collective bargaining

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pages: 563 words: 136,190

The Next Shift: The Fall of Industry and the Rise of Health Care in Rust Belt America by Gabriel Winant

affirmative action, Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, anti-communist, antiwork, blue-collar work, business cycle, Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty, classic study, clean water, collective bargaining, company town, coronavirus, COVID-19, creative destruction, deindustrialization, desegregation, deskilling, emotional labour, employer provided health coverage, Erik Brynjolfsson, Ford paid five dollars a day, full employment, future of work, ghettoisation, independent contractor, invisible hand, Kitchen Debate, labor-force participation, longitudinal study, low skilled workers, mandatory minimum, manufacturing employment, mass incarceration, MITM: man-in-the-middle, moral hazard, new economy, New Urbanism, obamacare, opioid epidemic / opioid crisis, pink-collar, post-industrial society, post-work, postindustrial economy, price stability, RAND corporation, Ronald Reagan, Second Machine Age, secular stagnation, the built environment, union organizing, upwardly mobile, urban renewal, vertical integration, War on Poverty, white flight, Wolfgang Streeck, women in the workforce, work culture , working poor

Labor became a central pillar of the Democratic Party coalition, gained legal recognition, and successfully organized the mass production industries at the economy’s core, bringing about unprecedented working-class unity across lines of race, ethnicity, and skill. In the aftermath of the strike wave of 1934, Congress passed the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), seeking to reestablish stability in industrial relations by facilitating collective bargaining through the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).15 When the Supreme Court constitutionalized collective bargaining in 1937, it was in a steel industry case from western Pennsylvania: National Labor Relations Board v. Jones & Laughlin Steel Corporation. The Court found that the internal operations of a vertically integrated firm like Jones & Laughlin affected and constituted interstate commerce, thus rendering constitutional the federal government’s regulation of the corporation’s labor relations.

But the dynamic of the previous fifteen years, in which labor had stood at the vanguard of a broad-based democratic political movement of the working class at large, ceased. Unions became more and more confined to a parochial economic project, advancing the narrow interests of their own memberships. Collective bargaining had never encompassed everyone, but from 1950 onward, it increasingly formed only insulated pools of economic security—no longer an advancing tide.22 This insulation shaped the welfare state and the longer development of America’s political economy profoundly. Collective Bargaining and the Divided Welfare State In the late 1940s and early 1950s, the New Deal was not defeated and rolled back but rather contained and compromised.

These forms of security rested upon collective employment relationships conducted under public supervision, often eased with public subsidy and transacted through nonprofit third parties.26 Indeed, in no case was the welfare state’s tiered dynamic clearer than in health care, where the emergence of the New Deal state and its penetration of industry through collective bargaining led to the proliferation of third-party nonprofit health insurance and eventually to the massive expansion of private, nonprofit hospitals. When, as in the case of Medicare, the public sector stepped in more aggressively, it did so as a consequence of the effects of the public-private regime: the rise of collectively bargained health insurance drove up the price of health care in the 1950s, pushing it out of reach for the elderly, who under this welfare state’s moral order were deserving subjects—leading to political demand for health insurance entitlements for retirees and, in second-class status, the poor.27 Even direct public intervention, in other words, positioned the state as a consumer rather than supplier of health care, rounding out the uneven and divided welfare state rather than intruding on it.


pages: 423 words: 92,798

No Shortcuts: Organizing for Power in the New Gilded Age by Jane F. McAlevey

"RICO laws" OR "Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations", affirmative action, Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, Albert Einstein, anti-communist, antiwork, call centre, clean water, collective bargaining, emotional labour, feminist movement, gentrification, hiring and firing, immigration reform, independent contractor, informal economy, Mark Zuckerberg, mass incarceration, Naomi Klein, new economy, no-fly zone, Occupy movement, precariat, Right to Buy, Ronald Reagan, Silicon Valley, Silicon Valley startup, single-payer health, The Chicago School, union organizing, Upton Sinclair, vertical integration, women in the workforce

If the union is truly an organization of the workers, why wouldn’t any worker be invited to at least observe his or her own contract negotiations? Three questions can determine whether or not the union is a third party in the renegotiation of a collective bargaining agreement: Does the process involve every worker? Are negotiations fully transparent? Can any worker attend? In the New Labor mobilizing model, most collective bargaining is handled in top-down, staff-only negotiations with employers. If workers are present, there will typically be very few, say between five and ten, no matter how many thousands of workers are involved. Those chosen few are not expected, or even allowed, to speak during the negotiations.

They began on page 14, starting with a: The employer shall cease and desist from “threatening employees with plant closure if they select the Union as their collective bargaining agent,” and going all the way through to ee: “In any other manner interfering with, restraining, or coercing its employees in the exercise of their rights.” In particular, x through aa offer sobering insights into and evidence of what the employees had faced in the 1997 election: the company is to “cease and desist from” x Threating employees that wages would be frozen if the Union were elected as the collective bargaining representative; y Assaulting employees in retaliation for their union activities.

See also Local 775 homecare and nursing home unionization in, 78–84, 92, 94t, 95–100, 209, 220n15 wages in, 83–84, 92, 94t, 95, 96, 143–44, 178, 220n36 What Unions No Longer Do (Rosenfeld), 68, 219n65 whole worker organizing, 19, 23, 28 bottom-up power structure in, 69–70 campaign model for, 69f CIO approach with, 58–70 community engagement in, 58–60, 69–70, 70f, 211 community-labor alliances compared to, 67t, 211 concession and disruption costs in, 61–65, 64t, 67t employers and, 67–68 in faith-based environments, 58, 60, 68 Who Rules America (Domhoff), 3 Williams, Brendan, 98 Winfrey, Oprah, 171–72, 173 Wisconsin, 200, 210 women, 30 actors of color, 20, 27, 49, 86, 191, 199, 211 Alinsky’s view of, 46 in MRNY membership, 230n29 strikes dominated by, 20, 21t Woodruff, Tom, 76, 174 worker agency in CIO model, 59–60, 92 in decision-making, 64–65, 74 in 1199NE model, 47, 58, 87–88, 92, 98 in Local 775, 82, 83–84, 98 in organizing model, 206–7 in private sector, 33–34 in Smithfield Foods campaign, 154–66, 174–75, 202 in SMOs compared to unions, 196–97 in strategic and “ground war” campaign, 153, 226n20 structure tests and, 39 worker benefits, 93t–94t, 95, 144 workers, 2. See also homecare workers; whole worker organizing into actors, 6, 23, 56 aligning across racial barriers, 165, 167–68 car wash, 189–91, 230n24 in CIO-style campaigns, 53, 56, 90–92 collective bargaining equality for, 57–58 collective bargaining rights of, 196, 210 community relationship of, in health care, 28, 202–5 confidence of, with Smithfield Foods unionization win, 176–78 in corporate campaign, 53, 66–68 corporate class dividing public and, 21 corporate power understanding of, 29 demobilization of, by corporate class, 199–201 dock, 32–33, 38 engagement of, in struggle, 24, 56, 90–92, 201, 204, 205 global competition for, 7 grocery store, 185–86 low-wage, 24, 64t, 65, 178, 182, 186, 190, 230n14 majority building by, 92 majority petitions by, 35, 35f, 37 MRNY justice campaigns for, 183–87, 189–91, 195–96 in New Labor model, 18–19, 20, 51, 91–92, 209–10 organic leader identification by, 34 in power structure analysis, 53, 207–8 professional staff replacing, 19, 40, 208–9 strike significance for, 20, 29, 134, 142, 201–2, 206 three compared to two side approach with employers and, 96–100 turnover of, and union defeats, 158 union relationship with, 57 working class, 25 corporate class strategies to demobilize, 199–201 organic leaders from, 12 self-blame created for, 199, 201 strikes importance for, 20, 29 workplace environments, 60 conditions of, 145–46, 157 exit threat in, 202–3, 207, 211 New Labor’s move from, 18 structure-based organizing in, 12–13 World War II, 19, 38, 39, 136 Zeitlin, Maurice, 31, 32


pages: 264 words: 74,785

Midnight in Vehicle City: General Motors, Flint, and the Strike That Created the Middle Class by Edward McClelland

collective bargaining, company town, coronavirus, COVID-19, Ford Model T, Henry Ford's grandson gave labor union leader Walter Reuther a tour of the company’s new, automated factory…, Jeff Bezos, minimum wage unemployment, New Urbanism, Ronald Reagan, strikebreaker, Ted Nelson, Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, union organizing, Upton Sinclair

To Martin this is just more evidence that GM has no intention of abiding by the terms of the Wagner Act. At CIO headquarters in Washington, John L. Lewis feels the same way. Knudsen’s response, he says, is “not collective bargaining, but simply an evasion of the responsibilities of General Motors.” After Knudsen’s rebuff, the union announces a meeting of local officials from ten cities in Flint on January 3, “for the purpose of approving recommendations of the general offices concerning collective bargaining in General Motors.” But before that meeting can happen, the sit-down strike starts. CHAPTER 3 “THIS IS WHERE THE FIGHT BEGINS” THE GREAT FLINT SIT-DOWN STRIKE actually begins in Cleveland.

Knudsen also reminds Martin that a meeting had been scheduled between Fisher One plant managers and union representatives for January 4, the first Monday of the new year. That’s not going to take place, now that the sit-down is on. “Sit-downs are strikes,” he writes. “Such strikers are clearly trespassers and violators of the law of the land. “We cannot have bona fide collective bargaining with sit-down strikers in illegal possession of plants. Collective bargaining cannot be justified if one party having seized the plant, holds a gun at the other party’s head . . . No one can afford to bargain with sitdown strikers or with their representatives until the plants are cleared.” As the owner of Fisher One and Fisher Two, GM feels it has the law on its side.

That night, he addresses a packed meeting at the Pengelly Building attended by men and their families who have quickly gotten over any disappointment over the strike’s continuing and now feel a determination to win, however long that will take. “It is impossible to have more than one collective bargaining agency determining wages and working conditions of employees in the same group,” Martin tells the crowd. “One part of an assembly line cannot be on a six-hour day while an adjoining part of the line or a scattering of workers along the line is on an eight-hour day. There is no feasible method of collective bargaining other than through unified representation. That being true, to say the corporation will not recognize any union to be the sole bargaining agency is in fact to say, ‘We refuse to bargain with our employees altogether.’”


pages: 667 words: 149,811

Economic Dignity by Gene Sperling

active measures, Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, antiwork, autism spectrum disorder, autonomous vehicles, basic income, behavioural economics, benefit corporation, Bernie Sanders, Big Tech, Cass Sunstein, collective bargaining, company town, corporate governance, cotton gin, David Brooks, desegregation, Detroit bankruptcy, disinformation, Donald Trump, Double Irish / Dutch Sandwich, driverless car, Elon Musk, employer provided health coverage, Erik Brynjolfsson, Ferguson, Missouri, fulfillment center, full employment, gender pay gap, ghettoisation, gig economy, Gini coefficient, green new deal, guest worker program, Gunnar Myrdal, housing crisis, Ida Tarbell, income inequality, independent contractor, invisible hand, job automation, job satisfaction, labor-force participation, late fees, liberal world order, longitudinal study, low skilled workers, Lyft, Mark Zuckerberg, market fundamentalism, mass incarceration, mental accounting, meta-analysis, minimum wage unemployment, obamacare, offshore financial centre, open immigration, payday loans, Phillips curve, price discrimination, profit motive, race to the bottom, RAND corporation, randomized controlled trial, Richard Thaler, ride hailing / ride sharing, Ronald Reagan, Rosa Parks, Second Machine Age, secular stagnation, shareholder value, Sheryl Sandberg, Silicon Valley, single-payer health, speech recognition, stock buybacks, subprime mortgage crisis, tech worker, TED Talk, The Chicago School, The Future of Employment, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, Toyota Production System, traffic fines, Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, Uber and Lyft, uber lyft, union organizing, universal basic income, W. E. B. Du Bois, War on Poverty, warehouse robotics, working poor, young professional, zero-sum game

Domestic workers by definition work in isolation behind closed doors in private homes, and farmworkers face their own unique challenges that make it hard to execute collective bargaining. Many of these workers believe they have few labor market options and little or no recourse to wage theft, on-the-job injuries, and verbal, sexual, and racial harassment. Both farmworkers and domestic workers were excluded from critical New Deal legislation. These exclusionary laws included the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) of 1935, which guaranteed the right to form a union and to collective bargaining; the Social Security Act of 1935, which established not just an old-age pension but unemployment insurance and workers’ compensation; and the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, which enacted protections such as overtime rules, minimum wage, and limits on child labor.

Former USW president Leo Gerard described these tactics, including firing the leader of the organizing drive, as “daily, mandatory captive audience meetings, designed to coerce workers into voting against union representation,” and a series of additional actions that “violate the intent of the NLRA, which was to encourage collective bargaining, not hinder it.”48 We must repair the damage done to traditional collective bargaining. At the same time, we should seek out new options for workers to bond together—including those who have been excluded from the benefits of unionization for too long. INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS In 1914, the Lehigh Valley Coal Company claimed that it was “not in the business of coal mining at all” but merely gave miners access to its mines and then bought coal from those miners.

The practice of franchising has made it nearly impossible for fast-food workers to take advantage of traditional collective bargaining. Under the NLRA, if a majority of workers within a unit designate a union to bargain on their behalf, that union represents all employees within that unit. However, in the fast-food case, because an individual franchise or small number of locations are typically established as separate corporate organizations, workers are considered employees of the individual franchise (rather than the corporation itself) and therefore would have to organize at the franchise level to gain collective bargaining rights.54 This kind of dispersion of workers makes it nearly impossible to organize through traditional routes, especially when employees turn over frequently, as they do in the fast-food industry.


pages: 322 words: 84,580

The Economics of Belonging: A Radical Plan to Win Back the Left Behind and Achieve Prosperity for All by Martin Sandbu

air traffic controllers' union, Airbnb, Alan Greenspan, autonomous vehicles, balance sheet recession, bank run, banking crisis, basic income, Berlin Wall, Bernie Sanders, Big Tech, Boris Johnson, Branko Milanovic, Bretton Woods, business cycle, call centre, capital controls, carbon footprint, carbon tax, Carmen Reinhart, centre right, collective bargaining, company town, debt deflation, deindustrialization, deskilling, Diane Coyle, Donald Trump, Edward Glaeser, eurozone crisis, Fall of the Berlin Wall, financial engineering, financial intermediation, full employment, future of work, gig economy, Gini coefficient, green new deal, hiring and firing, income inequality, income per capita, industrial robot, intangible asset, job automation, John Maynard Keynes: technological unemployment, Kenneth Rogoff, knowledge economy, knowledge worker, labour market flexibility, liquidity trap, longitudinal study, low interest rates, low skilled workers, manufacturing employment, Martin Wolf, meta-analysis, mini-job, Money creation, mortgage debt, new economy, offshore financial centre, oil shock, open economy, pattern recognition, pink-collar, precariat, public intellectual, quantitative easing, race to the bottom, Richard Florida, Robert Shiller, Robert Solow, Ronald Reagan, secular stagnation, social intelligence, TaskRabbit, total factor productivity, universal basic income, very high income, winner-take-all economy, working poor

Where and from whom tax is levied has failed to keep up with the changing market distribution of wealth, let alone been used as a countervailing force. Next, consider government support for the role of collective bargaining to shape the wage structure and the wage-profit split. In some countries this has been preserved, notably in Scandinavia, where collective bargaining supports a collaborative relationship between employers and employees that has contributed to easing the adjustment to technological change. Elsewhere, however, collective bargaining has been eroded by governments sometimes deliberately acting to weaken unions. The iconic case comes from the first year of Ronald Reagan’s presidency, when he refused to accommodate demands by the air traffic controllers.

Sometimes, that may involve creating alternatives for unions rather than strengthening them. There are a number of policy tools that can ensure this. Administrative extension of collective bargaining. Where unions have declined in reach but still play a constructive function, governments can widen the effect of union-employer bargaining beyond the scope of union members. Through legislation or executive decrees, terms agreed to in collective bargaining in one part of a sector can be made to apply to the sector as a whole, in effect making the union give voice not just to its own members but to all those in a similar situation.

