General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Unemployable At 50 Fate Of Present And Future Workers [View all]TheMastersNemesis
(10,602 posts)At DOL you see many trends the media does not cover or discuss and in fact hides from the general public. The labor stats are pretty much useless the way they are designed. And conservatives have done a lot to make what they tell the public more meaningless. Business interests threw out the social contract and began to view workers as really unnecessary evils and just another resource. Workers were no longer partners but expendable resources. And the employers new mindset is that they need to eliminate as many workers as possible and pay them as little as possible. Only a return to the previous mindset of employees as valuable assets will change the situation.
Such a situation has allowed the business community and business interests to define the conversation wholly to their favor. The ageist thing really began to blossom after Reagan even though it existed long before Reagan became president.
Based on my view of where labor and employment is today everything is a mess and convoluted. And workers face a world that is more of a gauntlet than anything I have seen.
So you are correct my post is depressing, but the story must be told and people who work must now begin to find ways to assert their rights as human being. Workers are NOT slaves and employers and business owners do NOT have the right to do whatever they want to their employees. Getting a paycheck does not mean you give up all your rights and your life and your dignity.
We have descended into a form of feudalism which is no more than slavery. Having a work force that has to beg to even live is no way to run an economy. And most older workers are now beyond begging for decent employment.
The electorate's anti union, anti labor and anti government sentiment is the biggest obstacle for redress of grievances against tyrannical employers. Conservatives and the GOP have succeeded in creating hatred for the very entity that can keep the economy fair and that is the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. FDR fully understood the federal and state government's role in the economy. And he used that power to reign in abuses. He was hated for that by powerful business interests and the rich.
Until the working class turns much farther left or progressive working conditions will continue to go downhill. What is most sad is that too many workers voted against their interests over time. And many older workers who now suffer the most were anti union, anti labor and anti government. Now they are out in the cold.