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What Deficit Reduction is Really About: Weakening Workers’ Bargaining Power
http://www.counterpunch.org/2013/04/24/what-deficit-reduction-is-really-about-weakening-workers-bargaining-power/What Deficit Reduction is Really About: Weakening Workers’ Bargaining Power
by DEAN BAKER
As a result, virtually all of the gains from productivity growth since the downturn have gone to employers. The after-tax profit share of national income is at the highest level since 1951. The rise in corporate profits had led to a booming stock market, which has recovered all the ground lost since the recession.
The list of losers in the current economic situation is much larger than the list of winners. There are a relatively small number of people who own substantial amounts of stock. The overwhelming majority of the non-retired population gets more income from their labor than stock ownership. These people are clear losers from the austerity being followed in the United States for the last three years.
Of course campaign contributions come disproportionately from the tiny segment of the population who do own large amounts of stock. As a result, the interests of the wealthy are likely to be the concerns of elected politicians even if they are opposed to the interests of the vast majority of the population. That is why we see efforts to cut programs such as Social Security and Medicare even when these cuts are opposed by large majorities of people across the political spectrum.
The news last week is that the new paper discrediting Reinhart and Rogoff made everything much clearer. The leadership of both major parties is not seeking ways to reduce the budget deficit because there is any reason to believe this will be good for the economy. They are looking for ways to reduce the budget deficit because the wealthy are happy to sustain a situation in which high unemployment weakens workers’ bargaining power. This does not paint a very positive picture of the state of democracy in the United States.
The list of losers in the current economic situation is much larger than the list of winners. There are a relatively small number of people who own substantial amounts of stock. The overwhelming majority of the non-retired population gets more income from their labor than stock ownership. These people are clear losers from the austerity being followed in the United States for the last three years.
Of course campaign contributions come disproportionately from the tiny segment of the population who do own large amounts of stock. As a result, the interests of the wealthy are likely to be the concerns of elected politicians even if they are opposed to the interests of the vast majority of the population. That is why we see efforts to cut programs such as Social Security and Medicare even when these cuts are opposed by large majorities of people across the political spectrum.
The news last week is that the new paper discrediting Reinhart and Rogoff made everything much clearer. The leadership of both major parties is not seeking ways to reduce the budget deficit because there is any reason to believe this will be good for the economy. They are looking for ways to reduce the budget deficit because the wealthy are happy to sustain a situation in which high unemployment weakens workers’ bargaining power. This does not paint a very positive picture of the state of democracy in the United States.
And here we just congratulate people for being the lucky one after playing musical chairs for YEARS. We need to stop competing and DEMAND MORE CHAIRS...
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