It's Everyone's Labor Battle, You're Next
It's Everyone's Labor Battle, You're Next"The strike by 3,650 workers against American Axle & Manufacturing (AAM) has entered its second week. Autoworkers are determined to resist the company’s demands for a cut in wages from $28 to $14 an hour and other sweeping concessions in benefits and working conditions."
As labor costs go down in many industries, you have to ask what industries are next? You cannot pay teachers, government managers, elected political officials, police, firemen, or even sanitation workers big bucks, when rank and file labor is earning only $14 dollars per hour. Most states have high real estate taxes and income taxes that is used to pay the salaries of government workers. As states lose their tax base, they have to furlough workers or reduce wages also.
There are still many workers in America that are earning high wages and they are looking the other way thinking low wages or job elimination will not happen to them. These people for the most part ignore the suffering of their brothers and sisters who are forced to accept lower wages or even forfeit their jobs altogether.
As more and more American citizens are jeopardised with lower wages and job elimination, then the fabric of America is destroyed. Fewer people will be able to afford cars, large screen TVs, or own their homes, or even save for retirement. More Americans will become more callous.
Far too many state and local governments have expenses that exceed their income. Many organizations are behind in paying pension obligations for their workers by billions of dollars. In the State of New Jersey, all tax organizations have been told to reduce the tax burden from last year's tax burden and none complied. Governor Corzine is trying to find billions of dollars to make up from a shortfall in revenue and excessive obligations. And the state lost hundreds of thousands of American citizens due to high taxes already. The state would have a population decrease if not due to hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants who drain educational, health, and criminal justice resources far beyond their tax contributions. And New Jersey is a sanctuary state which is helping it go bankrupt. Maybe New Jersey should go bankrupt and let its obligations be written off, I certainly feel no need to suffer myself in paying those obligations. And in my mind the obligations are primarily pensions to teachers, police, firemen, and other government workers.
New Jersey as has other states been in economic decline. Once very prosperous, New Jersey is losing jobs every week to neighboring states because of lower taxes and other comparisons. And New Jersey has lost many jobs to overseas countries. And New Jersey American citizens have lost jobs to aliens brought to America with temporary work visas such as the H1B.
We all have to become politically active. Maybe we should get out and demonstrate. We have to vote for the people who recognize what is happening in America and will do something about it. You have to recognize that as more people have to accept lower wages and benefits, or lose their jobs the closer home this will go for the same thing to happen to you. And as the overall income is reduced in you town, county, or state your government will not be able to pay high wages or benefits to their employees either.
It is no longer the other person's problem. You are on the banana peel too. We all have to watch out for each other. President Clinton's economic advisor from Princeton University, Blinder, says there are as many as 40 million more jobs in America that are on the blocks to be outsourced overseas. Congress is looking to increase the number of temporary alien workers into America when there are Americans citizens qualified, available and willing to do the work. There are millions of illegal aliens in America that are breaking the law by being here in America. There are a hundred thousand or more employers of illegal aliens that are breaking the law also. Our government at the federal, state, and local levels must buy American goods and services first. All other countries protect their industry while America seems not to do so which is wrong.
posted by God Bless America - Bob @ 1:36 PM
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