Corporate Class War: Pit Worker Against Worker

[Omaha Steve]

http://blog.aflcio.org/2008/11/21/corporate-class-war-pit-worker-against-worker/

by Tula Connell, Nov 21, 2008

Q. Why is handing out hundreds of billions of dollars in taxpayer funds OK if the recipients are Wall Street corporations but not OK if they are Midwest automakers?

A. Automakers are unionized.

As discussion about the Detroit auto industry’s requests for a bridge loan roils throughout the media, a strikingly class-based argument has emerged by Republican ideologists, Big Business apologists and others who oppose saving America’s automakers.



Here’s The Jed Report’s take on one such example, that of Republican Rep. Zack Wamp, who seems to have forgotten that his own health care, retirement benefits and other “legacy” perks are paid for by U.S. taxpayers.

GOP Congressman Zach Wamp (a likely candidate for governor in Tennessee) explains the Republican economic philosophy to Chris Matthews:

1. Low wages are a good thing.

2. The less health care the better.

3. It’s time to let people learn their lessons the hard way.

Wamp didn’t mention one thing: Even though he opposes bridge loans to the blue-collar auto industry, he supported the $700 billion bailout for the white-collar financial industry.

Wamp told Matthews:

Volkswagen just invested in Tennessee, in a right-to-work state, at a low-cost, with less health care. Why should we prop others up, when other companies can compete in this marketplace?…It’s time to let these people learn the lesson the hard way.

FULL story at link.

[Stinky The Clown]

1. I saw that interview. Wamp is a lucky fucker.

He was safe behind that glass screen on my colortini. He didn't even flinch when my shoe went sailing toward his small brained head.

He perfectly summed up the right wing view of this. "Fuck You Americans"

[LisaM]

2. I am sick and tired of the war against unionized labor

Just tired of it.

That's all.

[Kalyke]

3. I live in Tennessee

And, no, I won't be buying a Volkswagon.

I'll keep my Ford, thank you.

[madmom]

4. Ah FYI "It’s time to let these people learn the lesson the hard way" just

where in the hell has this moron been the last oh say 50 years or so. Who does he think got him the 40 hour work week, the paid vacations, the sick leave,etc., etc., etc. Do these people really think companies would just happily hand over these things because they like you? UNIONS got you ALL these things and more!

[glitch]

9. Perhaps by "these people" he meant his elite overlords.

In which case I agree.

[madmom]

13. I doubt that in the article above he states: "low wages are good, less health care is good..." ..

that doesn't sound like he's talking about his buds.

[glitch]

14. I know, I was being cute. :)- nt

[madmom]

15. My bad : )

[dflprincess]

5. Divide & conquer

unfortunately, it works.

And I'll just bet the Zach Wamp, being from Tennessee, claims to be a good Christian.

[Greyhound]

6. "There’s class warfare, all right, but it’s my class, the rich class, that’s making war,

and we’re winning" - Warren Buffet
:kick: & R

[raccoon]

7. He SAID those things?

"1. Low wages are a good thing.

2. The less health care the better.

3. It’s time to let people learn their lessons the hard way."

[hfojvt]

10. that's a paraphrase/summary of this

"Volkswagen just invested in Tennessee, in a right-to-work state, at a low-cost, with less health care. Why should we prop others up, when other companies can compete in this marketplace?…It’s time to let these people learn the lesson the hard way."

Which is perhaps not an exact quote. It had no quotation marks in the OP.

Unfortunately, all employed workers ARE competing in this economy against the 'reserve army of the unemployed'. The unions themselves blew it, Mr. Gompers that means YOU, when they concentrated on their own pay and benefits and did next to nothing for non-union workers and the unemployed.

Here's an idea for unions. Allow anybody to join, and make it a generic union. Then the union could use its resources to help me find a job, or help me find a better job and also could represent me to my employer if I had a grievance or a conflict arose. I bet they would get flooded with members.

[daggahead]

8. Why are we just letting these bastards do this?

People like Wamp are playing us like fools, and all the while, the bastards at Citi Group just just raped all of us.

How do we stop this?

[ColbertWatcher]

11. Has anyone on the GOP-controlled media said this?

Has anyone been able to discuss this issue on TV? Radio? In Print?

Anywhere?

Will those laid-off and unemployed people go back to supporting yet another GOP policy that is clearly against their interests?

What did it take to get those same people to overwhelmingly support Democratic candidates and policies (except Prop Hate) in November? What will it take to get those voters to see that bailing out banks instead of workers and unions is another GOP policy that undermines their own well-being?

Is it going to take another two years to educate these people? Some people can't wait that long.

[apnu]

12. Well over here in commodities land...

... where I am, they hate the Wall Street hand outs. These guys are die-hard Republicans to the core. They are totally mystified about the Fed and SoT bailouts. Its all I can do to keep reminding them that this is the Republican party handing out this money, by way of Bernake, Paulison, and Bush.

These commodity traders I work with are everything you'd imagine a full on fiscal, greedy, money hording, tax evading Republican would be... and yet they want the loans to stop.

I never thought I'd see the day when organized labor and commodity insiders would see eye-to-eye on any topic.