Here is the simple formula:
Use lowered profits as an excuse to lay off a few people. Remind daily the remaining workers that they are lucky to still have a job. Remind them that 'things are rough out there.'
Continue to use lowered profits (a simple threat of just being in business...almost every business deals with lowered profits at some point) to take away health care benefits and cut back on retirement programs: "Things are tough. If we want to stay in business, we're going to have to cut back." ...the 'we' that is cutting back is, of course, you...the worker.
Remind the workers that with less employees, people are going to have to work twice as hard if they want to see the profits get back up where there pay freeze is lifted. Also, you cannot take vacation right now because there aren't enough employees to make up for the two jobs that you're working.
If you're brave, go for pay cuts across the board. Remind the workers than it's better than 'nothing at all. You're still very lucky to have a job in 'this economic environment.' Now is a good time to remind workers how many people are losing their homes and investments right now. They sure are lucky.
After you've cut back every conceivable program that helps the worker or helps to increase his/her wages/benefits, watch the corporate profits rise. And not just rise, but rise to record levels.
Maintain current crew that was cut back dramatically, keep the pay freeze, keep the cut wages make sure people are doing twice the work for less pay and less benefits.
Bottom line: record profits.
How do people not realize this is exactly what happened in most American businesses? They're still working and paying like the recession is still in full ring, yet they're pulling in more profits than ever before.
WHY? Because the workers took the hit. Like they always do. They got shat on and continued to show up at work every morning, talking about how goddamn lucky they were to not be on the layoff list. SO LUCKY! Lucky you. You get to do the jobs of your laid of co-workers, work much more than usual and get compensated much, much less. BUT THE PROFITS ARE UP. Your amazing job is SECURE. For now.
And that's how it's done. Yes, the part-time issue is a big one but it gets thrown into this cycle and approach by business. They know exactly what they're doing and they're laughing all the way to the bank while most working class can still barely keep their heads above water.
And I have a secret for you. PSST...listen up. Wages are like POWER. Those in charge very often take it *but they never, ever give it back.
That's one of the oldest tricks in the book.
Take the Patriot Act for example. During that time when (according to Bush) everyone wanted to kill us because they hated our 'freedoms,' they felt it was appropriate to pass a shit load new laws that restricted your freedom (I suppose) in order to give the terrorists what they wanted: A country with less freedom (again, according to Bush and Co.)
After Bin Laden was killed and things simmered down, the NHS and homeland security was fattened up, they never gave back the rights you used to have. And they never will. Because if you look at the history of government, they take rights away. They pass more laws..think of it as a linear path that moves forward with time. As time goes on, so do restrictions on liberty and freedom.
And that's what businesses do (at least larger corporations) as you give up things like health benefits and retirement benefits and accept lower wages and less security, those are things that are gone for good. Because I can only think of a handful of companies that have ever willingly given up anything to employees.
What is the answer? In a word: Unions.
Period. Organization and solidarity will change things if Americans have the brains and balls to embrace standing up together and saying 'no' for a change instead of constantly saying 'yes' and acting like they have battered woman syndrome. Or maybe it's Stockholm Syndrome where the captive starts to have feelings for the captor.
Either way, things have to change and they have to change soon.
Even if everything changed tomorrow and the minimum wage went up and that created a ripple effect that caused everyone's salaries and wages to go up, they started to invest in more health care benefits, offered you some more vacation time or sick days...these are entities that still went 30 years fattening their wallets and profits on your backs.
A lot of the larger employers (McDonald's, Walmart, AT&T) they have amassed enough profits in that time of wringing out workers that they'll never be hurt. Ever. The Walton family has more wealth than the entire lower 40% of Americans combined and yet they still won't offer basic human kindness to their employees. They're treated like a necessary evil and they're treated like burdens most of the time.
And yet, the truth is that if you work at Walmart or McDonald's and someone tries to convince you that your job isn't important, rest assured that you would NOT be in that store if your presence wasn't completely necessary. You are an important part of the company regardless of how belittled your job is or you have been on the job. They would cut your position in a second without any thought if they thought they could keep running without you. That's what they do: eliminate every single unnecessary position (without regard to customers, employers, etc) that they can possibly still operate with.
Time to stand up. Time for some strength, some wisdom, some courage and time for people to get informed. Time for solidarity and unions...they are the only way. If you're opposed to those things, I'm guessing it's because you've never studied unions are unaware that they created the middle class (which was why the United States was such an envy of other nations for 30 years).
If you're opposed to the idea of unionization, then get comfortable. Your post in life will never change, your life will always be a struggle to keep your head above water and you will most definitely never be able to retire. Not when you're 65, not when you're 75, not when you're 90. You will never save enough wealth to be able to not work.
And that's bullshit. You sell your most precious resource (your time and your health) for pennies on the dollar and you'll never be able to enjoy the fruits of all that constant work. Meanwhile, the higher ups at the companies will amass enough money and assets to last them for 20 lifetimes and then some.
America isn't a fair nation anymore and the corporations are running the government and your interests and your family's interests are the last thing they have in mind.
PROFITS OVER PEOPLE in the new America. You are, officially, worth more dead than you are alive, sadly. And what kind of fucking country gets behind that idea? Not to mention this idea that health care should be a luxury that only the rich should be able to obtain.
If you work full time in any capacity, by God, you fucking deserve to be able to go to the hospital without the threat of bankruptcy if you get sick. You should be able to end up in a car accident without losing your goddamn house in the process.
Wake up. This is your lives and your children's lives and well being we're talking about. Can you not see how much you've been fleeced and how much has been taken of you, constantly asked of you while the ultra wealthy and corporations always make sure that you and your family take the hit when things go bad? And when things go well, you never get to partake in any of the success unless you're a stockholder and that's a position that very few American workers are a part of.
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Showing posts with label wage slaves. Show all posts
Showing posts with label wage slaves. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
Monday, January 14, 2013
Why Companies like a Recession
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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