I don't know how long many of you have followed this blog, but twenty months ago when I formed this blog it was with an idea of getting back to our roots. This blog is truly meant to discuss ideas and generate dialogue in the interest of the people of the Hickory area.
For far too long, we have seen our interests pigeon-holed into defined parameters that allow very little wiggle room for open minded thought. Truly, I believe that there have been very few forums to discuss issues in an in-depth manner. One thing that a mentor has instilled in me is that I need to find value in what others say. I believe that I am succeeding well in this goal. Other compatriots that I associate with are moving in this direction also, but sadly this is not the mindset of the vast majority of people in this community.
Let's look at our community. For the most part, we are registered Republicans, but it isn't very simple, because there are a few factions that make up those who label themselves Republican. The glue that binds us is the fact that we are financial conservatives. We work hard for our money and we want to keep it. We want the government to spend as little money as possible and some of us will even gripe over every penny that is spent, even in many cases when it is justifiable.
Where many of us differ is in the cultural realm 0f conservatism. On one side you have the Christian Conservatives who can be intolerant towards those who may not agree with their positions on religious issues. In many cases, they will not compromise or negotiate on issues that do not adhere to the strict dogma they desire to practice. Many even desire to try to control others through there political practices.
Then there are the Country Club Conservatives that twist like lilies in the wind when it comes to any cultural issues. They don't want to judge anyone for anything, but they will try to control you through social and environmental interaction based upon ideas termed to be "Progressive" in nature. They are financially conservative, because they want to be frugal with their own assets, but they also want to tell you what you can do with your assets. Most of the Country Club Progressive types are obsessed with image and perception.
When it comes to Democrats, I have to admit that I have never understood them. It seems to me that they have a party centered around cultural activism where everyone has some kind of chip on their shoulder. Most of the Democrats that I have witnessed have no concept of sound monetary policy. It's all about spend it today and we'll worry about how to pay for it tomorrow. Admittedly, many Republicans have fallen into this philosophy also. But, Democrats have never met a tax they didn't want to raise, while Republicans never met a deficit they didn't want to explode.
Who can argue that politicians today, in general, are like used car salesman. Let's get you into it today and we'll worry about the payments tomorrow. Does this make sense? Do we not need to have a plan?
I remember last year when the origins of the tea party came about. It came about on February 19, 2009 when a frustrated Rick Santelli, a commentator on CNBC, called for all the remaining capitalists to join him in Chicago for a "Tea Party"; watch the video below.
Then on tax day many people got together to protest what we saw happening, which I summarized in the following article - April 15, 2009... The Tea Party was Cool. The events that followed in the Spring and Summer last year involving the Health Care debate culminated in a lot of Town Hall gatherings across the country, which were mainly attended by many of the same people that gathered on Tax Day. Locally, our Congressional Representative Patrick McHenry held an event at Lenoir-Rhyne, which was basically filled to capacity. I covered that event in the following article - 8/11/2009 - Congressman Patrick McHenry's Town Hall in Hickory.
We are nearly nine months past the fervor that we saw attached to the Health Care issue. Massachusetts saw to it that Scott Brown was elected as a Republican Senator to take over the Forefather of Public Healthcare's, Ted Kennedy, seat. What good came out of all of the efforts that we saw? How spectacular was the waste of energy that people put forth? People put forth their heart and soul to show that they didn't want the proposed healthcare package passed and in the end it was ramrodded through anyway.
There is a long line of egregious powergrabs that have been foisted on the American people over the last several years. My current thought is how will they stick it to us next. It certainly looks like the stars are aligning on the immigration issue. By hook or by crook they are going to try initiate amnesty for the illegals and this should not be allowed to happen. We need to protect our borders and the value and rights inherent to United States citizenship.
