American Workers Are Facing A Frightening Reality Heading Into The New Year

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.laborradio.org/Channels/Story.aspx?ID=1333693

12/26/2010
By Doug Cunningham

: “Think about this, the bottom 50 million workers – that’s one in three workers in America – you know what their average pay is? Six thousand dollars.”

The real picture of what’s happening to American workers, their wages, their jobs and their future prospects is frightening. And according to author and financial columnist David Cay Johnston the damage done is caused by tax, economic and trade policies that are systematically dismantling the working and middle classes in America. Johnston says data from the Social Security administration shows that from 1950-1980 income for the majority of workers at the base of our economy grew faster than any other segment. But when the Reagan revolution, and later George W. Bush, cut taxes for the wealthy worker wages took a dive. If Reagan’s policies had not been adopted, Johnston says, it would mean 20 grand a year more in your pocket.

: “The average wage in this country would be twenty thousand dollars a year higher. People would have four hundred dollars a week more income on average if we’d continued the policies we previously had and all else had been equal.”

Johnston says a reversal of the Reagan and Bush tax and economic policies would be a very good thing for jobs creation and worker wages.

: “When we had high taxes we had economic growth. When we had high taxes we had higher wages. When we had high taxes we had more jobs, and job growth. And we need to recognize that we’ve been sold a bill of goods here that is discouraging economic growth, discouraging a growing number of jobs at home, that literally is subsidizing manufacturers to move jobs out of America and send them to China.”

[MannyGoldstein]

1. So what? Foie gras and splendid wines for bankers.

Why do you want the Palin for President? Are you a PUMA?

[FreakinDJ]

2. Explain : Palin for President? Are you a PUMA?

I didn't get any of that out of the article

[MannyGoldstein]

5. It was sarcasm

Although given the way things are around here sometimes, I can understand the confusion...

[montanacowboy]

3. Why bother with facts?

we all know tax cuts for the wealthy pigs gives us poor bastards a job

[KansDem]

8. Yeah, damn straight! That's what's been going on for the last 30 years!

The unemployment rate now stands at somewhere between 9 and 10%. Just imagine where it would be if we didn't give trillions to the wealthy! It would be waaaaay higher, wouldn't it! :grr:

Wouldn't it? :(

[niceypoo]

4. Deficits and dropping wages are built into supply side

Quick, more supply side!!

[dkf]

6. Why are wages more connected to taxes than to illegal immigration?

I don't understand this.

[MannyGoldstein]

7. Because taxes make up more than 20 percent of our economy

Illegal immigrants make up a far smaller percentage, probably well under 5 percent.

[dkf]

10. But why would decreasing tax rates for the rich bring down wages?

What is the economic theory behind a direct connection?

I can make a case for less than minimum wages bringing down everyone elses wages. It's the same argument saying that raising the minimum wages brings up wages. What is the argument for tax cuts lowering wages?

I can see if real wages were steady then maybe the net benefit to workers stays the same, but beyond that it doesn't make sense to me in a cause and effect relationship.

[w4rma]

11. Because the wealthy take money *out* of the economy. (nt)

[EC]

12. Because when the corporations (rich people) are taxed

higher, instead of paying higher taxes on profit, they hire more people and pay them more - so they don't have to pay taxes...the tax is only on the profit...not what is put back into the business (i.e.improvements, retooling, more employees and higher pay)which all are still listed as assets to the corp. therefore still on the books of net worth....

This also improves the demand side, since more people have more money to be consumers...more demand, more jobs...

[dkf]

14. Corporations hire more people and raise their salaries to get a write-off?

Is that more than a 100% write-off because wouldn't anything less be a net negative?

[EC]

15. No, they're listed on the asset side of their net worth

which increases their borrowing power just as much a having liquid assets, plus, there are usually tax breaks for improvements and hiring, when there are higher taxes...

[MannyGoldstein]

13. I think you're right in the absence of any other factors

But a few things:

First off, if taxes on the rich get raised, taxes on someone else has to go up to maintain government. The wealthiest Americans have seen their total tax rate drop by two-thirds in the last 50 years. Tax rates on the middle class have doubled. (Let me know if you're interested and I can dig up the actual stats). So lowering taxes on the rich decreases the take-home pay of most of the rest of us.

In addition, tax policy plays an important role in making workers more or less valuable, and thus increasing or decreasing salaries. For example, tax policies that encourage offshoring work tend to cut wages.

[Skink]

9. So we tax are way to prosperity.

more nicer roads more people working more people spending.

[freshwest]

16. So important, but never on lamestream media. It's as if working people ceased to exist with Reagan.

Thanks for the radio link and these posts, Omaha Steve.