Reich: Higher Wages Aren't Coming Back, and Here's Why

They would tell you "declining wages" were better than no wages, which many faced for long periods. And they would tell you they never "gave up" looking for work just because they couldn't find a job that met their inflated sense of worth. It was find work or the kids go hungry, so they found work. Any work. They would tell you there was no such thing as "discretionary income" (no entertainment choices, no vacations) because every penny went to food and shelter. Some Christmases there was no Santa Claus. "Leisure time" was for the wealthy only.

How many people have you spoken with this week who fit that description?

 

So shut up and work two or three jobs, seven days a week?

 

That's what many people had to do when we DID have a Depression.

My argument is that this is not the environment the nation as a whole faces today. And that Ragu's characterization of our economy as such is grossly exaggerated. I am, however, willing to change my opinion on this if people can honestly state that many of their friends are living the life I described above.

 

You just called it an "economic downturn," which I believe to be 100 percent accurate.

A few posts ago you called it a Depression, which I believe was a gross exaggeration. Thus, my bringing up the 1930s.

Just call it what it is --- an economic downturn with troubling signs for any kind of recovery soon --- and quit with the needless hyperbole.

 

What is your personal work limit?

 

One job.

 

Do we really want the country to operate on an "eh, it's better than the 1930s" standard?

How about a comparison to the 1950s through 1990s, when people worked plenty hard too but also had government support and collective bargaining power toward livable wages?

 

Those were the days, those days of profit sharing and solid pensions.

 

We're also about "two generations in" on American workers who have no real vision or plan for their lives but they have enough (cell phones, a big screen TV) to not want to make a dramatic change in their behavior, ambition or skill set.

Everywhere I go, I see people where the "pilot light" is off.

Maybe they're just beaten down from life. Maybe they're exhausted from what was a near-depression for those without college degrees. Maybe they're just idiots.

For these workers, they cannot expect a raise unless they also offer more in the workplace and the marketplace.

That's why it's so damn important to keep on top of technologies and efficiencies. If you make yourself valuable enough where your "WAR" is high enough, a smart employer will find a way to keep you. Turnover is expensive for important jobs.

My benefit in the workplace is that I generally am more focused and more productive than all of my co-workers. From this statement, you can also deduct that I'm a bigger asshole, too.