We know where the Democrats stand on these issues, but the impotence of Republican United States Senators is what is at the root of the problems that we see related to Conservative Idealism. Arlen Specter showed his true colors and did the right thing by joining the party that held his philosophy. Now, there are only four Senators at the forefront of Progressive Ideology and they do not represent any type of core Conservative Philosophy. These Senators are John McCain, Lindsay Graham, Susan Collins, and Olympia Snowe. Each of these Senators that I have mentioned have been uniquely responsible towards the development of Socialist Ideals at the expense of true Republican Philosophy.
When I look at the Americans whom would consider themselves to be a part of the Tea Party movement, I see people who believe in what Ronald Reagan espoused when he came to power in the early 1980s. Government is necessary, but it is a problem when it gets too large and tries to control every facet of citizens' lives. People understand the need to pay taxes, but they want them to be fruitful and create value. They don't want their taxes used to create moral hazards.
Tea Partiers understand that their needs to be healthcare reform, but they do not want to see a system developed to take care of people who will not control their vises. They don't want to have one size fits all policies. They want there to be methods implemented to control costs without punishing healthcare providers or participants. And most of all they don't want to see healthcare used as a method to control the populace.
When it comes to the Financial industry crisis. Tea Partiers are tired of seeing Wall Street placed to the head of the line before citizens, especially when Wall Street created this fiasco. People are tired of the lobbying shenanigans, the insider trading, influence peddling, and conflicts of interest. Laws are being usurped, problems keep being pushed down the road, no one is being held responsible for wrongdoing, and the problems continue to grow like a metastasized cancer. People have a gut feeling that the politicians, bureaucrats, and banksters don't have a clue what they are doing, but they seem to be in cahoots lining their pockets with our money.
The most important objective that the Tea Partiers must realize is that we need a new way. The Tea Party movement can't allow itself to become labeled, for in doing so they become marginalized. If the Tea Partiers march in lockstep with the Republicans, then they are just Republicans.
I have seen Republicans, such as Sarah Palin and Dick Cheney represent themselves in the ideology of the Tea Partiers. Be careful, because Sarah Palin has campaigned with John McCain and John McCain is a status quo, big government progressive. I also have seen where Dick Cheney is standing against Rand Paul in his run for Senate in Kentucky. Rand Paul (Ron Paul's son) is the ideal new wave conservative who fully represents Tea Party values.
What we need to get back to is the fundamental philosophy of Independence and Rugged Individualism. That does not mean that we are not interdependent on society. That means that we, as individuals, should be allowed to choose where and under what circumstances we want to participate with others. We should not be forced to join into groups that we don't want to be a part of.
The Tea Partiers should be careful not to cast their lot with any static philosophy. We need representatives who are willing to think outside of the box in these times of exponential change. We don't need to be following simple subjective approaches. 2,700 page legislative documents are as subjective as decrees of law can get.
We need to practice objectivity. That is what the founders did. Their objectivity was rooted in principle, while limiting the constraints that the government and society could place on a person's thoughts and actions. This is why we were so free. Free to invent new technologies. Free to explore the West. Free to go to the Moon. Free to create computers and the Internet. We are losing that through our current mode of governance. We need a new way and falling right back into line with the same cast of characters is not going to get us there.
Monday, May 3, 2010
Thursday, April 29, 2010
The Race to the Bottom
We are racing to the bottom. That is what we are doing as a society, be it on the local, state, national, or world scene. As a society, we no longer strive for excellence. We are heading at breakneck speed towards Third World status.
Particularly in the Hickory area, we have bought into every aspect of this economic concept and it has taken a decade, but we have ruined our economy in this area and until we shift our focus, we are not going to improve.
In studying the dominoes that brought us here, I see a chain of events deeply associated with the long time business model of the area. We had built a vast manufacturing based economy that lasted decades until the 1990s. At that point, we had achieved full employment, which led to hyper-competition for labor during those years. Labor is the number one cost of a company's business expenses and the business owners and management looked at how they might be able to squeeze the labor model and increase their profit margins.
Along came the year 2000 and the stock market bubble involving high tech stocks. Much of the bust involved data communications companies, such as Global Crossing and Level 3 Communications, who were wiring the world. When the bust occurred, these companies drastically slowed down that wiring of Fiber-Optic cable and guess what? We had local companies such as Alcatel, Corning, and Commscope that were riding the crest of that wave. That is when our local economy hit the fan.
