Labor Day Lament: "America's Workforce Smells Like India's A Half-Century Ago"

[DamianTV]

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-0...lf-century-ago

Labor Day - what is it? Perhaps not many Americans any longer know, so here is my explanation.

In my time Labor Day was the unofficial end of summer, because school began after Labor Day.

Today school begins almost a month before. When I was in school that would not have been possible, especially in the South. The schools were not air-conditioned. If school had started in August no one would have showed up. It was difficult enough getting through May before school was out in June.

As most Americans probably thought of Labor Day as the last summer holiday, now that Labor Day has lost that role, what is Labor Day? The holiday originated as an apology capitalists tossed to labor to defuse a standoff.

Workers understood that labor was the backbone of the economy, not Wall Street moguls or bankers in their fine offices. Workers wanted a holiday that recognized labor, thus elevating labor in public policy to a standing with capital. Some states created labor day holidays, but it wasn’t until 1894 that Labor Day was made a federal holiday.

Congress created the federal holiday in response to the murder of strikers by US Army troops and federal marshalls during the Pullman strike of 1894. The factory workers who built Pullman railway cars lived in the company town of Pullman. George Pullman provoked a strike by lowering wages but not the rents charged in the company town.

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Full article on link.

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He is quite right. No one celebrates the Workers / Laborers any more. Today, they celebrate Wall Street Pigs.

[phill4paul]

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-0...lf-century-ago



Full article on link.

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He is quite right. No one celebrates the Workers / Laborers any more. Today, they celebrate Wall Street Pigs.

Perhaps this is why they eliminated workers? Labor day is indeed a lament. For myself I helped a friend put in a well pump and am getting ready to load my old truck on my B.I.L.'s trailer here shortly. There was still plenty of labor going on this day.

[specsaregood]

Labor Day - what is it? Perhaps not many Americans any longer know, so here is my explanation.

In my time Labor Day was the unofficial end of summer, because school began after Labor Day.

Today school begins almost a month before. When I was in school that would not have been possible, especially in the South. The schools were not air-conditioned. If school had started in August no one would have showed up. It was difficult enough getting through May before school was out in June.

depends on where; my kid starts school tomorrow and we had a kick ass end of summer labor day weekend.

[nobody's_hero]

There should be a day that celebrates unemployment, where everyone gets a day off from wor—wait.

[osan]

Perhaps this is why they eliminated workers? Labor day is indeed a lament. For myself I helped a friend put in a well pump and am getting ready to load my old truck on my B.I.L.'s trailer here shortly. There was still plenty of labor going on this day.

As for me, I framed out the double-insulated 43x38 panes for the front porch. The house will now look as if "white" people live in it. =8^o

Oh, and screw the fedgov and all others who have taken it upon themselves to declare holidays of any sort, for any reason. Just another assumption of power by tyrannical infants in their ceaseless quest to show the riffraff who is in charge.

[osan]

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-0...lf-century-ago



Full article on link.

-----

He is quite right. No one celebrates the Workers / Laborers any more. Today, they celebrate Wall Street Pigs.

My children would never see the inside of a public school, but were circumstances to find them there despite my best efforts, they most certainly would not be starting their year any time in August. You know what... screw circumstance. They'd not be in a public school no matter what.

The fact that nearly all the world's population has joined in the lockstep participation of publicly conditioning their offspring is a pretty amazing coup for Themme. It is also a glaring testimony to the nauseousness of the average man, worldwide.

[Danke]

Bump

[oyarde]

Back to work lazies . Make america Great.

[euphemia]

Actually, I will celebrate the holiday by working. Until 11 tonight.

[tod evans]

Son-n-I worked on laminating a few layers to the curved stair stringers we are building, today we're being 'lazy' and ripping more plys for the upcoming week when he has to visit his mother....

[r3volution 3.0]

Labor Day was created by labor unions to promote their own socialist agitation.

...the milder twin of May Day (which was the date originally proposed for Labor Day).

So, while enjoying my capitalism-produced meat and beer today, I'll not be celebrating any pinkos.

[Zippyjuan]

Labor Day was created by labor unions to promote their own socialist agitation.

...the milder twin of May Day (which was the date originally proposed for Labor Day).

So, while enjoying my capitalism-produced meat and beer today, I'll not be celebrating any pinkos.

Interestingly, the rise and fall of the US middle class has followed the rise and fall of Union jobs. And my pretty graph:

[angelatc]

Interestingly, the rise and fall of the US middle class has followed the rise and fall of Union jobs. And my pretty graph:

I'm sure it's just a coincidence that your chart starts in 1968. And while they're both declining it does not appear that the income actually tracks to union membership.

So here's Mr Science making a causation = correlation argument. But more laborers don't drive wages down....isn't that right?

And moving factories to other nations - that has nothing to do with it.

[timosman]

Some would disagree with the OP - http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthr...ation-in-India

[timosman]

Interestingly, the rise and fall of the US middle class has followed the rise and fall of Union jobs. And my pretty graph:

Pretty clever retrofitting to make it seem there is correlation while there isn't any. 0% union membership rate will still have 39% share. What is your point?

[r3volution 3.0]

Interestingly, the rise and fall of the US middle class has followed the rise and fall of Union jobs.

Two points

First, it may well be that unionism increases the income share of the working class, as business cartels increase the income share of the business class. Theft can be profitable for the thieves. And yet, the goal should be to grow the pie, and have it distributed meritocratically, not distribute it kleptocratically and thereby shrink it (or at least reduce its rate of growth).

Second, if you looked at the chart going back further, you'd find tremendous wage growth long before unionism was of any consequence. Wages for unskilled labor in the 19th century increased some 700%, for instance, while labor unions didn't become economically important (though they were already politically important) until the New Deal. In short, a labor cartel is by no means necessary for labor to earn higher wages (in a market economy, higher wages are rather the product of higher productivity via capital investment).

[Madison320]

Workers understood that labor was the backbone of the economy, not Wall Street moguls or bankers in their fine offices.

The workers were wrong. Freedom and the resulting savings and capital investment are the backbone of the economy. Every country has labor. Only the productive countries have capitalism.

[oyarde]

I think it is quite amazing that there were not more than 30 dead from the Pullman Strike .