When I posted the Louis Uchitelle NYT article about Harley-Davidson squeezing
its workers, I was hoping to start a discussion of macro economic policy in the
US in the future. My subject line (“Don't worry, the stimulus will fix this.
Not” -- Pen-l Nov 19th) failed to provoke a discussion. Jim Devine correctly
pointed out that I should have been clear I was talking about a future stimulus
when I asserted that the stimulus would not fix the problem of the wage squeeze.
Many on Pen L have pointed out that austerity–meaning a wage squeeze–was
inevitable, given Capitalism's need to deal with the balance of payments and
other problems without impacting profits. The explicit observation of
forthcoming austerity goes back several years and many on Pen-l have either so
commented or, I suspect, silently agreed.
So what is the progressive response to fighting austerity? One widely accepted
move is to embrace more stimulus as a way to reduce unemployment and thus
battle the wage squeeze. But also accepted is the belief that the stimulus is
not politically feasible anymore. Perhaps less widely accepted is the notion
that a future stimulus will not be sufficient.
There seem to be two camps (at least) on the left. One is that in order to do
anything, Labor must be strengthened, and then after that we can successfully
fight against austerity and for many good things. A second camp is that we
must first build socialism, and having successfully put socialism into place,
we can then fight against austerity and for many good things.
In my view, if you think beyond both of those possibilities you reach the idea,
if not the conclusion, that working hours must be cut in the USA. Moreover, in
my view, cutting working hours is a necessary prior to strengthening labor and
also prior to moving to socialism. So why not work now to build a movement for
cutting working hours?
There are other constituencies for cutting hours besides labor, including
multiple parts of the women's movements, the climate change movement and
environmentalists more generally, and churches.
In mainstream media we hear liberals often calling for a new and bigger
stimulus, something desperately needed at the moment, but, I think, clearly
insufficient for the task of moving towards full employment and fighting
against austerity. Why don't those voices –- no need to list them here -- think
outside the box of growth, growth, growth?
Gene Coyle
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