April 4, 1968, Martin Luther King was shot, assassinated at the Lorraine Hotel in Memphis, Tennessee. Martin Luther King was not in Memphis, Tennessee for tax cuts for the rich. He wasn’t there to cut domestic spending programs. Martin Luther King was there to stand up for sanitation workers. The sanitation workers were protesting unequal wages and abysmal working conditions. In essence, Martin Luther King was supporting a union walkout.
Today, more than 40 years later, unions continue to be under attack. They’re under attack from multiple sides. There are people who just don’t understand how unions work and why they’re beneficial. There are Americans who always stand with the rich and powerful and these Americans understand that the only way to level the playing field is if all the workers speak in one voice – unions.
Now, more than ever, we need unions. A report in the Washington Post today reveals that wages are stagnant and inflation is squeezing Americans and not squeezing big business. Their profits are up. The only way that we can raise our standard of living is by standing together and demanding fair wages. Sure, there are some corporations that are rich and generous. They will always pay a living wage. Unfortunately, they are in the minority. The majority of corporations are out to squeeze workers to increase profits. Strong unions can fix this. Strong unions are needed now more than ever. I stand with Martin Luther King and tens of thousands of Americans who believe that strong unions are a requirement for a strong vibrant middle class.
Despite the right’s hatred of unions, their hero felt differently.
http://www.good.is/post/does-scott-walker-know-that-ronald-reagan-supported-unions-and-collective-bargaining/
Unions not only tell you how much you can make, but how little you can make, too.
I thought Obama was going to fix all of these problems, stagnant wages, inflation, etc.; actually, since he has no clue what he’s doing, he’s made things worse than imaginable.
And guess what? You can never level the playing field. It will always be uneven because there are a zillion factors that go into each company, job, person, industry that affect the playing field. You must think we are living in Utopia if you think the playing field will ever be evened out, so stop trying.
But I am sure glad that you half-heartedly acknowledge that there are some companies that are “rich and generous.” How kind of you. In fact, most corporations, including millions of small businesses, are as rich and generous as they can be, and that the wealth not only accrues to the CEO, but to the folks that work there, all the way down the ranks, including lots of liberals. What about the shareholders? That can include millions of folks of all stripes, who own stock via mutual funds. Don’t they benefit too from increased profits? And that even includes liberals. Why do you think that only the C-Suite executives make money working for companies?
And just because a company makes profits does not mean that they distrubute all the profits to the C-Suite executives. That money goes to all sorts of bonuses for the employees, new hiring, capital expenditures, R&D, paying down debt, or is held in reserve. Why are profits bad and why do you insist that profits go straight into the executives’ pockets?
In fact, the biggest monopoly, that goes unchecked every day, is the federal government. How come they can get away with all that they do with their bureaucracies and somehow that’s OK? Government does not create wealth, and it cannot be in the business of regulating wealth. Why is that fair that they try to?
Bud – are you not familiar with our form of government? The president can not do anything without Congress passing a bill. I don’t remember any piece of legislation that Obama supported that would increase wages. Do you?
Why do you say that he has no idea what he is doing? Have you completely lost touch with reality? You might not like his politics but you can’t say that he is clueless.
Who said that profits are bad? Do you see where I said that? I didn’t think so. Instead when profits are poured in executive salaries which is what has been going on in the US for the last 15 years and worker salaries are cut then I have a problem. this is exactly what we have seen. There is plenty of data supporting this.
Thanks for your confused ramblings.
The president can and does exert executive orders, and they do it all the time. Not necessarily anything wrong with it, but they do that without Congress often.
I don’t know what you’re referring to about legislation that increased wages or not. Need more info from you on that.
You imply profits are bad by using the phrase “level the playing field.” That’s another way of saying redistribute the wealth, whether wealth be in the form of money, or assets, or other tangible and intangible benefits that some people have and others don’t. That’s also called playing down to the competition, or the lowest common demoninator, or moving the starting line back for the “haves” while keeping it the same for the “have-nots.”
As for dumping profits into exec salaries, where do you think the money comes from that companies use to declare dividends, and bonuses for all layers of employees, and for R&D, and for cap-ex, and so on? How can it all go into execs’ pockets? Much of their compensation is from stock options, which does not cost cash money when awarded.
Obama is an amateur. He had never led anything in his life, never run a company or large organization, never made payroll, never did just about anything except rabble-rouse. He has not the slightest idea (nor do any of the other 93% of the administration who’ve never done anything except politics in their careers) on how to create a job. He bows to foreign leaders, apologizes for everything the U.S. has ever done, and has made a fool of himself. If you thought foreign countries had a low opinion of Bush in the 2000s, you should see what they think now.
Don’t confuse what I’m saying. I have no problem with profits. Profits are good. Businesses must make money. This is clear. The problem is that big business is making record profits and aren’t increasing wages. Not even a bit. In the face of record profits, CEO’s and other top management are making record salaries. None of the profits are being shared with the workers. Please don’t give me the R&D lines. R&D costs are being more than covered. Again, I will say that business is making record profits. It would be different if business was taking their profits and pouring them into R&D but there is no evidence of that. None. All the money is clearly going to the top management. Now, I’m not saying that a CEO shouldn’t get paid. They should. They should be well paid. They have been for the last 10 – 15 years. Yet, these companies just don’t seem to get around to sharing any of the profits with the workers.
As far as Obama never running a business, so? Lincoln ran what business before being president? Kennedy ran what, again? Ronald Reagan, an actor, ran what business exactly? Are you saying that he was just an actor and therefore didn’t know how to create jobs? What about Clinton who created a climate in which jobs could be created to the tune of over 26 million. No other president has created more jobs than Clinton. Was he just a moron who got lucky? George W. Bush, the CEO president, failed in every business that he tried. From Arbusto to Bush Energy to Spectrum 7. Bush failed. I won’t even go into his earlier ventures in which he pocketed over $800,000 and his investors lost over $2 million. Let’s skip that. Do you want to talk about the Enron-like shell companies that Bush help set up for Harkin Energy? Or the way that Bush illegally sold shares in Harkin Oil based in his insider knowledge and profited before the stock tanked. He was so MBA, CEO smart why didn’t he create more jobs? According to the WSJ, no other president has done worse at creating jobs than George W. Bush (http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2009/01/09/bush-on-jobs-the-worst-track-record-on-record/) except Gerald Ford who was in office less than a full term. Even the much hated Jimmy Carter created more jobs in 4 years than Bush did in 8!!
Bud, your hatred of Obama can be felt through the computer. Look that’s fine if you hate our president. But don’t couch your hatred in arguments that are supposed to be logical. It doesn’t work. Just say you hate the man and move on. Just look at your last paragraph. It makes no sense. There is plenty of data showing that Obama and America are more respected overseas then we have been in over a decade.
http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2010/06/17/4524505-poll-obama-more-popular-abroad-than-at-home-
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/07/23/world/main5182439.shtml
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=127903035
Finally, when Bush was walking hand and hand (like he wanted to get engaged) with that Saudi King and kissed him, were you outraged? I doubt it. It is only when Obama follows protocol, you get your pants in a wad.
Thanks for your time and your thoughts.