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Dude, Reich is a democrat, he ran for office as a democrat. I don't recall saying anything about all former Labor Secys, but I will say this: the constant playing of the class warfare card by continually pointing out the inequalities that have always existed to some degree does nothing help an already divided country and may very well be stirring up trouble.
Dude, Reich is a democrat, he ran for office as a democrat. I don't recall saying anything about all former Labor Secys, but I will say this: the constant playing of the class warfare card by continually pointing out the inequalities that have always existed to some degree does nothing help an already divided country and may very well be stirring up trouble.
and yet he is brilliant and was labor secretary during a booming economy. something we haven't seen since the rightwing ideologues took over.
and "inequalities that have always existed to some degree" does not address the dangers to our society created by a growing gap between rich and poor.
Dude, Reich is a democrat, he ran for office as a democrat. I don't recall saying anything about all former Labor Secys, but I will say this: the constant playing of the class warfare card by continually pointing out the inequalities that have always existed to some degree does nothing help an already divided country and may very well be stirring up trouble.
and yet he is brilliant and was labor secretary during a booming economy. something we haven't seen since the rightwing ideologues took over.
and "inequalities that have always existed to some degree" does not address the dangers to our society created by a growing gap between rich and poor.
you forgot your sarcasm smiley too
Not really. I just wonder if there are confounding variables that haven't been considered in these studies.
well, I 'll use this soruce just for a start point becasue the variables have to be huge..
snip-
Thats because Costa Ricans, asked to rate their own happiness on a 10-point scale, average 8.5. Denmark is next at 8.3, the United States ranks 20th at 7.4 and Togo and Tanzania bring up the caboose at 2.6.
Op-Ed Columnist - The Happiest People - NYTimes.com
I found this dig in
World Database of Happiness
Dude, Reich is a democrat, he ran for office as a democrat. I don't recall saying anything about all former Labor Secys, but I will say this: the constant playing of the class warfare card by continually pointing out the inequalities that have always existed to some degree does nothing help an already divided country and may very well be stirring up trouble.
and yet he is brilliant and was labor secretary during a booming economy. something we haven't seen since the rightwing ideologues took over.
and "inequalities that have always existed to some degree" does not address the dangers to our society created by a growing gap between rich and poor.
Dude, Reich is a democrat, he ran for office as a democrat. I don't recall saying anything about all former Labor Secys, but I will say this: the constant playing of the class warfare card by continually pointing out the inequalities that have always existed to some degree does nothing help an already divided country and may very well be stirring up trouble.
and yet he is brilliant and was labor secretary during a booming economy. something we haven't seen since the rightwing ideologues took over.
and "inequalities that have always existed to some degree" does not address the dangers to our society created by a growing gap between rich and poor.
the right-wing ideologues ran congress thru the last 6 years of the Clinton presidency when Reich was around.
how is that they get zero credit, Clinton and Reich apparently get it all and when obama has both houses of congress , its the rw who is at fault for whatever bad happens or if the economy is still going south?
what are the 'dangers'?
what is social mobility?
I think at least one of the major reasons for the increase in productivity without the corresponding increase in wages was the advances of technology. US companies found ways to do more with less people, labor being a very costly resource and growing more costly all the time.
and yet he is brilliant and was labor secretary during a booming economy. something we haven't seen since the rightwing ideologues took over.
and "inequalities that have always existed to some degree" does not address the dangers to our society created by a growing gap between rich and poor.
the right-wing ideologues ran congress thru the last 6 years of the Clinton presidency when Reich was around.
how is that they get zero credit, Clinton and Reich apparently get it all and when obama has both houses of congress , its the rw who is at fault for whatever bad happens or if the economy is still going south?
what are the 'dangers'?
what is social mobility?
how is it that with the rightwingnuts running the congress now, you give them no blame? or the blame for destroying the economy when baby bush was in power?
get a grip, hackboy.
I think at least one of the major reasons for the increase in productivity without the corresponding increase in wages was the advances of technology. US companies found ways to do more with less people, labor being a very costly resource and growing more costly all the time.
All productivity growth is the result of new technologies replacing old labour. However, the dynamic is supposed to be that the labour which knows how to use the technology sees a dramatic increase in wages and the labour which is replaced by the new technology is hired elsewhere as lower costs frees up resources to invest elsewhere in the economy, usually at higher wages in aggregate as their lower productivity jobs are eliminated.
The problem - if you want to call it that - is that the gains from productivity have accrued both to those who can manipulate the new technology and to owners of capital. What that chart does not show is that returns on equity have skyrocketed, especially over the past decade. From 1980 to 2000, net profit margins have averaged about 5.5%. Since then, they have averaged about 7%. Today, net profit margins are near 9%. As well, there has been a significant increase in compensation for those who have been able to manipulate the technology, as one would expect in theory. Unfortunately, the unskilled have seen a stagnation or decline in their compensation.