A case in point is the tightening of EU rules on “posted workers”—those working outside the country where they are formally employed—to make host-country rules kick in sooner and more comprehensively. Another example is when Norway resorted to administrative extensions of collective bargaining outcomes in sectors with a lot of migrant workers. This established sectoral minimum wages in all but name in a country where this was traditionally left to collective bargaining. In finance, too, it is possible to regulate in such a way that capital flows from other countries do not escape the strictures imposed on domestic capital, without putting barriers in the way of cross-border money.


pages: 477 words: 135,607

The Box: How the Shipping Container Made the World Smaller and the World Economy Bigger by Marc Levinson

air freight, anti-communist, barriers to entry, Bay Area Rapid Transit, British Empire, business cycle, call centre, collective bargaining, conceptual framework, David Ricardo: comparative advantage, deindustrialization, deskilling, Edward Glaeser, Erik Brynjolfsson, flag carrier, full employment, global supply chain, intermodal, Isaac Newton, job automation, Jones Act, knowledge economy, Malcom McLean invented shipping containers, manufacturing employment, Network effects, New Economic Geography, new economy, oil shock, Panamax, Port of Oakland, post-Panamax, Productivity paradox, refrigerator car, Robert Solow, South China Sea, trade route, vertical integration, Works Progress Administration, Yom Kippur War, zero-sum game

Comment about Bridges is from Roger, “A Liberal Journalist,” p. 187. 22. For more on these talks, see Fairley, Facing Mechanization, pp. 103–104; Hartman, Collective Bargaining, pp. 90–94; Larrowe, Harry Bridges, pp. 352–353. The full text of the ILA proposal is reprinted in Fairley, Facing Mechanization, p. 80. 23. Fairley, Facing Mechanization, pp. 122–129; Hartman, Collective Bargaining, pp. 96–97; Winter, “Thirty Years of Collective Bargaining,” chap. 5. Savings per hour calculated from data in Hartman, Collective Bargaining, p. 123. 24. Fairley, Facing Mechanization, pp. 132–133, and Germain Bulcke, “Longshore Leader and ILWU-Pacific Maritime Association Arbitrator,” interview by Estolv Ethan Ward, (Berkeley, 1984), p. 66. 25.

The split among PMA members is detailed in Fairley, Facing Mechanization, p. 125, and Winter, “Thirty Years of Collective Bargaining,” chap. 5. Hartman, Collective Bargaining, pp. 99–100, discusses opposition within the ILWU. Nearly one-third of San Francisco longshoremen were over age fifty-four, and only 11 percent were younger than thirty-five. See Robert W. Cherny, “Longshoremen of San Francisco Bay, 1849–1960,” in Da-vies et al., Dock Workers, 1:137. 27. Hartman, Collective Bargaining, pp. 164–66. 28. Ibid., pp. 124–44 and 272–279; Finlay, Work on the Waterfront, p. 65. 29. Hartman quotation, Collective Bargaining, p. 150; on “Bridges loads,” see Larrowe, Harry Bridges, p. 356. 30.

The special importance of work rules to unions in an industry that relies on casual labor is emphasized by Hartman, Collective Bargaining, p. 41. For examples of the many rules in West Coast ports, see Hartman, Collective Bargaining, pp. 46–72, and Lincoln Fairley, Facing Mechanization: The West Coast Longshore Plan (Los Angeles, 1979), pp.16–17. 11. “Working Class Leader in the ILWU, 1935–1977,” interview with Estolv Ethan Ward, 1978 (Berkeley, 1980), p. 803. 12. J. Paul St. Sure, “Some Comments on Employer Organizations and Collective Bargaining in Northern California since 1934” (Berkeley, 1957), pp. 598–609. 13. Louis Goldblatt, “Working Class Leader in the ILWU, 1935–1977,” interviews by Estolv Ethan Ward (Berkeley, 1977), p. 784; Clark Kerr and Lloyd Fisher, “Conflict on the Waterfront,” Atlantic 183, no. 3, (1949): 17. 14.


pages: 407 words: 135,242

The Streets Were Paved With Gold by Ken Auletta

benefit corporation, British Empire, business climate, business logic, clean water, collective bargaining, full employment, Gunnar Myrdal, guns versus butter model, hiring and firing, invisible hand, Jane Jacobs, job satisfaction, Joseph Schumpeter, Lewis Mumford, military-industrial complex, mortgage debt, Norman Mailer, North Sea oil, offshore financial centre, Parkinson's law, Ponzi scheme, price stability, profit motive, Ralph Nader, RAND corporation, rent control, rent stabilization, Ronald Reagan, social contagion, The Death and Life of Great American Cities, union organizing, Upton Sinclair, upwardly mobile, urban decay, urban renewal, War on Poverty, working-age population

In addition to their ability to paralyze the city with a strike, as the transit union proved in 1966 and the bridge tenders in 1971, over the years the unions gained management powers and became partners in the city’s governance. Executive Order No. 52, signed by Mayor Lindsay on September 29, 1967, allowed such previous management prerogatives as “workload and manning” to be placed on the collective bargaining table. Everything became negotiable. “Collective bargaining has become a means not only for determining the wages and conditions of employment of public employees,” writes former city Personnel Director Sol Hoberman, “but also for modifying the nature of public service and the role, authority and responsibilities of the Mayor, the City Council, and agency heads.”

.… Issue to be raised with Office of Labor Relations.” Asked whether he had raised this issue, Labor Relations Commissioner Russo replied, “One of the things labor leaders and their people argue is that at the productivity table we should not try to get back their benefits. That, they say, must be reserved for collective bargaining. Yet when we bring it up at collective bargaining, they tell us, ‘Go to hell!’ ” Not to press that issue was a political decision, as Beame’s stance when seeking reelection in 1977 was political. Like most incumbents, Beame boasted of the city’s accomplishments, downplaying its problems. He said the city had “turned the corner” because he had “made the tough decisions.”

His reports were quarantined, as was the truckload of reform proposals gathering dust in the Municipal Library. Trying to change the system, wails Frucher, “is like pushing a boulder up a hill.” The Chairman of the U.S. Civil Service Commission, Alan Campbell, knows the feeling: “I’m not sure one can make it a sexy issue.” Collective Bargaining The Civil Service is a toothless tiger compared to the collective bargaining system. “The City’s capacity to act as an arm’s length employer in bargaining with the municipal unions is not what it should be,” mildly concluded the state Charter Revision Commission. The Management Advisory Board put it another way: “A Mayor’s ability to relate to municipal unions as chief manager of the City is sharply limited by his need to relate to them as an elected official.”


The New Class War: Saving Democracy From the Metropolitan Elite by Michael Lind

"World Economic Forum" Davos, affirmative action, anti-communist, basic income, Bernie Sanders, Boris Johnson, Bretton Woods, Brexit referendum, business cycle, Cambridge Analytica, capital controls, Cass Sunstein, central bank independence, centre right, collective bargaining, commoditize, corporate governance, cotton gin, crony capitalism, deindustrialization, disinformation, Doha Development Round, Donald Trump, Edward Snowden, export processing zone, fake news, future of work, gentrification, global supply chain, guest worker program, Haight Ashbury, illegal immigration, immigration reform, independent contractor, invisible hand, Jeremy Corbyn, knowledge economy, Les Trente Glorieuses, liberal world order, low skilled workers, low-wage service sector, manufacturing employment, Mark Zuckerberg, mass immigration, means of production, Michael Milken, moral panic, Nate Silver, new economy, offshore financial centre, oil shock, open borders, plutocrats, Ponzi scheme, purchasing power parity, Ralph Nader, regulatory arbitrage, rent-seeking, Richard Florida, Ronald Reagan, scientific management, Silicon Valley, SoftBank, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, Thorstein Veblen, Timothy McVeigh, trade liberalization, union organizing, universal basic income, upwardly mobile, WikiLeaks, Wolfgang Streeck, working poor

The tripartite approach also rejects excessive government micromanagement of minimum wages and working conditions using one-size-fits-all rules. Some minimum standards are necessary, but many decisions should be left to collective bargaining among organized capital and organized labor, brokered by national governments. Tripartite institutions that enable business-labor negotiations over wages, working conditions, and investment decisions have always come in different forms that are appropriate in different sectors. The kind of collective bargaining most familiar to Americans, and most despised by managers, not without justification, is “enterprise bargaining”—the unionization of particular companies or particular work sites, one by one, in an adversarial and disruptive process.

Instead of the sectoral minimum wages and working hours and pensions that were to have been agreed on in each industry by business and labor and ratified by the NRA, the federal government directly imposed a one-size-fits-all national minimum wage and eight-hour day in 1938, in addition to the federal Social Security program that was enacted earlier in 1935. The Wagner Act of 1935 turned section 7(a) of the National Industrial Recovery Act into the statute that, as amended, governs collective bargaining in the United States to this day. * * * — DURING WORLD WAR II, many Western governments promised their soldiers and workers a better life after the Axis alliance of National Socialist Germany, Fascist Italy, and Imperial Japan was defeated. In Britain the Beveridge Report, calling for a massive expansion of welfare services for the working class, was published in November 1942 and helped to inspire the postwar National Health Service.

But the unregulated labor market is partly replaced by a state-brokered system of bargaining over wages and working conditions among employers or employer associations and independent trade unions or other labor organizations.16 Elaborate forms of national sectoral bargaining among employers and labor unions were created in postwar Sweden and Austria. In the Federal Republic of Germany, collective bargaining was supplemented by codetermination, the practice of having union representatives on the boards of large corporations. In France, union membership has always been relatively low, but the results of employer-union bargaining have covered great numbers of workers. One study notes: “The shadows of Fascism and/or foreign threat were decisive or at least significant in all the most successful and enduring peace settlements.”17 The labor historian Nelson Lichtenstein points out: “Building upon the framework established by the National War Labor Board, the big industrial unions settled into a postwar collective-bargaining routine that increased real weekly wages some 50% in the next two decades and greatly expanded their fringe benefit welfare packages.”18 Following the Treaty of Detroit in 1950—a five-year contract negotiated by the United Auto Workers with General Motors—and similar deals, the US had a de facto system of democratic corporatism in its concentrated manufacturing sector, which by means of “pattern bargaining” informally set standards for wages and benefits in many nonunionized sectors.


pages: 518 words: 147,036

The Fissured Workplace by David Weil

"Friedman doctrine" OR "shareholder theory", accounting loophole / creative accounting, affirmative action, Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, banking crisis, barriers to entry, behavioural economics, business cycle, business process, buy and hold, call centre, Carmen Reinhart, Cass Sunstein, Clayton Christensen, clean water, collective bargaining, commoditize, company town, corporate governance, corporate raider, Corrections Corporation of America, Daniel Kahneman / Amos Tversky, David Ricardo: comparative advantage, declining real wages, employer provided health coverage, Frank Levy and Richard Murnane: The New Division of Labor, George Akerlof, global supply chain, global value chain, hiring and firing, income inequality, independent contractor, information asymmetry, intermodal, inventory management, Jane Jacobs, Kenneth Rogoff, law of one price, long term incentive plan, loss aversion, low skilled workers, minimum wage unemployment, moral hazard, Network effects, new economy, occupational segregation, Paul Samuelson, performance metric, pre–internet, price discrimination, principal–agent problem, Rana Plaza, Richard Florida, Richard Thaler, Ronald Coase, seminal paper, shareholder value, Silicon Valley, statistical model, Steve Jobs, supply-chain management, The Death and Life of Great American Cities, The Nature of the Firm, transaction costs, Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, ultimatum game, union organizing, vertical integration, women in the workforce, yield management

Unionized workplaces in traditional manufacturing solved this problem through collectively bargained deals that linked these grades—often providing for upward ratcheting of the whole wage system (leaving relative wages intact) over time. The collectively bargained contract creates a transparent set of expectations of what is fair (in part because it reflects the preferences of the workforce, at least as represented by the union’s negotiating committee). Large nonunion workplaces also must accommodate the demands of vertical equity in setting compensation policies, even though unfettered by collective bargaining. Higher wages in part reflect an effort to avoid unionization, but also to avoid the kind of internal frictions described above.26 In his studies of wage policies, Bewley also found that nonunion executives justified formal internal pay structures on the basis of equity.27 Although they acknowledged that differences in pay between grades proved useful as incentives, 69% of the businesses interviewed cited “internal equity, internal harmony, fairness, and good morale” as the principal justification.28 A repercussion of the need to satisfy vertical equity demand is that a large employer might end up paying workers at lower ends of the wage system a higher wage than it might prefer in order to preserve internal labor market peace.

Unions also offer individual workers assistance in the exercise of their rights. This may result from the operation of committees established under collective bargaining, as is common in safety and health, or via the help of union staff who can trigger inspections, oversee pension fund investments, or help members file unemployment claims. Most importantly, unions can substantially reduce the costs associated with potential employer discrimination by helping affected employees use antidiscrimination provisions of the labor policies and providing this protection via collective bargaining agreements regulating dismissals. There is now over two decades of evidence demonstrating that workers are more likely to exercise rights given the presence of a labor union.

To help clarify this vague definition, courts apply an economic realities test to evaluate the particular employment situation surrounding a worker and an employer. This potentially gives the agency responsible for enforcement the latitude to adjust to changing employment conditions on the ground.13 The National Labor Relations Act, the federal statute governing union organizing and collective bargaining, also uses an economic reality test for defining employment. However, a Supreme Court decision in 1944 holding that boys who sold newspapers on the street on commission were in fact Hearst employees despite the company’s contention that they were independent contractors led enraged conservatives in Congress to amend the National Labor Relations Act in 1947 to specifically exempt independent contractors.14 This has led historically to very narrow readings of coverage and application of the act.


pages: 207 words: 59,298

The Gig Economy: A Critical Introduction by Jamie Woodcock, Mark Graham

Airbnb, algorithmic management, Amazon Mechanical Turk, autonomous vehicles, barriers to entry, British Empire, business process, business process outsourcing, Californian Ideology, call centre, collective bargaining, commoditize, corporate social responsibility, crowdsourcing, data science, David Graeber, deindustrialization, Didi Chuxing, digital divide, disintermediation, emotional labour, en.wikipedia.org, full employment, future of work, gamification, gender pay gap, gig economy, global value chain, Greyball, independent contractor, informal economy, information asymmetry, inventory management, Jaron Lanier, Jeff Bezos, job automation, knowledge economy, low interest rates, Lyft, mass immigration, means of production, Network effects, new economy, Panopticon Jeremy Bentham, planetary scale, precariat, rent-seeking, RFID, ride hailing / ride sharing, Ronald Reagan, scientific management, self-driving car, sentiment analysis, sharing economy, Silicon Valley, Silicon Valley ideology, TaskRabbit, The Future of Employment, transaction costs, Travis Kalanick, two-sided market, Uber and Lyft, Uber for X, uber lyft, union organizing, women in the workforce, working poor, young professional

Three significant dimensions of policy can be identified: a strategy of de-regulation of labour markets and promotion of a low wage, low skill economy as a means of attracting inward investment; competitive tendering and internal markets in the public sector; and the sustained legislative assault on union organisation, employment rights and collective bargaining. This long period of change has shaped the current state of the employment relationship. In particular, the growth of the service industries since the 1970s has seen another phase in which workers have to sell their labour power without much ability to collectively bargain over the terms. At the same time, the labour market was ‘“deregulated” and labour made more “flexible”’, as part of a political project to undermine workers’ rights, restoring ‘management’s “right to manage”’ (Munke, 2005: 63).

The majority of precarious workers are non-unionized and ‘have been marginalized’ (Pollert and Charlwood, 2009: 357), whether through gender, race or migration status. Therefore, those workers who find themselves in low paid ‘non-standard’ work are often not covered by any of the ‘three regulatory regimes – collective bargaining, employment protection rights, and the national insurance system’ (Fredman, 2003: 308). For example, migrant cleaners across London are often not covered by any of these regulatory regimes (Woodcock, 2014b). In the case of migrant cleaners, the gendered and racialized relationships combine to create a deeply exploitative workplace.

This does mean that many workers miss the protection of institutional forms of worker power. In most of the gig economy – despite some exceptions that we will discuss later in the book – there are no active trade unions. This means that management are more likely to act unilaterally, without the checks of collective bargaining or negotiation. Globalization and outsourcing The final precondition that has deeply shaped the gig economy in its current form is a combination of political economy and technology: the effects of globalization and outsourcing. This is a development and intensification of the outsourcing of call centres from high-income countries to low- and middle-income countries, for example, from the UK to India (Taylor and Bain, 2005).


pages: 408 words: 108,985

Rewriting the Rules of the European Economy: An Agenda for Growth and Shared Prosperity by Joseph E. Stiglitz

"World Economic Forum" Davos, accelerated depreciation, Airbnb, Alan Greenspan, balance sheet recession, bank run, banking crisis, barriers to entry, Basel III, basic income, behavioural economics, benefit corporation, Berlin Wall, bilateral investment treaty, business cycle, business process, Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty, carbon tax, central bank independence, collapse of Lehman Brothers, collective bargaining, corporate governance, corporate raider, corporate social responsibility, creative destruction, credit crunch, deindustrialization, discovery of DNA, diversified portfolio, Donald Trump, eurozone crisis, Fall of the Berlin Wall, financial engineering, financial intermediation, Francis Fukuyama: the end of history, full employment, gender pay gap, George Akerlof, gig economy, Gini coefficient, Glass-Steagall Act, hiring and firing, housing crisis, Hyman Minsky, income inequality, independent contractor, inflation targeting, informal economy, information asymmetry, intangible asset, investor state dispute settlement, invisible hand, Isaac Newton, labor-force participation, liberal capitalism, low interest rates, low skilled workers, market fundamentalism, mini-job, moral hazard, non-tariff barriers, offshore financial centre, open economy, Paris climate accords, patent troll, pension reform, price mechanism, price stability, proprietary trading, purchasing power parity, quantitative easing, race to the bottom, regulatory arbitrage, rent-seeking, Robert Shiller, Ronald Reagan, selection bias, shareholder value, Silicon Valley, sovereign wealth fund, TaskRabbit, too big to fail, trade liberalization, transaction costs, transfer pricing, trickle-down economics, tulip mania, universal basic income, unorthodox policies, vertical integration, zero-sum game

In the first decade of the twenty-first century alone, the coverage of collective agreements in Europe fell from 68 percent to 61 percent of workers.3 In some countries, the decline was precipitous. For example, collective bargaining coverage in Greece fell from around 82 percent of workers before the crisis to 18 percent afterward. In Romania, the decrease was from 85 percent to 35 percent.4 More effective collective bargaining More effective collective bargaining can be reintroduced by adopting several changes: ■ Encourage (rather than discourage) more bargaining at the national and sectoral levels, with flexibility provisions that allow limited deviations in response to special circumstances, but within a framework that is sensitive to how abuse of such flexibility can undermine efforts of workers to bargain collectively.

