There’s always a gap. I think that this one, however, is real.
The Future of Manufacturing, GM, and American Workers (Part II) | Robert Reich’s Blog
“But we’re in danger of losing ground because too many of our kids, especially those from lower-middle class and poor families, can’t get the foundational education they need. The consequence is a yawning gap in income and wealth which continues to widen. More and more of our working people finds themselves in the local service economy — in hotels, hospitals, restaurant chains, and big-box retailers — earning low wages with little or no benefits. Unions could help raise their wages by giving them more bargaining leverage. A higher minimum wage and larger Earned Income Tax Credit could help as well. “
Now there is a Lisp gap.
That’s so backward! “can’t get the foundational education they need”—assume this is true, why might that be? Could it be because of the unions who control the k-12 education monopoly refuse to adapt their practices to meet the needs of a new economy? Assume it is false, in the sense that they can but will not get a foundational education, what good is a raised minimum wage or larger EITC going to do for someone without a foundational education?
Raising the minimum wage increases the cost of each worker and lowers the relative cost of automation technology that obviates the need for those workers while simultaneously increasing the jobs and income available to mid-income technology professionals, thus widening the income disparity.
Unionized labor forces homogenize employers’ treatment of employees, creating a workplace that is unfair to the best and worst workers: the best because they cannot achieve the compensation, recognition, or advancement they deserve; the worst because they cannot be fired or transitioned in the timely fashion that would allow them to seek more suitable employment. All workers suffer because the homogenous treatment is manifestly unfair and inefficient. This is obvious from situations like schools in california, the american airline industry, and the american automobile manufacturing industry. The UAW as both owner and labor representative for GM and Chrysler has an opportunity to prove this wrong, my bet is they will not and both will be liquidated in a near-future bankruptcy.
Hi stinky (sorry, couldn’t resist the e-mail).
I think you’re oversimplifying.
Whoopts; thanks Zach. I certainly didn’t mean to click the Lisp tag or to spam planet lisp. Of course, now that I’ve untagged it; no one will see my apology! Oh well.