In a message dated 98-03-09 12:10:58 EST, Michael Perelman writes:
<< I would like to start a dialogue on why the (U.S.) economy has been
doing as well as it has over the past few years. We know about the
problems, inequities ...., but why has the house of cards stayed up as
long as it has.
>>
Part of the reason (IMHO) is that the lack of organization in the working
class has allowed larger amounts of surplus value to remain in the hands of
the capitalists. Returns are not "trickling" down in the form of higher wages
or benefits. Another reason is that shift of the cost of the state from
business to wage earners. Proportionately, wage earners and businesses have
changed places in the last three decades with wage earners footing most of the
bill for government. The third reason is that the wages of women and
minorities continue to fall way behind those of white men. As women of all
races have become a larger portion of the work force in relation to men,
capital has reaped greater profits by continuing to keep wages at a very low
level. (While the LFP of women has increased and become more permanent, the
LFP of men has decreased -- especially black men. So, it is not just that
women are a larger part of the permanent workforce, men are a smaller part
than they were prior to the early 70s.)
maggie coleman [EMAIL PROTECTED]
