The Truth. Not Enough Jobs/Never Will Be Enough Jobs/Politicians Know it.

[TheMastersNemesis]

We know the GOP does not care about jobs. In fact they will support a "fewer jobs" economic policy because it will keep wages down and competition up. Dems can't do much about jobs either because they will be blasted with billions of dollars against them unless they go along.

There are fewer jobs per capita than there were in 1980. And the ratio between the number of jobs and the number of people who need them has been growing ever since "trickle down" economics was initiated. And the number of life sustaining jobs per capita is now as bad as income inequality and getting worse by the day. The economic numbers really disguise the real severity of the crisis. When you have a job that pays as little as $10 an hour and thousands apply for them, something a really terribly wrong.

Just after I retired Port of LA announced jobs paying up to $20 an hour and they had close to 500,000 applications and had to go to a lottery to pick people to interview. And I do not think things have improved since 2000.

What the GOP wants to do will worsen the number of jobs tremendously. And they know that the minimum wage must disappear so they can claim more jobs will be created by lower pay. The Dems are too scared to get too aggressive because the multinational corporations will go after them with a vengeance unheard of.

American workers will be expected to accept the same wages as the workers in 3rd world countries in the global economy. The real goal of the trade agreements is to actually equalize wages globally. It is called "wage parity" and that code also mean "benefit parity" with third world workers. Even the village idiot would understand what that code means. "No benefits".

I worked at DOL and the trends were as clear as global warming as far back as 1981. Our present present economic predicament WAS the "Reagan Revolution". He was such a nice guy you know.

I realize a lot of DU'ers may not buy what I am saying. That is ok, but I am certain of my view because I witnessed the decline for 24 years and the 16 years since I retired. Nothing has changed. As bad as the Dems are right now the GOP is so much worse in the end.

If they get power they will make everything extremely intolerable if you are a worker. If you are a woman or minority then it will be even worse for you. All you have to do is look at the legislation they propose.

So be prepared for fewer jobs per capita and worse paying jobs will be the norm for 80% of the working population. Unless there is radical pro worker change, things will only get much worse.

PS> I realize a lot of people may not want to hear what I have said here. From where I sit it is the reality that I see in so many ways. The real truth bleeds out everywhere I see it. Long term unemployment and how bad it is a the most direct symptom. What amazes me is that when I talk to any of my local state reps they cannot run on a pro worker agenda openly or they will get crushed by the voters. The disconnect I see in the public is so profound. And look at all the GOPPERS who lost their unemployment who will most likely vote GOP again in 2014.

[pscot]

1. Important diary

This really deserves Front Page treatment. When I was a kid, anyone who wanted a job could find one. Those days are gone forever, and it gets worse every year.

[Awknid]

2. Totally agree with all of this

Until we get money out of politics, we won't change anything. The "powers that be" decided American standard of living had to come down for some reason. - globalization? Why couldn't they lift the 3rd world wages instead of crushing ours?

[VanillaRhapsody]

3. and with technology advancing this only gets worse...

wonder how bad it will get before everyone realizes this one fact...we have worked our way out of jobs! We have been so industrious in our labor and inventing new technology...we left out one leg of the stool. What are we going to do to put food on people with no job left's table?

[Laelth]

4. I buy what you are saying.

I don't like it, but I think you're right.

-Laelth

[gollygee]

5. I agree 100%

There aren't enough jobs and there's been plenty done to ensure that, and there will never be enough jobs for everyone again. And even though there are obviously not enough jobs, on Facebook I see people complaining about people who want to "live off the system" and how they should get a job instead.

The answer to that? When I say, "There aren't enough jobs" they say "We should do away with minimum wage and then there will be plenty of jobs."

That's the end game.

[EC]

6. If they know this then

they should raise wages so only one person per household has to work.

[El_Johns]

7. "There are fewer jobs per capita than there were in 1980."

[dickthegrouch]

8. I'd like to see AGI per multiple of minimum wage

for every county in the country over time

That is:

Take the 1040 Adjusted gross income and divide it by the then current minimum wage to provide the multiple - e.g. 1x, 2x, 5x etc

Tally the numbers of people in each multiple band across time for every county.

That would very clearly show that the numbers of people earning minimum and lower multiples of minimum are increasing while those earning top multiples of minimum are decreasing.

It would also show flight of good paying jobs from some counties.

[StatGirl]

9. Some solutions

1.) Establish 25 or 30 hours as the standard work week. Time-and-a-half overtime for hours from 25-40, double time for > 40 hours.

2.) Raise the minimum wage (of course!) and tie it to inflation and/or the per-capita GDP.

3.) Double the minimum pay required for a worker to be exempt from overtime

4.) De-couple medical benefits from employment.

5.) De-couple FICA and Medicare taxes from wages; they should be based on all income (perhaps a national sales tax for health care and pension benefits, exempting food, rent, and whatever is needed to make it less regressive).

6.) Disallow tax deductions for the wages of workers overseas who create goods purchased in America. They'll still be cheaper, but why encourage the practice?

[riderinthestorm]

11. I'm too tired and its too late for me to comment but a kick for more conversation on your points

Thanks for actually articulating solutions!!

[StatGirl]

18. I have a couple more

Just to have them all in one place . . .

7.) The federal government should be an employer of last resort, with a supply of useful jobs for anyone who is interested. They should pay at least minimum wage and include health benefits.

8.) Many part-timers in today's economy are jerked around by their employers by not having fixed schedules, or even a fixed number of hours per week. This makes it impossible for them to get second jobs or go to school to improve their skills.

Therefore, the law should mandate that if an employer considers an employee to be "on call" for any particular shift, they should pay on-call wages of 50% of minimum wage in order to hold the hours open. If they schedule an employee for hours which were not so reserved, they should be required to pay double pay to the employee as a penalty for those hours.

