New Frankness from Frank
I want to call your attention to this wonderful commentary by Thomas Frank:
This program is ~86 minutes long; if you just watch the first 40 minutes, it will still be quite swell.
This specific version of his message is much the same message many of you have probably heard him deliver often in the last two years. I prefer this performance because it is more succinct, less jocular, and more angry than his other speeches. This program plays to my preference for a high level of dissatisfaction with the reagan Revolution/neoliberalism....I want people to be furious, as a matter of fact.
I have two major criticisms of Thomas Frank's argument. Both criticisms reflect lack of awareness that the victims of the republican Party, ronaldreagan and its reagan Revolution, and neoliberalism have been dissected into individualized socio-economic groups. Members of these groups (e.g., "industrial employees" or "service employees" or "office employees" or "academic employees") might not be aware of the commonality among them: All their employers are stealing their honest earnings, creating more difficult working conditions, and eliminating benefits. In other words, we have been divided and (so far) conquered.
My first criticism is his overlooking the tenuous connection between holding college degrees and being paid elite-level incomes. Many of us have PhDs yet gutter-level incomes; in fact, we are often cheated by the thieves administering the very same universities that granted our advanced degrees ! The simple reason for this is exactly the same simple reason that administrators of all organisations who cheat the employees do so: They steal the money for themselves. (Here is a nice group of angry academics that might amuse some of you, even if you are not in academia: (https://www.facebook.com/groups/AdjunctProfsUnited/?multi_permalinks=169...)
My second disagreement with Thomas Frank, as well as many other people whom I like, is their use of the term, "working class." I think that "employees" should be used when discussing the problems of people who do not own the businesses where they work. This wording matters because "working class" people are discussed as if they were all industrial employees. Plenty of employees generate plenty of income for their employers' organisations, yet the employees are simply robbed of their earnings so that the thieves can have very high incomes. Any employer who is not forced to pay employees their honest earnings might take advantage of the opportunities* to steal somebody else's money. Examples of guilty rackets (Smedley Butler's definition of "racket") include food services, Walmart, state universities, nursing homes, other health workers, etc. That accounts for some, or plenty of, the condition widely called, "income inequality."** Disaffection due to globalization and deindustrialization is true of industrial employees, but globalization is only a symptom of the problem. The real problem is simple theft of employees' earnings. Globalization merely allows employers to relocate to regions where greater proportions of the employees' earnings can be stolen.
As always, I have to stress that the whole raison d'etre of the republican Party, ronaldreagan and its reagan Revolution, and neoliberalism is to increase the amount of money and power held by the rich. The rich are usually businessmen, and the easiest ways for businessmen to grab more are to cheat the employees, cheat the consumers, rape the environment (regarding applicable businesses), and to not pay their taxes. Those are the policies of the republican Party, ronaldreagan and its reagan Revolution, and neoliberalism.*** I have to say also that many more ordinary businessmen are not guilty of these offences, but the most rich and powerful are.
Comments
"whole raison d'etre of the republican Party,
ronaldreagan and its reagan Revolution, and neoliberalism is to increase the amount of money and power held by the rich."
I'm not sure how that differs from the democratic party.
@Big Al It is the Dem Party, too
We are all employees...
...in a 'Fuck You, Pay me' Monopoly system.
Anyone who is not of generational wealth is somewhere around 1 to 52 paychecks away from destitution. If you think you are safe, you are not paying attention.
Nice post LB.
No doubt in my mind
the exploitation of resources
be they human or otherwise, seems to be the modus operandi of the wealthy. Red or blue, christian or jew, etc. are not discerning factors. Your view of the racket is good. The means of escaping this servitude scam becomes the issue. Establishing a value system outside of capital control may be a solution.
question everything
Great point about the semantics involved .
“Employees” is a much better descriptive than “the working class.”
Removes the overwhelming association to industrial labor to include the 99% who have no real vested interest in their work places other than their paychecks. Extends broader to include all office and service jobs.
Was just texted a picture of the new Frank book by a friend who works for his publisher. Unfortunately I’m in bed and too tired to post it now.
Really good essay, thanks.
"If I should ever die, God forbid, let this be my epitaph:
THE ONLY PROOF HE NEEDED
FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
WAS MUSIC"
- Kurt Vonnegut
Nice essay
I particularly like your use of the term "employees" versus the more commonly used term "working class."
In recent times, I have been very upset with commentary that focuses upon the loss of the Middle class as a primary concern. This was something I found very glaring early on in the Obama administration. There was a complete and total disregard for those who fell below the definition of middle class. Now what we are seeing is that there is very little middle class left in our society. Instead, what we have now is the oligarchs, a professional upper class and the rest of us. And the rest of us is growing and becoming poorer and poorer.
Middle class was something that most Americans could aspire to and for the majority, something that was realistically within reach. With de-industrialization, destruction of unions, and privatization of public functions, middle class jobs are rapidly disappearing. They are being replaced with a gig economy of based upon independent contractors and part time jobs for at will employees who must remain on call. None of these jobs provide benefits and most require the independent contractor to pay both the employer and employee contributions to Social Security along with having to pay 100% of health insurance. Many people simply cannot afford these out of pocket costs along with paying rent, food, and utilities. Frank calls this the "Uberization" of our economy.
I have some quibbles with Frank's presentation too, the first of which focuses upon the Democratic party. I know that his book "Listen Liberal" is based upon the Democratic party so that may be the reason. But I also take issue with his lack of seeing the ills he so well defines as being tied to empire and the wars. He touched on it only briefly during the Q and A portion, but I found his response lacking. He also seems to minimize the effect of big donor money as the driving force behind the
changesClintonization of the Democratic party.To be sure, I am a fan of Thomas Frank and his writing which I find to be very clear, easy to comprehend, and often very entertaining.
You did a very nice job with this essay.
Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?
“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy
@gulfgal98 Thanks gulfgal.
I am wary of the use of words that can allow misunderstanding. It's likely a reason for the disconnect between the public's understanding and what is really going on. All professional writers and news broadcasters should be aware of this and much more careful with words and context than they are. The fact that there are chumps who still think positively of ronaldreagan should tell anybody all (s)he needs to know about the potential for public misunderstanding and the need to scrutinize her(his) statements. Misinformed is almost as dangerous as stupid.