Strength can also be achieved by limiting the ability of workers to free ride on those who support the union, and also (where relevant) by limiting the scope for management-dictated arbitration systems for dispute resolution. ■ Increase coverage of collective bargaining by making it easier for unions to organize, gain recognition, and collect dues. ■ Reduce the likelihood of a race to the bottom by mandating that basic minimum conditions apply to all workers not covered by more favorable contractual terms. ■ Support collective bargaining for all categories of workers. Sector agreements may help to extend collective bargaining where unionization is low. Raise Minimum Wages The purpose of minimum wages is to protect workers from unduly low pay.

Stiglitz, The Euro: How a Common Currency Threatens the Future of Europe (New York: W. W. Norton, 2017). 3. “National Industrial Relations across Europe: Collective Bargaining,” European Trade Union Institute, 2015, accessed Dec. 29, 2018, https://www.worker-participation.eu/National-Industrial-Relations/Across-Europe/Collective-Bargaining2. 4. Trends have differed markedly across Europe. For example, the number of agreements has increased in Germany, France, the Netherlands, and Belgium. But in most countries, measures indicate that the process of collective bargaining is weaker. 5. David Card and Alan Krueger, “Minimum Wages and Employment: A Case Study of the Fast-Food Industry in New Jersey and Pennsylvania,” The American Economic Review 84, no. 4 (Sept. 1994): 772–93. 6.


The Cigarette: A Political History by Sarah Milov

"RICO laws" OR "Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations", activist lawyer, affirmative action, airline deregulation, American Legislative Exchange Council, barriers to entry, British Empire, business logic, collective bargaining, corporate personhood, deindustrialization, fixed income, Frederick Winslow Taylor, G4S, global supply chain, Herbert Marcuse, imperial preference, Indoor air pollution, information asymmetry, invisible hand, Kitchen Debate, land tenure, military-industrial complex, new economy, New Journalism, Philip Mirowski, pink-collar, Potemkin village, precariat, price stability, profit maximization, race to the bottom, Ralph Nader, rent-seeking, scientific management, Silicon Valley, structural adjustment programs, technological determinism, The Chicago School, Torches of Freedom, trade route, union organizing, Unsafe at Any Speed, Upton Sinclair, vertical integration, War on Poverty, women in the workforce

Bell’s general counsel cited fear of unrest that might follow a unilateral smoke policy change without prior bargaining with the Communications Workers of America (CWA). For Bell to singlehandedly impose a smoking policy in the absence of a judicial mandate would violate the collective-bargaining agreement between the company and its largest union. Bell was unwilling to take such a risk. By inviting the court to require a smoke-free accommodation for Shimp, Bell exacerbated conflict between Shimp and her union, which jealously guarded the collective-bargaining agreement from court interference.24 In her proposal, Shimp insisted that “employees deserve the same protection afforded the machinery so vital to our communications network, as the human body cannot be duplicated.”

As she wrote to a fellow employee as her trial was unfolding in 1975, “I feel the only way we are going to gain recognition of the real health hazard of ‘second hand smoke’ is through collective action.”95 But action to clear the air at work put the nonsmokers’ movement on a collision course with the closest thing the postwar labor movement had to a sacred cow: collective bargaining. The nonsmokers’ movement arrived at work just as a range of new forces—feminism, the Quality of Work Life movement, the rise of public sector unions, the occupational health movement—complicated labor’s traditionally male-dominated, seniority-centered, bread-and-butter prerogatives.96 On procedural, political, and policy grounds, union leadership and nonsmoker advocates were at odds. From the perspective of organized labor, Shimp established a dangerous precedent: it substituted a judge’s decision for a provision of the collective-bargaining agreement. Indeed, Donna Shimp fought both her employer and her union, the CWA, when she sued New Jersey Bell.

In 1980, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the arbitrator’s decision: the Dallas ban was invalid.109 The integrity of the collective-bargaining process prevailed over management’s overtures to workplace safety. The victory was a sad index of labor’s crimped power in an era of plant closures, liability management, and awareness of the latency period of disease.110 The International Association of Machinists’ defense of the integrity of collective bargaining was also a defense of a worker’s prerogative to expose himself to risks—with the bleak prospect of the union’s assistance in organizing a class action against offending corporations later on.


pages: 447 words: 111,991

Exponential: How Accelerating Technology Is Leaving Us Behind and What to Do About It by Azeem Azhar

"Friedman doctrine" OR "shareholder theory", "World Economic Forum" Davos, 23andMe, 3D printing, A Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace, Ada Lovelace, additive manufacturing, air traffic controllers' union, Airbnb, algorithmic management, algorithmic trading, Amazon Mechanical Turk, autonomous vehicles, basic income, Berlin Wall, Bernie Sanders, Big Tech, Bletchley Park, Blitzscaling, Boeing 737 MAX, book value, Boris Johnson, Bretton Woods, carbon footprint, Chris Urmson, Citizen Lab, Clayton Christensen, cloud computing, collective bargaining, computer age, computer vision, contact tracing, contact tracing app, coronavirus, COVID-19, creative destruction, crowdsourcing, cryptocurrency, cuban missile crisis, Daniel Kahneman / Amos Tversky, data science, David Graeber, David Ricardo: comparative advantage, decarbonisation, deep learning, deglobalization, deindustrialization, dematerialisation, Demis Hassabis, Diane Coyle, digital map, digital rights, disinformation, Dissolution of the Soviet Union, Donald Trump, Double Irish / Dutch Sandwich, drone strike, Elon Musk, emotional labour, energy security, Fairchild Semiconductor, fake news, Fall of the Berlin Wall, Firefox, Frederick Winslow Taylor, fulfillment center, future of work, Garrett Hardin, gender pay gap, general purpose technology, Geoffrey Hinton, gig economy, global macro, global pandemic, global supply chain, global value chain, global village, GPT-3, Hans Moravec, happiness index / gross national happiness, hiring and firing, hockey-stick growth, ImageNet competition, income inequality, independent contractor, industrial robot, intangible asset, Jane Jacobs, Jeff Bezos, job automation, John Maynard Keynes: Economic Possibilities for our Grandchildren, John Maynard Keynes: technological unemployment, John Perry Barlow, Just-in-time delivery, Kickstarter, Kiva Systems, knowledge worker, Kodak vs Instagram, Law of Accelerating Returns, lockdown, low skilled workers, lump of labour, Lyft, manufacturing employment, Marc Benioff, Mark Zuckerberg, megacity, Mitch Kapor, Mustafa Suleyman, Network effects, new economy, NSO Group, Ocado, offshore financial centre, OpenAI, PalmPilot, Panopticon Jeremy Bentham, Peter Thiel, Planet Labs, price anchoring, RAND corporation, ransomware, Ray Kurzweil, remote working, RFC: Request For Comment, Richard Florida, ride hailing / ride sharing, Robert Bork, Ronald Coase, Ronald Reagan, Salesforce, Sam Altman, scientific management, Second Machine Age, self-driving car, Shoshana Zuboff, Silicon Valley, Social Responsibility of Business Is to Increase Its Profits, software as a service, Steve Ballmer, Steve Jobs, Stuxnet, subscription business, synthetic biology, tacit knowledge, TaskRabbit, tech worker, The Death and Life of Great American Cities, The Future of Employment, The Nature of the Firm, Thomas Malthus, TikTok, Tragedy of the Commons, Turing machine, Uber and Lyft, Uber for X, uber lyft, universal basic income, uranium enrichment, vertical integration, warehouse automation, winner-take-all economy, workplace surveillance , Yom Kippur War