IMHO, there are three major reason for decline of the working class, deregulation, decline of the unions, and the wholesale exportation of American jobs.I think at least one of the major reasons for the increase in productivity without the corresponding increase in wages was the advances of technology. US companies found ways to do more with less people, labor being a very costly resource and growing more costly all the time.
that's probably a small part of it, i'd think. but the reality is that workers pay has been stagnant while management pay has gone up massively. i'd say that's the larger problem.
I think at least one of the major reasons for the increase in productivity without the corresponding increase in wages was the advances of technology. US companies found ways to do more with less people, labor being a very costly resource and growing more costly all the time.
All productivity growth is the result of new technologies replacing old labour. However, the dynamic is supposed to be that the labour which knows how to use the technology sees a dramatic increase in wages and the labour which is replaced by the new technology is hired elsewhere as lower costs frees up resources to invest elsewhere in the economy, usually at higher wages in aggregate as their lower productivity jobs are eliminated.
The problem - if you want to call it that - is that the gains from productivity have accrued both to those who can manipulate the new technology and to owners of capital. What that chart does not show is that returns on equity have skyrocketed, especially over the past decade. From 1980 to 2000, net profit margins have averaged about 5.5%. Since then, they have averaged about 7%. Today, net profit margins are near 9%. As well, there has been a significant increase in compensation for those who have been able to manipulate the technology, as one would expect in theory. Unfortunately, the unskilled have seen a stagnation or decline in their compensation.
IMHO, there are three major reason for decline of the working class, deregulation, decline of the unions, and the wholesale exportation of American jobs.I think at least one of the major reasons for the increase in productivity without the corresponding increase in wages was the advances of technology. US companies found ways to do more with less people, labor being a very costly resource and growing more costly all the time.
that's probably a small part of it, i'd think. but the reality is that workers pay has been stagnant while management pay has gone up massively. i'd say that's the larger problem.
The deregulation that began with Reagan and continued for nearly 30 years made large corporations answerable to no one but their stockholders. Legislation that allowed financial corporations to chose their own regulator was tantamount to setting regulations aside. The demise of Glass Steagall allowed bankers to become speculators. The result was the recession of 2008 which has taken it's biggest toll on the working class.
In 1980, one every 5 workers were union members. Today the figure is closer to 1 in 10. Weaker unions have resulted in improved productivity and higher profits at the expense of blue collar workers. The decline in union membership parallels the decline of American workers.
The demise of unions with the exportation of manufacturing jobs have created a social problem that will haunt us for many years. Free trade never made any sense to American workers. Politicians and big business sold it to the public. It did exactly what it was planned to do, trade good paying American jobs for low cost foreign labor. If that's not bad enough, we created loopholes in tax laws that encourages businesses to send jobs overseas.
Thanks for this remarkable list.found this-
columns #
1.Rank
(by % Thriving)
2. Country
3. Region
4.Percent Thriving
5. Percent Struggling
6. Percent Suffering
7. Daily Experience
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
1 Denmark Europe 82 17 1 7.9
2 Finland Europe 75 23 2 7.8
3 Norway Europe 69 31 0 7.9
4 Sweden Europe 68 30 2 7.9
4 Netherlands Europe 68 32 1 7.7
6 Costa Rica Americas 63 35 2 8.1
6 New Zealand Asia 63 35 2 7.6
8 Canada Americas 62 36 2 7.6
8 Israel Asia 62 35 3 6.4
8 Australia Asia 62 35 3 7.5
8 Switzerland Europe 62 36 2 7.6
