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1. Bob Mottram (bob@social.freedombone.net)'s status on Sunday, 17-Dec-2017 12:52:07 EST Bob Mottram
   Some interesting trends in the US economy
   
   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7V8a_XC1MI
   1. Bob Mottram (bob@social.freedombone.net)'s status on Sunday, 17-Dec-2017 13:01:33 EST Bob Mottram

      in reply to
      I don't necessarily agree with the framing which goes with this, and one point which could have been made at the end is that if current trends continue the only way which the average American can gain a better standard of living is through political organization - not through the education system. Trumpism is one manifestation of that.
      
      Also another point not mentioned. In the 1970s unions switched to the Alinsky model which relied upon separate professional negotiators rather than more grassroots methods coming from workers themselves. This has been proposed as another factor leading to the decline of workers bargaining power in the US from that time onwards.
      1. Annah (maiyannah@community.highlandarrow.com)'s status on Sunday, 17-Dec-2017 13:09:24 EST Annah

         in reply to
         @bob I think that model is basically intentionally designed to disempower union members and empower union leaders.  It essentially removes control from the communal element and centralizes it towards whomever is doing the hiring, to say nothing of how it also provides a convenient blame figure when negotiations fail, that is outside of that leadership.