"The 20th century has been characterized by three developments of great political importance: The growth of democracy, the growth of corporate power, and the growth of corporate propaganda as a means of protecting corporate power against democracy." Alex Carey
As republicans deny benefits and rollback the twentieth century, as the SCOTUS gives corporations even more power over its workers, as the Koch brothers, the Waltons and other wealthy psychopathic business people fight fair wages, as pensions disappear, as hypocrites like Paul Ryan write Ayn Rand like greed into legislation and claim they are doing good, as American jobs are outsourced, as American business hide profits off shore or move headquarters to avoid the paltry taxes they pay now, as Unions the only source of worker strength are castigated by conservative media daily, allow us all to celebrate this Labor day the day when the American worker could work towards the American dream. Today the ladder is still there, but most Americans will never go up it so long as they vote marginal issues and forget what the Nation is really about.
Along with the comments above Harper's magazine in August has another telling story of where we are as a Nation today, 'The End of Retirement.' It gives great detail to the aging in America and how many of seniors travel and live in campers to do seasonal work. It may just be America is creating it own itinerant workforce as business manages our congress and the minds of the haves are lost in ideological economics. Americans decry immigration as they create their own immigrants. Comment on story below - article is only available by subscription. Happy Labor days for those - like us - who grew up before America grew cold.
"Let us finally recognize that we are scraping rock bottom. We are the Mississippi of western nations with the worst quality of life of the industrialized world. We're number one indeed, in prison population, infant death mortality, inadequate health care, illiteracy, total surveillance, violent and corrupt militarized police departments and tax revenues wasted on megalomaniac militarism that wages endless war on helpless countries. Our ravaged Constitution reminds us what our citizenship has come to be worth." TonyVodvarka, from comments section of August Harper's magazine ( Report The End of Retirement by Jessica Bruder Harper s Magazine
Other information:
Wage theft: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/01/business/more-workers-are-claiming-wage-theft.html
Wages: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/01/o...ies-still-lag-as-corporate-profits-surge.html
'A Resurgence in Inequality and Its Effects on Culture' http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/03/arts/a-resurgence-in-inequality-and-its-effects-on-culture.html
"Why does power leave people seemingly coldhearted? Some, like the Princeton psychologist Susan Fiske, have suggested that powerful people don’t attend well to others around them because they don’t need them in order to access important resources; as powerful people, they already have plentiful access to those." http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/27/opinion/sunday/powerful-and-coldhearted.html
"Corporate propaganda directed outwards, that is, to the public at large, has two main objectives: to identify the free enterprise system in popular consciousness with every cherished value, and to identify interventionist governments and strong unions (the only agencies capable of checking a complete domination of society by corporations) with tyranny, oppression and even subversion. The techniques used to achieve these results are variously called 'public relations', 'corporate communications' and 'economic education'." Alex Carey 'Taking the Risk out of Democracy'
As republicans deny benefits and rollback the twentieth century, as the SCOTUS gives corporations even more power over its workers, as the Koch brothers, the Waltons and other wealthy psychopathic business people fight fair wages, as pensions disappear, as hypocrites like Paul Ryan write Ayn Rand like greed into legislation and claim they are doing good, as American jobs are outsourced, as American business hide profits off shore or move headquarters to avoid the paltry taxes they pay now, as Unions the only source of worker strength are castigated by conservative media daily, allow us all to celebrate this Labor day the day when the American worker could work towards the American dream. Today the ladder is still there, but most Americans will never go up it so long as they vote marginal issues and forget what the Nation is really about.
Along with the comments above Harper's magazine in August has another telling story of where we are as a Nation today, 'The End of Retirement.' It gives great detail to the aging in America and how many of seniors travel and live in campers to do seasonal work. It may just be America is creating it own itinerant workforce as business manages our congress and the minds of the haves are lost in ideological economics. Americans decry immigration as they create their own immigrants. Comment on story below - article is only available by subscription. Happy Labor days for those - like us - who grew up before America grew cold.
"Let us finally recognize that we are scraping rock bottom. We are the Mississippi of western nations with the worst quality of life of the industrialized world. We're number one indeed, in prison population, infant death mortality, inadequate health care, illiteracy, total surveillance, violent and corrupt militarized police departments and tax revenues wasted on megalomaniac militarism that wages endless war on helpless countries. Our ravaged Constitution reminds us what our citizenship has come to be worth." TonyVodvarka, from comments section of August Harper's magazine ( Report The End of Retirement by Jessica Bruder Harper s Magazine
Other information:
Wage theft: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/01/business/more-workers-are-claiming-wage-theft.html
Wages: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/01/o...ies-still-lag-as-corporate-profits-surge.html
'A Resurgence in Inequality and Its Effects on Culture' http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/03/arts/a-resurgence-in-inequality-and-its-effects-on-culture.html
"Why does power leave people seemingly coldhearted? Some, like the Princeton psychologist Susan Fiske, have suggested that powerful people don’t attend well to others around them because they don’t need them in order to access important resources; as powerful people, they already have plentiful access to those." http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/27/opinion/sunday/powerful-and-coldhearted.html
"Corporate propaganda directed outwards, that is, to the public at large, has two main objectives: to identify the free enterprise system in popular consciousness with every cherished value, and to identify interventionist governments and strong unions (the only agencies capable of checking a complete domination of society by corporations) with tyranny, oppression and even subversion. The techniques used to achieve these results are variously called 'public relations', 'corporate communications' and 'economic education'." Alex Carey 'Taking the Risk out of Democracy'
