Where I grew up, Kennecott copper owned an open pit mine. Over the course of time, the Union would gradually introduce more and more fine print into the contract. When I first became aware, they were using trains to haul ore from the mine. Very simple job, but there had to be an engineer, of course. Then the Union started requiring every train to have a “brakeman” for safety reasons. Then they threatened to strike unless there was a third man on any train that left the pit. Etc. Kennecott re-configured the mine to use (huge) trucks. All those jobs that the Union had insisted on suddenly didn’t exist: No trains. Over time, the Union started insisting on having a union driver for every vehicle in the mine. Including any supervisor. So Kennecott moved to a system that used a “skip” to haul material from the bottom of the pit up to the lip, where they used trains (by now the contract had lost reference to train jobs) to haul the ore.
(My family was definitely on the management side of things, so that’s the way I heard the story. Later, I came to understand that seen from the Union side, the story was very similar except for the causes of change were the Company pushing people to work harder, in more danger, for reduced pay, to which the Union responded as best they could.)
It’s always time repress wages with the policy of keeping inflation (mustn’t affect the investors wealth by letting him those pesky workers be well compensated) low while full employment is defined as a 5% unemployment rate.
In a lot of of US states she wouldn’t even be able to go to another job in the same industry, being bound like one out of five US workers by a non-compete clause in her contract. America!
There have been as many as 47 recessions in the United States dating back to the Articles of Confederation, and although economists and historians dispute certain 19th-century recessions, the consensus view among economists and historians is that “The cyclical volatility of GNP and unemployment was greater before the Great Depression than it has been since the end of World War II.” Cycles in the country’s agricultural production, industrial production, consumption, business investment, and the health of the banking industry contribute to these declines. U.S. recessions have increasingly affected economies on a worldwide scale, especially as countries’ economies become more intertwined. [wikipedia]. And they all end with the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer.
And yet it still beats communism/socialism, as we saw with the USSR. And today we see China who is not quite so ‘communist’ any more. There is no perfect system and never will be. But capitalism allows for those not born to be rich to aspire into wealth.
Daeder over 4 years ago
The best part about recessions is that no matter how many times it’s caused by republicans, they can still always blame the Democrats!
Concretionist over 4 years ago
Where I grew up, Kennecott copper owned an open pit mine. Over the course of time, the Union would gradually introduce more and more fine print into the contract. When I first became aware, they were using trains to haul ore from the mine. Very simple job, but there had to be an engineer, of course. Then the Union started requiring every train to have a “brakeman” for safety reasons. Then they threatened to strike unless there was a third man on any train that left the pit. Etc. Kennecott re-configured the mine to use (huge) trucks. All those jobs that the Union had insisted on suddenly didn’t exist: No trains. Over time, the Union started insisting on having a union driver for every vehicle in the mine. Including any supervisor. So Kennecott moved to a system that used a “skip” to haul material from the bottom of the pit up to the lip, where they used trains (by now the contract had lost reference to train jobs) to haul the ore.
(My family was definitely on the management side of things, so that’s the way I heard the story. Later, I came to understand that seen from the Union side, the story was very similar except for the causes of change were the Company pushing people to work harder, in more danger, for reduced pay, to which the Union responded as best they could.)
Pretty much the same dance, isn’t it.
mattro65 over 4 years ago
It’s always time repress wages with the policy of keeping inflation (mustn’t affect the investors wealth by letting him those pesky workers be well compensated) low while full employment is defined as a 5% unemployment rate.
GreggW Premium Member over 4 years ago
In a lot of of US states she wouldn’t even be able to go to another job in the same industry, being bound like one out of five US workers by a non-compete clause in her contract. America!
Teto85 Premium Member over 4 years ago
There have been as many as 47 recessions in the United States dating back to the Articles of Confederation, and although economists and historians dispute certain 19th-century recessions, the consensus view among economists and historians is that “The cyclical volatility of GNP and unemployment was greater before the Great Depression than it has been since the end of World War II.” Cycles in the country’s agricultural production, industrial production, consumption, business investment, and the health of the banking industry contribute to these declines. U.S. recessions have increasingly affected economies on a worldwide scale, especially as countries’ economies become more intertwined. [wikipedia]. And they all end with the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer.
ncorgbl over 4 years ago
And yet it still beats communism/socialism, as we saw with the USSR. And today we see China who is not quite so ‘communist’ any more. There is no perfect system and never will be. But capitalism allows for those not born to be rich to aspire into wealth.
wmbrainiac over 4 years ago
The people could, through self-governance, choose any economic system they want.Why did they “choose” extremist Rethuglicon capitalism?
TaximanSteve over 4 years ago
Always time for a recession. It’s how we roll. Creative Destruction. Our state religion. Hope you can swim.