It hasn't always been the case that workers fought like starving rats over jobs.

[Zalatix]

It used to be that employers competed for workers, even in low-end manufacturing.

Free trade killed that.

Oh and did I forget to mention the economy was doing just fine back then, and wages were keeping up with the cost of living?

[Fire Walk With Me]

1. Never forget that the powers that be -want- workers fighting over scraps like starving rats

and that TPTB enjoy it, being sadists and predators. This is exactly why they are creating these conditions.

[avebury]

3. Because if the workers fight each other over the

scraps then they aren't paying any attention to TPTBs.

[Fire Walk With Me]

5. And they're afraid to ask for decent wages, raises, or benefits, much less unions,

if they're rightfully frightened of being fired immediately for so doing.

[HiPointDem]

2. kr

[hunter]

4. This is true.

Employers would even try to entice entry-level employees away from other companies by offering better pay, working conditions, and benefits.

Now we have "interns" competing for no-pay work and people standing in line to apply for crappy less-than-subsistence wage work.

We could easily fix this by increasing taxes on the wealthy, raising minimum wages, and increasing welfare and unemployment benefits to people who can't work or can't find work.

People with lower incomes spend their money on goods and services that directly increase the number of jobs. Very wealthy people play their money in markets that are largely computer games and most of that money never "trickles down" to the rest of us.