.), 73 linear value chains, 101 LinkedIn, 26, 110, 121, 237, 238 Linkos Group, 197 Linux OS, 242 Lipsey, Richard, 45 lithium-ion batteries, 40, 51 lithium, 170 localism, 11, 166–90, 252, 255 log files, 227 logarithmic scales, 20 logic gates, 18 logistic curve, 25, 30, 51, 52, 69–70 London, England, 180, 181, 183 London Underground, 133–4 looms, 157 Lordstown Strike (1972), 125 Lotus Development Corporation, 99 Luddites, 125, 253 Lufa Farms, 171–2 Luminate, 240 lump of labour fallacy, 139 Lusaka, Zambia, 15 Lyft, 146, 148 machine learning, 31–4, 54, 58, 88, 127, 129, 143 MacKinnon, Rebecca, 223 Maersk, 197, 199, 211 malaria, 253 Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 shootdown (2014), 199 Malta, 114 Malthus, Thomas, 72–3 malware, 197 Man with the Golden Gun, The (1974 film), 37 manufacturing, 10, 39, 42–4, 46, 166–7, 175–9 additive, 43–4, 46, 48, 88, 166, 169, 175–9 automation and, 130 re-localisation, 175–9 subtractive, 42–3 market saturation, 25–8, 51, 52 market share, 93–6, 111 Marshall, Alfred, 97 Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 18, 147, 202, 238 Mastercard, 98 May, Theresa, 183 Mayors for a Guaranteed Income, 189 McCarthy, John, 31 McKinsey, 76, 94 McMaster University, 178 measles, 246 Mechanical Turk, 142–3, 144, 145 media literacy, 211–12 meningitis, 246 Mexico, 202 microorganisms, 42, 46, 69 Microsoft, 16–17, 65, 84–5, 88, 98–9, 100, 105, 108, 122, 221 Bing, 107 cloud computing, 85 data collection, 228 Excel, 99 internet and, 84–5, 100 network effect and, 99 Office software, 98–9, 110, 152 Windows, 85, 98–9 Workplace Productivity scores, 152 Mill, John Stuart, 193 miniaturisation, 34–5 minimum wage, 147, 161 misinformation, 11, 191, 192, 200–204, 209, 212, 217, 225, 247–8 mobile phones, 76, 121 see also smartphones; telecom companies Moderna, 245, 247 Moixa, 174 Mondelez, 197, 211 Mongol Empire (1206–1368), 44 monopolies, 10, 71, 94, 95, 114–24, 218, 255 Monopoly (board game), 82 Montreal, Quebec, 171 mood detection systems, 152 Moore, Gordon, 19, 48 Moore’s Law, 19–22, 26, 28–9, 31, 34, 63, 64, 74 artificial intelligence and, 32, 33–4 Kodak and, 83 price and, 41–2, 51, 68–9 as social fact, 29, 49 superstar companies and, 95 time, relationship with, 48–9 Moravec, Hans, 131 Moravec’s paradox, 131–2 Motorola, 76 Mount Mercy College, Cork, 57 Mozilla Firefox, 242 Mumbai, India, 181 mumps, 246 muskets, 54–5 MySpace, 26–7 Nadella, Satya, 85 Nagorno-Karabakh War (2020), 206–7 napalm, 216 NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), 56 Natanz nuclear site, Iran, 196 National Health Service (NHS), 87 nationalism, 168, 186 NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization), 191, 213 Netflix, 104, 107, 109, 136, 137, 138, 139, 151, 248 Netherlands, 103 Netscape Communicator, 6 networks, 58–62 network effects, 96–101, 106, 110, 121, 223 neural networks, 32–4 neutral, technology as, 5, 220–21, 254 new wars, 194 New York City, New York, 180, 183 New York Times, 3, 125, 190, 228 New Zealand, 188, 236 Newton, Isaac, 20 Nigeria, 103, 145, 182, 254 Niinistö, Sauli, 212 Nike, 102 nitrogen fertilizers, 35 Nixon, Richard, 25, 114 Nobel Prize, 64, 74, 241 Nokia, 120 non-state actors, 194, 213 North Korea, 198 North Macedonia, 200–201 Norway, 173, 216 NotPetya malware, 197, 199–200, 211, 213 Novell, 98 Noyce, Robert, 19 NSO Group, 214 nuclear weapons, 193, 195–6, 212, 237 Nuremberg Trials (1945–6), 208 O’Reilly, Tim, 107 O’Sullivan, Laura, 57–8, 60 Obama, Barack, 205, 214, 225 Ocado, 137 Ocasio-Cortez, Alexandria, 239 Oculus, 117 oDesk, 144 Ofcom, 8 Ofoto, 84 Ogburn, William, 85 oil industry, 172, 250 Houthi drone attacks (2019), 206 OAPEC crisis (1973–4), 37, 258 Shamoon attack (2012), 198 Standard Oil breakup (1911), 93–4 Olduvai, Tanzania, 42 online shopping, 48, 61, 62, 75, 94, 102, 135 open-source software, 242 Openreach, 123 Operation Opera (1981), 195–6, 209 opium, 38 Orange, 121 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), 119, 167 Osborne Computer Corporation, 16 Osborne, Michael, 129 Osirak nuclear reactor, Iraq, 195–6, 209 Ostrom, Elinor, 241 Oxford University, 129, 134, 203, 226 pace of change, 3 pagers, 87 Pakistan, 145, 205 palladium, 170 PalmPilot, 173 panopticon, 152 Paris, France, 181, 183 path dependence, 86 PayPal, 98, 110 PC clones, 17 PeerIndex, 8, 201, 237 Pegasus, 214 PeoplePerHour, 144 PepsiCo, 93 Perez, Carlota, 46–7 pernicious polarization, 232 perpetual motion, 95, 106, 107, 182 Petersen, Michael Bang, 75 Phan Thi Kim Phuc, 216–17, 224, 225 pharmaceutical industry, 6, 93, 250 phase transitions, 4 Philippines, 186, 203 Phillips Exeter Academy, 150 phishing scams, 211 Phoenix, Arizona, 134 photolithography, 19 Pigou, Arthur Cecil, 97 Piketty, Thomas, 160 Ping An Good Doctor, 103, 250 Pix Moving, 166, 169, 175 PKK (Partîya Karkerên Kurdistanê), 206 Planet Labs, 69 platforms, 101–3, 219 PlayStation, 86 plough, 157 Polanyi, Michael, 133 polarisation, 231–4 polio, 246 population, 72–3 Portify, 162 Postel, Jon, 55 Postings, Robert, 233 Predator drones, 205, 206 preprints, 59–60 price gouging, 93 price of technology, 22, 68–9 computing, 68–9, 191, 249 cyber-weapons, 191–2 drones, 192 genome sequencing, 41–2, 252 renewable energy, 39–40, 250 printing press, 45 public sphere, 218, 221, 223 Pulitzer Prize, 216 punctuated equilibrium, 87–8 al-Qaeda, 205, 210–11 Qatar, 198 quantum computing, 35 quantum physics, 29 quarantines, 12, 152, 176, 183, 246 R&D (research and development), 67–8, 113, 118 racial bias, 231 racism, 225, 231, 234 radicalisation pathways, 233 radiologists, 126 Raford, Noah, 43 Raz, Ze’ev, 195, 209 RB, 197 re-localisation, 11, 166–90, 253, 255 conflict and, 189, 193, 194, 209 Reagan, Ronald, 64, 163 religion, 6, 82, 83 resilience, 257 reskilling, 159–60 responsibility gap, 209 Restrepo, Pascual, 139 Reuters, 8, 56, 132 revolutions, 87 Ricardo, David, 169–70, 177 rights, 240–41 Rise of the Robots, The (Ford), 125 Rittenhouse, Kyle, 224 Roche, 67 Rockefeller, John, 93 Rohingyas, 224 Rome, ancient, 180 Rose, Carol, 243 Rotterdam, Netherlands, 56 Rule of Law, 82 running shoes, 102, 175–6 Russell, Stuart, 31, 118 Russian Federation, 122 disinformation campaigns, 203 Estonia cyberattacks (2007), 190–91, 200 Finland, relations with, 212 Nagorno-Karabakh War (2020), 206 nuclear weapons, 237 Ukraine cyberattacks (2017), 197, 199–200 US election interference (2016), 217 Yandex, 122 S-curve, 25, 30, 51, 52, 69–70 al-Sahhaf, Muhammad Saeed, 201 Salesforce, 108–9 Saliba, Samer, 184 salt, 114 Samsung, 93, 228 San Francisco, California, 181 Sandel, Michael, 218 Sanders, Bernard, 163 Sandworm, 197, 199–200, 211 Santander, 95 Sasson, Steve, 83 satellites, 56–7, 69 Saturday Night Fever (1977 soundtrack), 72 Saudi Arabia, 108, 178, 198, 203, 206 Schmidt, Eric, 5 Schwarz Gruppe, 67 Second Machine Age, The (Brynjolfsson and McAfee), 129 self-driving vehicles, 78, 134–5, 141 semiconductors, 18–22, 28–9, 48–9, 52, 113, 251 September 11 attacks (2001), 205, 210–11 Shamoon virus, 198 Shanghai, China, 56 Shannon, Claude, 18 Sharp, 16 Shenzhen, Guangdong, 182 shipping containers, 61–2, 63 shopping, 48, 61, 62, 75, 94, 102, 135 Siemens, 196 silicon chips, see chips Silicon Valley, 5, 7, 15, 24, 65, 110, 129, 223 Sinai Peninsula, 195 Sinclair ZX81, 15, 17, 21, 36 Singapore, 56 Singles’ Day, 48 Singularity University, 5 SixDegrees, 26 Skydio R1 drone, 208 smartphones, 22, 26, 46, 47–8, 65, 86, 88, 105, 111, 222 Smith, Adam, 169–70 sneakers, 102, 175–6 Snow, Charles Percy, 7 social credit systems, 230 social media, 26–8 censorship on, 216–17, 224–6, 236 collective bargaining and, 164 data collection on, 228 interoperability, 121, 237–8 market saturation, 25–8 misinformation on, 192, 201–4, 217, 247–8 network effect, 98, 223 polarisation and, 231–4 software as a service, 109 solar power, 37–8, 53, 65, 77, 82, 90, 171, 172, 173, 249, 250, 251 SolarWinds, 200 Solberg, Erna, 216 South Africa, 170 South Korea, 188, 198, 202 Southey, Robert, 80 sovereignty, 185, 199, 214 Soviet Union (1922–91), 185, 190, 194, 212 Spain, 170, 188 Spanish flu pandemic (1918–20), 75 Speedfactory, Ansbach, 176 Spire, 69 Spotify, 69 Sputnik 1 orbit (1957), 64, 83 stagflation, 63 Standard and Poor, 104 Standard Oil, 93–4 standardisation, 54–7, 61, 62 Stanford University, 32, 58 Star Wars franchise, 99 state-sized companies, 11, 67 see also superstar companies states, 82 stirrups, 44 Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, 208 Stockton, California, 160 strategic snowflakes, 211 stress tests, 237 Stuxnet, 196, 214 Sudan, 183 superstar companies, 10, 11, 67, 94–124, 218–26, 252, 255 blitzscaling, 110 collective bargaining and, 163 horizontal expansion, 111–12, 218 increasing returns to scale, 108–10 innovation and, 117–18 intangible economy, 104–7, 118, 156 interoperability and, 120–22, 237–9 monopolies, 114–24, 218 network effect, 96–101, 121 platform model, 101–3, 219 taxation of, 118–19 vertical expansion, 112–13 workplace cultures, 151 supply chains, 61–2, 166–7, 169, 175, 187, 252 surveillance, 152–3, 158 Surviving AI (Chace), 129 Sutskever, Ilya, 32 synthetic biology, 42, 46, 69, 174, 245, 250 Syria, 186 Taiwan, 181, 212 Talkspace, 144 Tallinn, Estonia, 190 Tang, Audrey, 212 Tanzania, 42, 183 TaskRabbit, 144 Tasmania, Australia, 197 taxation, 10, 63, 96, 118–19 gig economy and, 146 superstar companies and, 118–19 Taylor, Frederick Winslow, 150, 152, 153, 154 Tel Aviv, Israel, 181 telecom companies, 122–3 Tencent, 65, 104, 108, 122 territorial sovereignty, 185, 199, 214 Tesco, 67, 93 Tesla, 69, 78, 113 Thailand, 176, 203 Thatcher, Margaret, 64, 163 Thelen, Kathleen, 87 Thiel, Peter, 110–11 3D printing, see additive manufacturing TikTok, 28, 69, 159–60, 219 Tisné, Martin, 240 Tomahawk missiles, 207 Toyota, 95 trade networks, 61–2, 166–7, 169, 175 trade unions, see collective bargaining Trading Places (1983 film), 132 Tragedy of the Commons, The (Hardin), 241 transistors, 18–22, 28–9, 48–9, 52, 113, 251 transparency, 236 Treaty of Westphalia (1648), 199 TRS-80, 16 Trump, Donald, 79, 119, 166, 201, 225, 237 Tufekci, Zeynep, 233 Turing, Alan, 18, 22 Turkey, 102, 176, 186, 198, 202, 206, 231 Tversky, Amos, 74 23andMe, 229–30 Twilio, 151 Twitch, 225 Twitter, 65, 201, 202, 219, 223, 225, 237 two cultures, 7, 8 Uber, 69, 94, 102, 103, 106, 142, 144, 145 Assembly Bill 5 (California, 2019), 148 engineering jobs, 156 London ban (2019), 183, 188 London protest (2016), 153 pay at, 147, 156 satisfaction levels at, 146 Uber BV v Aslam (2021), 148 UiPath, 130 Ukraine, 197, 199 Unilever, 153 Union of Concerned Scientists, 56 unions, see collective bargaining United Arab Emirates, 43, 198, 250 United Autoworkers Union, 162 United Kingdom BBC, 87 Biobank, 242 Brexit (2016–20), 6, 168 collective bargaining in, 163 Covid-19 epidemic (2020–21), 79, 203 DDT in, 253 digital minilateralism, 188 drone technology in, 207 flashing of headlights in, 83 Golden Triangle, 170 Google and, 116 Industrial Revolution (1760–1840), 79–81 Luddite rebellion (1811–16), 125, 253 misinformation in, 203, 204 National Cyber Force, 200 NHS, 87 self-employment in, 148 telecom companies in, 123 Thatcher government (1979–90), 64, 163 United Nations, 87, 88, 188 United States antitrust law in, 114 automation in, 127 Battle of the Overpass (1937), 162 Capitol building storming (2021), 225 China, relations with, 166 Cold War (1947–91), 194, 212, 213 collective bargaining in, 163 Covid-19 epidemic (2020–21), 79, 202–4 Cyber Command, 200, 210 DDT in, 253 drone technology in, 205, 214 economists in, 63 HIPA Act (1996), 230 Kenosha unrest shooting (2020), 224 Lordstown Strike (1972), 125 manufacturing in, 130 misinformation in, 202–4 mobile phones in, 76 nuclear weapons, 237 Obama administration (2009–17), 205, 214 polarisation in, 232 presidential election (2016), 199, 201, 217 presidential election (2020), 202–3 Reagan administration (1981–9), 64, 163 self-employment in, 148 September 11 attacks (2001), 205, 210–11 shipping containers in, 61 shopping in, 48 solar energy research, 37 Standard Oil breakup (1911), 93–4 taxation in, 63, 119 Trump administration (2017–21), 79, 119, 166, 168, 201, 225, 237 Vietnam War (1955–75), 216 War on Terror (2001–), 205 universal basic income (UBI), 160, 189 universal service obligation, 122 University of Cambridge, 127, 188 University of Chicago, 63 University of Colorado, 73 University of Delaware, 55 University of Oxford, 129, 134, 203, 226 University of Southern California, 55 unwritten rules, 82 Uppsala Conflict Data Program, 194 UpWork, 145–6 USB (Universal Serial Bus), 51 Ut, Nick, 216 utility providers, 122–3 vaccines, 12, 202, 211, 245–7 Vail, Theodore, 100 value-free, technology as, 5, 220–21, 254 Veles, North Macedonia, 200–201 Véliz, Carissa, 226 Venezuela, 75 venture capitalists, 117 vertical expansion, 112–13, 116 vertical farms, 171–2, 251 video games, 86 Vietnam, 61, 175, 216 Virological, 245 Visa, 98 VisiCalc, 99 Vodafone, 121 Vogels, Werner, 68 Wag!

It plainly does.’61 In part, these teething problems are down to an exponential gap – between new modes of employment enabled by exponential technologies, and a set of labour laws designed in the twentieth century. The great triumphs of the twentieth-century labour movement were about securing humane working conditions for contracted employees. The eight-hour day, sick leave, pensions, collective bargaining – all were extended to those who were formally employed by a company. But in the Exponential Age, formal employees are relatively decreasing in number. The technologies of this era create new ways of working, with the smartphone and the task-matching algorithm allowing firms to rely on pools of freelance talent.

This system of management works like Taylorism on steroids – with all the dehumanising downsides but without the commensurate high pay or job stability. One Amazon worker’s claim, reported in The Guardian, that the company leaders ‘care more about the robots than they care about the employees’ encapsulates one of the oldest criticisms of scientific management.73 Except, this time round, workers don’t have the collective bargaining power they once did. In the ultra-Taylorist companies of the twenty-first century, the power balance is skewed heavily in the favour of bosses. Amazon automatically fires about 10 per cent of its factory staff annually, for not being able to move packages through the system quickly enough.74 The company’s ‘proprietary productivity metric’, which dictates how quickly workers must process each order, gets our one-day Prime deliveries to us on time.


pages: 619 words: 177,548

Power and Progress: Our Thousand-Year Struggle Over Technology and Prosperity by Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson

"Friedman doctrine" OR "shareholder theory", "World Economic Forum" Davos, 4chan, agricultural Revolution, AI winter, Airbnb, airline deregulation, algorithmic bias, algorithmic management, Alignment Problem, AlphaGo, An Inconvenient Truth, artificial general intelligence, augmented reality, basic income, Bellingcat, Bernie Sanders, Big Tech, Bletchley Park, blue-collar work, British Empire, carbon footprint, carbon tax, carried interest, centre right, Charles Babbage, ChatGPT, Clayton Christensen, clean water, cloud computing, collapse of Lehman Brothers, collective bargaining, computer age, Computer Lib, Computing Machinery and Intelligence, conceptual framework, contact tracing, Corn Laws, Cornelius Vanderbilt, coronavirus, corporate social responsibility, correlation does not imply causation, cotton gin, COVID-19, creative destruction, declining real wages, deep learning, DeepMind, deindustrialization, Demis Hassabis, Deng Xiaoping, deskilling, discovery of the americas, disinformation, Donald Trump, Douglas Engelbart, Douglas Engelbart, Edward Snowden, Elon Musk, en.wikipedia.org, energy transition, Erik Brynjolfsson, European colonialism, everywhere but in the productivity statistics, factory automation, facts on the ground, fake news, Filter Bubble, financial innovation, Ford Model T, Ford paid five dollars a day, fulfillment center, full employment, future of work, gender pay gap, general purpose technology, Geoffrey Hinton, global supply chain, Gordon Gekko, GPT-3, Grace Hopper, Hacker Ethic, Ida Tarbell, illegal immigration, income inequality, indoor plumbing, industrial robot, interchangeable parts, invisible hand, Isaac Newton, Jacques de Vaucanson, James Watt: steam engine, Jaron Lanier, Jeff Bezos, job automation, Johannes Kepler, John Markoff, John Maynard Keynes: Economic Possibilities for our Grandchildren, John Maynard Keynes: technological unemployment, Joseph-Marie Jacquard, Kenneth Arrow, Kevin Roose, Kickstarter, knowledge economy, labor-force participation, land reform, land tenure, Les Trente Glorieuses, low skilled workers, low-wage service sector, M-Pesa, manufacturing employment, Marc Andreessen, Mark Zuckerberg, megacity, mobile money, Mother of all demos, move fast and break things, natural language processing, Neolithic agricultural revolution, Norbert Wiener, NSO Group, offshore financial centre, OpenAI, PageRank, Panopticon Jeremy Bentham, paperclip maximiser, pattern recognition, Paul Graham, Peter Thiel, Productivity paradox, profit maximization, profit motive, QAnon, Ralph Nader, Ray Kurzweil, recommendation engine, ride hailing / ride sharing, Robert Bork, Robert Gordon, Robert Solow, robotic process automation, Ronald Reagan, scientific management, Second Machine Age, self-driving car, seminal paper, shareholder value, Sheryl Sandberg, Shoshana Zuboff, Silicon Valley, social intelligence, Social Responsibility of Business Is to Increase Its Profits, social web, South Sea Bubble, speech recognition, spice trade, statistical model, stem cell, Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, strikebreaker, subscription business, Suez canal 1869, Suez crisis 1956, supply-chain management, surveillance capitalism, tacit knowledge, tech billionaire, technoutopianism, Ted Nelson, TED Talk, The Future of Employment, The Rise and Fall of American Growth, The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, theory of mind, Thomas Malthus, too big to fail, total factor productivity, trade route, transatlantic slave trade, trickle-down economics, Turing machine, Turing test, Twitter Arab Spring, Two Sigma, Tyler Cowen, Tyler Cowen: Great Stagnation, union organizing, universal basic income, Unsafe at Any Speed, Upton Sinclair, upwardly mobile, W. E. B. Du Bois, War on Poverty, WikiLeaks, wikimedia commons, working poor, working-age population

Even before the Depression, some intellectuals and businesspeople were acknowledging that without collective bargaining, productivity gains would not be shared fairly, even if companies such as Ford raised wages to reduce turnover. In 1928 the pioneering American engineer Morris Llewellyn Cooke spoke to the Taylor Society, a group dedicated to “scientific management”: The interests of society, including those of the workers, suggest some measure of collective bargaining in industry to the end that the weaker side may be represented in negotiations as to hours, wages, status and working conditions. Collective bargaining implies the organization of the workers on a basis extensive enough—say nation-wide—as to make this bargaining power effective.

Carle Conway, chairman of the board of Continental Can and a “hero of capitalist endeavor,” according to the Harvard Business School (unofficial scorekeeper), was surprisingly pro-union: Certainly anyone who has been in business during [the past 30 years] would have to be naive to think that management by and large desired collective bargaining or certain of the other reforms which labor has finally won.… But isn’t it also likely that better understanding of the basic fundamentals involved in the struggle over the last thirty years between labor and management can work toward harmonizing the two viewpoints into a common objective and so make collective bargaining and many of the other reforms operate in the interests of both labor and management? However, New Dealers’ aspirations, in contrast to those of the Swedish Social Democratic Workers’ Party, would not be fully realized.

With the demise of good jobs available to most workers and the rapid growth in the incomes of a small fraction of the population trained as computer scientists, engineers, and financiers, we are on our way to a truly two-tiered society, in which workers and those commanding the economic means and social recognition live separately, and that separation grows daily. This is what the English writer H. G. Wells anticipated in The Time Machine, with a future dystopia where technology had so segregated people that they evolved into two separate species. This is not just a problem in the United States. Because of better protection for low-paid workers, collective bargaining, and decent minimum wages, workers with relatively low education levels in Scandinavia, France, or Canada have not suffered wage declines like their American counterparts. All the same, inequality has risen, and good jobs for people without college degrees have become scarce in these countries as well.


pages: 332 words: 89,668

Two Nations, Indivisible: A History of Inequality in America: A History of Inequality in America by Jamie Bronstein

Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, back-to-the-land, barriers to entry, basic income, Bernie Sanders, big-box store, Black Lives Matter, blue-collar work, Branko Milanovic, British Empire, Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty, clean water, cognitive dissonance, collateralized debt obligation, collective bargaining, Community Supported Agriculture, corporate personhood, crony capitalism, deindustrialization, desegregation, Donald Trump, ending welfare as we know it, Frederick Winslow Taylor, full employment, Gini coefficient, Glass-Steagall Act, income inequality, interchangeable parts, invisible hand, job automation, John Maynard Keynes: technological unemployment, labor-force participation, land reform, land tenure, longitudinal study, low skilled workers, low-wage service sector, mandatory minimum, mass incarceration, minimum wage unemployment, moral hazard, moral panic, mortgage debt, New Urbanism, non-tariff barriers, obamacare, occupational segregation, Occupy movement, oil shock, plutocrats, price discrimination, race to the bottom, rent control, road to serfdom, Ronald Reagan, Sam Peltzman, scientific management, Scientific racism, Simon Kuznets, single-payer health, Strategic Defense Initiative, strikebreaker, the long tail, too big to fail, trade route, transcontinental railway, Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, trickle-down economics, universal basic income, Upton Sinclair, upwardly mobile, urban renewal, vertical integration, W. E. B. Du Bois, wage slave, War on Poverty, women in the workforce, working poor, Works Progress Administration

While Roosevelt reached out to his labor constituency through the Fair Labor Standards Act, which recognized the right to unionize and created the National Labor Relations Board, labor unions and Democratic politicians were divided on the advisability of a minimum wage.73 The AFL favored collective bargaining between (its mostly skilled, male) employees and their employers. The Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO), which was more inclusive, endorsed a minimum wage because it offered a starting point for collective bargaining rather than a ceiling.74 The Democratic Party was divided because the labor market in the United States was segmented. Southern workers earned lower wages, lowering the cost of production in the South and promoting southern competitiveness.