Up until June of 2000, it was thought that this Cable Industry business model would not end, but it quickly came to an abrupt and screeching halt. We all remember those days, when the first layoffs started in early 2001. No one thought it would last forever and it might not have, if it weren't for that infamous day in September, 2001.
What also coincided with this period of time was the influx of Hispanic workers into the area. When many laborers left their jobs working in textiles and furniture, working for $10 per hour, to go work for the cable companies making $15 to $20 per hour, the owners of those businesses looked for cheaper and more effective ways to control labor costs. That is the period of time when the State of North Carolina started turning a blind eye towards the massive in-migration of Hispanics into this community.
Now I know that the slacked-jawed amongst us are going to complain about me pointing out the obvious, but what I would like for you to realize is that I don't blame Hispanic Immigrants for wanting to come here. I have worked with many industrious Hispanics over the last 13+ years, since my days working at Bald Head Island. All they want is to improve their circumstances and be able to help their families.
What bothers me is the way that government and industry went about implementing this process. And what I at one time thought was a process, I have come to realize was all along a full blown scheme. It seems that there was no plan other than to bring foreign labor into our area to change the labor equilibrium by increasing the supply of labor. The purpose of which was not to fill labor capacity, but to suppress wages.
In this early 2000 period, we saw the perfect storm occur, because when the tech bubble burst, then additional labor supply increased at a time when the economy began slowing, causing demand for products to slow and thus demand for labor to slow also. The chase to the bottom had begun.
Instead of the old system, where migrant labor was sent home when their service was no longer needed, our government turned a blind eye, because in my opinion, many business owners wanted to continue to maintain their profit margins during the economic crunch.
That is where I am coming from. Business owners have failed to realize that their mindset that revolves around short term economic gain has created a cultural climate of long term economic pain for the middle class laborer. That is what I spoke of when I wrote in the article Getting Back on Track -- Creating a Legitimate Financial System, "A transformed investment model should take into account what impact an investment has on the community. Any investment needs to have a positive impact on what Catherine Austin Fitts terms the "Financial Eco-System" as well as yourself. If you make money, but everyone around you goes broke as a result of your investment, have you truly increased your own wealth (standard of living)?"
First, we saw NAFTA implemented and its effects on our economy. The blind eyed acceptance of illegal immigration into our economy saw a drastic reduction in the standard of living of the middle class, but people were able to keep their jobs for the most part, at that time. The next leg down came when the agreements in accordance with the World Trade Organization started being implemented fully. That next leg down was shipping labor demand capacity overseas.
What this has led to is built in excuses for business owners. "I had to hire illegals, because Americans won't do the work." "I had to hire illegals, because my competitors are hiring them and I can't compete." "I had to hire illegals, because they will do the work and they don't expect the money the lazy Americans expect." "I had to ship my labor overseas, because I can't compete against my competition."
The deal is that this is what industry wants and the Rich get Richer and the Middle Class and Poor get Poorer in this race to the bottom. Americans ARE willing to do the work, but they expect to be compensated fairly. Businesses are always going to have to compete. They certainly seem to expect labor to compete. Instead of asking government to not move us toward World "Free for All" Trade, they decided to utilize and abuse, not only people that were loyal to them in their country, but also take advantage of the illegals by low-balling their labor costs. They also decided to further allow the oppression and abuses that take place in many of these Third World countries and systems that they have sent those jobs to.
What good has any of this done? Our community has been decimated and the low skilled labor is cornered and has nowhere to turn. The cost of living continues to rise and yet income levels are stagnant or depressed. How are people going to make ends meet? Many older businessmen and governmental leaders, who pushed this race to the bottom, are at a loss as to how to even stem the tide of the drain that has been placed upon our community, while at the same time they are unwilling to accept any type of efforts that may be deemed 'Too Risky."
