Friday Talking Points [179] -- Labor Daze
It surpasses all irony and actually enters into the realm of bitter humor that we're about to celebrate Labor Day when the unemployment rate remains at the sky-high level of 9.1 percent. There are millions of Americans who are not laboring for a paycheck this year, and they have nothing at all to celebrate.
Many of them will, no doubt, still attend a barbeque or picnic or parade, or perhaps go to a local beach. But it's a pretty safe bet that few of them (at least the ones not attending the parade) will be thinking much about the meaning of Labor Day.
President Obama is going to spend the weekend hashing out exactly what will be in his upcoming speech on jobs and the economy. It's another fairly safe bet that Obama won't be using the words "Labor" or "Union" in this speech, sadly enough.
Obama's speech was originally planned for Wednesday night, but the Republicans had set that night aside for Reagan worship, so he was forced to move it to Thursday, the same night the first professional football game of the year will be broadcast -- perhaps setting up the tough choice for millions of couch potatoes between watching an hour of politics or watching the pre-game show.
Sigh.
Obama's speech, nonetheless, is being billed as a make-or-break moment for him, as virtually every speech he has given as president has also been billed (the media just love this particular storyline, it seems). From the Left, Obama is being told in no uncertain terms: Go big, or go home. His speech needs to be bold and his plans sweepingly decisive, or else he's just not going to have much to run on next year. Especially when the White House itself is now predicting that the unemployment number is going to stay well north of eight percent for the rest of Obama's term in office.
Some Democrats have all but given up on the president ever being bold enough for them, and are so frustrated with him that his job approval poll numbers sank below 40 percent for the first time ever -- and not in a partisan Republican poll, but in Gallup's numbers. When Obama's below 40 percent, it means he is losing a portion of his base. This must be frustrating, to say the least, for the White House, but at this point it wouldn't surprise some Democrats if the president responded by announcing something along the lines of:
"I have decided that the last thing America needs in the midst of our economic woes is a highly partisan election season. Therefore, in the spirit of bipartisanship which I have shown all along as president, I will not be campaigning next year. I'm still going to run for a second term, but I think the process would be more adult if I refrained from engaging in crass political games, and instead offered up weekly lectures to America on various non-controversial subjects, starting with this week's subject: the history of the Patent Office. I truly believe that the American public is hungering for less politics, not more, and I will be putting this to the test. While the Republicans waste time and money campaigning, I will not be engaging them on any point which could remotely be considered political."
Obama announcing he's going to halt the E.P.A.'s efforts to further clean up America's air from polluters should be seen as merely the icing on this particularly bitter feeling. While the American public will soon forget the pettiness of this week's "which day will Obama speak to Congress?" spat, we are all going to be living with the pollution for years to come.
Now, the president could surprise both his supporters and his former supporters this week, and not only give a rousing speech but also by following through in a major way. If he identifies the crisis correctly and offers up ideas which seem eminently reasonable to the average American -- and if the Republican House then promptly blocks all of these ideas -- Obama could do himself a world of good politically with this speech.
If Obama offered up ideas that were so brilliant that even the House Republicans got on board and quickly passed them into law, which immediately improved the jobs situation for all of America, this would (of course) be much better than just reaping the political benefits of the upcoming speech; but then if unicorns farted rainbows which could be easily gathered and converted to non-carbon-emitting fuel then we'd all be a lot better off as well. I put the chances of either happening at about the same, personally.
Boy, this opening bit is really getting grim. I'd better just stop here, and move along to the awards, before we offer up a special Labor Day edition of the Friday Talking Points.
We have two Most Impressive Democrat Of The Week awards to hand out today, to the two co-chairs of the Progressive Caucus in Congress. Representative Raúl Grijalva and Representative Keith Ellison sent a letter to the president, and the letter pretty much speaks for itself.
Dear Mr. President:
We are pleased you will be addressing a joint session of Congress next week to outline your much-anticipated jobs package. We encourage you to include in that package large-scale programs that will significantly reduce unemployment and our deficit. Specifically, we urge you to support emergency jobs legislation that will immediately put Americans back to work. With 14 million Americans still looking for work, this is not the time to tinker around the edges. We must take bold action, and that requires federal emergency jobs legislation.
