[quote=Allan from Fallbrook]CAR: I’d point out that Richard Trumka, head of the AFL-CIO, makes approx $275k per year, or 8x the wage of the average union employee.
The problem is that it’s no longer Labor versus Capital anymore. It’s a rigged game. Way back when you could count on there being an actual difference between Republicans and Democrats. The GOP was the party of the moneyed elite and the Dems fought for the rights of pretty much everyone else and was strongly supported by Big Labor as a result.
Now, it’s all about the money and the money buys access and the GOP and the Dems are indistinguishable from one another, and that has now impacted our lives from civil liberties to a working wage. In a certain light, Obama doesn’t look all that different from Nixon, or Dubya and Clinton wasn’t different from Reagan (the joke being that Clinton was an excellent Republican president).
The whole rotting edifice stinks and nothing will change without sweeping and substantive reform. Think that’s happening anytime soon?[/quote]
Trumka actually makes less than some of the other union bosses. Still, they don’t make anywhere near what the executives of large corporations, or fund managers, big speculators, etc. do. And one might argue that the heads of unions have a more difficult (and far more important, IMO) job in today’s climate.
You and I are in total agreement about politicians being totally corrupted and the total lack of distinction between Republicans and Democrats, especially where economic policy is concerned. More and more people are waking up to that, but one has to wonder if it’s not too late.
We disagree on whether or not the battle is still between labor and capital. I still think that is very much what we are dealing with. If you look at what’s happened in the past few decades, accelerating over the past 10-15 years, it’s obvious that there has been a massive shift in power, and capital controls pretty much everyone in power (puppet politicians) these days. Capital controls everything at this point, and workers are very much on the losing side of things.
We haven’t had a real Democratic president since Carter, IMHO. And even that might be questionable.
What types of reforms would you like to see, Allan? I’d be interested in hearing some of your ideas.
