doug (&paul) since when is it our job to determine what the bosses can accomodate? e.g. you could make a case, and many have, that racism is so entwined with the u.s. economic system that it will never be completely eradicated without the overthrow of capitalism. if i were convinced of this, would that imply that in order to be honest, instead of advocating "the total elimination of racism" i have to advocate "the total elimination of racism, but please be advised that this is not possible without overthrowing the economic system"? let's push the minimum wage to $10/hr. if paul is right, workers will get the $10/hr. if doug's right, the system will collapse. either outcome suits me fine. it's a win/win. like the pre '89 polish joke i heard from a german friend. a guy walks into a bank in poland to open an account with a few hundred zlotys. but he's a little nervous about banks. so he asks the teller, "how can i be sure the bank's not going to collapse?" "it's not going to collapse," answers the teller. "but what if it does?" "if it does," answers the teller, "it's backed up by the Central Bank in Warsaw." "but what if the central bank collapses?" "it's not going to collapse." "but what if it does?" "if it does," answers the teller, "it's backed up by the Soviet Union." "but what if the soviet union collapses?" "it's not going to collapse." "but what if it does?" "if the soviet union collapses," answers the teller, "isn't that worth a couple hundred zlotys?" ------- as for bill's antipathy towards unions, i'm with gompers: "MORE!" (gompers was, after all, a socialist... ;> ) i don't think unions can ever go wrong by demanding more, as long as they do it for the whole working class (including those not working) rather than some sector, (like the unionized or the skilled). the swedish and norwegian unions did it right -- they moderated the wage demands of those at the top in return for full employment, bringing up the bottom, and levelling the wage structure. ___________________________________ Robert Naiman 1821 W. Cullerton Chicago Il 60608-2716 (h) 312-421-1776 Urban Planning and Policy (M/C 348) 1007 W. Harrison Room 1180 Chicago, Il 60607-7137 (o) 312-996-2126 (voice mail) [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://icarus.uic.edu/~rnaima1/