Moreover, if American industries were protected, American manufacturing workers could earn higher wages and avoid becoming impoverished like English factory workers.22 Newly enfranchised workingmen not only participated in presidential elections and shaped concerns about inequality at the national level, they also participated in a popular politics much closer to the ground. As historian Paul Gilje shows, the nature of rioting changed in the 1820s and 1830s from deferential crowd behavior to “collective bargaining by riot.” This tactic spread from the ranks of unskilled laborers, who traditionally had little leverage, to journeymen in the skilled trades, who felt increasingly pressed between an affluent class of master craftsmen and a large pool of partly trained workers who were capable of doing the journeymen’s jobs for less money.

Voters’ options ranged from the Progressive Party to the Socialist Party, the Farmer-Labor Party, and the Workers’ Party. Rather than seek revolution, the Socialist Party, which nominated Eugene V. Debs for president in 1912, pursued legislation that benefited workers, like child labor legislation and workers’ compensation, and the strategy of collective bargaining.46 The Socialist Party also advocated for votes for women, who could see that the state might serve to assist rather than to hinder them. Socialist parties elected 12,000 candidates to office in 340 cities in 1912, and Eugene Debs attracted 6 percent of the popular vote. Once in office, Socialist city officers addressed crucial working-class issues like sanitation, zoning, and improvement of squalid working-class neighborhoods.47 But their reach was limited, because despite their gradualism, they were met with antisocialist hysteria that culminated in the first Red Scare of the late 1910s.


pages: 349 words: 99,230

Essential: How the Pandemic Transformed the Long Fight for Worker Justice by Jamie K. McCallum

Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, American Legislative Exchange Council, Anthropocene, antiwork, Bear Stearns, Bernie Sanders, Black Lives Matter, carbon tax, cognitive dissonance, collective bargaining, company town, coronavirus, COVID-19, death from overwork, defund the police, deindustrialization, deskilling, Donald Trump, Elon Musk, future of work, George Floyd, gig economy, global pandemic, global supply chain, Great Leap Forward, green new deal, housing crisis, income inequality, independent contractor, invisible hand, Jeff Bezos, job automation, karōshi / gwarosa / guolaosi, labor-force participation, laissez-faire capitalism, lockdown, Loma Prieta earthquake, low-wage service sector, Lyft, manufacturing employment, market fundamentalism, minimum wage unemployment, moral hazard, Naomi Klein, occupational segregation, post-work, QR code, race to the bottom, remote working, rewilding, ride hailing / ride sharing, side hustle, single-payer health, social distancing, stock buybacks, strikebreaker, subprime mortgage crisis, TaskRabbit, The Great Resignation, the strength of weak ties, trade route, Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, Uber and Lyft, uber lyft, union organizing, Upton Sinclair, women in the workforce, working poor, workplace surveillance , Works Progress Administration, zoonotic diseases

The 1938 Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which set the first maximum-hour limits and established the minimum wage, and the 1935 National Labor Relations Act (a.k.a. the Wagner Act), which guaranteed collective bargaining rights, did not extend to most low-wage care workers. Home-based caregivers’ exclusion from the National Labor Relations Act meant they were not allowed the collective bargaining rights that would confer the power to fight for better conditions. A few decades later, the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act had little relevance for most domestic workers because its antidiscrimination and anti–sexual harassment clauses didn’t apply to workplaces that employed fewer than fifteen people.16 The 1970 Occupational Health and Safety Act was similarly irrelevant since it didn’t apply to homeowners who employ workers for “domestic household tasks” in their homes.

In 1933, Alabama coal miners led successful union organizing drives at their own jobsites and then proceeded to organize entire towns. Labor insurgency led to proworker legislation like the National Industrial Recovery Act of 1933, which regulated wages and granted collective bargaining rights. Two years later, the Wagner Act extended collective bargaining rights and eliminated company-sponsored unions. Initially challenged as unconstitutional, the Wagner Act’s full legal force didn’t take effect until it was upheld by the Supreme Court in 1937, again following a wave of strikes and disruptive protests.35 Lessons for today could not be clearer: labor law reform won’t facilitate mass organizing; it will result from it.

Led by corporate-backed organizations like the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), and emboldened by Republican electoral victories in the 2010 midterm elections, this movement struck out to transform American labor law. In 2011 and 2012, fifteen states passed laws that restricted the rights of public employees to collectively bargain. During the same time, nineteen states introduced “right-to-work” laws that try to bankrupt unions by prohibiting them from collecting dues from all workers covered by their contracts.9 The decline of worker voice and poverty wages at the bottom of the labor market are compounded by other factors that make for miserable jobs across industries.


pages: 372 words: 152

The End of Work by Jeremy Rifkin

banking crisis, Bertrand Russell: In Praise of Idleness, blue-collar work, cashless society, Charles Babbage, collective bargaining, compensation consultant, computer age, deskilling, Dissolution of the Soviet Union, employer provided health coverage, Erik Brynjolfsson, full employment, future of work, general-purpose programming language, George Gilder, global village, Great Leap Forward, Herbert Marcuse, high-speed rail, hiring and firing, informal economy, interchangeable parts, invention of the telegraph, Jacques de Vaucanson, job automation, John Maynard Keynes: technological unemployment, Kaizen: continuous improvement, karōshi / gwarosa / guolaosi, knowledge economy, knowledge worker, land reform, low interest rates, low skilled workers, means of production, military-industrial complex, new economy, New Urbanism, Paul Samuelson, pink-collar, pneumatic tube, post-Fordism, post-industrial society, Productivity paradox, prudent man rule, Richard Florida, Ronald Reagan, scientific management, Silicon Valley, speech recognition, strikebreaker, technoutopianism, Thorstein Veblen, Toyota Production System, trade route, trickle-down economics, warehouse automation, warehouse robotics, women in the workforce, working poor, working-age population, Works Progress Administration

The prospect of labor displacement can be eased, in part, by joint consultation between companies and unions and by management planning to schedule the introduction of automation in periods of high employment, to permit attrition, reduce the size of the labor force, and to allow time for the retraining of employees. 17 The AFL-CIO passed a number of resolutions at its annual conventions in the 1960s, calling for retraining provisions in collective bargaining agreements. Employers were more than willing to concede 86 THE THIRD INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION to labor's new demands. The costs of introducing retraining programs was far less onerous than the prospect of a long and protracted battle with labor over the introduction of new automated technologies on the shop floor. Between 1960 and 1967, the percentage of collective bargaining agreements containing provisions for job retraining increased from 12 percent to more than 40 percent. iS Labor also lent its political muscle to federal legislation to promote job retraining.

Noble, p. 250. 16. Ibid., p. 253. 17. CIO Committee on Economic Policy, Automation (Washington, D.e.: Congress of Independent Organizations, 1955), pp. 21-22. 18. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Major Collective Bargaining AgreementsTraining and Retraining Provisions, Bulletin no. 1425-7 (Washington, D.e.: Government Printing Office, 1969), p. 4; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Characteristics of Major Collective Bargaining Agreements, January 1, 1980, Bulletin no. 2095, p. 105. 19. Kalleberg, Arne L., et al., "Labor in the Newspaper Industry," in Cornfield, Daniel B., Workers, Managers and Technological Change: Emerging Patterns of Labor Relations (New York: Plenum Press, 1987), p. 64. 20.

They not only cause less trouble than humans doing comparable work, but they can be built to ring an alarm bell in the central control room whenever they are not working properly."26 The article, and others that followed, offered a grand new visionthe prospect of a Third Industrial Revolution. The theme of the automatic factory fell on receptive ears. The end of World War II brought a wave of labor unrest. Angry over wage freezes imposed during the war and anxious to make up for ground lost in collective bargaining because of the no-strike pledge during the conflict, organized labor began to challenge management on a wide front. Between 1945 and 1955, the United States experienced over 43,000 strikes in the most concentrated wave of labor/management confrontations in industrial history.27 Crossing into the High-Tech Frontier 67 Management were growing concerned over what they perceived as organized labors invasion of their traditional terrain.


pages: 236 words: 67,953

Brave New World of Work by Ulrich Beck

affirmative action, anti-globalists, Asian financial crisis, basic income, Berlin Wall, collective bargaining, conceptual framework, Fall of the Berlin Wall, feminist movement, full employment, future of work, Gunnar Myrdal, hiring and firing, illegal immigration, income inequality, informal economy, job automation, knowledge worker, labour market flexibility, labour mobility, low skilled workers, McJob, means of production, mini-job, post-Fordism, post-work, postnationalism / post nation state, profit maximization, purchasing power parity, rising living standards, scientific management, Silicon Valley, technological determinism, working poor, working-age population, zero-sum game

Basically, this raises the question of how a postnational yet political civil society is possible in Europe. My answer is as follows. Only if the insecure new forms of paid employment are converted into a right to multiple work, a right to discontinuity, a right to choose working hours, a right to sovereignty over working time enshrined in collective-bargaining agreements – only then can new free spaces be secured in the coordination of work, life and political activity. Every person would thus be enabled to plan his or her own life over a period of one or more years, in its transitions between family, paid employment, leisure and political involvement, and to harmonize this with the claims and demands of others.

Their success rested in turn upon a unique set of historical, cultural and political conditions: the proprietary ‘skilled worker’ and a corresponding culture of training and lifestyle; mass demand in the home market for mass-produced goods; a matching local supply economy; strong trade unions and free collective bargaining that was also highly valued by politicians; a corporate culture geared to partnership between both sides of industry; a guiding political image of ‘working citizens’, which replaced talk of class struggle with moderate negotiating practices and a commitment to democratic institutions. While Germany's postwar economic miracle led to collective advancement that favoured acceptance of the democratic system, both the question of unemployment and the question of democracy are posed differently in the ‘post-national constellation’ in which the German model has been losing the ground beneath its feet.

Such a history would then, in the nature of things, be full of breaks and contradictions; education would be interrupted and resumed, McJobs would often rank equally with starting up in a business of one's own, and everything would be woven together into a quite individual web of activities and employ-ment situations. One thing, however, is common to all these life-constructions: they lie outside the classical employee's biography, outside union agreements and statutory salary scales, outside collective bargaining and home mortgage contracts.32 And they are the basis for a precarious new culture of independence: ‘business men and women in their own affairs’. Scenario 8: individualization of work – disintegration of society Linda's new working life is not without its drawbacks. Chief among them is a constant cloud of anxiety about finding the next job.


Work in the Future The Automation Revolution-Palgrave MacMillan (2019) by Robert Skidelsky Nan Craig

3D printing, Airbnb, algorithmic trading, AlphaGo, Alvin Toffler, Amazon Web Services, anti-work, antiwork, artificial general intelligence, asset light, autonomous vehicles, basic income, behavioural economics, business cycle, cloud computing, collective bargaining, Computing Machinery and Intelligence, correlation does not imply causation, creative destruction, data is the new oil, data science, David Graeber, David Ricardo: comparative advantage, deep learning, DeepMind, deindustrialization, Demis Hassabis, deskilling, disintermediation, do what you love, Donald Trump, driverless car, Erik Brynjolfsson, fake news, feminist movement, Ford Model T, Frederick Winslow Taylor, future of work, Future Shock, general purpose technology, gig economy, global supply chain, income inequality, independent contractor, informal economy, Internet of things, Jarndyce and Jarndyce, Jarndyce and Jarndyce, job automation, job polarisation, John Maynard Keynes: Economic Possibilities for our Grandchildren, John Maynard Keynes: technological unemployment, John von Neumann, Joseph Schumpeter, knowledge economy, Loebner Prize, low skilled workers, Lyft, Mark Zuckerberg, means of production, moral panic, Network effects, new economy, Nick Bostrom, off grid, pattern recognition, post-work, Ronald Coase, scientific management, Second Machine Age, self-driving car, sharing economy, SoftBank, Steve Jobs, strong AI, tacit knowledge, technological determinism, technoutopianism, TED Talk, The Chicago School, The Future of Employment, the market place, The Nature of the Firm, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, Thorstein Veblen, Turing test, Uber for X, uber lyft, universal basic income, wealth creators, working poor

Case Studies There are several methods through which shorter working has been achieved in the past: legislation, collective bargaining, company-level initiatives, and individual and voluntary time reduction. I take the Netherlands, Germany and France as case studies, each of which uses different combinations of these approaches and with varying success. Full-time employees in the Netherlands work 39 hours on average, less than the average full-time British worker. This is mainly due to shortening working hours through collective bargaining. More notably, however, an unusually large number of employees work voluntarily part-time (as opposed to involuntarily working part-time when they would rather work more hours): throughout the 1980s and 1990s there was a huge rise in part-time work (De Spiegelaere and Piasna 2017).

As of 2004, sector-level collective bargaining had resulted in a 35-hour week for a fifth of German workers (Hayden 2013: 129). Recently, workers represented by the German railway and transport union Eisenbahn- und Verkehrsgewerkschaft (EVG) have gained the opportunity to choose between wage increases and more holidays. In 2017, 56 per cent of employees at the rail company voted in favour of boosting their holiday allowance by six days. This was, again, only possible because employees were already satisfied with their wages. Germany has much stronger collective bargaining institutions than the UK, where during the 1980s most employer federations were dismantled or ended their involvement in collective bargaining.

As a result, the category of unemployed workers that still work intermittently in order to accumulate unemployment insurance benefits and wages has considerably grown over the last decade. The way most unions operate in France perpetuates this labour market dualism. France has one of the lowest rates of union membership in the OECD, and yet one of the highest rates of wage and collective bargaining coverage, due to the legal and administrative extension procedure, which results in the application of collective agreements to firms that are not members of one of the signatory employer associations. This impacts the way in which 7 Attitudes to Work 69 unions behave, mainly in a confrontational style.


pages: 550 words: 124,073

Democracy and Prosperity: Reinventing Capitalism Through a Turbulent Century by Torben Iversen, David Soskice

Andrei Shleifer, assortative mating, augmented reality, barriers to entry, Big Tech, Bretton Woods, business cycle, capital controls, Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty, central bank independence, centre right, clean tech, cloud computing, collateralized debt obligation, collective bargaining, colonial rule, confounding variable, corporate governance, Credit Default Swap, credit default swaps / collateralized debt obligations, deindustrialization, deskilling, Donald Trump, first-past-the-post, full employment, general purpose technology, gentrification, Gini coefficient, hiring and firing, implied volatility, income inequality, industrial cluster, inflation targeting, invisible hand, knowledge economy, labor-force participation, liberal capitalism, low skilled workers, low-wage service sector, means of production, middle-income trap, mirror neurons, mittelstand, Network effects, New Economic Geography, new economy, New Urbanism, non-tariff barriers, Occupy movement, offshore financial centre, open borders, open economy, passive investing, precariat, race to the bottom, radical decentralization, rent-seeking, RFID, road to serfdom, Robert Bork, Robert Gordon, Silicon Valley, smart cities, speech recognition, tacit knowledge, The Future of Employment, The Great Moderation, The Rise and Fall of American Growth, the strength of weak ties, too big to fail, trade liberalization, union organizing, urban decay, vertical integration, Washington Consensus, winner-take-all economy, working-age population, World Values Survey, young professional, zero-sum game

The Determinants of Populist Voting in Six Countries with Significant Populist Parties 256 Figures 1.1 Measures of Distribution of Income, 2010 vs. 1985 24 1.2 Number of Patents per One Million People in the Working Age Population 27 1.3 The Distribution of Income in Advanced Democracies Compared to Nonadvanced Countries 36 2.1 Protocorporatist States and Industrial Relations Structuring 70 3.1 Average Union Density Rates and Wage Coordination in 18 Advanced Democracies 106 3.2 Average Density and Collective Bargaining Coordination in Four Advanced Democracies 107 3.3 The Vote Shares of Social Democratic and Center Parties 116 3.4 Male Wage Inequality 118 3.5 Average Industrial Employment as a Share of Total Civilian Employment in 18 Advanced Democracies 119 3.6 Central Bank Independence in 18 OECD Countries 122 3.7 The Responsiveness of Governments to Adverse Shocks in Different Political Systems 126 3.8 Voter Support for Populist Parties 130 4.1 Percent with Tertiary Degrees, by Age Group 147 4.2 Capital Market Openness and the Stock of FDI in Advanced Democracies 148 4.3 Financialization of Advanced Economies 150 4.4 Inflation Rates before and after Adoption of Inflation Targeting 153 4.5 The Strengthening of Product Market Competition Policies in ACDs 154 4.6 Number and Depth of Trade Agreements 155 4.7 A Strategic Complementarities Game of Reforms 162 4.8 Support for Government Intervention in Economy, by Policy Area 166 4.9 Summary of Causal Linkages in Big-City Agglomerations 200 5.1 The Great Gatsby Curve 221 5.2 The Link between the Transition to the Knowledge Economy and Populism 227 5.3 The Difference in Populist Values between the Old and New Middle Class 240 5.4 Educational Opportunity and Populist Values 242 5.5 The Rise of Populist Voting 245 5.6 The Difference in Populist Vote between the Old and New Middle Class 247 6.1 The Symbiotic Relationship 259 PREFACE This book started from our discussions of a paradox.

