Tomorrow is Labor Day in the U.S., which makes it an appropriate time to reflect on the American workforce, income inequality and the resulting erosion of the middle class. The
New York Times editorial this morning is worth a read. Here's a snippet:
On its own, however, growth will not raise wages. What’s missing are policies
to ensure that a large and growing share of rising labor productivity
flows to workers in the form of wages and salaries, rather than to
executives and shareholders. Start with an adequate minimum wage.
Provide increased protections for workers to unionize, in order to
strengthen their bargaining power. Provide protections for undocumented
workers that would limit exploitation. Add to the mix regulations to
prevent financial bubbles, thereby protecting jobs and wages from
ruinous busts. Adopt expansionary fiscal and monetary policies in
troubled times to sustain jobs and wages.
Or, put in simpler, visual form (
click to enlarge):
(Signe Wilkinson, via gocomics.com)
