I have worked for companies that would fire employees for even talking about a union. While illegal it was then on the employee to prove that was the reason and as most states have gone to "right to work" the employer could say they fired the employee for any other reason and get away with it.
We need to do something to bring back workers' rights. In the past 20 some years we have taken workers rights away and it shows. States have given the employers far too many rights and thus allowed greed to take over.
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Originally Posted by Fotzlid
I have no clue what that second table is supposed to show.
If unions are not a major culprit, then what is?
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Petty lawsuits, greed of upper management that didn't care about the workers and did nothing to promote product loyalty, a work force that has low moral and wages that did nothing to truly better their life, loss of benefits, a healthcare system too expensive to maintain, should I go on?
Unions haven't truly been an issue since Reagan busted the Air Traffic Controllers. (Except baseball).
Government made it easier for companies to move overseas and save tons of money but in the process destroyed the workers and allowed companies to threaten to leave, thereby scaring workers into submission to save their jobs. States becoming right to work states, thus allowing companies to take workers rights away and allow those companies the right to fire an employee for any reason, allowing companies to outsource to temp agencies that do not have to pay or give any benefits including overtime. Should I continue?
It's not the unions fault. 30 years ago when unions were too strong an argument may have been made, but not today, the pendulum swung the other way.
The biggest problem in America besides an unregulated healthcare system is that you can have both husband and wife working as professionals and not making enough to live the American dream of owning a home, being able to pay bills and have enough for a small vacation or the kids college savings or to live on.
Example, I'm an addictions counselor with a college degree. My wife is a bank manager. Together we barely made a pre taxed income of $50,000 combined last year. You take the house payment, a car payment, student loans, child support, increasing electric and gas bills, car care, food and there was very little left.
We don't have cable/satellite, we don't go out and buy foolishly and we are a paycheck or 2 away from financial ruin. We are also very lucky that other than my son from a distant relationship, we have no kids to support.
So, instead of being able to take trips and support communities that need tourist dollars we may go out to a movie and dinner once a month.
I'm sorry when 2 people work full time jobs they should not have to live like that. The NeoCons want to say, "be thriftier and watch every penny, I'm sure you can cut back and save."
That is fucking bullshit because that is how many families are living and those with kids are having a harder time than us.
What happens? People can't spend because they don't make enough, so credit cards and banks and buy here pay here scam artists (I mean car dealers), give credit that as we are now seeing the people can't pay. Then credit tightens causing these people to not be able to afford to have anything but the bare necessities, thus hurting the service markets like cinemas, zoos, tourist areas, restaurants, and so on, this causes companies to cut back. Then the workers can buy less, so they don't get that brand new car they buy used, they can't afford that brand new house so they rent or buy a cheaper one..... thus the car industry and housing market start to crumble.... so then those workers are hurting.... creditors start getting stiffed because people are using the money to eat and pay the utilities and basic needs... so the creditors are hurt and they cut credit even more to cut their losses.... which then hurts companies needing the credit to survive, families that were doing ok because they were doing a little better than most because they were white collar professionals, but now they don't have the credit to survive, so they start downsizing their lifestyle again hurting the manufacturing sector even more..... and so on.
The point is this has been going on for 20 years but is just now getting to where it is hitting the lower upper classes. And it all starts by putting profit over the workers' ability to make a living and have a little extra breathing room to enjoy life a little.
It's not the unions fault but those in the top 5% who make money whether people can live enjoying life or live in foreclosure. Letting the worker live and paying more increases profit a little because of disposable income... but hurts that top 5%'s personal wealth because it is spread out more because they have to pay the workers more and thus they have to make less.... BUT in markets where people are being foreclosed on, credit is squeezed and people can barely make it... that top 5% can see exponential growth because they can buy the houses at auction for pennies on the dollar and rent them out or hold onto them waiting for a rebound and sell for big profit, they can take advantage of bargains, watch competitors go under because those fools tried to give the workers more, watch mom and pop stores go under because the credit isn't there and so on.
The markets fall that top 5% buys like crazy, if the markets don't rebound who cares they still own everything if the markets increase who cares their investments just grew exponentially again.
And that is the American economy today.