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Open thread August 9, 2016

Dan Crawford | August 9, 2016 8:19 am

Tags: open thread Comments (1) | Digg Facebook Twitter |
1 Comment
  • Denis Drew says:
    August 9, 2016 at 11:40 am

    Re: Trump and the damage done – Joe Stiglitz
    http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2016/08/04/trump-and-damage-done/u8Lqa64AoCEqw3znmINJ3K/story.html

    ” … a full-time male worker is lower than 40 years ago, the hourly wage at the bottom comparable to levels 60 years ago. ”
    ” Trump has exploited this great divide … ”
    ” … that he has received the nomination of one the two major parties, the Grand Old Party — puts all countries on notice: Next time, someone as or more extreme may be elected, someone even less committed (if that is possible) to honor old agreements. ”

    No extreme demagogue could plausibly emerge if we merely move America’s labor market back to normally high union density.

    To me labor Nirvana would be getting most low skilled jobs into the area of $800/wk — $600/wk minimum (maybe for high labor cost businesses like fast food; maybe). My guess is that would take something like 12 1/2% shift in income from the top 55% who now take 90% of income (or from the top 54% who now take 70%) to the bottom 45% ($15/hr being today’s 45 percentile wage).

    Three labor union empowered 10% bonuses to get the 12 1/2% back for the 55% — and everybody else:

    10% saved on market rip-offs like medical (drug and device monopolies), education (for profit colleges), real estate skyrocketing (self-destructive zoning, no realistic rent control like Germany’s, et al.) — others can produce a much more comprehensive list than I can.
    10% of overall income gouged back from the 1% who now take 20% (historically it was only 10%, which was thought to make very rich) via confiscatory taxation — think Eisenhower level.
    10% more productive economy by cutting today’s finance share of the economy from a bloated 20% (where too many of our best young minds go to gamble) back to a genuinely useful 10%.

    12 1/2% — lost to income reshuffle — back from normal economic growth over a decade — presumably spread fairly via collective bargaining. Win, win, win, win.

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