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News & ArtsTuesday, December 11, 2012
Crime / News / Economy When's the General Strike?
Posted by Dan Savage on Tue, Dec 11, 2012 at 9:21 AM
Seriously:
Hey, organized labor: it's time to call a general strike. A one-day, nationwide general strike. A shot across the bow. Something like this but, you know, nationwide. Chart via The Ed Show.
2
A general strike would have to be longer than a day to have any impact. These days, politicians and big business can easily deal with one day of mass protest (take for example, the big one-day protests leading to the Iraq War). But if it was sustained, the way such things sometimes are in Europe and other places in the world, it might actually have an impact.
3
Add to that the challenges in reaching some sort of consensus around goals of such an action, what accomplishing those goals might look like and how to keep folks unified behind those goals, and you've got a whole other level of potential clusterfuckery.
But if folks were willing to take on such challenges, I think an action like this could be something.
But if folks were willing to take on such challenges, I think an action like this could be something.
4
Correlation does not imply causation, sheesh Dan. These strikes could just as likely be a product of a social/economic dynamic that is manifest as a drop in GDP.
6
Unfortunately, things are gonna get much worse before most Americans would even consider disobeying their wage-slave masters.
7
A lot of working class whites would dismiss a general strike as a Kenyan socialist plot to take away their guns.
12
The 1940's were so great we had to do them twice.
It's the Ed Show though..one of my least favorite liberal talkers. Almost as bad ad Bill Press..almost
It's the Ed Show though..one of my least favorite liberal talkers. Almost as bad ad Bill Press..almost
14
Both axes are labeled the same, yet the values are different. Also, both red and blue are CP/GDP. I give them a 2.5 on this graph.
15
What I love about this chart is even when corporate profits bottomed out, they were still higher than aggregate wages.
16
It really is terrible. There's good information to be gleaned from it with a little more work.
The Ed Show, you suck. You probably overwork your graphics department demanding graphs for a story 15 minutes before you go to air.
The Ed Show, you suck. You probably overwork your graphics department demanding graphs for a story 15 minutes before you go to air.
19
Ok, how about this.
This is the chart from the St Louis Fed for just corporate profits. http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/ser…
When I find the wage data I'll post it up.
This is the chart from the St Louis Fed for just corporate profits. http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/ser…
When I find the wage data I'll post it up.
22
Here's what I don't understand about Seattle Communards.
They both anguish over people not getting enough money, and at the same time condemn almost anything that can be bought with it.
So, the only thing an SC would spend money on is a 200 sq. ft. apodment, bus fare, and pizza made with ancient grains.
The actual spending needed to support such a person who eschews almost all parts of the modern world like a car, sprawl, electronic entertainment which includes fast food being served, team sporting events and so on, would be minuscule...so why all the grousing about "low wages"?
23
Meh. If you try to strike in earnest, they'll just call in the national guard.
Not that they'd need to, since there'll be no lack of scabs willing to cross the line.
Congratulations! You've become the Capitalist utopian dream.
Now, if only we could stop you from contaminating the civilised world.
Not that they'd need to, since there'll be no lack of scabs willing to cross the line.
Congratulations! You've become the Capitalist utopian dream.
Now, if only we could stop you from contaminating the civilised world.
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