It could be the fact that I have spent the last week working with a group of talented union activists that my anger is boiling up inside of me. I'm not totally convinced though because it has been simmering for sometimes. Perhaps it just got heated up over the past week. :-)
For me that last straw was when the Federal government here in Canada introduced changes to the Emplyment Insurance plan that are designed to force workers into lower paying jobs far away from home or else be cut off of the benefit.
The Finance Minister mused that there was no such thing as a bad job . . . easy for him to say with his salary, guaranteed pension, travel allowance, and other entitlements. There are a hell of a lot of bad jobs out there Mr. Flaherty.
Thomas Walkom said it well in the Toronto Star . . .
To this Conservative government, anything that might interfere with the mythical free market — and particularly with the market’s downward pressure on wages — is anathema.
Are cash-strapped farmers forced to bring in desperately poor workers from South America to harvest crops? Then the answer is not to reform the food system so that farmers — and farm labourers — can make a living wage. It is to make more Canadians so desperate that they will take be forced to take these Grapes of Wrath jobs.
While this is a major part of my anger the biggest part is that the public accepts this crap.
The thinking public (and I realize this is a hyperbole for some) accepts this old argument. The public has become mean-spirited in my opinion. There is a sense that those who loose their jobs are lazy and should be punished since there is clearly a lack of moral fiber there. In the US the assumption in many areas is that they are drug addicts so people are forced to consent to intrusive drug tests or have their benefits cut off.
To be blunt (cover your ears or avert your eyes) this is total bullshit!
Most folks want to work and support themselves and their families. They want decent jobs that help them pay the bills and put food on the table. I accept that some might be taking advantage of the system - root them out rather than punish everyone.
This ugliness in our society extends to those of us in unionized positions as well. There is a perception that I have often heard that we are lazy and delight in forcing business to close with our excessive demands. This anti-union sentiment gained great traction when Ronald Regan fired the air traffic controllers who dared strike for better salaries and benefits. Over the last forty years we have seen multiple examples of where unions were crushed and the playing field clearly tilted in favour of business.
I'm a bit shocked that this would be an issue today. We're in the worst economic recession in generations because businesses did whatever they could in order to make a small number of people richer and richer. They sacrificed whatever they could in this drive for profit. They cared nothing about regular folks. Regular folks were hurt, hurt badly, as a result of their greed.
Yet we accept that we must continue to make sacrifices in order for these business to grow. A tax cut here, salary rollback there, benefit cut here, reduced environmental standards there, rezoned parkland . . . the list goes on and on. Frankly we might as well be collectively walking around with a HUGE sign on our backs that says 'KICK ME'.
When the Occupy Movement started last fall I admit that I was dismissive of them. In fact, some of those involved frightened the beejesus out of me! Looking back I now see that they were right. There is something fundamentally wrong with the unfettered free-market economic ideal that we continue to accept. It does not raise society up as a collective - it makes a few people as rich as all get out and punishes the rest of us for allowing it to happen.
It's time for a change . . .
Sorry, disconnecting!!!!
Posted by: Pete Young | May 26, 2012 at 02:10 PM
Jerry, I so agree -- the system is incredibly distorted and getting worse. Financial markets and a handful of very greedy men and women are running the world.
But it's heartening to see the backlash brewing in Europe, with the election of more liberal-minded governments. Let's hope it continues and brings back some balance.
Posted by: Sandrac | May 27, 2012 at 03:37 PM
At your peril Pete, at your peril.
One can only dream Sandra. It is a shame that it will take so long for it to spread to North America.
Posted by: JDeQ | June 11, 2012 at 07:00 AM