The fact of relatively skill-intensive workforces then meant that workforce cooperation, moderation of real wages, and ultimately the training process itself became important issues for business, issues which were difficult to solve without union cooperation. Thus agreements with unions which traded cooperative workforces for collective bargaining rights were attractive to both sides. But, to be credible bargaining partners to business in the supply of cooperation, unions needed to have the power to control their local affiliates within factories: hence unions needed centralized power outside the company. This was not straightforward, however, because unions, even when understanding the need for centralization, were often prevented by their locals from imposing it.

Thus agreements with powerful central unions were necessary to secure the cooperation of skilled workers, and this was noticeable in the early years of the twentieth century. These agreements covered explicitly or implicitly the right of managers to organize production and the implied workforce cooperation, collective bargaining, and issues related to training and tenure; in essence, these agreements enabled industry to invest in cospecific assets with their workforces. So the period before the full incorporation of labor into the political system was advantageous to (especially big) industry: on the one hand, industry could structure agreements with unions which were underwritten implicitly by the political regime, at least for industry; on the other, the politically unified working class was kept out of effective political power and thus the possibility of advancing redistribution and social protection on its own terms.


pages: 205 words: 58,054

Private Government: How Employers Rule Our Lives (And Why We Don't Talk About It) by Elizabeth S. Anderson

Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, barriers to entry, call centre, collective bargaining, corporate governance, correlation does not imply causation, declining real wages, deskilling, feminist movement, Frederick Winslow Taylor, full employment, independent contractor, invisible hand, Jeremy Corbyn, manufacturing employment, means of production, Panopticon Jeremy Bentham, principal–agent problem, profit motive, Ronald Coase, scientific management, shareholder value, Socratic dialogue, spinning jenny, The Nature of the Firm, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, trickle-down economics, Tyler Cowen

But these theories do not explain the breadth of employers’ authority over workers’ lives. “Under the employment-at-will baseline, workers, in effect, cede all of their rights to their employers, except those specifically guaranteed to them by law, for the duration of the employment relationship.” The result is that “Employers’ authority over workers, outside of collective bargaining and a few other contexts … is sweeping, arbitrary, and unaccountable—not subject to notice, process, or appeal.” Workplace governance “is a form of private government,” underwritten by law. Of course, if workers object to the conditions of their employment, they can quit. But the costs of exit for many workers are extremely high.

Nevertheless, the fact remains that “the constitution of workplace government is both arbitrary and dictatorial,” and that it “is not dictated by efficiency or freedom of contract, but rather by the state.” Anderson closes by suggesting a variety of ways to increase worker protections against arbitrary treatment: these include enhanced exit rights, a workers’ bill of rights, and greater “voice,” including via improved legal support for unions and collective bargaining. Most importantly, our public discourse should recognize the reality of workers’ subjection to arbitrary private government in the workplace and explore ways of remedying it. The first of our four commentators, Ann Hughes, a leading historian of early modern England and the English Civil War, and Professor of Early Modern History at Keele University in the UK, applauds as “exemplary” Anderson’s “deployment of historical material as a storehouse of imagination, and a legacy to the present.”

But, he insists, “the essence of the contract is that it should only state the limits to the powers of the entrepreneur.”17 This suggests that the limits of the employer’s powers are an object of negotiation or at least communication between the parties. In the vast majority of cases, outside the contexts of collective bargaining or for higher-level employees, this is not true. Most workers are hired without any negotiation over the content of the employer’s authority, and without a written or oral contract specifying any limits to it. If they receive an employee handbook indicating such limits, the inclusion of a simple disclaimer (which is standard practice) is sufficient to nullify any implied contract exception to at-will employment in most states.18 No wonder they are shocked and outraged when their boss fires them for being too attractive,19 for failing to show up at a political rally in support of the boss’s favored political candidate,20 even because their daughter was raped by a friend of the boss.21 What, then, determines the scope and limits of the employer’s authority, if it is not a meeting of minds of the parties?


pages: 196 words: 55,862

Riding for Deliveroo: Resistance in the New Economy by Callum Cant

Airbnb, algorithmic management, call centre, capitalist realism, collective bargaining, deskilling, Elon Musk, fixed-gear, future of work, gamification, gig economy, housing crisis, illegal immigration, independent contractor, information asymmetry, invention of the steam engine, machine readable, Mark Zuckerberg, means of production, new economy, Pearl River Delta, race to the bottom, ride hailing / ride sharing, scientific management, sharing economy, Silicon Valley, strikebreaker, tech worker, union organizing, Winter of Discontent, women in the workforce

Often sites were run as a ‘closed shop’. This meant that the workers would only allow other unionized workers on the site. But workers on the lump didn’t take part in collective bargaining led by the trade unions, and instead made individual deals with the employer. The lump decisively broke the closed-shop model and introduced two parallel processes: the individual negotiations of ‘self-employed’ workers on the lump, and the collective bargaining of directly employed workers via the trade unions. On some sites, employers even began to refuse to hire any direct employees at all. The workforce in the industry was decisively split.

Those standing at the top of the steps loom over him. He gestures for the workers to be quiet. He starts to speak: ‘Can I have some silence, ladies and gents …’ The company, he says, is willing to listen to every worker’s concerns, individually. The response is not positive. The workers want collective bargaining, and they tell him as much, at full volume. One worker steps forward: ‘Everyone wants the same thing: £8 per hour, plus £1 per drop. That’s it.’ Dan responds, ‘Listen guys, there needs to be an explanation around what the changes are, it’s a change in payment method, not lower wages …’ The workers cut him off.

They settled for a compromise position of the status quo, with the existing workers keeping a £7 per hour plus £1 per drop payment structure. It was only a partial victory. All new workers would be put on the new per-drop-only payment structure. Despite a large proportion of the strikers joining the IWGB and demanding it lead negotiations, Deliveroo continued to refuse to participate in formal collective bargaining or to allow trade union representation. Deliveroo continued to maintain the legal fiction that its couriers were ‘independent contractors’. But that strike was the beginning of something. Deliveroo workers had shown they could take on their bosses – and, from London, the fight would spread, across the UK, Europe, and, finally, the world. 1 Introduction Deliveroo is a food-delivery platform.


pages: 424 words: 115,035

How Will Capitalism End? by Wolfgang Streeck

"there is no alternative" (TINA), accounting loophole / creative accounting, air traffic controllers' union, Airbnb, Alan Greenspan, basic income, behavioural economics, Ben Bernanke: helicopter money, billion-dollar mistake, Bretton Woods, business cycle, capital controls, Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty, Carmen Reinhart, central bank independence, centre right, Clayton Christensen, collective bargaining, conceptual framework, corporate governance, creative destruction, credit crunch, David Brooks, David Graeber, debt deflation, deglobalization, deindustrialization, disruptive innovation, en.wikipedia.org, eurozone crisis, failed state, financial deregulation, financial innovation, first-past-the-post, fixed income, full employment, Gini coefficient, global reserve currency, Google Glasses, haute cuisine, income inequality, information asymmetry, invisible hand, John Maynard Keynes: Economic Possibilities for our Grandchildren, junk bonds, Kenneth Rogoff, labour market flexibility, labour mobility, late capitalism, liberal capitalism, low interest rates, market bubble, means of production, military-industrial complex, moral hazard, North Sea oil, offshore financial centre, open borders, pension reform, plutocrats, Plutonomy: Buying Luxury, Explaining Global Imbalances, post-industrial society, private sector deleveraging, profit maximization, profit motive, quantitative easing, reserve currency, rising living standards, Robert Gordon, savings glut, secular stagnation, shareholder value, sharing economy, sovereign wealth fund, tacit knowledge, technological determinism, The Future of Employment, The Theory of the Leisure Class by Thorstein Veblen, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, Thorstein Veblen, too big to fail, transaction costs, Uber for X, upwardly mobile, Vilfredo Pareto, winner-take-all economy, Wolfgang Streeck

The structure of the post-war settlement between labour and capital was fundamentally the same across the otherwise widely different countries where democratic capitalism had come to be instituted. It included an expanding welfare state, the right of workers to free collective bargaining and a political guarantee of full employment, underwritten by governments making extensive use of the Keynesian economic toolkit. When growth began to falter in the late 1960s, however, this combination became difficult to maintain. While free collective bargaining enabled workers through their unions to act on what had become firmly ingrained expectations of regular yearly wage increases, governments’ commitment to full employment, together with a growing welfare state, protected unions from potential employment losses caused by wage settlements in excess of productivity growth.

In subsequent years governments all over the Western world faced the question of how to make trade unions moderate their members’ wage demands without having to rescind the Keynesian promise of full employment. In countries where the institutional structure of the collective-bargaining system was not conducive to the negotiation of tripartite ‘social pacts’, most governments remained convinced throughout the 1970s that allowing unemployment to rise in order to contain real wage increases was too risky for their own survival, if not for the stability of capitalist democracy as such. Their only way out was an accommodating monetary policy which, while allowing free collective bargaining and full employment to continue to coexist, did so at the expense of raising the rate of inflation to levels that accelerated over time.

By the standard model of democracy, I mean the peculiar combination, as had come to be considered normal in OECD capitalism after 1945, of reasonably free elections, government by established mass parties, ideally one of the Right and one of the Left, and strong trade unions and employer associations under a firmly institutionalized collective bargaining regime, with legal rights to strike and, sometimes, lock-out. This model reached its peak in the 1970s, after which it began to disintegrate28. The advance of neoliberalism coincided with steadily declining electoral turnout in all countries, rare and short-lived exceptions notwithstanding.


Crisis and Leviathan: Critical Episodes in the Growth of American Government by Robert Higgs, Arthur A. Ekirch, Jr.

Alistair Cooke, American ideology, business cycle, clean water, collective bargaining, creative destruction, credit crunch, declining real wages, endowment effect, fiat currency, fixed income, foreign exchange controls, full employment, Glass-Steagall Act, guns versus butter model, hiring and firing, Ida Tarbell, income per capita, Jones Act, Joseph Schumpeter, laissez-faire capitalism, land bank, manufacturing employment, means of production, military-industrial complex, minimum wage unemployment, plutocrats, post-industrial society, power law, price discrimination, profit motive, rent control, rent-seeking, Richard Thaler, road to serfdom, Ronald Reagan, Sam Peltzman, Savings and loan crisis, Simon Kuznets, strikebreaker, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, total factor productivity, transaction costs, transcontinental railway, union organizing, Upton Sinclair, War on Poverty, Works Progress Administration

As the old, informally paternalistic relationships declined and a more dynamic, impersonal labor market lurched unpredictably from year to year, misunderstandings and mutual hostility became progressively more common. 41 Labor unions, with their organizational tactics, attempts at collective bargaining, and episodic strikes, galled employers mightily. Many bossesand others, including many workers-questioned the legitimacy of unions as representatives of individual workers. Employers resented the challenge to their prerogatives to manage their own private property and contractual affairs. By the second half of the nineteenth century the courts were generally holding that the mere existence and collective-bargaining activities of unions did not violate the law, but important legal questions remained unsettled, especially those pertaining to the permissible bounds of strikes, picketing, and boycotts.

Unionists, who ranted about "slave labor" and "involuntary servitude," did not oppose military conscription-surely a more reprehensible form of involuntary servitude than assignment to a safe, well-paid civilian job. Union leaders knew that national service would put an end to genuine collective bargaining and render them personally superfluous. Philip Murray warned the CIO executive board: destroy collective bargaining "and see how effective you will be with your people back home. You will find out how quick they will tell you to go to hell." Businessmen, of course, wanted to retain control over hiring and firing. They also perceived that drafting civilian labor would lead directly to demands for "conscription of profits"-that is, confiscatory taxation-and governmental takeovers of their production facilities. 57 Stimson and those in his camp had little regard for individual liberty in wartime, but they had at least the virtue of moral (immoral?)

Sometimes workers could be intimidated into staying on the job-once the President threatened to blacklist striking machinists to deny them war-related work and promised that "the draft boards will be instructed to reject any claim of exemption based on your alleged usefulness on war production"-but usually the government correctly perceived that such heavy-handedness would only prove counterproductive. 61 The prevailing policy was the more conciliatory one of supporting union organization and compulsory collective bargaining, the eight-hour day, and union work rules. Employers could be indemnified by cost-plus contracts with governmental procurement agencies. To help resolve some of the larger and more threatening labor-management disputes, Wilson in September 191 7 created the President's Mediation Commission, whose secretary and legal counsel was Felix Frankfurter, a Harvard law professor destined to exert a great influence on public affairs for a long time to come. 62 As the government's involvement in labor relations expanded, it grew more and more confused, finally prompting a reorganization in January 1918 that featured the creation by executive order of a War Labor Administration to be headed by the Secretary of Labor, William B.


pages: 460 words: 107,454

Stakeholder Capitalism: A Global Economy That Works for Progress, People and Planet by Klaus Schwab, Peter Vanham

"Friedman doctrine" OR "shareholder theory", "World Economic Forum" Davos, 3D printing, additive manufacturing, agricultural Revolution, air traffic controllers' union, Anthropocene, Apple II, Asian financial crisis, Asperger Syndrome, basic income, Berlin Wall, Big Tech, biodiversity loss, bitcoin, Black Lives Matter, blockchain, blue-collar work, Branko Milanovic, Bretton Woods, British Empire, business process, capital controls, Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty, car-free, carbon footprint, carbon tax, centre right, clean tech, clean water, cloud computing, collateralized debt obligation, collective bargaining, colonial rule, company town, contact tracing, contact tracing app, Cornelius Vanderbilt, coronavirus, corporate governance, corporate social responsibility, COVID-19, creative destruction, Credit Default Swap, credit default swaps / collateralized debt obligations, cryptocurrency, cuban missile crisis, currency peg, cyber-physical system, decarbonisation, demographic dividend, Deng Xiaoping, Diane Coyle, digital divide, don't be evil, European colonialism, Fall of the Berlin Wall, family office, financial innovation, Francis Fukuyama: the end of history, future of work, gender pay gap, general purpose technology, George Floyd, gig economy, Gini coefficient, global supply chain, global value chain, global village, Google bus, green new deal, Greta Thunberg, high net worth, hiring and firing, housing crisis, income inequality, income per capita, independent contractor, industrial robot, intangible asset, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Internet of things, invisible hand, James Watt: steam engine, Jeff Bezos, job automation, joint-stock company, Joseph Schumpeter, Kenneth Rogoff, Khan Academy, Kickstarter, labor-force participation, lockdown, low interest rates, low skilled workers, Lyft, manufacturing employment, Marc Benioff, Mark Zuckerberg, market fundamentalism, Marshall McLuhan, Martin Wolf, means of production, megacity, microplastics / micro fibres, Mikhail Gorbachev, mini-job, mittelstand, move fast and break things, neoliberal agenda, Network effects, new economy, open economy, Peace of Westphalia, Peter Thiel, precariat, Productivity paradox, profit maximization, purchasing power parity, race to the bottom, reserve currency, reshoring, ride hailing / ride sharing, Ronald Reagan, Salesforce, San Francisco homelessness, School Strike for Climate, self-driving car, seminal paper, shareholder value, Shenzhen special economic zone , Shenzhen was a fishing village, Silicon Valley, Simon Kuznets, social distancing, Social Responsibility of Business Is to Increase Its Profits, special economic zone, Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, synthetic biology, TaskRabbit, The Chicago School, The Future of Employment, The inhabitant of London could order by telephone, sipping his morning tea in bed, the various products of the whole earth, the scientific method, TikTok, Tim Cook: Apple, trade route, transfer pricing, Uber and Lyft, uber lyft, union organizing, universal basic income, War on Poverty, We are the 99%, women in the workforce, working poor, working-age population, Yom Kippur War, young professional, zero-sum game

In the United States, pro-social policies were less en vogue than in Europe, but thanks to the rapid economic growth, more people than ever did ascend to the middle class, and social security programs did grow both in the number of beneficiaries and the overall funds allocated to them, especially in the two decades between 1950 and 1970.15 Median wages rose sharply, and poverty fell. France, Germany, the Benelux countries, and the Scandinavian countries also promoted collective bargaining. In most German companies, for example, the Works Council Act of 1952 determined that one-third of the members of the supervisory board had to be selected by workers. An exception was made for family-owned companies, as ties between the community and management there were typically strong, and social conflict was rarer.