Washington needs to invest in the country's future by enacting significant emergency jobs legislation to put Americans back to work now. There is no shortage of work to be done in America, and no shortage of workers to do it. Young Americans in particular are facing a bleak economic reality. Many of them have mountains of college debt and no prospects for employment. We are squandering the talent, energy and hopes of a generation. We urge the Administration to make a good American job a reality for every young person.
In addition to addressing the immediate unemployment crisis, it's also time to invest in long-term opportunities that create jobs and rebuild America. One option with broad support is creating a National Infrastructure Development Bank. The country’s infrastructure needs an estimated investment of $2.2 trillion. We should not delay these crucial investments, especially while millions of Americans are out of work. Rebuilding America -- without creating expensive new corporate tax loopholes -- will further boost our economy and create badly needed jobs.
We can stem the tide of mass unemployment and meet our long-term national commitments by enacting emergency jobs legislation and creating a National Infrastructure Development Bank. We look forward to continuing to work with you to enact these initiatives to put America back to work.
Whenever the president speaks to a gathering of Lefties, he invariably issues the same challenge, no matter how it is actually phrased: "Keep my feet to the fire! Keep on pushing me!" The Progressive Caucus in Congress exists to do precisely that. And, when they do so, they deserve recognition.
Which is why co-chairs Grijalva and Ellison deserve this week's Most Impressive Democrat Of The Week award.
[Congratulate Representative Raúl Grijalva and Representative Keith Ellison via the Progressive Caucus contact page, to let them know you appreciate their efforts.]
Sadly, identifying the Most Disappointing Democrat Of The Week this week was easy. In fact, I already wrote about this on Wednesday.
Representative André Carson, a leader of the Congressional Black Caucus, uttered the following indefensible statement this week, as he was speaking of Tea Party attitudes towards African-Americans:
"This is the effort that we're seeing of Jim Crow. Some of these folks in Congress right now would love to see us as second-class citizens. Some of them in Congress right now of this Tea Party movement would love to see you and me ... hanging on a tree."
While many well-meaning folks disagreed with me in the comments to this article (especially over at the Huffington Post), I still stand by what I wrote. This comment was over a line that should not have been crossed. Carson is not doing his own cause any good by using such rhetoric -- in fact, he's harming it. But I've already fully laid my case out, on this one, so read my earlier article if you'd like to hear my reasoning.
There may have been other Democrats doing disappointing things this week, but nothing was as disappointing as what Carson had to say, which easily won him the MDDOTW award for the week.
[Contact Representative André Carson on his House contact page, to let him know what you think of his actions.]
Volume 179 (9/2/11)
The Friday Talking Points are short and sweet this week. The reason for this is that the ideas themselves are pretty simple for just about everyone to grasp. They are, in fact, the things we should all thank Labor for -- even though we all take each and every one of them absolutely for granted now.
These ideas didn't just spring forth from the goodness of the corporate masters' hearts, mind you. Each and every one was fought over. People even died for these concepts, as pedestrian as they sound today. Each and every one was fought tooth and nail against by the big industries of the day -- with exactly the same line they still use today to convince presidents to back off from cleaning up our air: "It'll cost too much. It'll cost us so much money, we simply won't be profitable. It'll cost jobs. It'll make the price of [insert industry product] so high that customers won't be able to buy it."
Each and every single time -- the exact same argument. But regardless of the daunting opposition, the workers still fought. For each and every one of the following items (as well as far more than we could even list here). These items are so short and sweet that they don't even require the usual introduction -- we're presenting nothing but the talking points themselves this week.
Remember these at the barbeque or the beach this year. And thank Labor for fighting for these things.
Standard work day and work week
"Americans consider the 8-hour work day and the 40-hour work week to be standard. It wasn't always this way. Work days used to be 10, 12, even 14 hours or more per day in some industries -- often the ones with the most backbreaking tasks. The standard we all enjoy today of a five-day, 40-hour work week was the cause of strike after strike across America for years and years on end. If you enjoy working only 40 hours a week, and not 70 or 80, thank Labor."
Overtime
"The concept of getting paid 'time-and-a-half' is pretty much universally accepted in America today, but this didn't just get handed down on holy tablets at the beginning of time. The whole concept of 'overtime' was fought for, and the business owners sure didn't like it. Their attitude was: 'Pay fifty percent more for the production line, just because you've got a rush order to get out? Preposterous!' Now overtime standards are actually written into law. But those laws were fought for, they didn't just happen. If you enjoy getting paid time-and-a-half for overtime today, thank Labor."
