[Dragaera] Off-Topic Discussion: Occupy Wall Street

[Kenneth Gorelick]

I would add that the so-called productivity boosts are totally bogus. They result from the fiction that people work 40 hours per week. If an employee needs to work 50 hours to get the job done because of massive layoffs, and if that employee's efficiency is maintained at the same level for the last 10 hours as it was for the first 40, then productivity has increased by 25%.

Since that employee has not seen a pay raise to go along with the increased work (since s/he is an exempt employee) costs to management have decreased. The increased burden on society due to the psychological impact of the work load increase are not borne by the company. As a result, we have the appearance of significant boosts in productivity accompanied by the reality of increased drag on the society from the newly unemployed and the consequences of the increased workload on the surviving employees.

The real debate should be about why we exist as a nation. Until there is some agreement on this it is hard to figure out how to get out of the mess we are in.

On Dec 15, 2011, at 7:54 PM, phoenix at ugcs.caltech.edu wrote:

> On Thu, Dec 15, 2011 at 05:12:03PM -0700, Howard Brazee wrote:
> 
>> There are graphs on the Internet that have matched the deficit with
>> Supply Side tax cuts.    These graphs are pretty consistent in showing
>> that cutting taxes on the wealthy increases the debt.   Hmm, I wonder
>> if there is a similar study showing how many jobs were created.
> 
> I started reading Jeffery Sachs' _The Price of Civilization_.  Tables
> indicate the US since 1981 has seen slower growth of GDP, of GDP per
> capita growth, almost no median income growth, and higher unemployment.
> Plus, of course, massive deficits, as well as a deficit in
> infrastructure maintenance, as Reagan pushed such spending from 2% to 1%
> of GDP.
> 
> In other words, a total failure.  Unless you're in the top 0.1%.
> Massive income growth for them.
> 
> Democracy is two sheep and a wolf voting on what to have for dinner.
> Reaganism is when the sheep vote with the wolf.
> 
> -xx- Damien X-) 
> _______________________________________________
> Dragaera mailing list
> Dragaera at lists.dragaera.info
> http://lists.dragaera.info/listinfo.cgi/dragaera-dragaera.info