If the Democrats go back to labor for support we will be unbeatable

[still_one]

Labor has been screwed by the republicans the last 6 years. Clinton wasn't too good either, with NAFTA, but at least he didn't try to destroy the unions. Reagan started the anti-labor movement against unions

It is time that Democrats go back to their base

The opportunity is there, will we take advantage of it?

California should be the best lesson to the democrats. The govenor declared war against labor, and it is labor that defeated his proposition

GET THE MESSAGE DEMOCRATS before it is too late

[madfloridian]

1. The DNC is doing that.

They are concentrating on union involvement.

[NEOBuckeye]

2. Giving up on Labor was the worst thing the Dems could possibly do.

Going "Repug-Lite" doomed the Democratic Party to be a mere shadow in the opposition. America didn't need two Big Business dollar-chasing parties. It already had enough of that with the GOP. If the Dems are to thrive again, they must get back to their roots -- and the working class people who make the very existence of this country possible.

[dcfirefighter]

3. pro-labor good economy rule:

DON'T TAX WAGES!!!

-directly in the form of a payroll tax
-directly in the form of an income tax on wages
-indirectly in the form of sales taxes (on services and labor made goods)
-indirectly in the form of (labor-built) property taxes

Between a 15.3% payroll tax, a 25% fed income tax, an 8% state & local income tax, a 3% sales tax, and a 1% property tax, our taxes raise the cost of employment by more than 100% over a worker's take home product. How much does a 100% tax reduce demand for labor by? How much more demand for goods & services would there be if everyone's pay doubled?

pretty much only leaves taxing the special privileges granted by government: land titles, extraction rights, monopoly rights, banking rights, broadcast rights. . .

(By the way, there's more than enough here to replace all other taxes, and leave a surplus)

[sofa king]

4. How about uniting labor and immigration?

What if the Democrats asked labor unions for support in making corporations responsible for employing illegal immigrants, especially through contractors?

I believe that's similar to what is called a "fork" platform, a position which unites otherwise disparate groups in the pursuit of a common interest.

Labor is unhappy with illegal workers who serve to undercut wages. Others are unappy with illegal workers because the illegals, rather than the companies which use them, are blamed for taking away paying jobs.

Labor could be instrumental in identifiying industries and companies which use illegal labor.

In recent years, anti-immigration proponents have been coddled by the Republican Party, much as they shelter the religious right by paying lots of lip service and delivering comparatively few results. Using a fork platform such as the suggestion above would show unions that they have a place in the Democratic platform, while simultaneously neutralizing the knuckle-draggers.

My personal opinion is that if migrant laborers were welcomed and guaranteed a reasonable wage, but were also required to pay taxes on those wages, illegal immigration would drop off considerably and would be a far less important political issue.

[EFerrari]

5. The problem is, undocumented workers do pay taxes.

And illegal immigration will not drop off until hungry people have a way to feed themselves.

In reality, the inverse works. Where labor unites with undocumented workers -- as they do in Los Angeles -- working conditions improve across the board and wages go up.

There might be a way to work this issue, though, if the Dems offered a viable reform program. As it is, the Thuggery benefits from their empty sound bites and their cheap labor pool. They have it both ways, as you point out.

[B Calm]

6. Democrats need to hammer home that republicans are

Cheap Labor Cons out to destroy the middle class.