Child labor unacceptable
"We grow up in a country where using child labor is illegal. But it didn't always used to be this way. Young children used to be put to work in factories and sweatshops all over America, because they were considered a legitimate source of cheap labor. Do you enjoy the fact that neither your child nor mine will even be exploited and abused in this fashion ever again? Thank Labor."
Compensation if you get injured on the job
"As with all these other workers' rights, the entire concept of a worker getting any compensation at all when he or she gets injured on a job did not just spring into being of its own accord. When workers used to be horribly disfigured by dangerous work, they were thrown aside to fend for themselves for the rest of their life however they could manage. This does not happen anymore. Workers are entitled to compensation if they are injured on the job today. This right was fought for, over and over again, in our history, and we'd do well not to forget this. Enjoy the fact that if you ever get hurt working there is workers' comp to fall back on? Thank Labor."
O.S.H.A.
"Furthermore, the fact that there are laws today which were put in place for the safety of the American worker is also something to celebrate. Dangerous work will always be with us, but previously businesses had no real incentive to improve the conditions in which their workers toiled. Safety just wasn't all that big a bottom-line consideration. The fact that we do have laws today to make each and every job in this country as safe as possible is why 'regulations' is not a dirty word. Regulations protect you, me, and every other American worker from dangers that workers used to be forced to face daily. Do you enjoy not risking your life and limb for a paycheck? Thank Labor."
Weekends
"Daily work used to mean just that -- every day. Sunday was sometimes a non-working day, but not always, not in every industry. As with the standard work week, the fact that we all enjoy a two-day weekend today was a hard-fought battle against bosses who saw no profit in shutting down two days in every seven. You'd have to be lying if you said you didn't enjoy your weekend every week, and for that you can thank Labor."
Happy Labor Day!
"While I'd like to wish everyone a Happy Labor Day, I'd also like to point out, once again, that the concept of a paid holiday didn't just appear out of the blue, either. While religious holidays have a longer history, the idea of setting aside certain days as holidays which workers are paid to not work is a fairly recent one. As befits the purpose of our Monday off, I'd like to publicly thank Labor on this year's Labor Day... and also to publicly ask the guy laboring over the grill over there -- are the burgers done yet, or not?"
-- Chris Weigant
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Follow Chris on Twitter: @ChrisWeigant
Cross-posted at: Democratic Underground
Cross-posted at: Democrats For Progress
Cross-posted at: The Huffington Post
"I have decided that the last thing America needs in the midst of our economic woes is a highly partisan election season. Therefore, in the spirit of bipartisanship which I have shown all along as president, I will not be campaigning next year. I'm still going to run for a second term, but I think the process would be more adult if I refrained from engaging in crass political games, and instead offered up weekly lectures to America on various non-controversial subjects, starting with this week's subject: the history of the Patent Office. I truly believe that the American public is hungering for less politics, not more, and I will be putting this to the test. While the Republicans waste time and money campaigning, I will not be engaging them on any point which could remotely be considered political."
That's what the Obama who *I* voted for would say...
Sadly, it's become clear (and not only to me) that Obama is a political animal and the only job he is interested in saving is his own... :(
but then if unicorns farted rainbows which could be easily gathered and converted to non-carbon-emitting fuel then we'd all be a lot better off as well.
That mental picture brought a smile to me face.. :D
Boy, this opening bit is really getting grim.
Unfortunately, for all of us, the reality is even grimmer...
Happy Labor Day to all.. I might actually hit the beach this Monday. After a grueling weekend where our high temp will likely be less than 98! Woot!!! :D
Michale.....
well lol to 40 hour work week.
My dad rarely worked less then a 60 hour week (he was self employed and we never had money, definitely lower middle class).
My uncle that I respected most after dad, owned a very successful business and rarely worked less then a 60 hour week.
When I was an Army Officer I rarely worked less then a 60 hour when I was not deployed, and a lot more then that when I was.
Maybe one of the Problems with the economy today is people look at a job as a right and don't want to put the hours in?
Time and a half? Are you working at McDonalds or a real job? A salaried position will expect you to occasionally work over time with no extra pay.
