Does it matter whether it’s a demo or repub if the result of the past 50 years is a doubling of the people in poverty and decreasing number of people entering the middle class?
Then a crashing of bubbles in the market about every 10 years which the average taxpayer is one picking up the tab for an economy which has not helped them.
JackD, I believe there is another recession cooked into the economic books, so the Reps would be blamed. What Repub policies could delay or cause the next recession is a more important question.
Economist do not have a good handle on these issues, so politics drive so many of these discussions: “Well, historically the economy has done better under a democratic president…” and “The Democrats would finally sweep the 2018 vote after the Republicans triggered a financial crisis.” The latter is only true if the economy and not security stays the number 1 issue.
We do know that climate is no where near number 1.
Forget monetary and/or fiscal policy — it’s the labor-market-al policy, stupid (to borrow a familiar phrase).
As long as unopposed ownership monopsony (unopposed by labor union monopoly) mercilessly squeezes wages and benefits down …
… squeezing what is squeezed out of labor to the top 1% or so who cannot spend it as fast as we shovel it to them: think squeeze a toothpaste tube in the bottom and it all comes out the top; it’s a kind of physics — think $100,000 QBs, CEOs, etc.; actually reducing demand …
… sucking so much out of the bottom that too many (very many) lives become less educated, less healthy, less productive, or more dysfunctional to the point we have to spend wildly on police and jails chasing them around — or sucking so much out of wages of former middle class jobs that people end up on the bottom because they refuse to work for “chump change” wages: think me, American born former taxi driver (okay I’m too old now — but I wouldn’t do it if I could) who wouldn’t work for $500 a week (if they do that well today) for a job that used to pay $800 a week for 60 hours.
This takes a little development. Today’s Chicago gang bangers (Spike Lee shows his usual, what I call “rich white boy from Columbia University” self in his latest movie — knows nothing about the poor side of town like John Singleton or Mario Van Pebbles do) would gladly labor for the equivalent of $200 a week, 100 years ago, today’s gang bangers would. Because, that would have been all the less productive economy of the time could have paid. Today’s 100,000 Chicago gang bangers (out of my guesstimate 200,000 Chicago gang age, minority males) wont work for $400 a week for jobs that today’s economy should be able to pay $600 to $800 a week for (e.g., retail clerk).
At my old Teamsters Union local 804 (Gimble’s furniture warehouse) we spent half the day breathing hard and wet with sweat for $800 a week — in 1970; when per capita income was 66% of today’s. Today’s 804 UPS drivers do $1200 a week, “breathing hard” — the market demands a lot from them but at least they get paid commensurately.
The beauty of collective bargaining (possibly [very probably]needed to be under-girded by centralized bargaining to keep the balance between monopsony and monopoly right) is that it can tell you that you have squeezed the max the ultimate consumer is willing to pay) — so you have that natural incentive to give your work all you’ve got.
A lot of it could be the psychology too, stupid (just to use familiar phrase :-] — see snake head).
Until the American labor market is rescued from it’s pathological union-free condition there will be no change in direction from the gradual descent into stagnation and even dysfunction, both economically and socially (and of course politically).
Easy-to-do: just go from progressive states to less progressive states of the union treating labor market muscling and manipulation as seriously as every other form of market warping: MAKE UNION BUSTING A FELONY, backed by RICO prosecution for persistent abuse.
The laws are already in place; the issues presumably settled; the laws are curiously missing one thing: dentures. 🙂
It’s really just a matter of freedom — free to chose to collectively bargain.
Correction: probably don’t have to make it but don’t mind emphasizing it: make that $100,000,000 QBs.
If somebody told Joe Namath back when he was the highest paid player in the league what QBs in the future would make he might have thought you meant 100 years in the future. Actually, based on normal per capita growth rates 100 years in the future would have paid nothing close to that much at all.
Ya gotta give CoRev credit. I think he has been banned at least four times, been maligned in some of the harshest terms ever (though gave as good as he got) and yet still wants to come back and slay dragons.
Not only is he better than the Timex Watch of old (“Takes a lickin’ and keeps on tickin’) he is give ol’ Don Quixote and his Windmills a run for their money.
I mean even the Cantabrigian “he who shall not be named” guy finally gave up.
What do you think it would do to the economy if some Republican won the presidency?
Well, historically the economy has done better under a democratic president, so I would say it will do worse than if a democrat is elected president.
The Democrats would finally sweep the 2018 vote after the Republicans triggered a financial crisis.
Does it matter whether it’s a demo or repub if the result of the past 50 years is a doubling of the people in poverty and decreasing number of people entering the middle class?
Then a crashing of bubbles in the market about every 10 years which the average taxpayer is one picking up the tab for an economy which has not helped them.
JackD, I believe there is another recession cooked into the economic books, so the Reps would be blamed. What Repub policies could delay or cause the next recession is a more important question.