What does this mean to the quality of life in our community? Where will government income come from? Where will businesses find customers for their products, when much of the population can't make ends meet? How will we begin to grow the economy again?
The Prophet (HaHa!) Ross Perot from the 1992 Presidential Debate (He says 15 years):
The effects of NAFTA on the indigenous Mexican Population and the USA:
This is what I mean when I make the statement, Cheap begets Cheap. Everything in our community, when it comes to investment is about frugality. We don't need to be frugal. We need to create value. We need to make a profit. People have mistaken cost cutting measures with making a profit. You can cut your costs to ZERO and that doesn't mean you are going to make a penny. Many times you destroy your customer base by cutting costs at the expense of quality. Let me ask. Who is going to be more willing to ensure that they create an excellent product, an employee you are willing to invest in or an employee that you keep dangling on a string?
As a community, a state, and a country, we have to get back to the idea of excellence. Excellent products, excellent performance, excellent people, and excellent communities. We do that through respect and equality in the administration of justice. You can't look to take advantage of people by scheming them. It can't be about Dog eat Dog. It has to be about loving thy neighbor and helping thy neighbor and I don't mean that under the context of Unilateral Disarmament by being the so-called "bigger man." I mean that as in building relationships of trust, because once trust has been breached, it is hard to ever regain. But, is that not the valuable lesson that we have all learned. Whether we like it or not, we need one another to further our own personal growth.
If we get enough people to buy into the concepts that I describe above, and marginalize those unwilling to participate and play fair, then I truly believe that we will turn our economic lot around.
Particularly in the Hickory area, we have bought into every aspect of this economic concept and it has taken a decade, but we have ruined our economy in this area and until we shift our focus, we are not going to improve.
In studying the dominoes that brought us here, I see a chain of events deeply associated with the long time business model of the area. We had built a vast manufacturing based economy that lasted decades until the 1990s. At that point, we had achieved full employment, which led to hyper-competition for labor during those years. Labor is the number one cost of a company's business expenses and the business owners and management looked at how they might be able to squeeze the labor model and increase their profit margins.
Along came the year 2000 and the stock market bubble involving high tech stocks. Much of the bust involved data communications companies, such as Global Crossing and Level 3 Communications, who were wiring the world. When the bust occurred, these companies drastically slowed down that wiring of Fiber-Optic cable and guess what? We had local companies such as Alcatel, Corning, and Commscope that were riding the crest of that wave. That is when our local economy hit the fan.
Up until June of 2000, it was thought that this Cable Industry business model would not end, but it quickly came to an abrupt and screeching halt. We all remember those days, when the first layoffs started in early 2001. No one thought it would last forever and it might not have, if it weren't for that infamous day in September, 2001.
What also coincided with this period of time was the influx of Hispanic workers into the area. When many laborers left their jobs working in textiles and furniture, working for $10 per hour, to go work for the cable companies making $15 to $20 per hour, the owners of those businesses looked for cheaper and more effective ways to control labor costs. That is the period of time when the State of North Carolina started turning a blind eye towards the massive in-migration of Hispanics into this community.
Now I know that the slacked-jawed amongst us are going to complain about me pointing out the obvious, but what I would like for you to realize is that I don't blame Hispanic Immigrants for wanting to come here. I have worked with many industrious Hispanics over the last 13+ years, since my days working at Bald Head Island. All they want is to improve their circumstances and be able to help their families.
What bothers me is the way that government and industry went about implementing this process. And what I at one time thought was a process, I have come to realize was all along a full blown scheme. It seems that there was no plan other than to bring foreign labor into our area to change the labor equilibrium by increasing the supply of labor. The purpose of which was not to fill labor capacity, but to suppress wages.
In this early 2000 period, we saw the perfect storm occur, because when the tech bubble burst, then additional labor supply increased at a time when the economy began slowing, causing demand for products to slow and thus demand for labor to slow also. The chase to the bottom had begun.
Instead of the old system, where migrant labor was sent home when their service was no longer needed, our government turned a blind eye, because in my opinion, many business owners wanted to continue to maintain their profit margins during the economic crunch.
