Years and years of neglect of the average working person...

[kentuck]

created the present environment. For almost a decade, they did nothing about the minimum wage. It was stuck at $5.15 an hour for years and years. At the same time, the big banks were sending out credit cards to these same people that had no value but their labor. And their labor was devalued in every respect. No matter how much productivity increased, the workers received nothing. All the wealth kept floating to the very top and the bottom working class became poorer and poorer. Much of the wealth from this labor went overseas. The working class was living on credit and re-financing of the homes they could not afford anyway. When that credit and re-financing dried up, there were no options left. There was nothing to buy anything with. And the corporations and big business never thought to give their people more money, so they could buy the products they produced. They forgot the lesson of Henry Ford, who paid his auto workers enough money so they could buy the cars they produced. The consumer market literally collapsed. The only solution is to put more money in the pockets of those that are productive and produce wealth. That would be the working people of this country. But the corporations and big businesses have no intention of sharing the wealth. They have stockholders to look out for. So, the one thing that could get us out of this mess is being totally ignored.

[tsuki]

1. I believe credit was easy to make up for lost wages. You didn't

have to cut back, just charge it. Times were good.

Welcome to The Company Store.

[ogneopasno]

2. And not only that, the average working person didn't do anything about it, either.

Also, please note that Henry Ford paid his auto workers enough money to buy a car ONLY if they met certain requirements, including how they acted outside of work.

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

3. Amen! But they are also screwing the stockholders right along with the employees.

They diverted capital away from the company which could have paid for R&D, or improvements and expansion, or DIVIDENDS to the stockholder in order to pay insane salaries and bonuses to the upper tier. It's called "conversion". I'd like to see some of these stockholders who have seen their companies diluted and brought to their knees file some class action suits.

[notadmblnd]

5. The upper tier of management are the main shareholders

They've ripped us off plain and simple. The only difference between them an a liquor store robber, is that they didn't stick a gun in our faces.

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

8. I doubt they are majority shareholders in large corporations.

Mutual funds and pension funds are, though. I'd like to see Calpers take some people to the woodshed. And then I'd like to see some clawbacks from the execs from the 6 year lookback period.

[bobbolink]

4. And what are we "unproductive" people to do?

Hurl ourselves over a cliff?

Oh wait, that would be "danger to self", and would result in being locked up. (which DOES cost, BTW)

????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

[leftstreet]

16. Everyone has a right to food, shelter, healthcare - regardless of emp status

(Among other rights.)

Too bad that thinking is considered 'revolutionary' in our culture

[bobbolink]

17. Yup, it's only us "Fringe Leftists" and "purists" who can imagine that people DESERVE

an actual LIFE.

Yet, someone says they are ready to end it all because they can't survive on nothing, and they're locked up.

Talk about CRAZY!!!!!

[pacalo]

6. Layoffs began with the Regan administration during the "greed is good" 1980s.

[kentuck]

7. And working people felt lucky just to have a job...

That is indeed when workers became fearful that they would lose their jobs and would not be able to get another. And the employers used that fear as leverage against them.

[Hydra]

9. They're kicking, screaming, dragging their feet

But if they want to continue slavery capitalism, they're going to have to give us the money at some point.

Personally, I hope they continue this. At some point, people are going to start asking, "What's so great about capitalism?"

I think that will be a great day.

[raccoon]

10. K&R. What is it with these bozos they don't get this?

"And the corporations and big business never thought to give their people more money, so they could buy the products they produced."

[SammyWinstonJack]

11. Been wondering the very same for awhile now. Who will buy their

cheaply made, cheap labor wage crap when everyone is making slave wages? Pretty short sighted on their part. :silly:

[blues90]

12. And none has a clue what to do now.

We can talk about Reagan or try to find some solution through history yet when things are so different now that there are no answers in history other than one thing , FEAR.

I'm so sick of politicians on some stage bantering and passing blame and grandstanding like some actor in front of the camera.

Without the worker when there we american jobs the worker had power yet were controlled by fear. Now we are in this global market competing with labor all over the globe and the cheap labor wins through capitalism.

There really is only one way to fight this which will never happen and that is for the workforce to just stop and the buyer to stop buying and then the corporate crowd wil dry up and die.

THey need the worker even the ones in a global economy so it now must be a global strike. Oh there will be the workers who will be hired to fix the machine and get paid well to do so brided by the corporate kings and in this way the worker can gain control and set the market price of what their labor is worth.

Or we refuse to buy anything not made in america and each country is on it's own other than fair trade of products as it used to be.

Greed is what got us here, so we have to cut back to basics if everyone is willing to do that before they no longer have that choice and will be forced to cut back fo lack of a job of money. Either way we need to cut back and let the cards fall where they may and then have an even playing table once again.

The way we are going cannot be sustained because even re-newable energy is not the complete answer. Natural energy is the only answer to save resources.

One cannot even define a livable wage when prices fluctuate so fast that by the time you are even you are the next day behind.

All these new jobs are aimed at the next generation and years down the road which leaves out a large section of the population.

So are we to admit this finally that many people will be left out and /or erased in the grand scheme of things?

Obama did say today this plan would either save or create 4 million jobs, which is it, a guess? 4 million jobs is not enough to even cover the people just entering the workforce. By the time 4 million jobs are created or saved 5 million will have vanished at the rate jobs are being cut.

[marions ghost]

13. yep, they forgot to invest in the people...

BIG mistake. You will never have a healthy society otherwise.

[kentuck]

14. Yes, they forgot...

to invest in the people.

[Greyhound]

15. You bet your ass it's being ignored. Do you think the people that matter

want a return to a strong working class that could get what they wanted?

Some day we might figure out that it doesn't matter to them if this nation goes down the shitter, they can leave. What matters is that they keep getting all the benefit while others do the work.