Economist do not have a good handle on these issues, so politics drive so many of these discussions: “Well, historically the economy has done better under a democratic president…” and “The Democrats would finally sweep the 2018 vote after the Republicans triggered a financial crisis.” The latter is only true if the economy and not security stays the number 1 issue.
We do know that climate is no where near number 1.
You may “know” that. I do not.
BTW,
That security comment is nonsense.
Forget monetary and/or fiscal policy — it’s the labor-market-al policy, stupid (to borrow a familiar phrase).
As long as unopposed ownership monopsony (unopposed by labor union monopoly) mercilessly squeezes wages and benefits down …
… squeezing what is squeezed out of labor to the top 1% or so who cannot spend it as fast as we shovel it to them: think squeeze a toothpaste tube in the bottom and it all comes out the top; it’s a kind of physics — think $100,000 QBs, CEOs, etc.; actually reducing demand …
… sucking so much out of the bottom that too many (very many) lives become less educated, less healthy, less productive, or more dysfunctional to the point we have to spend wildly on police and jails chasing them around — or sucking so much out of wages of former middle class jobs that people end up on the bottom because they refuse to work for “chump change” wages: think me, American born former taxi driver (okay I’m too old now — but I wouldn’t do it if I could) who wouldn’t work for $500 a week (if they do that well today) for a job that used to pay $800 a week for 60 hours.
This takes a little development. Today’s Chicago gang bangers (Spike Lee shows his usual, what I call “rich white boy from Columbia University” self in his latest movie — knows nothing about the poor side of town like John Singleton or Mario Van Pebbles do) would gladly labor for the equivalent of $200 a week, 100 years ago, today’s gang bangers would. Because, that would have been all the less productive economy of the time could have paid. Today’s 100,000 Chicago gang bangers (out of my guesstimate 200,000 Chicago gang age, minority males) wont work for $400 a week for jobs that today’s economy should be able to pay $600 to $800 a week for (e.g., retail clerk).
At my old Teamsters Union local 804 (Gimble’s furniture warehouse) we spent half the day breathing hard and wet with sweat for $800 a week — in 1970; when per capita income was 66% of today’s. Today’s 804 UPS drivers do $1200 a week, “breathing hard” — the market demands a lot from them but at least they get paid commensurately.
The beauty of collective bargaining (possibly [very probably]needed to be under-girded by centralized bargaining to keep the balance between monopsony and monopoly right) is that it can tell you that you have squeezed the max the ultimate consumer is willing to pay) — so you have that natural incentive to give your work all you’ve got.
A lot of it could be the psychology too, stupid (just to use familiar phrase :-] — see snake head).
Until the American labor market is rescued from it’s pathological union-free condition there will be no change in direction from the gradual descent into stagnation and even dysfunction, both economically and socially (and of course politically).
Easy-to-do: just go from progressive states to less progressive states of the union treating labor market muscling and manipulation as seriously as every other form of market warping: MAKE UNION BUSTING A FELONY, backed by RICO prosecution for persistent abuse.
The laws are already in place; the issues presumably settled; the laws are curiously missing one thing: dentures. 🙂
It’s really just a matter of freedom — free to chose to collectively bargain.
Correction: probably don’t have to make it but don’t mind emphasizing it: make that $100,000,000 QBs.
If somebody told Joe Namath back when he was the highest paid player in the league what QBs in the future would make he might have thought you meant 100 years in the future. Actually, based on normal per capita growth rates 100 years in the future would have paid nothing close to that much at all.
CoRev is back?!!!
Christmas came early! I have a reason to get up in the morning and read AB beyond the BK factor.
As Yogi Berra might have said and Yogi Bear probably said: “Good Times All Over Again”. Auld Lang Syne indeed.
Now if we could just get FA is weigh back in. (Though screw MG and PRS, those guys were dead weight)
Bruce:
I saw your letter to Santa and I helped to deliver.
Sorry to see somebody let the troll back in.
Joel:
“We” always watch
Happy to add some noise to the echo chamber.
There’s too much noise in the world already. Anybody can make noise. Making sense is what’s needed, not more noise.
http://www.juancole.com/2015/12/cold-global-warming.html
The echo chamber is uni-polar.
The right wing fever swamp is real, while the right wing swampers seeing a left wing fever swamp is their delusion
Ya gotta give CoRev credit. I think he has been banned at least four times, been maligned in some of the harshest terms ever (though gave as good as he got) and yet still wants to come back and slay dragons.
Not only is he better than the Timex Watch of old (“Takes a lickin’ and keeps on tickin’) he is give ol’ Don Quixote and his Windmills a run for their money.
I mean even the Cantabrigian “he who shall not be named” guy finally gave up.
Bruce:
🙂
“We do know that climate is no where near number 1.”
Only if you know nothing.
http://www.juancole.com/2015/07/hotter-since-records.html
Banned for using profanity, I assume?