12 Panama Americas 58 39 3 8.4
12 Brazil Americas 58 40 2 7.5
14 United States Americas 57 40 3 7.3
14 Austria Europe 57 40 3 7.7
16 Belgium Europe 56 41 3 7.3
17 United Kingdom Europe 54 44 2 7.4
18 Mexico Americas 52 43 5 7.7
18 Turkmenistan Asia 52 47 1 7.5
20 United Arab Emirates Asia 51 48 1 7.7
21 Venezuela Americas 50 48 2 8.0
22 Ireland Europe 49 49 2 7.5
23 Puerto Rico Americas 47 45 8 7.6
23 Kuwait Asia 47 50 3 7.0
23 Iceland Europe 47 49 4 8.2
26 Colombia Americas 46 47 7 7.7
26 Jamaica Americas 46 49 5 7.7
28 Cyprus Asia 45 50 5 6.6
28 Luxembourg Europe 45 54 1 7.3
30 Trinidad and Tobago Americas 44 51 5 7.9
30 Argentina Americas 44 50 6 7.8
30 Belize Americas 44 50 6 6.8
33 Germany Europe 43 50 7 7.4
34 El Salvador Americas 42 51 7 7.7
35 Chile Americas 41 52 7 7.3
35 Uruguay Americas 41 54 5 7.5
35 Qatar Asia 41 58 1 6.8
38 Guatemala Americas 40 50 10 7.7
38 Malta Europe 40 48 12 6.6
40 Czech Republic Europe 39 51 9 6.6
40 Italy Europe 39 54 7 7.1
42 Honduras Americas 37 49 14 7.5
43 Spain Europe 36 58 6 7.0
44 Dominican Republic Americas 35 54 11 7.3
44 France Europe 35 60 6 7.0
46 Bolivia Americas 34 59 7 7.0
46 Ecuador Americas 34 52 15 7.6
48 Paraguay Americas 32 59 9 8.3
48 Bahrain Asia 32 45 23 7.0
50 Guyana Americas 31 64 5 7.0
50 Greece Europe 31 57 11 7.0
52 Nicaragua Americas 30 53 17 7.4
52 Jordan Asia 30 61 8 6.7
54 Belarus Europe 29 59 12 6.5
54 Kosovo Europe 29 65 6 6.2
56 South Korea Asia 28 61 12 6.9
56 Poland Europe 28 61 10 7.1
58 Saudi Arabia Asia 27 69 3 6.7
58 Pakistan Asia 27 50 23 6.2
58 Slovenia Europe 27 57 16 6.8
61 Croatia Europe 26 60 14 6.2
61 Montenegro Europe 26 58 16 6.2
63 Malawi Africa 25 64 10 8.0
63 Peru Americas 25 65 11 7.2
63 Moldova Europe 25 62 13 6.1
63 Lithuania Europe 25 57 18 6.2
67 Libya* Africa 24 68 8 6.0
67 Botswana Africa 24 65 11 7.3
67 Cuba* Americas 24 66 11 6.7
70 Kazakhstan Asia 22 72 6 7.2
70 Taiwan Asia 22 64 14 7.5
70 Portugal Europe 22 61 17 7.1
73 South Africa Africa 21 71 8 7.3
73 Lebanon Asia 21 64 15 6.3
73 Russia Europe 21 57 22 7.0
73 Ukraine Europe 21 53 26 6.6
73 Romania Europe 21 56 23 6.6
73 Slovakia Europe 21 60 19 6.5
79 Thailand Asia 20 75 5 8.0
79 Bosnia and Herzegovina Europe 20 59 20 6.2
81 Iran Asia 19 66 14 6.3
81 Hong Kong Asia 19 65 16 7.1
81 Singapore Asia 19 75 6 6.9
81 Japan Asia 19 69 12 7.4
85 Somaliland Africa 18 77 5 7.1
85 Algeria Africa 18 77 6 6.7
85 Nigeria Africa 18 78 4 7.3
85 Uzbekistan Asia 18 75 6 7.8
85 Indonesia Asia 18 72 10 8.2
90 Estonia Europe 17 62 21 6.8
91 Myanmar* Asia 16 82 2 7.1
91 Bangladesh Asia 16 71 13 6.9
91 Serbia Europe 16 63 21 6.2
94 Malaysia Asia 15 80 5 8.1
94 Philippines Asia 15 68 18 7.2
96 Cameroon Africa 14 77 9 7.0
96 Tunisia Africa 14 77 9 6.8
96 Zambia Africa 14 78 8 7.6
96 Yemen Asia 14 62 24 6.3
96 Vietnam Asia 14 76 10 6.9
96 Palestinian Territories Asia 14 70 15 5.8
96 Macedonia Europe 14 54 32 6.8
103 Turkey Asia 13 67 20 6.0
103 Kyrgyzstan Asia 13 81 7 7.3
103 Azerbaijan Asia 13 70 17 6.6
103 Hungary Europe 13 53 34 6.9
103 Albania Europe 13 67 19 5.6
108 Central African Republic Africa 12 75 13 6.4
108 Ethiopia Africa 12 67 21 6.4
110 Namibia Africa 11 79 10 8.1
110 Angola Africa 11 81 8 6.8
110 Armenia Asia 11 55 33 5.9
110 Iraq Asia 11 71 18 5.2
110 Latvia Europe 11 64 25 6.5
115 Mozambique Africa 10 78 11 7.2
115 Egypt Africa 10 71 19 6.1
115 Mauritania Africa 10 83 7 7.2
115 Zimbabwe Africa 10 73 17 7.3
115 Morocco Africa 10 80 10 7.0
115 Sri Lanka Asia 10 66 24 6.9
115 India Asia 10 69 21 6.9
115 Syria Asia 10 66 24 6.8
115 Georgia Asia 10 56 35 6.2
115 Afghanistan Asia 10 69 21 6.2
125 Kenya Africa 9 78 13 7.5
125 Ghana Africa 9 83 8 7.5
125 China Asia 9 77 14 7.6
128 Congo (Brazzaville) Africa 8 73 20 6.9
128 Guinea Africa 8 89 3 7.1
130 Sudan Africa 7 81 12 7.4
130 Djibouti Africa 7 86 8 7.5
130 Madagascar Africa 7 84 10 7.0
130 Nepal Asia 7 82 11 7.4
130 Mongolia Asia 7 81 12 7.0
130 Laos Asia 7 89 4 7.1
130 Tajikistan Asia 7 74 19 6.5
137 Uganda Africa 6 71 23 6.8
137 Tanzania Africa 6 70 24 7.5
137 Senegal Africa 6 88 6 7.3
137 Bulgaria Europe 6 58 36 6.5
141 Chad Africa 5 88 7 7.1
141 Liberia Africa 5 90 5 6.7
141 Mali Africa 5 77 18 8.0
144 Ivory Coast Africa 4 84 12 7.2
144 Congo (Kinshasa) Africa 4 85 11 6.4
144 Benin Africa 4 80 16 6.7
144 Haiti Americas 4 60 35 6.2