That is where I am coming from. Business owners have failed to realize that their mindset that revolves around short term economic gain has created a cultural climate of long term economic pain for the middle class laborer. That is what I spoke of when I wrote in the article Getting Back on Track -- Creating a Legitimate Financial System, "A transformed investment model should take into account what impact an investment has on the community. Any investment needs to have a positive impact on what Catherine Austin Fitts terms the "Financial Eco-System" as well as yourself. If you make money, but everyone around you goes broke as a result of your investment, have you truly increased your own wealth (standard of living)?"
First, we saw NAFTA implemented and its effects on our economy. The blind eyed acceptance of illegal immigration into our economy saw a drastic reduction in the standard of living of the middle class, but people were able to keep their jobs for the most part, at that time. The next leg down came when the agreements in accordance with the World Trade Organization started being implemented fully. That next leg down was shipping labor demand capacity overseas.
What this has led to is built in excuses for business owners. "I had to hire illegals, because Americans won't do the work." "I had to hire illegals, because my competitors are hiring them and I can't compete." "I had to hire illegals, because they will do the work and they don't expect the money the lazy Americans expect." "I had to ship my labor overseas, because I can't compete against my competition."
The deal is that this is what industry wants and the Rich get Richer and the Middle Class and Poor get Poorer in this race to the bottom. Americans ARE willing to do the work, but they expect to be compensated fairly. Businesses are always going to have to compete. They certainly seem to expect labor to compete. Instead of asking government to not move us toward World "Free for All" Trade, they decided to utilize and abuse, not only people that were loyal to them in their country, but also take advantage of the illegals by low-balling their labor costs. They also decided to further allow the oppression and abuses that take place in many of these Third World countries and systems that they have sent those jobs to.
What good has any of this done? Our community has been decimated and the low skilled labor is cornered and has nowhere to turn. The cost of living continues to rise and yet income levels are stagnant or depressed. How are people going to make ends meet? Many older businessmen and governmental leaders, who pushed this race to the bottom, are at a loss as to how to even stem the tide of the drain that has been placed upon our community, while at the same time they are unwilling to accept any type of efforts that may be deemed 'Too Risky."
What does this mean to the quality of life in our community? Where will government income come from? Where will businesses find customers for their products, when much of the population can't make ends meet? How will we begin to grow the economy again?
The Prophet (HaHa!) Ross Perot from the 1992 Presidential Debate (He says 15 years):
The effects of NAFTA on the indigenous Mexican Population and the USA:
This is what I mean when I make the statement, Cheap begets Cheap. Everything in our community, when it comes to investment is about frugality. We don't need to be frugal. We need to create value. We need to make a profit. People have mistaken cost cutting measures with making a profit. You can cut your costs to ZERO and that doesn't mean you are going to make a penny. Many times you destroy your customer base by cutting costs at the expense of quality. Let me ask. Who is going to be more willing to ensure that they create an excellent product, an employee you are willing to invest in or an employee that you keep dangling on a string?
As a community, a state, and a country, we have to get back to the idea of excellence. Excellent products, excellent performance, excellent people, and excellent communities. We do that through respect and equality in the administration of justice. You can't look to take advantage of people by scheming them. It can't be about Dog eat Dog. It has to be about loving thy neighbor and helping thy neighbor and I don't mean that under the context of Unilateral Disarmament by being the so-called "bigger man." I mean that as in building relationships of trust, because once trust has been breached, it is hard to ever regain. But, is that not the valuable lesson that we have all learned. Whether we like it or not, we need one another to further our own personal growth.
If we get enough people to buy into the concepts that I describe above, and marginalize those unwilling to participate and play fair, then I truly believe that we will turn our economic lot around.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Communities encourage citizens, businesses and organizations to check out Google application
LENOIR - The communities of Lenoir and Hickory, counties of Catawba and Caldwell, and the towns and cities in between and close by were one of 1,100 communities to submit an application for the Google Fiber to the Home (FTTH) Request for Information (RFI) on March 26.