Again is that another problem with the country today?
While of course I don't want kids working coal mines and sweatshops, I worked since age 11 paper-route, stock boy, fast food, caddy at a gold course one summer etc. My wife was against making my son get a job while in HS, (I needed the money as a kid but am able to provide better material things for him). He is a great son, but as he started college now I do wonder if he has the right work ethic.
OSHA because we need regulations about the size of toilet seats, talking about a "big bottom-line consideration"
Since I am about to leave work (3:20 Saturday) I will wish you a happy labor day.
Go Dawgs!! (UGA)
Oh and the President's job speech (yawn), luckily for him it is during the pregame not the actual game.
So he announces last month he will give it this month. Must make all those people without jobs happy that he waited while we had zero job growth eh?
Then we are told he will not reveal it all at once but piecemeal it together of campaign stops? really?? I thought that is what the challenger does not the guy in charge right now who is tasked with fixing the problem.
Want to wager some q's on how many times he blames the last admin and ignores the fact he had a house and senate majority for 2 years? an ALMOST filibuster proof senate?
I think an even dozen times blaming the last guy although he was elected to fix the problems and said he could.
And remember this blast from the past? From way back in 2009: "“I will be held accountable,” Obama said. “I’ve got four years and … A year form now, I think people are going to see that we’re starting to make some progress, but there’s still going to be some pain out there … If I don’t have this done in three years, then there’s going to be a one-term proposition.”
Maybe one of the Problems with the economy today is people look at a job as a right and don't want to put the hours in?
I don't think that line of reasoning works out if you look at successful economies around the world. Good talking point just not based much in reality.
Time and a half? Are you working at McDonalds or a real job? A salaried position will expect you to occasionally work over time with no extra pay.
Manufacturing jobs are not real? Police? Firefighters? Really?
OSHA because we need regulations about the size of toilet seats, talking about a "big bottom-line consideration"
So, you admit knowing nothing about what OSHA does or are you intentionally ignoring the other 95%?
an ALMOST filibuster proof senate?
"Almost" being the operative word...
Bashi,
I don't think that line of reasoning works out if you look at successful economies around the world. Good talking point just not based much in reality.
So, you think that having a job is a right??
Could you please explain the line of reasoning that leads you to that conclusion??
Or am I misreading your comment...
It's funny about Obama...
In 2008 it was, "YES WE CAN!!"...
In 2011, it's "IT WILL TAKE TIME"...
Michale.....
Ya gotta feel for this administration..
The day of the start of the "LABOR" Day weekend, it's announced that there was ZERO job growth...
ZERO... ZILCH... NADA... NONE....
This hasn't happened in the US since 1945....
If it weren't for bad luck, this administration wouldn't have any luck at all... :^/
Michale.....
Michale-
It was the putting the "hours in" not the "right" part of it. Many of the economic power houses like Germany and South Korea work a bit less that the average American. Certainly close enough that it's more likely other factors determine the strength of the economy over length of average work week.
Bashi,
Ahhhhh
My mistake... I stand corrected...
Michale.....
Chris,
Happy Labour Day!
There must be something wrong with the comments section at the Huffington Post. Well, no kidding ... that's fodder for a lengthy post, in and of itself.
Actually, that there have been no comments yet on your latest FTP column at HP means that there is no idle spreading of disinformation, spewing of falsehoods, outright lying and general nonsense and hysteria that need to be called out for what it is.
Of course, there aren't any moments of enlightenment or pure amusement, either. But, these days, those heartening moments are far and few between at the best of times, anyway.
In other words, no comments are good comments!
I've been thinking that it might be a good idea to close down comments. Some HP writers have done this and directed those interested in commenting to their own site. It might be interesting to try it and see what happens ...
Michale,
Happy Labour Day!
I hope you're having lots of fun at the beach!
Here, we've been suffering through anything but beach weather. Serious thought needs to be given toward making a move to another hemisphere.
In 2008 it was, "YES WE CAN!!"...In 2011, it's "IT WILL TAKE TIME"...
Actually, in 2008, it was "Yes We Can But, It Will Take A Lot Of Time and Patience".
Unfortunately, few were listening and fewer still remember what happened to the economy in 2007/08 or understand what really contributed to the exploding budget deficits and debt.