148 Niger Africa 3 86 11 7.9
148 Rwanda Africa 3 75 22 7.8
148 Burkina Faso Africa 3 71 26 6.5
148 Sierra Leone Africa 3 74 23 6.3
148 Cambodia Asia 3 75 22 7.6
153 Comoros Africa 2 75 23 7.7
153 Burundi Africa 2 58 40 7.5
155 Togo Africa 1 67 31 5.0
Table: The World's Happiest Countries - Forbes.com
and yet he is brilliant and was labor secretary during a booming economy. something we haven't seen since the rightwing ideologues took over.
and "inequalities that have always existed to some degree" does not address the dangers to our society created by a growing gap between rich and poor.
the right-wing ideologues ran congress thru the last 6 years of the Clinton presidency when Reich was around.
how is that they get zero credit, Clinton and Reich apparently get it all and when obama has both houses of congress , its the rw who is at fault for whatever bad happens or if the economy is still going south?
what are the 'dangers'?
what is social mobility?
how is it that with the rightwingnuts running the congress now, you give them no blame? or the blame for destroying the economy when baby bush was in power?
get a grip, hackboy.
Deregulation is being sold by Republicans as a job creator. I see no evidence of that. Firms don’t expand or contract on the basis of environmental or workplace safety rules. They do so because there’s demand for their products. In my opinion, deregulation in the financial industry was a primary cause of the recession which was most damaging to middle class workers.IMHO, there are three major reason for decline of the working class, deregulation, decline of the unions, and the wholesale exportation of American jobs.that's probably a small part of it, i'd think. but the reality is that workers pay has been stagnant while management pay has gone up massively. i'd say that's the larger problem.
The deregulation that began with Reagan and continued for nearly 30 years made large corporations answerable to no one but their stockholders. Legislation that allowed financial corporations to chose their own regulator was tantamount to setting regulations aside. The demise of Glass Steagall allowed bankers to become speculators. The result was the recession of 2008 which has taken it's biggest toll on the working class.
In 1980, one every 5 workers were union members. Today the figure is closer to 1 in 10. Weaker unions have resulted in improved productivity and higher profits at the expense of blue collar workers. The decline in union membership parallels the decline of American workers.
The demise of unions with the exportation of manufacturing jobs have created a social problem that will haunt us for many years. Free trade never made any sense to American workers. Politicians and big business sold it to the public. It did exactly what it was planned to do, trade good paying American jobs for low cost foreign labor. If that's not bad enough, we created loopholes in tax laws that encourages businesses to send jobs overseas.
Not sure I see the connection between deregulation and the decline of the working class. Maybe you or some one else can elaborate.
I think the decline of the unions is partly their own fault. Union leadership got too involved in politics instead of partnering with management, and they went too far in demanding medical and retirement benefits. Not to say management wasn't fully at fault too, but unions took a very adversarial position that cost them jobs.
Free trade is a different story, if you enact protectionist measures then you ultimately hurt your economy and your citizenry. If you want an example, read what happened to Argentina under Juan Peron.
All of these issues probably deserves it's own thread.
It's silly to say owners will hire more workers regardless of costs, just like it's silly to say workers will buy products regardless of prices. Economic activity always has two sides....Firms dont expand or contract on the basis of environmental or workplace safety rules. They do so because theres demand for their products...
Stupidity doesn't become a good idea just because it's done by a foreigner....our trading partners certainly protect their industries and we should respond in kind. It makes no sense to have free trade with countries that provide massive government support to their industries...
