Herbert: An Economy That Turns American Values Upside Down

[RamboLiberal]

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/06/opinion/06herbert.html?hp=&pagewanted=print&position=

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As the Economic Policy Institute tells us, in a book-length report it is releasing today: "The United States has been tracking employment statistics since 1939, and never in history has it taken this long to regain the jobs lost over a downturn."

In "The State of Working America 2004/2005," the institute shows in tremendous detail how those lost jobs and other disappointing aspects of the recovery are taking a severe economic toll on working families.

According to the institute:

"After almost three years of recovery, our job market is still too weak to broadly distribute the benefits of the growing economy. Unemployment is essentially unchanged, job growth has stalled, and real wages have started to fall behind inflation. Today's picture is a stark contrast to the full employment period before the recession, when the tight labor market ensured that the benefits of growth were broadly shared.

[Porcupine]

1. There hasn't been any growth....

and there won't be any until we start restructuring the whole thing. Americans right now are working more hours, getting less benefits, and having more threatened economic futures than anytime in my lifetime.

We must remember that as recently as 1980 somebody who was working a union grocery clerks job or manufacturing job lived better than many white collar workers today. They could buy a house on ONE income. They could buy a car every 5-7 years. They had money to save or send kids to college with. They had health care plans, pensions and paid vacations.

All this is long gone.

Workers entering the workforce now have little room to save. They have no job security. They can only buy houses if they are married and have a working spouse. Pensions are a thing of the past and thousands lose their health care plans every day. We all work more hours and forget vacations.

The only economic growth that I can see is in the paychecks of the CEO's. They are getting paid ever larger paychecks to destroy America's economic infrastructure.

[no_hypocrisy]

2. Rx: redistribution of the wealth in America via the tax system.

Reduce salaries of corporate executives (Germany regulates how much its corporate heads can make.)

Reinstitute public works programs to stimulate the economy (build/repair roads and bridges, theatre, etc.)

[The Zanti Regent]

3. Mr Herbert, why does your "paper" support these policies?

I wish he would answer that, but he won't until the SCREW YORK TIMES outsources him...