Sunday, July 28, 2013

“Long-term trends have not been kind to low-wage workers,” said Lawrence F. Katz, an economics professor at Harvard University. “They’ve been hurt by technological change” — scanners, for instance, have reduced the demand for supermarket cashiers — “and by the decline in institutions like labor unions and the minimum wage,” which has not kept up with inflation in recent decades. “Then on top of that is an extremely weak labor market.”

From:

Fighting Back Against Wretched Wages

The New York Times

"Their anger has been stoked by what they see as a glaring disconnect: their wages have flatlined, while median pay for chief executives at the nation’s top corporations jumped 16 percent last year, averaging a princely $15.1 million, according to Equilar, an executive compensation analysis firm...

 “Long-term trends have not been kind to low-wage workers,” said Lawrence F. Katz, an economics professor at Harvard University. “They’ve been hurt by technological change” — scanners, for instance, have reduced the demand for supermarket cashiers — “and by the decline in institutions like labor unions and the minimum wage,” which has not kept up with inflation in recent decades. “Then on top of that is an extremely weak labor market.”...

 Lorraine Riley James makes $9.35 an hour at the Macy’s on North Michigan Avenue in Chicago and has received just $1.35 in raises since starting there six years ago. “I have so much experience that I don’t feel what they’re paying me is fair,” she said. “I generated a quarter of a million in sales for them last year.”...

Corporate America has embraced many strategies to slice labor costs. Many Walmart stores — as part of a new strategy to save on wages and benefits — are hiring only temps to fill job openings. Scores of companies are relying increasingly on part-timers, who typically get paid several dollars less per hour than full-timers."

Check out the entire article here.

“They could go get it at the Maytag plant,” he said. “They could go get it with the railroad. It might be hard work, it might be tough work, but they could buy a house with it.”

From:

Obama Says Income Gap Is Fraying U.S. Social Fabric

The New York Times

"In a week when he tried to focus attention on the struggles of the middle class, President Obama said in an interview that he was worried that years of widening income inequality and the lingering effects of the financial crisis had frayed the country’s social fabric and undermined Americans’ belief in opportunity...

“If we don’t do anything, then growth will be slower than it should be. Unemployment will not go down as fast as it should. Income inequality will continue to rise,” he said. “That’s not a future that we should accept.”...

 He uses it, he said, to remind people “that was a march for jobs and justice; that there was a massive economic component to that. When you think about the coalition that brought about civil rights, it wasn’t just folks who believed in racial equality. It was people who believed in working folks having a fair shot.”

For decades after, Mr. Obama said, in places like Galesburg people “who wanted to find a job — they could go get a job.”

“They could go get it at the Maytag plant,” he said. “They could go get it with the railroad. It might be hard work, it might be tough work, but they could buy a house with it.”

Without a shift in Washington to encourage growth over “damaging” austerity, he added, not only would the middle class shrink, but in turn, contentious issues like trade, climate change and immigration could become harder to address."  

Friday, July 19, 2013

No Wonder Chrysler Will Not Answer My Complaint Letter.

From:

Billions in Debt, Detroit Tumbles Into Insolvency

Sunday, July 7, 2013

Follow me on Twitter too! MichaelThomCain@you know the rest!

Follow me on Twitter too! MichaelThomCain@you know the rest!

Miles Davis Quintet - 'Round Midnight

Neil Young - Harvest Moon

Dignity (MTV Unplugged, 1995)

Bob Dylan - Like A Rolling Stone

Knockin' On Heaven's Door - Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan - Knockin' On Heaven's Door (Unplugged)

Dave Matthews Band - Central Park - All Along the Watchtower

Dave Matthews Band - Central Park - All Along the Watchtower

Dave Matthews Band - Ants Marching (Live at The Gorge)

Thursday, July 4, 2013

A service department has royally screwed up, and Chrysler's reputation is tainted in my eyes. I feel taken advantage of, and this is my way of gaining control on this July 4th, 2013.

Thursday, July 04, 2013

Dear Chrysler Group,

I just want to take a moment to make you aware of something.

Recently, I’ve tried to get my car (a 2003 PT Cruiser) fixed at one of your dealership’s service departments (Danbury Chrysler Jeep Dodge/Danbury, CT), and the entire experience has been a nightmare and emotionally draining, and I’m extremely disappointed, numb, and lost. I had my car towed from PA (290 miles) to that location, and they’ve attempted to fix it 3 times and not done it. The first time I tried to take it home, I barely got on the highway and had to have it towed right back in for the same problem. And each time, they claim it was taken for a test drive and it runs great, but I don’t believe that has ever been the case. It has been almost three weeks, and I have no idea where we are with everything; the car is not fixed. And I do not trust anything that happens or is said now. Also, I find it interesting that my wife has found recent on line complaints about similar situations as mine. All the way around, something just doesn’t feel right.

After finally making contact with somebody in the business department, she said that they’ll be able to credit the work they’ve done to this point, but I’m still waiting to see that money appear in my account. Here, I’m not asking for anything; I don’t want anything because I feel like what has happened is too far gone. At this point, I’m trying to figure out what I need to do and how I need to move on.

But you need to be aware of how rude, arrogant, and extremely unhelpful they’ve been in this experience, and I feel taken advantage of and bullied. They’ve done a good job at making feel like this is my fault when all I want is for them to fix my car, but they haven’t done it. They can’t expect me to endure this and keep investing time, money, and stress while they fiddle around in their incompetence trying to fix it. It’s a waste of time and energy.

The most important point I want to make is that I’m heartbroken. My family has mostly driven Chrysler products. I bought a Chrysler product because my parents drive them, and I just figured when I need a new car that I would get another Chrysler. Generations of my family have been working class people; my dad retired from the phone company, and we’re from Cleveland, Ohio. When the car companies were recently in trouble, I championed the idea of them getting help to continue on because plants and factories like yours represent a dying American Dream. And when I saw that Clint Eastwood commercial during the Super Bowl, I cried because I felt like, damn, we still have a chance in the middle of all of this corporate greed to be something great. All of us. Together. The average person still has a chance in this country.

Anyway. We’re average people, and I needed your help, but I feel abandoned. I’m a teacher, and my wife works at a school. We have to be careful with how we live, and we don’t have the time and money to experience something like this; we’re doing the best we can to survive. I feel so disappointed, stressed, and heartbroken, and this has been a horrible experience.

My car has been good and enjoyable, I’ve always done what I can to maintain it, and I was hoping to drive it a little longer, but I’m coming to the realization, mostly as a result of this experience, that I need to go ahead and get a new car that I can rely on. As a result of my current experience, it appears that that must immediately happen. As soon as this weekend if possible. But I will not buy a Chrysler product because of this experience I’ve had in the last three weeks. The tradition stops here for now. And that saddens me.

I don’t write letters like this, and this is not the day I was expecting to have, but I’m so overwhelmed by all of this that I can’t focus on anything else, and I needed to do this in order to attempt to take control of the situation. I hope that you take my words to heart so that you can help other people.

Thank you,
Michael Cain
Cross River, New York 10518
216-926-3463
michaelthomascain@hotmail.com

Theater Talk: Eric Bentley on Bertolt Brecht; Fringe Festival Highlights

An Introduction to Brechtian Theatre

Brecht and Epic Theatre