Whose recession?

This from Bob Herbert of the New York Times, “They threw out far more workers and hours than they lost output,” said Professor Sum. “Here’s what happened: At the end of the fourth quarter in 2008, you see corporate profits begin to really take off, and they grow by the time you get to the first quarter of 2010 by $572 billion. And over that same time period, wage and salary payments go down by $122 billion.”  Just keep in mind after reading this, that when adjusted for inflation, the American worker’s share has remained the same for four decades. 

The point of Mr. Herbert’s column is that the actual recession is being made worse by the actions of some corporations.  Not all, but some, corporations are exaggerating  “economic bad times” as an excuse to reduce costs more than necessary.  But almost all of them have used some of the following tactics:  reduce workforce, cut hours of remaining people, redistribute the work to those who are left, hire subcontractors without benefits to replace permanent staff and minimize or eliminate raises.  Add that to the Republican Party’s openly blind support of anything corporations want to do and the Democrat’s tacit agreement by signaling left and turning right. And we have a three part explanation for a slow jobless recovery. 

I understand why corporations are doing this.  They only have one obligation – to increase shareholder value.  What I don’t understand is the working person who pledges his undying allegiance to Republican Party principles and argues for the very system that creates his suffering.  And the Pollyanna Democrat who thinks his party really works hard to protect his interests and blames its failure on Republican resistance.  Meanwhile, we are being distracted with inflammatory issues like, gun owners rights and same sex marriages. And of course the ever present threat of a Muslim terrorist hiding behind your trash cans.   But the one that really defies my understanding is why so many working people worry about “redistribution of wealth”.  Most of us don’t have any wealth left.  And if we did, we probably don’t have enough to be redistributed anyway, thanks to a lack of regulations on the financial industry bandits. Besides that, the people who are screaming are nowhere near the top.  The people that should be screaming are the wealthy, not the average guy on the street.  But somehow they’ve convinced “Joe, the plumber” to do it for them and rally against his own interests.

I have to say this, their strategy is working.  I hear working people defending actions that are tantamount to taking the food off their tables as “the America we want to take back”.  That’s the America with the corporate-government collusion, irresponsible deregulation and economic policies that brought us the current recession.  And we want it back? 

These corporate shenanigans are zero sum games.  When enough workers are out of work, who is going to buy?  When  businesses dump enough workers and workers can’t buy, the game is over.  Unless of course they plan to make it up in foreign markets.  “Ya think?”

This is the age of disinformation.  So I don’t blame the average person for being confused.  Here’s the baseline;  our politicians, both Republicans and Democrats, live in a universe of plenty; full of power, privilege and lots of money, regardless of Sarah Palin’s claims to be just a hockey mom.  I don’t care what silly contrived controversy is being used to distract you.  They’ll do and say anything to stay in that universe. 

I know what my values are and they’re nowhere to be found in the practices of either party lately.  So I suggest that you forget political party affiliation.  Instead, check on how your elected politicians vote on the issues that affect your wellbeing.  That will tell you the real story.  You won’t hear it on Fox News or MSNBC.       

Robert DeFilippis