"Our application is www.googlehickorylenoir.com and it has become our resume to Google," said Lenoir City Manager Lane Bailey. "The resume tells our story on how this project could help transform our community into a technology hub in the south, add to our economic development tool box, enhance community organizations, assist the medical community, and provide endless education opportunities for citizens of all ages - from school children to retirees."
The experimental network that Google would build would provide a broadband connection that is more than 100 times faster than the current connection. Communities along the U.S. 321 corridor, which is also part of the North Carolina Data Center Corridor, joined together to submit an application to Google. The momentum began while building the resume between mid-February to late March when community meetings were held, focus groups met, and government agencies worked together to put together the Google FTTH request. The momentum continues as citizens
read the online resume that includes the community's story on how this project could transform the area, demographics, business opportunities, community organizations, and how the community has continued to persevere during extremely difficult economic times.
"There is a lot to learn about our communities on the resume and whether or not you have an interest in the project or do not know how it wouldenhance our community, we encourage everyone to take time to visit the website to learn more," added Bailey.
To stay up to date on the Hickory/Lenoir Google project, join the more than 6,400 fans on the Woogle Hickory Lenoir Facebook page or check the websites of the surrounding local governments.
According to the Google, a community will be chosen by the end of 2010.
"Our application is www.googlehickorylenoir.com and it has become our resume to Google," said Lenoir City Manager Lane Bailey. "The resume tells our story on how this project could help transform our community into a technology hub in the south, add to our economic development tool box, enhance community organizations, assist the medical community, and provide endless education opportunities for citizens of all ages - from school children to retirees."
The experimental network that Google would build would provide a broadband connection that is more than 100 times faster than the current connection. Communities along the U.S. 321 corridor, which is also part of the North Carolina Data Center Corridor, joined together to submit an application to Google. The momentum began while building the resume between mid-February to late March when community meetings were held, focus groups met, and government agencies worked together to put together the Google FTTH request. The momentum continues as citizens
read the online resume that includes the community's story on how this project could transform the area, demographics, business opportunities, community organizations, and how the community has continued to persevere during extremely difficult economic times.
"There is a lot to learn about our communities on the resume and whether or not you have an interest in the project or do not know how it wouldenhance our community, we encourage everyone to take time to visit the website to learn more," added Bailey.
To stay up to date on the Hickory/Lenoir Google project, join the more than 6,400 fans on the Woogle Hickory Lenoir Facebook page or check the websites of the surrounding local governments.
According to the Google, a community will be chosen by the end of 2010.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Ray Cerda for Catawba County Clerk of Court Endorsements
I have read where Ray did not attend the Reagan Day picnic on Saturday and many people felt like he was not honoring those who attended by debating Ms. Bogle. He did want to be there, but he was attending a campaign workshop for veterans in Washington, DC put on by a veterans non-profit organization. These arrangements were made a couple of months ago and it was announced three weeks ago in the Hickory Daily Record. Ray has multiple avenues to contact him with questions as you can see if you click the picture below.
Below is a list of local community citizens who are supporting Ray Cerda. Click the picture to enlarge.
Below is a list of local community citizens who are supporting Ray Cerda. Click the picture to enlarge.
U.S. Unemployment: Rich = 3%, Poor = 31%
Unemployment for Those Who Earn $150,000 or More is Only 3%, While Unemployment for the Poor is 31% - (Washington's Blog - April 24, 2010)
Notes from this article
This article also points to what former U.S. Labor secretary Robert Reich states as the permanent destruction of jobs in America:
The Hound knows that it rolls downhill. Many Executives want to make sure that they don't feel the pain and so they do whatever they can to preserve their own standard of living many times at the expense of others. It seems to me that the best managers have a firm understanding that they must put some skin in the game by cutting their own salary also.
Those managers who choose not to be a part of the team will be able to stem the tide of the negative economic climate over the short run, but eventually they will see their leadership fall into misfortune. The average laborer has to accept the way things are in this current economic debacle and keep moving forward. It is a matter of survival.
