Businesses want to keep the economy depressed to break the backs of workers

[prolesunited]

They don't care what the UE numbers are. They are sitting on billions in cash reserves, balancing on the edge of a fine line between depressing wages and benefits and a full-blown economic collapse. If they play it right, they can extract maximum concessions from the American worker without sending the whole economy over the edge since they don't benefit from a total collapse.

The reason there is such a push to end UE is that you will flood the workforce with millions of people willing to do anything for any wage just to try to provide for their families. The people with degrees will be performing high-level jobs for minimal pay. Those with some skills will get the minimum wage jobs while anyone who has just a high school diploma, a disability or is simply old will be tossed into a discard pile.

When the proponents of a global economy were selling their vision, they "forgot" to mention that it means many Americans will be forced into a lower standard of living.

For many of us, there never will be a recovery.

[EmeraldCityGrl]

1. Unfortunately you are correct.

[hatrack]

2. Too bad they won't be buying anything . . .

But I guess The Owners haven't figured that out yet.

[rfranklin]

4. They never do...that's why we have the boom and bust cycles....

and when it really goes bad, we get a Depression.

[EC]

14. They deny that the demand side of trade even means

anything...they are fools


repubs don't believe in demand either...

[prolesunited]

17. No, it's a dangerous game they are playing

If they do go too far, you are correct and there will be minimal profits to be made, so it won't benefit them as much. However, the global conglomerates are opening huge new markets in India and China, so they aren't as reliant on American consumerism.

The trick is to inject enough fear and scarcity into the workplace to gain concessions. For example, look at the big uptick in hiring "contractors" over employees. They don't have to pay full benefits, including employer-paid contributions to Social Security (the worker pays the full amount). If you had a more competitive marketplace, the best workers already would be tied up in benefit-paying jobs.

Do you recall the boom in the '90s when top companies were falling all over themselves to provide the best perks (on-site daycare, free breakroom treats, dry cleaning, gym memberships, etc.)? Now the bosses say, we gave you a job and pay you. If you don't like it, there are 6 people waiting to replace you.

If you look at the numbers on profits and stock gains, we really are out of the recession. The corporate overlords just aren't sharing it with the masses because they don't need to and have no incentive to do so.

With tax rates so low, there is no incentive to spend the money to reduce profits. Rather than buy new equipment or hire workers, which would be advantageous to reduce their profits while growing their business, they are getting by with doing as little as possible. Every penny they save ends up in their pockets without any tax consequences.

[WCGreen]

3. That could be one of the reasons...

and given the vitriol of the rhetoric aimed at the unemployed by the right, it probably is valid..

[Speck Tater]

5. Too bad they're soo stupid. Breaking workers = breaking their own customers.

They are committing financial suicide.

[Hannah Bell]

11. nope. they have new customers now. besides, control of politics = profits.

[lunatica]

6. It also drives the young into the military services to fight their wars

It's a win win for them.

[Hannah Bell]

12. +100

[Raksha]

16. +1000

[kelly1mm]

7. The going rate for day labor in western Maryland has fallen to $5 per hr

under the table.

[Hannah Bell]

13. wow.

[kelly1mm]

19. It is brutal. I "know someone" who needs help hauling things twice

a month or so to the metal recycling place and the dump. That person has 3 people they call regularly. They are getting calls every week or so asking if there is any work and offering to do it for $5-$6 per hour. (it is usually a 1/2 day job and they usually pay $50 for that or about $12 per hour - now people are saying they will do it for $25-30)

I think it may be due to the holidays comming up together with the slow down in construction and the high cost of fuel and heating oil.

[DJ13]

8. They have long wanted a "Great Reset" in our standard of living

They've foolishly convinced themselves (and a few lackey politicians) that lowering the standard of living for the bottom 90% wont have any impact on their own standard of living.

This has been a conservative plan for decades.

[Hannah Bell]

9. +10000

[shanti]

10. nope, there won't be a recovery

the great leveling of global wages is well underway by TPTB. soon, U.S. workers will be making the same wages as those in china and india. then it will be time to introduce the "amero".

[mstinamotorcity]

15. This can be reversed!!!!!!

First it would take unity!! Something very few people will put aside their differences for. The Common Good!!!!Second it would take us getting a backbone and quit listening to The Chamber of Commerce to tell us what we think, feel,want,need,and purchase. Third it would take America standing up and having the ability to be ready to absorb the unemployed. Because the next thing I am about to say will make the Powers pull out their HAIR or EYES before they would let us succeed. Take Our Money Back!!!!Pull it out of their Big Banks,Pull it out of their Big Investment Firms,Get Rid of Credit Cards,Car pool to Work or use public Transportation,Shop at local business in your community and demand that they keep clean,up-to-date items and purchase from other local business. Choose Farmers Markets with small independent growers. Network with friends to shop in bulk and divide up later to maximize purchases. Form Grocery shopping Networks with friends and family. STOP COMMERCING WITH THE ENEMY!!!!!!!!!!Plain and Simple!!! It just doesn't seem like the smartest thing to do is give the very people fucking over you the money to do IT!!!!

