the Democratic Party and American workers

[welshTerrier2]

the Democratic Party has long been the Party of workers in the US ... but, what's the Party's record from a "what have you done for me lately" perspective ... it's easy to point to a success or two ... not too long ago, the Party pushed through the Family Medical Leave Act ... and there's always a push for small increases in the minimum wage ...

but on the big picture, has the Party been successful convincing American workers that it has the answers? we've seen CEO salaries rise to hundreds of times the pay of average workers ... we've seen roll-backs in worker safety regulations ... we've seen the destruction of lifelong pension plans ... we've seen the wholesale export of jobs and the busting of unions ... we've seen American jobs disappear to India and China ... we've seen massive mergers and their devastating effect on workers ... if you're a stockholder, you may have benefitted from some of the above changes; if you're a worker, you probably have not ...

we're all familiar with the "free market" propaganda pitch ... laissez-faire capitalism is the engine that will "lift all boats" ... is this the position of the Democratic Party too or do we have a clear response to protecting workers from the inequities of winner-take-all capitalism? how many of you can readily communicate the Democratic vision on how to strengthen the American economy and improve the lives of American workers? i certainly can't ... if the Party has a message, it's clearly not resonating ... if the saying "it's the economy, stupid" is still relevant, and i think it is, does the Party have a clear and consistent message on what will make the economy better? some might be tempted to point out the roaring economy during the Clinton years ... perhaps there are good arguments to be made there ... but what POLICIES were employed then and would those policies be effective or desirable in today's economic climate?

big labor continues to support the Democratic Party ... it's not clear, however, that Democrats have been effective in making the economic case to American workers in general ... the Party's slogan has been "we can do better" ... if Democrats hope to rally working people to their cause, let's hope they can do better ... a clear message is a necessary starting point ...

source: http://www.tompaine.com/articles/20060106/the_democrats_silent_spring.php

Given this shared analytical framework, what distinguishes economic advisers is their level of "compassion." Ironically, this makes the Democrats the true "compassionate conservatives." However, within the laissez-faire paradigm, compassion usually reduces economic efficiency. Consequently, Republicans own the market efficiency franchise, while Democrats own the fairness franchise. Meanwhile, efficiency appears to trump fairness with the American electorate, which explains Democrats relative disadvantage in public economic debate.

This pattern is evident across an array of issues. The Clinton administration consistently ducked on trade and labor standards. To the extent that there was support, it was for reasons of compassion and political expediency. The same holds for elite Democratic policy thinking about trade unions and the minimum wage. The one area where elite Democratic policymakers have made an upfront economic efficiency argument is the budget deficit, but this poorly conceived foray has merely risked turning the party of FDR into the party of Herbert Hoover.

What we need now are Democratic economic advisers who challenge the flawed economic assumptions of Friedman's laissez-faire school. Three generations ago, Keynes identified the economic challenge of the time as one of "optimizing" capitalism so that it delivers for all. That challenge continues in the era of globalization. Meeting it requires unashamedly and openly making the economic efficiency case for labor standards, trade unions, minimum wages, corporate accountability and financial market regulation. Additionally, today's advisers must confront the environmental challenge posed by the industrial economy itself. That's a big ticket, but it's a ticket that can own both the efficiency and fairness franchises, and that's a politically unbeatable combination.

[The Magistrate]

1. This Is The Key, Sir

We need to concentrate on improving wages and working conditions. There is real discontent abroad among the people, and we need to tap into it.

[NativeTexan]

15. Unions are a necessity that the Bush Facist Party......

...has weakened to a point that they are almost unrecognizeable.
The administrations turning TWO blind eyes to companies like Walmart and their union avoiding tactics, are inexcusable!

The Democrats have a duty to the unions and the non-union working class to not only support them, but to allow them to flourish like the corporations that have been abusing them in the past few years at level not seen since the 1920's!!!

[txaslftist]

2. We've never been Laissez Faire...

As far as our effectiveness, the other party's been in charge for the past five years, and working people seem to have voted for them, despite the fact that they're getting screwed.

It is absolutely necessary that we communicate better with the folks who should be our natural base, and we have.

We've said we're for universal college education, universal health care, maintaining social security, fiscal discipline, etc, etc.

When Clinton was in office we made major gains in most of those areas. Certainly you can't say Clinton wasn't pro-working families.

We've exercised policies that resulted in peace, prosperity and safety.

This is a PR problem, not a policy problem.

[welshTerrier2]

4. consider these issues

job security
worker safety
mergers and acquisitions
exporting of good paying jobs
death of US-based manufacturing
taxing capital gains at lower rates than earned income

without researching, are you able to describe how the Democratic Party hopes to address these issues? i freely admit i have no idea what policies the Party advocates ... have i just not been paying attention? ... does everyone else understand the Party's solutions to these problems?

i certainly agree with your statement that we have a PR problem ... a huge PR problem ... and i suspect we have a policy problem as well ... the two are not necessarily mutually exclusive ...

[The Magistrate]

6. Unfortunately, Sir, The Party Has No Coherent Stand On These Matters

It ought to have one, for there is real opportunity in them.

[welshTerrier2]

7. the cited article

i think that is the essential point of the article cited in the OP ...

the "Friedman" school seems to have sucked all the air out of the national debate on economic policy ... it seems none in the political class dares argue against the fundamental precept that nothing should stand in the way of business profits ...

and hence, business, and their billions of lobbyists, infest Capitol Hill like a cancer and the workers are left with crumbs ... and sometimes not even crumbs ...

