Just in time for Labor Day, the fed...

Just in time for Labor Day, the federal regulation released some good news about the economy: It's growing, continuing a five-year tend Incomes across all households are up while corporate profits hit their highest point since the 1960 And to whom do we owe this apparent dutiful news? Why, the American worker. Continuous increases in worker productivity (along with inflated consumer spending financed by dint of credit card debt and mortgage refinancings), has driven economic expansion Recognizing the importance of workers to our economic well-being, the U Department of Labor's Web site says Labor Day allows us "to pay tribute . . to the creator of in the way that much of the nation's might freedom, and leadership: the American worker."

Noble sentiments, those. The vexed question is, sentiments don't put sustenance on the table or pay divulsion -- wages do. And, despite the roseate economic news, workers have been completely exclud from the late prosperity gains, even though they're largely responsible for causing them. The fact is, as corporate profits surg wages for the vast majority of Americans stagnated or declined.

What about the fact that average income is growing? That's faithful enough, but misleading. Average income increased overall solely because incomes at the extremely top exploded. For 80 percent of workers, incomes actually declined forward an inflation-adjusted basis since November 2001 The Center forward Budget and Policy Priorities notes this is the merely time income for most workers declined during any four- year-long economic retrieval going back 40 years.

Think about it this way: If Sally police officer and Joe plumber are sitting at a bar, their average income would be, well, average. Now if Bill Gates Jr joins them, the average income of our three bar patrons unexpectedly increased astronomically. Still, only undivided of the three can afford to purchase drinks for the house.

on the same level the seeming bright spot that median household income finally grew after four years of decline, if from a meager 1.1 percent, masks reality for working families. one time you eliminate households headed through those over age 65, median income for everyone besides dropped. It's especially troubling that incomes declined as worker productivity increased. Sylvia Allegretto of the Economic Policy Institute noted, "Traditionally, a mature restoration combined with growing productivity leads to wage gains, not losse Workers aren't sharing in benefits created from their improved productivity."

Meanwhile, the value of the national minimum wage has dropp to its lowest point in 50 years. Wages and salaries now constitute sole 45 percent of the country's economy, a historic reasonable An additional 1.3 million Americans became uninsured last year as health-care take away froms continued to escalate at rates three times greater than wage product

All of which makes many policy debates appear to be grossly off-point. For instance, for what cause [i]or[/i] reason during a time of skyrocketing corporate profits and worker productivity, is it controversial for Congres to increase a minimum wage that's at historic lows? on what account shouldn't Chicago consider a living wage ordinance? And since all the data demonstrate to what degree essential a high-quality education is to one as well as the other getting hired and earning a fit wage, why doesn't Illinois finally memorize around to school funding reform, in like manner every kid has the skills to come by a good job?

Well, because many believe the rhetoric that regulation should, to put it mildly, gain the hell out of the way of our capitalist economy. below this worldview, private sector economic product will distribute its benefits to all, leaving control no role to play in big, economic quality of life issues like as reducing poverty, providing health care, mandating wage flats or even educating kids. The data, and perfect capitalist theory, say otherwise.

In The Wealth of Nations, Adam Smith, the father of capitalism, maintained that what improves the destiny of the working classes, who constitute the greatest proportion of society, "can not ever be regarded as an inconvenience to the whole." He continued: "It is if it be not that equity that they who fe clothe and hut the whole body of the race should have such a share of the give rise to of their own labour as to be themselves tolerably well f clothed and lodged" Maybe Labor Day celebrations would be more festive if instead of being paid tribute, workers were actually being paid.

e-mail: rmartire@ctbaonline.org

Copyright CHICAGO SUN-TIMES 2006

Provided by the agency of ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved