Re: More on "Screw-the-underlings"

On Tue, 8 Jul 2008 07:43:39 -0700 (PDT), Thundercleets
<thundercleets@yahoo.com> wrote:

>On Jul 5, 2:59 pm, "Econotron" <njmfi...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>> "Stray Dog" <straydog2...@gmail.com> wrote in message
>>
>> news:ad6c53f6-f3c7-4893-beec-3b23f1f5162d@34g2000hsf.googlegroups.com...
>>
>> > One of the most insidious trends happening, today, all over the world,
>> > is the conversion of
>> > full time jobs into part-time jobs, and part-time contractual jobs
>> > with endpoints less than a year after they start,  that are spread ou
>t
>> > among more people AT THE SAME TIME that
>> > companies "become more efficient" by reducing FTE labor needs.
This
>> > guarantees that disposable
>> > income going to labor, in toto, becomes less and
>> > that means buyers have less buying power. They have to live on savings
>> > while they are unemployed until they get their next part time job, or
>> > a second part time job.
>>
>> > Todays WSJ, July 3, page A5, gives the statistics
>> > on this now for South Korea. title "South Korean Protests show Depth
>> > of Anger, Challenge President" and the graphic shows that
"percentage
>> > of work force in part-time or on-call jobs" went from about 16% in
>> > 2001 to 30% in 2004 and stayed there.
>>
>> > And, these numbers are similar to those in China, Japan, and even
>> > Europe as well as the USA.
>>
>> This is no doubt a future trend, which is beneficial to the society in th
>e
>> long run. Here the just-in-time concept, which has been so effective in
>> assuring smooth flow of materials in manufacturing, is applied to labor.
>> Nothing is wrong with it. There is no inherent right to a full-time job, 
>and
>> it is not even obvious that such jobs must exists. The past (and still
>> current) situation, where "permanent" positions with full benefits
are
>> commonplace, was due to a shortage of labor. Today, with more and more
>> countries embracing capitalist model, the supply of labor (especially at 
>the
>> lower skill level) outpaces the demand. The governments, including the US
>,
>> should not attempt to pressure business, but switch their attention to
>> creating wider safety networks, mainly through the insurance-type policie
>s.
>> Another benefit of the flexible employment is that it will promote person
>al
>> savings, thus putting the country back on the right course.
>>
>> > That article also had a graphic that showed the ratio of income
>> > inequality, "gap between rich and poor" being the highest in
Hong
>> > Kong, next was USA, next was UK, South Korea was 7th from top. and the
>> > source for the data included World Bank and the SK Minstry of Labor.
>>
>> > The article also makes reference to the finding that, by statistics,
>> > poverty in SK has gone up in recent years.
>>
>> > At the same time, all the rich guys, including rip-off CEOs are ever
>> > going to the bank with bigger and bigger bags of loot.
>>
>> Again, the growing income disparity is partially due to the oversupply of
>> labor, and in part (especially the US) to the expansionary monetary polic
>ies
>> of the Fed. CEO's pay should be a concern of business owners. The problem
> is
>> that mutual fund industry and their ever closer ties with the corporate
>> management made diluted such ownership. In that regard, activities of peo
>ple
>> like Icahn can be very helpful.
>> e.
>
>The oversupply of labor came about because of the oligarchy which has
>been controlling US trade and foreign policy since Bush 1.
>Labor by contract only benefits the wealthiest not the society.
>
>A contract worker working in a Gibsonesque contract labor society has
>no ownership and is reduced to a landless surf.
>
>The problem is that corporate executives are now not help responsible
>for their decisions and sit on multiple boards.
>As a corporate executive is given free license to rape a company his
>next job after the platinum parachute is already set by cronyism.
>
>The solution to unfair labor policy and exorbitant executive salaries
>at the cost of both the share holder and labor is simple.
>
>Bring back the guillotine
>

I usually summarize observations described above under the label
"screw the underlings" and reflect in private, sulking and pouting,
that maybe there hasn't been, after all, all that much progress since
the days of kings/emperors (at the top, with wealth, priviledge,
power) and underlings, serfs, peasants (at the bottom, groveling
endlessly, hardly aware that they are even human beings, and marked as
expendable in battle and taxable, tribute-able in peacetime).

>
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