*promote

Promoting this video and sending it back into the queue for one more try; last queued Monday, August 17th, 2009 5:20am PDT - promote requested by kulpims.

I don't think I can call for invocations, but *lies.

I'm sorry, but wages went up .5%. They didn't fall 5.4%. The decline there is only notable because it was measured in per unit compensation. And since production increased markedly over a relatively short period of time, of course per unit compensation is going to decrease. Also, it looks a lot like the graphs have wandering scales. If you're claiming to make an apples to apples comparison, give comparable charts.

Perhaps more to the point, wow, we made more shit over the course of 3 months and that doesn't translate immediately into increased wages? Really? Yes really. Business doesn't work in a manner such that you get compensated in real time for your output. Actually, there are jobs like that. One is being a salesman where you get commission, and the other is owning a business. Do you think union workers want to get paid per unit? No. They want to get paid hourly or by salary.

Also, production rose just barely over a number that it had previously reached. We aren't soaring into new heights in production. It's constantly in flux, and it increased these last three months. If you pay attention to the chart, you'll notice that whatever direction production moved in the previous quarter, it almost always does the opposite the following quarter. So let's not all get on our high horse just yet. And if you want workers to get a comparable raise for their increase in production for the last quarter, fine. Let's give it to them. But next quarter when production falls 4%, their salaries are going to get cut comparably. I'd be interested to see how that works out. I bet not well.

I don't know what this "Real News" thing is all about, but from my first experience with it, it seems to be mostly pandering. I'm not impressed.

Invocations (lies) cannot be called by handmethekeysyou because handmethekeysyou is not privileged - sorry.

Nowhere do they say wages went down 5.4%, I don't know where you're getting this from.

What's the deal with those German warning signs at 2:18?

Guess a bad choice of stock photo

The problem with Real News is that they're only interested in academics who share their temperament, which means their ability to process knowledge is a fraction of what it could be.

One of the reasons productivity went up is because the workers who don't contribute as much were let go during the recession. For those who believe folks should all be compensated equally regardless of how hard/smart they work, that's not a victory for that viewpoint.

If those points are the thesis and the antithesis, however, it seems like the synthesis would be to advocate economic fairness, but also to not neglect encouraging everybody to do what they can to increase their productivity and contribute more to the economy.

Here's the thing about these constant recessions.

Every time someone screams 'recession' the corporate world immediately responds by pulling back their investment in any project that's not directly profit generating and begins laying off workers. The remaining staff is then tasked with maintaining productivity with a smaller work force...and they do, out of fear for their jobs. Then comes the withdrawal of annual raises, so your income is no longer keeping up with cost of living increases. To add insult to injury, you then sit through quarterly or annual presentations from senior management who proudly display their charts showing how the company has maintained profitability.

Fuck You.

In the modern, stock market driven economy corporations seem unable to hedge against downturns in the economy. They are expected to offer up the highest returns possible to their investors which makes for instability during hard times. No matter though, because they'll just use their workforce as a buffer against economic hardship. Reducing staff and placing a heavier burden on the remaining workers for less compensation has become a replacement for long term fiscal planning.

If I was more conspiracy minded I'd be of the belief that recessions are artificially created as a fiscal tool that allows corporations to remain competitive by removing the burden of constant investment in long term fiscal security. As it is, there is little reason to doubt that recessions shift the financial burden of corporate stability to the working class, allowing the upper layers of management and investors to play dangerous games during good times.

If the average worker were compensated based on productivity then we wouldn't be in the financial mess that we are. Productivity has constantly gone up over the last 30 years due to the computer revolution. As it stands, worker compensation has remaind flat during this unprecedented gain in productivity while credit has skyrocketed. We all own vastly greater debt than the generation that preceded us while being vastly more productive. It is this credit that has acted as the primary stimulus of the economy during this period. We are producing more and the wealth we're generating is being loned back to us instead of payed to us directly. It's the old 'company store' on a massive scale.

But a credit driven economy is inherently unstable. You are profiting in advance on wages that have not yet been earned. You have essentially tapped existing capital from the consumer and begun to draw from their reserve of future capital. Growth based on this model is constrained by the limits of the individuals ability to borrow against their future earnings. It gets worse though, when the thirst for capitol for continued economic growth drives lenders to extend credit far beyond anyone's ability to repay. This creates a short term extension in economic growth balanced against inevitable long term catastrophe when consumers find themselves unable to meet their payment obligations.

Don't waste too much energy defending the status quo in economic trends. The current model for continuous economic growth is unsustainable. It's only a matter of 'when' a more responsible economic model overtakes the current paradigm.

"Wages" might have stagnated, but "compensation" is a more accurate narrative.

Although wages have fallen behind inflation for over a generation now, other nonwage components of worker compensation, particularly health care benefits, have grown more quickly than inflation. The graph below shows that in fact total compensation shows a steady long-term upward trend relative to inflation that has if anything accelerated in recent years. [Total compensation is up around 50% since 1974.] http://www.econbrowser.com/archives/2005/12/declining_real.html