it's more than likely true for most of you: This is as good as it's going to get financially if you're between the ages of 20 and 45.
And, oh yeah...you certainly will never be able to retire. Pensions and retiree benefits are a thing of the past.
Why? The people who fought for those things and won them have either died off or are dying. Why give that shit to a bunch of whiny, inconsequential workers who aren't even smart enough to stand up for themselves?
Corporations generally give you the least amount of pay and benefits as legally possible. They would most certainly give you less if they could. And believe me, they try. Every day in DC, they have lobbyists and special interests groups fighting against your interests and you have nobody fighting for you or your interests and that includes yourselves.
Stand up, organize and fight. Or sit down, take the scraps you're handed and shut up. Those are literally your only two choices. And that's the truth.
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