Much to the chagrin and disappointment of many people I know, I have long advocated making it illegal to sell off our factories to countries overseas, as well as making it illegal to outsource employees to other countries, or allowing nationals of countries which do not allow non-citizens to purchase property to buy property in the U.S. “In the global economy, this is just not feasible” is a common argument. Yes, we do live in a global economy, but there is something fundamentally wrong about hiring people on the other side of the world to work graveyard shifts when the jobs can be done by Americans here at home.
Economically, the U.S. has moved away from being a country which manufactures, allowing employees to earn a decent living, to one which provides services. Service jobs are often low-paying, back-breaking, and provide little in the arena of personal growth and achievement. Essentially, many are a form of modern slavery, without the dirty word attached to it. Temp agencies hire and fire multitudes of people, working them in conditions which seem similar to those found in the German concentration camps, but instead of sending them to gas chambers, the employees get written up and fired. Demoralization of the individual appears to be the norm. Here are some links about life in the giant warehouses sprawling over the country:
And lest you think that European employers carry the same standards to the US as they have in Europe, consider the Ikea workers:
On the other hand, with cutbacks hitting national and state parks, this is something to consider:
To my American eyes, the benefits provided citizens of many countries appear very good. Health care is a primary example. Here, if you have money or insurance (good or bad), you can get care, but it can cost you an awful lot. If you are poor, it may be available, but the wait can be long and often far away. People decry Obama’s healthcare, and voted away the Clinton administration’s plans, yet we have workers who are not able to afford healthcare, despite working 40 or more hours a week, and who are on welfare and getting public assistance. These same workers are worse off than they were five years ago, but are told they are societal leeches for not finding work. However, the vast amount of temporary workers keeps unionization from easily happening because of the turnover rate of employees.
Historically, unions have improved the working conditions of employees, but the Republican regime in Wisconsin, and elsewhere, work very hard to destroy these unions, playing on the notion that unions and employee benefits, such as those in pension funds employer and employee pay into (just like in large corporations), are what are destroying this country. Sadly, in tough times and in tandem to the anti-union movement, religion becomes a stronger source of internal support, and many of our current political candidates use this to fuel their political campaigns to destroy what benefits many. Conservatives work for the idea of “small government” but do not seem to understand that destroying social safety nets – being the proverbial “brother’s keeper” – undercuts much of what helps keep a society from collapsing when the going gets rough.
Yes, there are certainly situations where abuse occurs – that is human nature – but what marks a civilization is, in my opinion, the overall welfare of its citizens. We seem to be bent on destroying the individual for the corporation, but what we, as a nation of capitalists and lobbyists, forget is that if we destroy the middle class, we destroy ourselves. Our middle class is disappearing. When the extremes between rich and poor occur and the disparity increases, revolution can be the result. Nations which spend more than 30% of the GDP on defense begin to fail.
Can we afford these changes? I don’t think so. However, the fact is, the world is changing, but does it mean we are going to become a big, nameless blob of ants and worker bees, and trample one another in the rush to get a job which destroys all we have to offer? This is something to ponder. I cannot but wonder about the overall condition of the average American worker.
In addition to abusing workers and taking advantage of high unemployment rates, we also have other capitalists who prey on the suffering by usury – that old-fashioned, Biblical term – of high interest rates for short-term loans. Predatory lenders are capitalists in a niche market, and pay-day corner stores are becoming very common.
Well, there are my thoughts for the day. I spent the morning walking in the shoes of the warehouse employee. My ostrich-self does not like to see this in my country, or elsewhere in the world, but this is the reality I avoid. This is one reason why I don’t like traveling to really poor countries – I have such a sense of guilt, and know there is little I can do to help others in need. I rant, but do not take action. I contribute to all this because I am a modern consumer, and my own wants create sweatshop conditions and modern slavery. My microcosm is safe and clean, but even it has its perils.
This past week has been filled with family in from Wisconsin and Colorado. Last weekend was a big gathering of the clans, on the only rain-filled day in months, so we all crowded into the house, unable to spill outside to the patios. People who have not met made contact, and others who have not seen one another in years caught up. It has been a wonderful time, and what I really liked the most was how much everyone liked everyone else. We will be winding up all this family stuff this next weekend, and then it is unknown when we will all meet up again. I like the idea of renting a big house, in Hawaii or in northern Wisconsin, and bringing in family from all over the place – others like the idea, too, so we can all see each other again. We aren’t getting any younger . . . and the little ones are growing up way too fast.
Ink, Yarn & Beer 