There should also be a 4-hour minimum for any shift, at least 9 hours between the end of one shift and the start of the next, and at least one consecutive period of 24 hours each week in which the employee may not be called in or "volunteer" to work. (There would probably have to be exceptions for workers such as firefighters, who often live on site for long shifts, but who are not necessarily actively working during all of that time.)

[LongTomH]

10. K&R

This needs more discussion; but, we need to start by admitting the facts you've pointed out.

[TheMastersNemesis]

12. The Easiest Solution Is To Change Voting Patterns.

Like I said at the end of my post it is important that voters vote FOR progressive pro worker candidates. That does not mean one is necessarily pro union though that factor is also important.

As unions and pro labor laws have declined wages and benefits have also declined. And the business model and mind set must be changed. That means REGULATION of labor practices and the modification of trade agreements. There is no question that globalization is the model and that model is leading to economic devastation.

The problem is that RW mollification of any politician who comes out with a pro labor and pro worker agenda. They are labeled Marxist Leninist, communist, socialist or some other nasty pejorative. And voters toe accordingly. The other meme is that such liberal politician give YOUR money to "N's", "S's and other underserving taking scum.

Just voting a differently would help a lot to put in politicians who can and do run on PRO WORKPLACE regulation. The business model will NOT change without great pressure and outright demands. You won't get your job security and work rights back unless they are DEMANDED.

An earlier post also talks about solutions. And worker will have to be ready for a hard brutal fight. Dems have only gone right because they do not believe they can win on a progressive agenda.

[ChisolmTrailDem]

13. While I completely agree with what you are saying, and I have indeed been saying the same

thing in explaining what is happening to my clueless family and friends and beyond. Indeed, I've known for many years what the endgame is, that is to reduce Americans to a low-wage labor pool like China, Indonesia, and Mexico, among others.

What I have yet to figure is who the PTB plan to sell their wares to in order to continue being rich. I'm think, perhaps, they are depending on the rising socio-economic conditions in China and India, which together make up nearly 1/4 of the planet's population and over six time the U.S. population so that even relatively small segments of their combined populations vastly outnumber Americans. That would give TPB hundreds of millions of upwardly mobile people (think of America from the '50s on through 'til about 2008 or so) to sell their wares to for the next 100 years - or until the oil runs out.

Disclaimer: I'm a web jock, not an economist. And I didn't stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night. So, any help with this theory is welcomed.

[TheMastersNemesis]

14. Your Theory Is Correct. Here Is Why.

I worked at DOL and learned to understand economic code over time. And what you have revealed is exactly correct. I have been talking about "wage parity" and "benefit parity" for a long time and have posted such on this site several times in different ways. The problem is that the public does not recognize the "slowly cooked frog" scenario they are in.

These changes came about over thirty years and are in their final phases. And the trends are well camouflaged and are not recognized. Add a corrupt media that is HIDING the real truth and there is an information vacuum. Most workers do not recognize their predicament.

When you hear the the memes, "compete with the global market", "investing in emerging markets", or "training American workers for the world market", it is code for race to the bottom and wage parity. How can any American worker possible compete with the third world for pennies on the dollar.

Here is the most important reason why you are correct. During the later years of the Bush administration I ran across an interview with a CEO who pretty much represented CEO's of the Fortune 500 corporations. The gist of what he said was this.
"We no longer consider the US as our MAJOR market." "Our major markets are now China and Asia." Now he did not say it but emerging markets are places like African nations.

Besides you do not really have to be an economist to come up with what you said. Common sense is more than adequate.

[ChisolmTrailDem]

15. Thank you for responding. Yes, it makes sense even more so when you see this --->

I just now saw this here in GD that just so happens to illustrate one of my points, that China is an upwardly mobile, and vastly more populated, economic zone. America, to put it bluntly and simply, is played out. If we succumb to global wage parity, then there will be jobs again. But they will be low-paying jobs where you are treated like workers in W. Virginia are treated, whereby you are beholden to the company and you shop at the Company Store and become indebted to the Company Bank.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024338297\

[TheMastersNemesis]

16. Historically That Is The Way It Was Before Unions In 1900

Workers worked for companies, particularly coal companies, where you got company script to shop in company stores and you lived in company housing. If you got hurt or lost the job you and your family were out in the cold. Look up Ludlow Massacre. I just passed the exit to that memorial in Colorado recently coming home from California. It is apparently not too far from the highway..

[samplegirl]

17. Excellent Post!!

They want us all working two min. wage jobs!

[Spider Jerusalem]

19. The answer to this sort of thing? Really? International worker solidarity.

Doubling down on economic nationalism in a globalised world is a dead end that just polarises workers in different countries and encourages them to see other workers as enemies ("they're stealing our jobs!&quot instead of placing the blame where it belongs.

[TheMastersNemesis]

20. There Were Protests & Violence In Bangladesh Recently/Burned Down A Factory Abusing Workers

[redqueen]

21. "Rise of the robots: what will the future of work look like?"

Sooner or later, we will run out of jobs – so, what are people to do if machines can do all (or most of) their work?

...

If one machine can cut necessary human labour by half, why make half of the workforce redundant, rather than employing the same number for half the time? Why not take advantage of automation to reduce the average working week from 40 hours to 30, and then to 20, and then to 10, with each diminishing block of labour time counting as a full time job? This would be possible if the gains from automation were not mostly seized by the rich and powerful, but were distributed fairly instead.

Rather than try to repel the advance of the machine, which is all that the Luddites could imagine, we should prepare for a future of more leisure, which automation makes possible. But, to do that, we first need a revolution in social thinking.

http://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/feb/19/rise-of-robots-future-of-work