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WORKER
PRODUCTIVITY
Mark
Trahant, P.I. editorial page editor, brought out some recent figures on U.S.
worker productivity. They strikingly
show what is going on in the Bush-corporate economy.
It is an economy for, by and of the transnationals. They prosper at the
expense of workers, as Trahant's figures show.
For
instance, Trahant writes:
"Last summer, for example, the Economic Policy
Institute, a liberal think tank, compiled numbers that show productivity is one
of the bright spots in the current economy up nearly 11.1 percent since 2001).
{think "forty cans an hour" on the waterfront} This is a critical
measure for economists - and this number is so strong that under normal
conditions it would mean more money going into
workers' pockets. But here's the but:
“Workers” compensation has consistently lagged (behind) productivity growth
over this period, That's because nearly every worker, yes, that more productive
worker, is paying more out of pocket for health care and contributions to our
future retirement.
The EPI (Economic Policy Institute) says the
data is worse: “For those who do not receive benefits from their employers (a
significant number of workers, as less than 50 percent of the workers at the
bottom half of the wage distribution receive health benefits and only 20 percent
of all workers have defined (that is, like our longshore benefit plan benefit
pension plans), total compensation is likely falling even more sharply behind
productivity.”
This growing gap between productivity and
compensation ought to be the story told about the American worker today; . . .
When will worker pay reflect our improved productivity trend? I am not waiting
for the answer.
So there you have it. Another example of profits over
all. Economists are constantly telling us how well the economy is doing. Well,
it may be doing well for corporations but it is certainly not doing so well for
workers, the unemployed and the depressed poor. We need a new economy - one for
people, not profits.
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