[The Magistrate]

8. The Article Is A Good One, Sir

And points to real problems.

Perhaps the deepest of them is that economics is not really a science at all, but as a practical fact is more a species of theology. Friedman's view "works" only by a radical stripping away of human factors, and these are, of course, the most important elements of all. It takes a tremendous degree of both faith and willful blindness to believe all human activity is rational calculation of self-interest, and that the full range of choices are available to all people.

[txaslftist]

3. oopsdoop

[LSparkle]

5. To Regressives, "union" is another dirty word, like "liberal"

We need to work to erase that public perception. When we had the grocery strike here in California (which I supported by staying out of the major markets), I heard more talk from my friends and co-workers about how corrupt the unions were and that I was foolish to say their hands were clean vis-a-vis management. Just generally, work is not respected as much as wealth in this country, and we must work to reverse that. There is HONOR in a hard day's work -- moreso than in just sitting back reaping stock dividends.

[Jamison]

9. We have to educate everyone on what unions have done.

Let them know about all the good things they have brought us such as the 40-hour work week. The positives of unions outweigh the negatives by far. I just like to inform people that without unions, we'd all be working 100 hours a week with no days off for minimum wage, just like people did 100 years ago.

[welshTerrier2]

10. a level playing field

what most people don't understand is that workers in the US are not engaged in a fair fight ...

stockholders have gained overwhelming power by banding together through the corporate vehicle ... essentially, stockholders have become "unionized" ... they contribute their share dollars and the Board of Directors fights, on their behalf, to maximize their return on investment ...

issues like worker satisfaction, job security, retirement security, worker safety, and opportunity for advancement are of NO CONSEQUENCE ... so you have a classic class struggle between investors, who seek only increased capital and lower risk, versus workers who are the genuine sparkplugs of the enterprise ... in the current climate, workers are no match for the overwhelming power amassed by big money and the Corporate State ...

unions, and the whole concept of unions, need to be rethunk ... it's a mistake to view unions the way we did 50 years ago during a heavily manufacturing-oriented economy ... white collar workers still see unions as something for "the lower classes" ... and yet, white collar workers, as with all workers, have no real power in the workplace ... in a country that promised one man, one vote, there is precious little equality in the workplace ... when American livelihoods are on the line, it is an outrage that the Corporate State has rendered American workers as impotent as they are ... workers need a political party that fights for them everyday and they need unions to ensure that their voices are heard ...

[1932]

16. Also, capital (not labor) funds political system and politicians are

much more responsive to the needs and conerns of the owners of capital (rather than the sellers of labor).

[welshTerrier2]

11. impeachment, MIHOP, Abramoff and polls - not much interest in workers

interesting, isn't it?

we're so busy keeping score we forgot to try to score some runs ...

[The Magistrate]

12. Which Points, Sir, Towards Some More Serious Underlying Problems

There are reasons the charge the left is "elitist" resonates with "blue collar" elements nowadays.

[welshTerrier2]

13. my focus was really on DU itself

but it's not entirely clear to me that the inattentiveness of the Party to its worker constituents is a "class" issue between elitists and "blue collars" ...

just as "blue collar workers" may not see clarity in the Party's positions, so have we seen a perceived lack of representation for those in the Party's left wing ...

until elected Democrats get out among the people and really listen to what they have to say, we will not achieve all that we could ...

[Douglas Carpenter]

17. If you want to here a message that really resonates

I urge everyone to take a listen to Bernie Sanders. No I am not trying to plug his campaign (well not really) and I do realize that he is not actually a Democrat although he caucuses with them and has their backing for his race.

IT'S HIS MESSAGE. He keeps it down to earth; REAL meat and potato stuff that resonates with ordinary working people. It's not his looks or charisma. Those are two things he doesn't have that much of.

There is a reason why someone who openly call himself a socialist can win even rural conservative-Republican counties by landslides.

There is a reason why he can appear on FOX News and then gets inundated with fan mail from conservative viewers who like what he has to say.

I truly believe if Democrats across the country had his same message--we would be unstoppable and Democratic dominance of the political landscape would last for a long, long, time

http://bernie.org/?cat=4

[Armstead]

18. More Democrats should Be Like Bernie

Bernie has a message that -- if it had the backing of the DSemocratic Party -- would kick GOP butt all the way back to Texas.

[Douglas Carpenter]

19. exactly

I'm old enough to remember the greatest Democratic landslide in American history although I was only 10 in 1964. It was on a message of sweeping change, economic populism and a promise to stay out of war. Unfortunately the madness of rigid cold war ideology with its unwillingness to look at the world reasonably and pragmatically destroyed the dream.
Wouldn't it be wonderful to get it back again and make it happen?

[doc03]

14. Many American workers feel the Democratic

party has deserted them.

Here are a few reasons:

1. Clinton passed NAFTA with Republican votes, yet he gets the credit or blame for it.
2. Tens of thousands of steelworkers lost their jobs in the late 90's because of illegally dumped steel, Clinton refused to even open an ITC investigation into the problem.
3. Clinton got us in the WTO that is dominated by the countries that dump their products in this country thereby exporting their unemployment. So whenever the ITC rules that a product has been illegally dumped and tariffs are suggested the WTO overrules the decision.
4. Many blue collar workers like to hunt and shoot but the blue state Democrats blame their crime rate on guns and even though our crime rates are low they think we shouldn't have them. "A gun has never committed a crime".
5. Many blue collar workers in the red states were convinced they would loose their jobs because of AL Gore's environmental stance.
6. I'm not sure about this but didn't Clinton give China MFN status.