That message has been lost in all the noise.
tinsldr2,
Happy Labour Day!
You make some very valid points about work ethic. Generally speaking, it ain't what it used to be.
Just to be clear, an "almost" filibuster-proof Senate is meaningless - for all practical intents and purposes and otherwise.
For the record ... no US administration, in the history of the United States of America, has inherited anywhere near the kind of monumental mess - domestically and internationally - that the Obama/Biden administration has from the Bush/Cheney crew.
If you ask me, President Obama et al. don't put the blame on the last administration nearly enough nor do they explain clearly enough how we got into this mess and what they are doing to get out of it. Instead, they have allowed a different narrative to take hold that is neither based in reality nor true to the facts, in context or not.
Bashi,
Happy Labour Day!
:)
Liz,
We're making our beach plans as we speak, but remnants of TS Lee might spoil that. :(
Actually, in 2008, it was "Yes We Can But, It Will Take A Lot Of Time and Patience".
Actually, in 2008, "YES WE CAN" was still the operative phrase..
"YES WE CAN BUT IT WILL TAKE A LOT OF TIME AND PATIENCE" didn't become the meme until 2010 when reality set in.. :D
To all...
Here's what happens when catering to Labor trumps common sense...
Postal Service Is Nearing Default as Losses Mount
The post office’s problems stem from one hard reality: it is being squeezed on both revenue and costs.
As any computer user knows, the Internet revolution has led to people and businesses sending far less conventional mail.
At the same time, decades of contractual promises made to unionized workers, including no-layoff clauses, are increasing the post office’s costs. Labor represents 80 percent of the agency’s expenses, compared with 53 percent at United Parcel Service and 32 percent at FedEx, its two biggest private competitors. Postal workers also receive more generous health benefits than most other federal employees.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/05/business/in-internet-age-postal-service-struggles-to-stay-solvent-and-relevant.html?_r=1
So, what's it going to be, Unions???
Keep demanding more and more and the US Post Office shuts down??
Or be realistic and forgo some of the fantastic overly-generous benefits???
Michale.....
Wow!!!
What a cheap shot!!
Drudge had a minor link that said, "PALIN RUNS!"
But it was just an article about how Palin was running in an Iowa marathon... :D
I can imagine if it had been a REAL Palin runs moment, Drudge would have been screaming it from the headline with several cop lights attached to it. :D
Michale.....
WOW...
Hoffa Threatens GOP At Obama Event: "Take These Son Of Bitches Out"
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2011/09/05/jimmy_hoffa_at_obama_event_on_gop_lets_take_these_son_of_bitches_out.html
There is no Arizona
No Painted Desert, no Sedona
If there was a Grand Canyon
She could fill it up with the lies he's told her
But they don't exist, those dreams he sold her
She'll wake up and find
There is no Arizona
-Jamie O'Neal
Sad.... Just sad....
Michale....
The way I see it, the Left has two choices and two choices only..
Stop the hate filled rhetoric....
Stop WHINING about the hate filled rhetoric...
Anything else just makes them look worse then the Right....
Michale.....
Thanks for the note about Keith Ellison and Raul Grijalva.
I sent them a donation on this Labor Day. You can donate at ActBlue:
https://secure.actblue.com/directory/query
-David
@ bashi "It was the putting the "hours in" not the "right" part of it. Many of the economic power houses like Germany"
Germany a powerhouse? I read about the stalled German Economy in the news all the times. Stores are closed on Sundays and not open late like in America and consumer goods are more expensive relative to salary.
My wife is German and I lived there for 7 years.
Look at the Unemployment Rate in Germany. (don't even get me started on the Tax Rate)
"The unemployment rate in Germany was last reported at 7 percent in July of 2011. From 1991 until 2010, Germany's Unemployment Rate averaged 9.73 percent reaching an historical high of 12.10 percent in March of 2005 and a record low of 7.30 percent in December of 1991. "
http://www.tradingeconomics.com/germany/unemployment-rate
The average rate in America is closer to 5-6%, maybe they should look at us?
Elizabeth Miller wrote:
In other words, no comments are good comments!
I've been thinking that it might be a good idea to close down comments.
.............