He held that the “only social responsibility of business is to increase its profits”20 and that free markets are what matters above all else. (This is discussed further in Chapter 8.) The result was unbalanced growth. Economic growth returned in the 1980s, but an ever smaller part of the population benefited from it, and even more harm was done to the planet to achieve it. Union membership started to decline, and collective bargaining became less common (though much of continental Europe, including Germany, France, and Italy clung to it until the 2000s, and some, like Belgium, still do today). Economic policies in two of the West's leading economies—the United Kingdom and the United States—were largely geared toward deregulation, liberalization, and privatization, and a belief that an invisible hand would lead markets to their optimal state.

In 1997, the company management announced that it wished to “introduce a ‘pact for the safeguarding of production sites,’ as a ‘preventive initiative for the maintenance of national and international competitiveness,’” the European Observatory of Working Life wrote in a later case study on the mater.23 The result was the so-called Ravensburger Pact, in which the company offered its employees job security in exchange for concessions. Although the pact was accepted by most workers, it also led to a deterioration in employee-employer relations. The industry union argued it went against collective bargaining agreements for the sector and that it was unnecessary, as the company had good economic performance. In the end, the hotly contested pact made all parties reconsider their relationship to each other. The union, which had typically been weak in the family-owned enterprise, grew stronger, and management took on a more constructive approach to its Works Council going forward.


pages: 460 words: 107,454

Stakeholder Capitalism: A Global Economy That Works for Progress, People and Planet by Klaus Schwab

"Friedman doctrine" OR "shareholder theory", "World Economic Forum" Davos, 3D printing, additive manufacturing, agricultural Revolution, air traffic controllers' union, Anthropocene, Apple II, Asian financial crisis, Asperger Syndrome, basic income, Berlin Wall, Big Tech, biodiversity loss, bitcoin, Black Lives Matter, blockchain, blue-collar work, Branko Milanovic, Bretton Woods, British Empire, business process, capital controls, Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty, car-free, carbon footprint, carbon tax, centre right, clean tech, clean water, cloud computing, collateralized debt obligation, collective bargaining, colonial rule, company town, contact tracing, contact tracing app, Cornelius Vanderbilt, coronavirus, corporate governance, corporate social responsibility, COVID-19, creative destruction, Credit Default Swap, credit default swaps / collateralized debt obligations, cryptocurrency, cuban missile crisis, currency peg, cyber-physical system, decarbonisation, demographic dividend, Deng Xiaoping, Diane Coyle, digital divide, don't be evil, European colonialism, Fall of the Berlin Wall, family office, financial innovation, Francis Fukuyama: the end of history, future of work, gender pay gap, general purpose technology, George Floyd, gig economy, Gini coefficient, global supply chain, global value chain, global village, Google bus, green new deal, Greta Thunberg, high net worth, hiring and firing, housing crisis, income inequality, income per capita, independent contractor, industrial robot, intangible asset, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Internet of things, invisible hand, James Watt: steam engine, Jeff Bezos, job automation, joint-stock company, Joseph Schumpeter, Kenneth Rogoff, Khan Academy, Kickstarter, labor-force participation, lockdown, low interest rates, low skilled workers, Lyft, manufacturing employment, Marc Benioff, Mark Zuckerberg, market fundamentalism, Marshall McLuhan, Martin Wolf, means of production, megacity, microplastics / micro fibres, Mikhail Gorbachev, mini-job, mittelstand, move fast and break things, neoliberal agenda, Network effects, new economy, open economy, Peace of Westphalia, Peter Thiel, precariat, Productivity paradox, profit maximization, purchasing power parity, race to the bottom, reserve currency, reshoring, ride hailing / ride sharing, Ronald Reagan, Salesforce, San Francisco homelessness, School Strike for Climate, self-driving car, seminal paper, shareholder value, Shenzhen special economic zone , Shenzhen was a fishing village, Silicon Valley, Simon Kuznets, social distancing, Social Responsibility of Business Is to Increase Its Profits, special economic zone, Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, synthetic biology, TaskRabbit, The Chicago School, The Future of Employment, The inhabitant of London could order by telephone, sipping his morning tea in bed, the various products of the whole earth, the scientific method, TikTok, Tim Cook: Apple, trade route, transfer pricing, Uber and Lyft, uber lyft, union organizing, universal basic income, War on Poverty, We are the 99%, women in the workforce, working poor, working-age population, Yom Kippur War, young professional, zero-sum game

In the United States, pro-social policies were less en vogue than in Europe, but thanks to the rapid economic growth, more people than ever did ascend to the middle class, and social security programs did grow both in the number of beneficiaries and the overall funds allocated to them, especially in the two decades between 1950 and 1970.15 Median wages rose sharply, and poverty fell. France, Germany, the Benelux countries, and the Scandinavian countries also promoted collective bargaining. In most German companies, for example, the Works Council Act of 1952 determined that one-third of the members of the supervisory board had to be selected by workers. An exception was made for family-owned companies, as ties between the community and management there were typically strong, and social conflict was rarer.

He held that the “only social responsibility of business is to increase its profits”20 and that free markets are what matters above all else. (This is discussed further in Chapter 8.) The result was unbalanced growth. Economic growth returned in the 1980s, but an ever smaller part of the population benefited from it, and even more harm was done to the planet to achieve it. Union membership started to decline, and collective bargaining became less common (though much of continental Europe, including Germany, France, and Italy clung to it until the 2000s, and some, like Belgium, still do today). Economic policies in two of the West's leading economies—the United Kingdom and the United States—were largely geared toward deregulation, liberalization, and privatization, and a belief that an invisible hand would lead markets to their optimal state.

In 1997, the company management announced that it wished to “introduce a ‘pact for the safeguarding of production sites,’ as a ‘preventive initiative for the maintenance of national and international competitiveness,’” the European Observatory of Working Life wrote in a later case study on the mater.23 The result was the so-called Ravensburger Pact, in which the company offered its employees job security in exchange for concessions. Although the pact was accepted by most workers, it also led to a deterioration in employee-employer relations. The industry union argued it went against collective bargaining agreements for the sector and that it was unnecessary, as the company had good economic performance. In the end, the hotly contested pact made all parties reconsider their relationship to each other. The union, which had typically been weak in the family-owned enterprise, grew stronger, and management took on a more constructive approach to its Works Council going forward.


pages: 324 words: 86,056

The Socialist Manifesto: The Case for Radical Politics in an Era of Extreme Inequality by Bhaskar Sunkara

Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, agricultural Revolution, Bernie Sanders, British Empire, business climate, business cycle, capital controls, centre right, Charles Lindbergh, collective bargaining, Deng Xiaoping, deskilling, Donald Trump, equal pay for equal work, fake news, false flag, feminist movement, Ferguson, Missouri, Francis Fukuyama: the end of history, full employment, gig economy, Great Leap Forward, Gunnar Myrdal, happiness index / gross national happiness, high-speed rail, Honoré de Balzac, income inequality, inventory management, Jeremy Corbyn, labor-force participation, land reform, land value tax, Mark Zuckerberg, means of production, Meghnad Desai, Mikhail Gorbachev, Neil Kinnock, new economy, Occupy movement, postindustrial economy, precariat, race to the bottom, Ralph Waldo Emerson, self-driving car, Silicon Valley, SimCity, single-payer health, Steve Bannon, telemarketer, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, too big to fail, union organizing, Upton Sinclair, urban renewal, We are all Keynesians now, We are the 99%

But though capitalists could accept active industrial policy, the push to expand workplace democracy was bitterly resisted.19 LO leaders had to contend with a wave of wildcat strikes and were pushed to the left as a result in the early 1970s. The federation began advocating the extension of collective bargaining to noneconomic concerns. The employers organized in the SAF refused any such reform, so labor (both the LO and the white-collar federations) resorted to pushing its demands through social-democratic legislation. With the backing of Palme’s Social Democratic Party, employers were forced to negotiate with unions on just about every workplace issue.

Cuban doctors have served millions abroad, and the country played a pivotal role defeating South African apartheid (though its record intervening in the Horn of Africa is less laudable). At the same time, Cuba falls short of any standard of “socialist democracy.” Cuba’s workers don’t have even basic rights to collectively bargain or protest government policies. The 1959 Revolution served to create a new elite, though unlike the country’s old elite, its legitimacy is grounded not in wealth and its relations with Washington but in its offering of free education and quality medical care and other necessities to the people.

Democrats also saw their control over state legislatures slip dramatically, from 59 percent at the beginning of Obama’s presidency to 31 percent at its end.8 Rollbacks began in earnest in many Republican-dominated states. The most significant flashpoint was Governor Scott Walker’s attempt to annihilate a century of labor victories in Wisconsin, all in one fell swoop. In 2011, Walker introduced the Budget Repair Bill, which would have hobbled unions by outlawing collective bargaining for public sector workers. It proposed cutting into vital social programs, including Medicare, environmental protections, even public education. The measures provoked resistance—more than a hundred thousand people marched on the state capital, teachers across the state organized “sick outs” to get around rules banning strikes, and protesters occupied the Wisconsin capitol building for two and a half weeks, demanding that Walker step down.


pages: 255 words: 75,172

Sleeping Giant: How the New Working Class Will Transform America by Tamara Draut

affirmative action, Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, always be closing, American ideology, antiwork, battle of ideas, big-box store, Black Lives Matter, blue-collar work, collective bargaining, creative destruction, David Brooks, declining real wages, deindustrialization, desegregation, Detroit bankruptcy, Donald Trump, Edward Glaeser, ending welfare as we know it, Ferguson, Missouri, financial deregulation, full employment, gentrification, immigration reform, income inequality, independent contractor, invisible hand, job satisfaction, knowledge economy, knowledge worker, low skilled workers, machine readable, mass incarceration, minimum wage unemployment, mortgage tax deduction, new economy, obamacare, occupational segregation, payday loans, pink-collar, plutocrats, Powell Memorandum, profit motive, public intellectual, race to the bottom, Ralph Nader, rent-seeking, rising living standards, Ronald Reagan, shared worldview, stock buybacks, TED Talk, The Bell Curve by Richard Herrnstein and Charles Murray, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, trickle-down economics, union organizing, upwardly mobile, War on Poverty, white flight, women in the workforce, young professional

Back when President Franklin Roosevelt signed into law some of the nation’s first labor protections regarding wages and hours, the laws were written to ensure that the majority of jobs worked by African Americans would be exempt—indeed, it was the only way to get the bill passed by a Congress controlled by segregationist southern Democrats.24 While not explicitly carving out an exception for African American workers, the National Labor Relations Act of 1935, which established the right of workers to collective bargaining, and the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, which established the right to a minimum wage and overtime pay, both specifically exempted agricultural and domestic workers from these rights. Even though caregiving work in the home has become an official part of our economy—and a pretty big one at that, with 2.5 million jobs and fast growth—services provided in the home for pay were essentially not considered “real work” under existing labor law or standards until very recently.

In fact, you, reader, may even be thinking to yourself that unions are some kind of industrial-age relic with no relevance in today’s economy—that they’re dying because they make no sense in today’s tech-rich, global-scale economy. So let’s take a quick look back and remind ourselves of what unions have done for American society. The power of unions transcends the collective bargaining done on behalf of their workers. The real power is that through union dues, the labor movement can amass significant resources to engage in voter turnout, agenda setting, and issue advocacy, all on behalf of ordinary Americans. It’s that amassing of political power that is so threatening to conservatives and corporate America.

According to Joe, McKesson used to tout that the company had never had one of its facilities vote in a union that started out as McKesson, but that changed in October 2011, when local Teamsters 78 unionized the distribution center in Tampa, Florida. But McKesson isn’t rolling over easily on this one. A tape-recorded session of one of the captive-audience meetings is available online.45 In one of the forty-five-minute sessions, the director of labor relations for McKesson gives a presentation on “how collective bargaining works.” He tells the employees that “if the union gets voted in, everything that you have goes on the table and we negotiate it. So the current wages you have goes on the table, your benefits, your UPTOs [universal paid time off], and all your working conditions go on the table. And through the process of give-and-take, we bargain a contract.


pages: 490 words: 153,455

Work Won't Love You Back: How Devotion to Our Jobs Keeps Us Exploited, Exhausted, and Alone by Sarah Jaffe

Ada Lovelace, air traffic controllers' union, Amazon Mechanical Turk, antiwork, barriers to entry, basic income, Bernie Sanders, Big Tech, big-box store, Black Lives Matter, blue-collar work, Boris Johnson, call centre, capitalist realism, Charles Babbage, collective bargaining, coronavirus, COVID-19, deindustrialization, delayed gratification, dematerialisation, desegregation, deskilling, do what you love, Donald Trump, Elon Musk, emotional labour, feminist movement, Ferguson, Missouri, financial independence, Frederick Winslow Taylor, fulfillment center, future of work, gamification, gender pay gap, gentrification, George Floyd, gig economy, global pandemic, Grace Hopper, green new deal, hiring and firing, illegal immigration, immigration reform, informal economy, job automation, job satisfaction, job-hopping, knowledge economy, knowledge worker, late capitalism, lockdown, lone genius, Lyft, Mark Zuckerberg, market fundamentalism, mass incarceration, means of production, mini-job, minimum wage unemployment, move fast and break things, Naomi Klein, new economy, oil shock, Peter Thiel, post-Fordism, post-work, precariat, profit motive, Rana Plaza, Richard Florida, Ronald Reagan, Rosa Parks, school choice, Silicon Valley, social distancing, Steve Jobs, TaskRabbit, tech billionaire, tech worker, traumatic brain injury, uber lyft, union organizing, universal basic income, unpaid internship, W. E. B. Du Bois, wages for housework, War on Poverty, WeWork, women in the workforce, work culture , workplace surveillance , Works Progress Administration

It is less that these apps create a new form of unreliable, low-wage work, and more that new technology is facilitating a very old type of work arrangement. Yet domestic workers have also been some of the first to figure out how to collectively organize app-based work. In Denmark, the 3F union managed to win a collective bargaining agreement with a platform that provides cleaning workers to private homes. Workers will be considered employees of the platform—something that most of the bigger app-based services have fought strenuously against—and gain minimum-wage protections, job security, and unemployment benefits in case of illness, as well as something crucial for app-based workers, often called out at the touch of a button: 50 percent pay if the job is canceled less than thirty-six hours before it begins. 47 Organizing has been difficult for domestic workers precisely because they have individual, one-on-one relationships with employers; the standardization of services like Merry Maids or the apps at least offers some hint of a way that the workers can come together to pressure the boss, something like the way home care workers have been able to bargain with governments at the state level.

Still, male administrators retained control, and male-dominated legislatures—elected by male voters (women did not yet have that right)—decided where schools would be and how much would be spent on them. These men had no intention of letting women teachers have a say. 7 Without the right to vote, and without the legal, formalized collective bargaining that would come much later, teachers needed the support of the broader community behind their demands. They were able to use the close relationships they built with students, as well as their reputation for selflessness, to build bonds inside and outside of the classroom that enabled them to win improvements in the schools.