When we take a look at what has been happening, we see that people who were previously in the $50k to $75k range are taking paycuts and/or having to take on more responsibilities as fellow employees are laid off or reduced through attrition. People who are laid off and looking for new employment are expected to fall to the next tier down in income level. Someone that was making $50k per year has to take a $35K job, a former $35K wage earner is now working at a $25K job, and someone previously making $25k has to take a $20K job, etc.
People are left scrambling, because their expenses are the same or higher. The mortgage is the same, the car payment is the same, Insurance is higher, utilities are higher, fuel is higher, food is higher, etc. So people are going to have to find little side jobs to supplement their income and usually these are low to no skill jobs.
Where does this leave the Unskilled Laborer? The rest of us are underemployed and we are soaking up jobs that used to go to those with lesser skills. It means that they have little, if any, prospects to find full time employment. It means most likely that they will have to depend on Government and Society to help them get through life. And, in the end, that will mean more of a burden on the rest of society as we have to help those who essentially will be permanently unemployed.
Notes from this article
In the face of one of the worst economic environments in memory, those in the highest income groups had nearly full employment levels, with just a 3.2 percent unemployment rate for households with over $150,000 in income and a 4 percent rate in the next-highest income group of $100,000-plus.
The two lowest-income groups -- under $12,500 and under $20,000 annually -- faced unemployment rates of 30.8 percent and 19.1 percent, respectively.
Official figures put unemployment in the United States somewhere between 9 and 10 percent. But the official figures use a very different measure for unemployment than was used during the Great Depression and for many decades afterwards.
This article also points to what former U.S. Labor secretary Robert Reich states as the permanent destruction of jobs in America:
This means many Americans won't be rehired unless they're willing to settle for much lower wages and benefits. Today's official unemployment numbers hide the extent to which Americans are already on this path. Among those with jobs, a large and growing number have had to accept lower pay as a condition for keeping them. Or they've lost higher-paying jobs and are now in a new ones that pays less.An excellent summarization of the unemployment issue done by Washington's Blog last August - The Rising Tide of Unemployment in America: How Bad Will It Get, And What Can We Do?Yet reducing unemployment by cutting wages merely exchanges one problem for another. We'll get jobs back but have more people working for pay they consider inadequate, more working families at or near poverty, and widening inequality. The nation will also have a harder time restarting the economy because so many more Americans lack the money they need to buy all the goods and services the economy can produce.
The Hound knows that it rolls downhill. Many Executives want to make sure that they don't feel the pain and so they do whatever they can to preserve their own standard of living many times at the expense of others. It seems to me that the best managers have a firm understanding that they must put some skin in the game by cutting their own salary also.
Those managers who choose not to be a part of the team will be able to stem the tide of the negative economic climate over the short run, but eventually they will see their leadership fall into misfortune. The average laborer has to accept the way things are in this current economic debacle and keep moving forward. It is a matter of survival.
When we take a look at what has been happening, we see that people who were previously in the $50k to $75k range are taking paycuts and/or having to take on more responsibilities as fellow employees are laid off or reduced through attrition. People who are laid off and looking for new employment are expected to fall to the next tier down in income level. Someone that was making $50k per year has to take a $35K job, a former $35K wage earner is now working at a $25K job, and someone previously making $25k has to take a $20K job, etc.
People are left scrambling, because their expenses are the same or higher. The mortgage is the same, the car payment is the same, Insurance is higher, utilities are higher, fuel is higher, food is higher, etc. So people are going to have to find little side jobs to supplement their income and usually these are low to no skill jobs.
Where does this leave the Unskilled Laborer? The rest of us are underemployed and we are soaking up jobs that used to go to those with lesser skills. It means that they have little, if any, prospects to find full time employment. It means most likely that they will have to depend on Government and Society to help them get through life. And, in the end, that will mean more of a burden on the rest of society as we have to help those who essentially will be permanently unemployed.
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