Ah yes, Only the enlightened should get to comment and censoring the political speech of those with whom we disagree is a good thing. :)
Hope you had a good weekend! :)
tinsldr2
Thanks for taking my ... ahem ... comments completely out of context and thereby thoroughly distorting their meaning.
Now I have to worry about you AND Michale trying to put words into my mouth.
I was trying to move the comments over to CW.com to increase traffic over here ahead of the 'second annual Thanksgiving Fund-raising drive'. Well, that and fact that, for health reasons, I'm working hard to avoid all of the nonsense at HP, in general, and this move would substantially help in that effort. Sigh.
And, for the record, I had a lousy weekend.
Thanks again!
Interesting...
White House has "No Comment" to Labor Leader Hoffa's remarks about killing Republicans...
Therefore the White House has lost all credibility (what little it had)... The next time the White House calls for "civility" and for words that "heal, not hurt" I hope ya'all will have the good sense to laugh... :D
Michale....
"And as far as I’m concerned, the ‘tea party’ can go straight to Hell.”
-Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D)
“Let us all remember who the real enemy is… the real enemy is the Tea Party… the Tea Party holds the Congress hostage.”
-Congresswoman Fredrica Wilson (D)
"Some of them in Congress right now of this Tea Party movement would love to see you and me ... hanging on a tree."
-Congressman Andre Carson
"President Obama, this is your army. We are ready to march. Let's take these son of bitches out"
-Labor Leader Jimmy Hoffa introducing President Obama
"You Are The Only Folks Keeping The Barbarians From the Gates"
-Vice President Joe Biden
Ya'all sensing a pattern here??
Is this the "civility" that Democrats called for in the wake of the attempted assassination of Congresswoman Giffords??
Are these the words that "heal and not hurt" that President Obama has called for??
As I said, the Left either needs to cease the hateful and violent rhetoric or cease whining and crying ABOUT the hateful and violent rhetoric from the Right...
And it sure would be nice to see pundits and commentaries follow CW's lead and speak out against this garbage....
Hell, even the Democrat's SuperGirl Wasserman-Schultz wouldn't condemn this hateful rhetoric..
It's getting so you can't tell who is a Republican and who is a Democrat....
Michale.....
tinsldr,
Ah yes, Only the enlightened should get to comment and censoring the political speech of those with whom we disagree is a good thing. :)
That's how things are done over at OsborneInk, Cesca and most other Leftist (and some Rightist) political blogs.. They revel in their own echo chambers...
Fortunately, CW.COM takes all comers.. :D
Michale.....
Fortunately, CW.COM takes all comers.. :D
I say "fortunately" for me....
UNfortunately for ya'all.. :D hehehehehehehe
Michale.....
Can I ask a very serious and very sincere question amongst the economic experts here.
I have always wondered about this....
How can extending Unemployment Benefits help the unemployment issue??
It seems to me that this screws up on two fronts..
1st, it increases the percentage of Unemployment by keeping people on the unemployment roster longer.
2nd, it doesn't provide any incentive for people to go out and find a job, if they know they can make $300-$800 a week by NOT working.
It would seem more logical to SHORTEN then length of Unemployment, thereby giving people MORE incentive to go out and find a job..
Am I missing something??
Michale.....
“At a time when our discourse has become so sharply polarized, at a time when we are far too eager to lay the blame for all that ails the world at the feet of those who think differently than we do. It’s important for us to pause for a moment and make sure that we are talking with each other in a way that heals, not a way that wounds,”
-President Obama, Jan 2011
"We're not going to be the Speech Police for the Democratic Party."
-President Obama, Sep 2011
How completely pathetic...
Michale......
Michale,
Am I missing something??
Only that we are still in an extremely fragile recovery phase in the wake of the most destructive global financial crisis in all of our lifetimes which will take years to recover from and get back to the kind of employment environment that people are used to and where what you say makes any sort of sense.
Also, you are missing the fact that there are forces at work in the current economy, as a direct result of this financial crisis, that are encouraging people to save more and buy less which doesn't do anything to build demand and increase jobs. This is what is known as a paradigm shift and it may never go back to the way it used to be. Which is, in fact, a good thing, by the way.
And, so, to sum up, increased unemployment benefits are essential in this current economic environment unless you want to make the situation even worse than it already is.
Thanx Liz,
I don't agree with most of what you say, but it sounds logical... :D
Michale.....