From: Jerry Levy (Gerald_A_Levy@MSN.COM)
Date: Sat Mar 11 2006 - 14:44:05 EST
Hi Jurriaan,
An interesting document, but essentially a piece of pro-management
propaganda issued by the National Association of Manufacturers,
the Manufacturers Alliance, and The Manufacturing Institute
("Manufacturing Makes America Strong"). While congratulating
themselves on keeping labor costs down (US manufacturers "have
tirelessly improved productivity such that they are alone among
major economies to have held labor costs in check since 1990"),
they lament the "cost of providing employee benefits, especially health
insurance", and -- from their perspective -- unneeded regulations, high
corporate taxation, the costs of law suits, etc. OTOH, "contrary to
popular belief", executive compensation is not too high.
All of the major corporations and corporate trade associations have
economists who work for them with the object of producing
documents such as this. The documents which they produce are
distributed by lobbyists to state representatives and/or to unions
across the bargaining table. They fit perfectly Marx's description
of "hired prize-fighters" who exhibit "the bad conscience and evil
intent of apologetics." Still ... there is something to be said for at
least being aware of what bullets the prize-fighters are currently
shooting.
In solidarity, Jerry
> A recent look at the trend in US manufacturing profitability is here:
> http://www.nam.org/s_nam/bin.asp?CID=201715&DID=235347&DOC=FILE.PDF
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