Upside Down Economics... Economy is too bad to give workers raises, job security...

[Blackhatjack]

... following on the heels of the largest corporate profits ever booked over the last 8 years.

So where did all those corporate profits go?

Creation of new jobs? NO
Reinvestment in manufacturing facilities? NO
Provision of benefits for workers? NO

Hmmmm.... I heard something about outrageous million $$$ salaries and retirement packages for upper management.

Well obviously times are too tough to help out workers receiving the same pay in the form of dollars that buy 40% less today than 8 years ago.

If companies are struggling today, then now is the time for them to make their workers equity partners and cut out the outrageous upper management fleecing of the company assets.

[SammyWinstonJack]

1. I won't hold my breath.

[Blackhatjack]

2. Workers in this country are consumers. People who lose their jobs consume less...

... and people who spend all their money on mortgage payments, credit cards, gas, and food have little if any $$ left to purchase other consumer items.

Implosion of the middle and lower classes is directly connected to the rise of massive corporate greed.

[high density]

3. When it's good, give profits to shareholders

When it's bad, cut employees so more profits can go to shareholders. As it is, corporate America is already making out like a bandit, since most employees are earning lower real wages today than they were a year ago thanks to inflation.

[B Calm]

4. Cheap labor conservatism continues. The more unemployed and desperate

we are to make a living, the cheaper we are willing to work!

You see, they want you "over a barrel" and in a position to "work cheap or starve".

[central scrutinizer]

5. privatize the profits, socialize the losses

The goal today for any corporation is to become "too big to fail" meaning that they can count on the taxpayers to bail them out when their risky harebrained schemes go south.

[gratuitous]

6. And where did all those profits come from?

For the past several years, employee hours and productivity have both gone up while wages and benefits have stagnated. That's a lot of extra wealth being created by labor, but none of it quite seems to make it back into the pockets of the people producing that wealth. Instead, it's getting taken by persons or forces unknown, and apparently unknowable.

[pacalo]

7. The companies will indeed be struggling when we little people can't afford to buy anything from them

[Blackhatjack]

8. So many are looking at selling primarily to those outside the US(like China)...

... but our economies are interrelated, and sales to those outside the US will inevitably drop off as well.

Once the middle class can no longer pay their bills or buy the necessaries, you can kiss those discretionary consumer purchases goodbye.