That's funny Keith, My fundamentalist Christian sister had four kids and each of those kids have had four kids and now she has great grand children. Her church of radical Republicans are rabid about stopping abortions and they are trying to make up the difference. My relatives from Slovenia living in Ohio all have at least two kids. Family reunions are sixty to hundred people. The people with only one child like myself work in the sectors where work is hard and demands many hours of unpaid labor leaving little time for children. The wealthy however are a different matter. They play at work and don't replace themselves because of the battles when people die. Maybe it's different in England but it isn't in Scotland or Ireland according to the ones still immigrating to America to wait tables and work in the theater. The model of value is still the issue. The current economic system is bankrupt but I've said this so much even I'm bored with saying it.
REH From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Keith Hudson Sent: Saturday, November 10, 2012 3:46 AM To: [email protected]; Ed Weick Subject: Re: [Futurework] AlterNet: Is Our Future Going to Be Keeping Rich People Happy in a Servant Economy? At 00:44 10/11/2012, Ed wrote: Keith, I can't figure out whether you're being an optimist or a pessimist. Why do you see the 99% becoming the 10%? Will it be because they have risen into a state of contentment or because we've gotten rid of them in some punitive way? I'm actually trying to be realistic. Assuming that, by the "99%" you meant the average guy/family, I meant that, for the last 30 years, parents have been unable to afford to raise enough children (2.1 per woman) to maintain their numbers. There's no evidence that this is likely to change in the next 30 years. Keith ----- Original Message ----- From: Keith Hudson <mailto:[email protected]> To: RE-DESIGNING WORK, INCOME DISTRIBUTION, EDUCATION <mailto:[email protected]> ; Ed Weick <mailto:[email protected]> Sent: Friday, November 09, 2012 7:07 AM Subject: Re: [Futurework] AlterNet: Is Our Future Going to Be Keeping Rich People Happy in a Servant Economy? At 10:48 09/11/2012, Ed wrote: Decline of unions; technological displacement of skilled workers; jobs sent off to where they can be done more cheaply; rise of the financial sector; political power of the 1% and subservient governments; universities and colleges crammed with young people who have nothing else to do = growth of the servant class. But wait! What about the growing anger of the 99%, revolution & chaos? Because they (the 99% -- more exactly, about 80% of present populations) have no economic firepower against other power-holders, Furthermore, the "99%" will become no more than 10% well within a couple of generations. Keith Ed ----- Original Message ----- From: Keith Hudson <mailto:[email protected]> To: RE-DESIGNING WORK, INCOME DISTRIBUTION,EDUCATION <mailto:[email protected]> Sent: Thursday, November 08, 2012 10:33 PM Subject: Re: [Futurework] AlterNet: Is Our Future Going to Be Keeping Rich People Happy in a Servant Economy? Sally's right. The rise of temporary workers fits with a possible recreation of a personal servant class. (As in the 19th century?) But this was only possible in a world of the new industrialist rich and a new professional middle class who were living off the profits of mass produced goods and a large consumer market which was building upwards from classes at the lowest levels of poverty. Today, we're in an entirely new situation with a declining consumer population, Most parents can't afford to buy both the requisite number of status goods (in and around their house) and also to raise and educate enough replacement children. The previous "growth" economy of America, Japan and Western Europe started slowing down seriously 30 years ago, Mean wages in all these countries started declining in the late '80s and the only way governments kept their GDPs growing (that is, notionally) was by unleashing credit and allowing the banks to run riot. Keith At 21:01 08/11/2012, you wrote: Is Our Future Going to Be Keeping Rich People Happy in a Servant Economy? _____ _______________________________________________ Futurework mailing list [email protected] https://lists.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework _______________________________________________ Futurework mailing list [email protected] https://lists.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework
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