UP ON THE DOWN STROKE: The video "Capitalism Hits The Fan" is worth a look..

Capitalism Hits The Fan video has a very interesting relative point of view..

The video by Richard Wolff, PhD. discusses the economic meltdown in America. He emphasizes that there are three things the economic system is not:

1) It is not a financial crisis because this conclusion would limit the economic breakdown because he

believes banking is not where it started;

2) It is not temporary; and

3) It is not quickly or easily fixable as was tried with the Bush Administration in the American White House

by putting stimulus dollars in place.

Dr. Wolff goes on to emphasize how in past decades, Americans had been enjoying risings wages and prices for goods and services that was not out-pacing wages. Those workers had.. steady gains in wages and a rising standard of living in American society which is and always has been a society of consumption. Then real wages stopped rising in the 1970s and it has never went up since that time.

He explains that one cause of this pattern is that businesses replaced workers with computers and other technologies. Businesses discovered in the 30 years (1935 – 1975) that the U.S. was able to produce for the rest of the world, and then suddenly the rest of the world (other countries) caught up and passed the U.S. in production. They out-produced America with industrialization improvements. Then many America corporations and businesses started exporting American jobs by moving production out of the U.S. in the name of that extra dollar in the corporations pocket. This is a crisis of a system by Main Street and Wall Street. Wages for average workers in America then became flat, but production was rising. The corporations then increased wages for executives (very, very large increases) that were at the top of the American corporations. The profits, the money was then put in the banks. The banks and corporations hoarded the money and would not use the money for American jobs.

Also during this time-frame there was a rapid change, a massive movement of women into the workforce that competed with the already male dominated workforce. With this surplus of workers (men and women now competing) in the 1970s, wages stopped rising. So in order for working people to cope with wages not rising they started working more hours by about 20% more per year compared to 30 years prior. This working more hours has a cost attached to it for the American families. Cost like less discretionary time at home, less time with family and kids, less time for social functions, but we still wanted more stuff/more consumption. In order to get more stuff the American working class started borrowing more. They borrowed against the house, they would increase unsecured credit card debt as in no other time in our history. American debt exceeded annual income and this is why it was not a temporary problem.

When the business community, the banks, and large corporations recognize the debt consumption habits of Americans they found ways to make more money for themselves by loaning their employees money. This was an employers dream come true. They could loan money to the employees and process

the charges and interest directly. The workers would get further into debt and the corporations, the businesses; the companies could collect the interest from the same wages being paid to their employees for the cars, houses (mortgages) and etc. They pushed the debt on the American people that had to now work more hours because they were consumers that wanted the houses, the cars, the vacation trips that they usually could not afford except by going into debt could/would get for them without the help of the banks, employers, and extended credit/debt could get for them.

In my opinion, when American corporations start to increase wages, production, manufacturing, and update industrialization once again, and put that hoarded money that is sitting in banks and other financial institutions to use for Americans, real wages would rise and more employment could be available for all genders.