[MattBaggins]

18. They know it too.

In a sick twisted way I want to laugh at the tea party idiots for this very reason. Will they still be looking down their noses at us unemployed when we start showing up where they work; pointing right at them and saying to their bosses, I will do his job for 10% less than what you pay him.

[Bonhomme Richard]

20. I don't think so.

Businesses are focused on making money. Period. The back of the workers has already been broken and those remaining that still make a decent living, ie. public employee unions, are going to be taken care of shortly. It has already begun and the insane thing is that the broken workers will back the destruction.
Businesses are sitting on that money because they can make more profit by investing in money than they can from increasing plant productivity or investing in infrastructure.
I don't see any nefarious motives here but I also believe that we are screwed because we are in a catch 22 scenario absent of any leaders to force change.

[prolesunited]

21. I don't think they are done destroying

the working and middle classes. There is still more to squeeze.

What policies do you think would bring about change?

[Bonhomme Richard]

23. In general you need to get actual dollars into the economy, into

the hands of the people that will spend it. The only way I see to do that in the short term would be for the top 2% to pay very high taxes that could be spent on major infrastructure spending. That would create jobs and spur manufacturing. Hand in hand with that we for business leaders to work on a smaller profit margin and put those profits directly into the salaries of their workers.
The way I see it you have two tiers here. You have a segment that makes their money playing with money. The only way to get that spread around is through taxes because they don't actually produce anything that people would buy. The second tier would be manufacturing and service. Those companies actually do produce something that people want such as widgets (manufacturing) or filling a need. If they spent time putting real money into their workers hands everyone's standard of living would rise.
Having said that, I don't hold out much hope in their cooperating because the greed is out of hand and the real decision makers can always move somewhere else if things go down the toilet here. I don't think anything will change until they personally feel vulnerable for their actions. Literally vilified and afraid to leave their homes. It amazed me just how afraid they were when the shit hit the fan and people were actually picketing their private home here in CT..

[badtoworse]

27. The tier that produces the widgets competes in a world market

How do you deal with the fact that producers in China and India can produce the same widget at lower cost? It's no coincidence retailers' shelves are filled with foreign made products (mostly from China)- they're cheaper than American made. To accomplish what you are saying, we would need to either close our markets to foreign producers or somehow make American producers more competitive in the world market.

I'll pay a reasonable premium for American made (when I can find it, which isn't often), but how many other consumers are willing to do that?

[Bonhomme Richard]

31. I'm speaking about profit not product. If a company is not very profitable...

it is a moot point. I am speaking of companies that are profitable, ie. the ones sitting on that trillion dollars, that need to make the gradual change to shift the income disparity back to the 60's for example. The reality is that very few companies would make the decision to give up profit so they're employees are better off. Not gonna happen but getting more money into the pockets of consumers is what need to happen. The easiest way to begin the shift is through taxation of the upper tier but there seems to be no one will the will or balls or both to do it.
I ain't optimistic so to speak.

[jpgray]

22. So many people are simply unnecessary to economic growth these days

Globalism has seen to that.

[bluestate10]

24. Is it so much easier to feel powerless?

Having an ingrained sense of powerlessness removes the responsibility of action from oneself. Big business need workers more than workers need big business. Start buying every product that can be bought from companies that ONLY manufacture on the mainland USA. Start buying clothing, lots is available, then add household products. Big business won't be able to sell the products gathering dust in their warehouses to Chinese, Indian, Pakistani, et al, workers that they pay little more than slave wages to. Concerned that choking big business will hurt the american worker? How short sighted, those companies that have shown consideration for american workers will grow as big business shrinks and hire displaced workers at fair wages and benefits.

But. it is easier to feel powerless and to worship Julian Assange and Ralph Nader.

[prolesunited]

30. What a disjointed statement

And if you look at my history, I have never posted anything positive about either man.

I'm posting about general trends, not personal actions. As for buying, I make do with what I have or if necessary, buy things at resale shops. I also have a huge organic garden and grow and process more than half my food supply. So, personally, I have very much checked out of corporate America to the extent that is possible for me to do so at this time.

[reformist2]

25. Capitalism is driving us all down to China-level wages.

But we're not allowed to badmouth capitalism, America's unofficial religion, are we.

[Laelth]

26. Absolutely true. Also short-sighted,

Who do they think is going to bey their products? Many of us have no money left to spend.

-Laelth

[DirkGently]

28. Yep. Wages are down, profits are up. unions are under attack. And now we're hearing that the

"American dream" of homeownership was misguided, and we should all become renters. Land ownership is for the aristocracy, you see.

We are in an ecomonmic class war, and the middle class is losing.

[prolesunited]

29. I don't think it's so much that

Home ownership ties people to geographic locations and workers lack mobility. Renting provides the ability for workers to go where the jobs are. We can all live like itinerant farm workers, moving from one place to another as jobs open up.

[DirkGently]

32. It's destabliziing, is the thing. People are less tied to a community when they don't own.