tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5263344203998045622.post7536069508675248172..comments2024-03-28T01:06:58.927-06:00Comments on mid coast views: Why Paid Sick Days Is A Sound Economic Development MeasureMichael Rosenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00350109037494237071noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5263344203998045622.post-2004481904503016022010-03-04T05:04:38.128-06:002010-03-04T05:04:38.128-06:00@ Zes:
Instead of worrying about attracting busi...@ Zes: <br /><br />Instead of worrying about attracting businesses by exploiting workers (which always leads to an endless down spiral of degradation of life of the working class which in turns means they can not consume & hence causes a burst bubble, which is EXACTLY why capitalist economies always suffer them every 10-15 years) you should perhaps be worrying about making laws to keep businesses in America lest they pay tariffs from hell or you prevent anything from being imported here with exception to raw materials.<br /><br />Moreover, if we provided the consumer class with social benefits for base necessities it frees up their income to actually consume & hence businesses make more profit. <br /><br />The idea of appealing to businesses at the expense of the worker is exactly what caused this whole mess to begin with. Our companies out sourced a bulk of America's jobs to the third world where labor is cheap - they imported the trash here at inflated prices to be sold, yet because we suffered such job loss we now can't buy their products. Such is the soul of capitalism: businesses want IMMEDIATE profits without thought to later consequences. <br /><br />To aggravate the situation, our social benefits provided by the government, SUCK. 59% of our federal budget is eaten up by the military to fight wars no one wants only to secure profits for the very few while the cost of health care eats up 400 dollars per employee for the average business owner and costs the average American 700 dollars worth of consumer dollars a month. With the continual suppression of wages pitted against inflation of housing prices we have managed to outpace minimum wage by 20 times! What does this get us? EXACTLY what we have now: an economy where 1 out of 8 Americans are losing their homes, nearly 30% of the unskilled labor force is unemployed & 25% of American children are on food stamps. This can NOT be fixed unless companies are prevented from outsourcing OR social benefits are put in place to save the duress on the average American until a new innovation comes out which opens a new market & hence employs people until we can start all over again with the outsourcing craze... <br /><br />We are in the age of globalism, we have two choices: we either eliminate all borders & create a world union to prevent abuses of the proletariat, or: we continue to watch our standards of living reduce so the 1% of this country moves from owning 93% of America's wealth to ALL of it & then we have a bloody revolution... Americans, and the world for that matter, are not smart enough for option one. So number two will continue to unfold... <br /><br />-Schnook's KidAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5263344203998045622.post-53172107787027667442008-10-30T11:17:00.000-06:002008-10-30T11:17:00.000-06:00Nice letter, Mike and company!Out here at the end ...Nice letter, Mike and company!<BR/><BR/>Out here at the end of the world in Chile, we have UNLIMITED and mandatory paid sick leave AND THREE weeks mandatory paid vacation per year (that's right, you have to take them or your company is fined!)Plus women are granted 45 days PAID pre-natal leave AND 90 days PAID post-natal leave. Even fathers are granted 5 days paid "fraternal" leave after the birth of their child.<BR/><BR/>Chile has been considered to have one of the strongest economies in the region, outperforming regional powerhouses such as Argentina and Brasil at times, not to mention the other more populous and larger countries in South America. Without a doubt, Chile has been helped by their rich and plentiful natural resources, but their liberal and family-oriented labor laws have not put them at a disadvantage against their neighbors when it comes to attracting foriegn investment and foriegn companies to open offices in Chile.Jeff Wersteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03072473985414966730noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5263344203998045622.post-2662757396009086472008-10-30T10:50:00.000-06:002008-10-30T10:50:00.000-06:00Where do we think our employers will get the money...Where do we think our employers will get the money needed to pay for this new benefit? What will stop them from just moving our jobs to Waukesha or even Wauwatosa?<BR/><BR/>What are employees going to do when their bosses make them part time to avoid paying the sick leave benefit?<BR/><BR/>What are employees going to do if their employer "adapts" by cutting paid holidays and vacation days?zes1https://www.blogger.com/profile/10901816207289101425noreply@blogger.com