A Prediction -- As Inflation gets worse, the "cost of labor" will be blamed as a major culprit

[Armstead]

It happened before in recent decades (and led to excuses for the rollback of wages) and it'll happen again.

[no_hypocrisy]

1. I'd just as soon blame it on M3 printing more money to pay the Debt.

http://one-simple-idea.com/M3MoneySupply.htm

[Sherman A1]

2. You are probably correct.

I recall the 1980's and the wage cuts and wasn't very happy then as this saga began.

[Armstead]

4. Yep...That weas a turning point that led to justifications for gutting the middle class

[titaniumsalute]

3. No matter what happens LABOR will be blamed

[Curmudgeoness]

6. Bingo. nt

[socialist_n_TN]

11. ALWAYS blame labor and it's costs...........

That's the capitalist's way. Can't blame those multi MILLION dollar upper management salaries. Wouldn't be prudent.

[Armstead]

14. But,but,but....You HAVE to pay those CEO's Millions of dollars to attract talent

[hughee99]

5. Only for those companies that still have LABOR in the US.

the companies that have outsourced everything already won't be quick to talk about how much they pay their workers and where they are located.

[Armstead]

9. Oh yes they will...The cost of all that administrative overhead in the US

[Warpy]

7. They got away with that bullshit in the 70s

when the OPEC oil shocks were 100% responsible for the double digit inflation then. The result was Reagan and 35 years of wage depression and Boomers being the first generation to do more poorly than their parents did, unable to retire now that the idiocy has run its course for nearly their entire working lives.

Remember, before the oil shocks, the minimum wage was set to support a family of 4 on a "thrifty" budget, above the poverty line. Now it won't support a single adult in safe housing with nutritious food and access to a doctor when they get sick.

I can't believe these scumbags are going to get away with this a second time. After all, we can point to all those billionaires and wannabes Hoovering up every bit of wealth in this country to hoard as a numbers game. There weren't as many of those in the 70s.

[Armstead]

10. And in the 80's, 90's and 00's

Once they got their teeth into it, they made it "conventional wisdom, and have used it to justify all kind of things that have cumulatively knocked the slats out from under the working/middle class

[upi402]

8. always, and blame any gov't that protects the powerless from the elites. n/t

[Armstead]

13. Yes, the costs of those damn regulations too

[Starboard Tack]

12. What inflation?

[Armstead]

17. Inflation? We don'tt got no stinkin' inflation

(Treasure of Sierra Madre in case you're wondering)

[Starboard Tack]

18. BTW regular gas costs $6.85/gallon where I live

[Armstead]

20. My God you're kidding....Makes you nostalgic for $3.50 a gallon, which seemed outrageous a year ago

[Starboard Tack]

22. It's not so bad.

We live on an island and only use about 2 gallons per month. But we're taking a big road trip in a few weeks, so it will be interesting to see how prices vary.

[Thunderstruck]

15. I've been predicting an assault on wages next. They've already begun work to

roll back child labor laws.

It's all part of the program to turn the U.S. into a second or third world state.

[Armstead]

16. Wisconsin is a harbinger

[Ramulux]

19. Its already happening

Its a fundamental part of conservative ideology. Blame the laborer and praise the business owner.

[Armstead]

21. What is baffling is why so many laborers go along with that

[unblock]

23. hard to get away with that when the unemployment rate is so high

well, rhetorically, of course, the corporatists can certainly get away with ridiculous crap.

but intellectually, it's nearly impossible for serious inflation to get started in the absence of a strong labor market.

we have a strong labor market, the only problem is that it's in china, not the u.s.


prices are going up because there's too much concentration of wealth and too few legitimate investments, so the ultra-rich are just hoarding commodities, driving up their price, which eventually works its way into the price of everything.

labor is hardly to blame. how exactly are they driving up prices when they're unemployed or afraid to lose whatever work they do have?

now, the rising cost of labor in china and india, THAT's a source of inflation, but of course, we fed that beast.

[Armstead]

24. You are exactly correct -- However, they'll still blame labor costs....

and there will be inflation because the speculators will continue to goose prices.

I mean how many people can really afford the rising pricers of food and gas...And yet the pricesd go up because they have us over the proverbial barrel.

And labor has become the all purpose scapegoat. It both deflects attention from the real culprits -- plus it gives them more excuses to cut wages and outsource and all kind of other groovy things.

Sure it makes no rational sense for people to buy it. But a lot of people are still buying it, and will continue to until we wake up.