At the same time, the Lyndon Johnson administration moved to recruit students from elite schools to do short-term teaching stints, a strategy that flipped the earlier image of teachers on its head: rather than committed, caring educators, all this strategy offered students was a brief encounter with the highly educated, who would then presumably move on. 28 The tensions within the teaching profession came to a head in Ocean Hill–Brownsville in Brooklyn in 1968, where the old Teachers Union style of community organizing came up against a new style of unionism. Militant and surging unions were winning collective bargaining rights, and the hard-charging United Federation of Teachers (UFT), having won the right to represent all of New York City’s teaching force through a strike, wound up clashing with Black community activists. The UFT was focused on the “bread-and-butter” needs of teachers. Meanwhile, frustrated with desegregation efforts implying that Black children were deficient and Black teachers incompetent, Black community organizers were agitating for community control of schools, arguing that it was racism, not Black deficiency, that left Black students underachieving.


pages: 349 words: 98,309

Hustle and Gig: Struggling and Surviving in the Sharing Economy by Alexandrea J. Ravenelle

active transport: walking or cycling, Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, air traffic controllers' union, Airbnb, Amazon Mechanical Turk, barriers to entry, basic income, Broken windows theory, call centre, Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty, cashless society, Clayton Christensen, clean water, collaborative consumption, collective bargaining, company town, creative destruction, crowdsourcing, digital divide, disruptive innovation, Downton Abbey, East Village, Erik Brynjolfsson, full employment, future of work, gentrification, gig economy, Howard Zinn, income inequality, independent contractor, informal economy, job automation, John Zimmer (Lyft cofounder), low skilled workers, Lyft, minimum wage unemployment, Mitch Kapor, Network effects, new economy, New Urbanism, obamacare, Panopticon Jeremy Bentham, passive income, peer-to-peer, peer-to-peer model, performance metric, precariat, rent control, rent stabilization, ride hailing / ride sharing, Ronald Reagan, scientific management, sharing economy, side hustle, Silicon Valley, strikebreaker, TaskRabbit, TED Talk, telemarketer, the payments system, The Theory of the Leisure Class by Thorstein Veblen, Tim Cook: Apple, transaction costs, Travis Kalanick, Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, Uber and Lyft, Uber for X, uber lyft, ubercab, universal basic income, Upton Sinclair, urban planning, vertical integration, very high income, white flight, working poor, Zipcar

Even before the American Revolution, there were small strikes among New York City cartmen, in 1677, and bakers, in 1741.4 Yet, while the United States was still in its infancy as a colony of Great Britain, labor unrest remained short-lived and isolated. Seeking the “pursuit of happiness” through higher pay and shorter hours, New York printers went on strike in 1794, cabinet makers in 1796, Philadelphia carpenters in 1797, and shoemakers in 1799.5 In the early 1800s, when workers tried to use collective bargaining power to obtain increased wages, decreased hours, or just generally improved conditions, they faced the threat of indictment and prosecution for criminal conspiracy. Although the United States did not have specific laws against worker organizing, early American courts followed British common law: when two or more workers plotted the harm of a third, or of the public, they could be indicted on a charge of criminal conspiracy.

In the first half of the nineteenth century, workers in at least twenty-three cases were indicted and generally convicted for criminal conspiracy in Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.7 Most were found guilty but were given relatively small fines as a “testimonial to the temper of the people,” even as the guilty findings demonstrated an intention to “drive unionism out of American life.”8 However, workers continued to organize, and by 1810—less than twenty years after the first trade union was established in America—some unions had already established collective bargaining; minimum wage demands; a “closed,” or union, shop; unity between skilled and unskilled workers; and solidarity between different unions.9 The economic depression of 1819–1822 destroyed those unions that had managed to survive strikes and conspiracy charges, but the mid- to late 1820s heralded a resurgence of worker organizing.

Nationwide, by the end of 1932, there were 330 self-help organizations in thirty-seven states, with more than three hundred thousand members, although as the economy deteriorated further those organizations, too, collapsed.22 In 1934, 1.5 million workers went on strike, including longshoremen on the West Coast, 325,000 southern textile workers, and 2,500 Lowell mill workers. In 1935, the Wagner Act was passed, which established a National Labor Relations Board and gave employees the right to form and join unions and engage in collective bargaining and strikes. Then, in 1938, President Roosevelt signed into law the Fair Labor Standards Act, which banned oppressive child labor, set the minimum hourly wage at twenty-five cents and the maximum workweek at forty-four hours (later shortened to forty hours under the Fair Labor Standards Amendments of 1966).23 The Wagner Act was challenged by steel corporations, but the Supreme Court found it to be constitutional on the basis of the federal government’s right to regulate interstate commerce, which was hurt by strikes.


pages: 350 words: 109,521

Our 50-State Border Crisis: How the Mexican Border Fuels the Drug Epidemic Across America by Howard G. Buffett

airport security, clean water, collective bargaining, defense in depth, Donald Trump, illegal immigration, immigration reform, linked data, low skilled workers, moral panic, opioid epidemic / opioid crisis, pill mill

However, the armed agents patrolling our borders should belong to a category of “excepted service” similar to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and the U.S. Secret Service. These and another three dozen or so agencies are excepted from the U.S. government’s “competitive service” process. They have their own hiring and evaluation systems and security clearance processes, and several are legally prohibited from collective bargaining agreements. Today, collective bargaining agreements limit our ability to respond to the shifting tactics and surges of drug smugglers and other criminals infiltrating our border. Technically, CBP is America’s largest law enforcement agency, but we have to embrace the fundamental basis of the mission: Patrolling our borders effectively today, when drug and human smugglers may be armed with automatic weapons and sophisticated communication networks, demands a combination of law enforcement, intelligence gathering, and foreign adversary engagement skills and tactics beyond basic law enforcement.

The Associated Press did an analysis that year showing that on one single day, June 14, 2,500 agents were on duty in the San Diego sector and that sector arrested ninety-seven immigrants illegally crossing the border. Meanwhile, 3,200 agents in the Rio Grande Valley made 1,422 arrests (and who knows how many people crossed our border undetected?).2 Border security goals are compromised when collective bargaining agreements dictate the conditions under which officers can be transferred, promoted, and, to a certain degree, deployed. Under collective bargaining agreements, agents can file appeals to transfer, and other rules can prevent a strategically important operating facility from being staffed—as has happened for more than six years near our Mission Oaks Ranch in Arizona.

And the job of responding to that criticism and representing agents charged with a difficult mission over vast amounts of territory has been taken up by a very aggressive union, the National Border Patrol Council (NBPC), which has represented Border Patrol agents since 1967. Because of what I see as a conflict between BP’s unusual dual law enforcement and national security mission, I think collective bargaining agreements are an obstacle to Border Patrol being more effective. “How do you deploy personnel in an emergency when the union rep is looking over your shoulder?” asks one law enforcement veteran in Arizona. The first issue involves flexibility. Former chiefs and supervisors have told me that union rules put strict requirements on the transferring and deployment of agents, such as how much notice they must be given before a transfer takes place, compensation for travel, specified rotation schedules off the actual border, and other tactical changes.


pages: 173 words: 54,729

Occupying Wall Street: The Inside Story of an Action That Changed America by Writers For The 99%

Bay Area Rapid Transit, citizen journalism, collective bargaining, Day of the Dead, desegregation, feminist movement, gentrification, Glass-Steagall Act, income inequality, independent contractor, intentional community, it's over 9,000, McMansion, microaggression, Mohammed Bouazizi, Occupy movement, Port of Oakland, We are the 99%, young professional

Indeed, OWS and the burgeoning student movement it fostered provided a lucrative opportunity for the labor movement to stage a broader-based counter-attack against owners’ increasingly hard-line tactics at the bargaining table, as well as the renewed threats against collective bargaining in statehouses nationwide. Maida Rosenstein, president of United Auto Workers Local 2110, said, “We in the UAW had been talking about how do we mobilize people and our members not just electronically? How do we mobilize people to get out and protest and rally and demonstrate?” The protests against Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker’s attacks on collective bargaining rights in February of 2011, in which students and union workers occupied the State Capitol in Madison before erecting a tent city, served as an important precedent.

Three days later, on February 14, the first wave of popular unrest in the U.S. shook the Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison and quickly reached nearby college campuses and the cities of Milwaukee, Green Bay, and Columbus, Ohio. The revolt had a specific target—the Wisconsin Budget Repair Bill, which also limited collective bargaining rights–but some protesters brandished Egyptian flags. On February 20, Egyptian union leader Kamal Abbas posted a YouTube video encouraging the “workers in Wisconsin.” “We stand with you as you stood with us,” he said. By summer, the uprisings had spread to Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, Asia, and Europe.

Many student activists in New York Students Rising were members of Communication Workers of America (CWA) graduate employee locals. They had been active in the March 4 Day of Action earlier that year against tuition hikes, departmental cuts and other attacks on Higher Education that a growing number of students understood to be connected to the nationwide attacks on collective bargaining and the U.S. working class. NYU students have also been involved in local union fights, lending support to adjunct faculty contract negotiations (the adjunct faculty at NYU and the New School are both represented by UAW Local 7902), the Teamsters art-handlers who are currently locked out of Sotheby’s and Stella D’Oro workers.


pages: 229 words: 61,482

The Gig Economy: The Complete Guide to Getting Better Work, Taking More Time Off, and Financing the Life You Want by Diane Mulcahy

Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, Airbnb, Amazon Mechanical Turk, basic income, Clayton Christensen, cognitive bias, collective bargaining, creative destruction, David Brooks, deliberate practice, digital nomad, diversification, diversified portfolio, fear of failure, financial independence, future of work, gig economy, helicopter parent, Home mortgage interest deduction, housing crisis, independent contractor, job satisfaction, Kickstarter, loss aversion, low interest rates, low skilled workers, Lyft, mass immigration, mental accounting, minimum wage unemployment, mortgage tax deduction, negative equity, passive income, Paul Graham, remote working, risk tolerance, Robert Shiller, seminal paper, Silicon Valley, Snapchat, social contagion, TaskRabbit, TED Talk, the strength of weak ties, Uber and Lyft, uber lyft, universal basic income, wage slave, WeWork, Y Combinator, Zipcar

He calls his proposal “libertarianism with a safety net.”15 Allow Contractors to Collectively Bargain The National Labor Relations Act applies only to employees, thus excluding independent contractors from the ability to bargain collectively. In the past, contractor attempts to unionize and bargain have been thwarted by invoking antitrust laws. The argument is that contractors who collectively bargain to set common rates are essentially colluding, which violates antitrust laws. However, in December 2015, the Seattle City Council voted to extend collective bargaining rights to Uber and Lyft drivers.16 In March, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce sued the city of Seattle, saying that the ordinance violates antitrust laws.17 California is expected to introduce a similar bill covering independent contractors who work on on-demand platforms.

Manager schedules car payments cash flow, negative categorizing workers, eliminating Center for a New American Dream survey certifications Certified Financial Planner (CFP) Board checkbook diagnostic exercise Christakis, Nicholas Christensen, Clayton Clark, Dorie Reinventing You Stand Out cognitive biases cognitive resources collective bargaining, by contractors college graduates, unemployment and underemployment comfort zone Comment step in speaking in writing commitment dropping or reducing exit strategy from connecting without networking inbound connecting offer and ask outbound connecting consulting pricing strategy Consumer Federation of America contractors autonomy of collective bargaining by eliminating category vs. employees pricing strategy savings plans contracts corporate ladder corporate time suck costs of full-time employees of home ownership Create step in speaking in writing credentials-based economy, vs. skill-based Curate step in speaking in writing curated groups daily work schedule Dash exercise debt from education perspectives on decisions, either/or vs. and deferred life plan delegating denial, job security and Department of Labor (DoL) dependent contractor Dickson, Peter digital nomads directors and officers (D&O) insurance disability insurance disability issues, leaving work involuntarily diversifying expertise and portfolio of gigs risk of excess Doodle “double opt-in,” for introductions downsizing dream job Eagleman, David earned income education accessing debt from elevator pitch Ellis, Linda, “The Dash” Employee Mindset employee-in-a-job model employees advantages of being vs. contractors corporate benefits impact of Gig Economy learned helplessness about time prorated and portable benefits tax rate employers contribution retirement plans student loan repayment benefits tax compliance rate end dates, negotiating Entrepreneur Magazine equity in home ownership Ernst & Young eulogy virtues Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation exercises calendar diagnostic checkbook diagnostic on priorities exit strategy creation facing fears and reducing risks finding gigs personal burn rate surrogation and success taking year off vision of success defined vision of success refined exit strategy creating for leaving job for reducing uncertainty for startup Expensify experimenting, gigs for expertise, diversification and failure, expecting and preparing for fear exercise for facing facing fee-only financial planner financial flexibility corporate perks in increasing with more income from low personal burn rate planning from savings and time off financial team, for independent workers finding gigs exercises Fitbit fixed costs income security from low flexibility debt and ownership impact see also financial flexibility Forbes 401(k) Fowler, James Fox, Jessica, Three Things You Need to Know About Rockets Framingham Heart Study, social connections Freelancer Freelancers Union FreshBooks full-time employees job disappearance as last resort fundraising Gabriel, Allison Gaignard, Jayson, Mastermind Dinners Gallup poll Generation X Gig Economy finding gigs of future good work vs. good job growth labor issues MBA course newness of pitch for outbound connect retirement to mix work and leisure rules for success size of Gilbert, Daniel giving time away Gladwell, Malcolm, Outliers Glassdoor, Employee Confidence Survey goal creep “good jobs,” future of The Good Jobs Strategy (Ton) government positions, layoffs Graham, Paul Granovetter, Mark Great Generation (65 and older) Groupon Gupta, Prerna Hanauer, Nick Handy, Charles happiness Harford, Tim Harvard Business Review Harvard Joint Center on Housing Studies Harvard Study of Adult Development health insurance health issues, leaving work involuntarily healthcare costs in retirement help from others Hill, Steven Raw Deal hindsight, power of home ownership vs. access to home impact on middle class myths of real costs Honest Dollar hosting, inbound connecting through Huffington, Arianna hyperbolic discounting “in-between space,” time off to create income security from low fixed costs from multiple income sources from opportunities pipeline from skills building supplemental income in retirement independent workers eligibility for retirement savings financial management savings plans self-insure for unemployment Individual 401(k) inflation information gathering interest, tax deduction for Internal Revenue Service on employee vs. contractor income tax forms, Schedule C interruptions, schedule free of introductions, asking for Intuit investment interval IRA job hunting job interview, time off explanation in job security jobbatical.com jobs, transition to work JP Morgan Chase Kasser, Tim, The High Price of Materialism Katz, Larry Kickstarter Kitces, Michael Kreider, Tim Krueger, Alan Krueger, Norris, Jr.


pages: 221 words: 55,901

The Globalization of Inequality by François Bourguignon

Berlin Wall, Branko Milanovic, Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty, collective bargaining, Credit Default Swap, deglobalization, deindustrialization, Doha Development Round, Edward Glaeser, European colonialism, Fall of the Berlin Wall, financial deregulation, financial intermediation, gender pay gap, Gini coefficient, Glass-Steagall Act, income inequality, income per capita, labor-force participation, liberal capitalism, low interest rates, minimum wage unemployment, offshore financial centre, open economy, Pareto efficiency, purchasing power parity, race to the bottom, Robert Gordon, Simon Kuznets, structural adjustment programs, The Spirit Level, too big to fail, very high income, Washington Consensus

It is not clear that the countries that went in the direction of the first option by deregulating their labor markets necessarily ended up with increased inequality as a result. Other labor market institutions have a more direct impact on inequality. The first of these I will examine will be collective bargaining for wages and the role of unions. Nearly all developed economies, with the exception of those in Belgium and some Scandinavian countries, have seen a conspicuous drop in the power of unions and a commensurate decrease in the role of collective bargaining. There are several explanations for this evolution. There was, of course, the fact that certain governments, like those of Reagan and Thatcher, were hostile to union activity— which, as we remember, was played out rather spectacularly with regard to air traffic controllers in one case and miners in the other.

France is one of the rare countries in which, according to the OECD, the employment 100 Chapter 3 protection laws have become stronger over this period, albeit only slightly. There are various other ways besides these employment protection laws that the labor market is regulated, including through the role of unions and collective bargaining, social contributions, or wage deductions, and payroll charges imposed on employees and employers, unemployment compensation and, of course, minimum wage laws. It turns out that in a large number of developed countries, one or more of these methods for regulating the labor market have been significantly reformed over the last twenty or thirty years.

Over time, competition eroded existing rents and therefore management’s room to maneuver and the negotiating power of unions. At the same time, deindustrialization was shrinking the most traditional sphere of labor union activity, pushing unions into making major structural changes. And, finally, disinflation radically reduced the utility of collective bargaining in determining salary levels. In a high-­inflation world, workers and employers find it dif­ficult to negotiate on an individual basis, without explicit reference to the way other workers’ salaries are adjusted for inflation, which creates a clear opportunity for the unions to coordinate wage negotiations.


pages: 263 words: 80,594

Stolen: How to Save the World From Financialisation by Grace Blakeley

"Friedman doctrine" OR "shareholder theory", activist fund / activist shareholder / activist investor, asset-backed security, balance sheet recession, bank run, banking crisis, banks create money, Basel III, basic income, battle of ideas, Berlin Wall, Big bang: deregulation of the City of London, Big Tech, bitcoin, bond market vigilante , Bretton Woods, business cycle, call centre, capital controls, Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty, capitalist realism, Carmen Reinhart, central bank independence, collapse of Lehman Brothers, collective bargaining, corporate governance, corporate raider, credit crunch, Credit Default Swap, cryptocurrency, currency peg, David Graeber, debt deflation, decarbonisation, democratizing finance, Donald Trump, emotional labour, eurozone crisis, Extinction Rebellion, extractivism, Fall of the Berlin Wall, falling living standards, financial deregulation, financial innovation, Financial Instability Hypothesis, financial intermediation, fixed income, full employment, G4S, gender pay gap, gig economy, Gini coefficient, global reserve currency, global supply chain, green new deal, Greenspan put, housing crisis, Hyman Minsky, impact investing, income inequality, inflation targeting, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Jeremy Corbyn, job polarisation, junk bonds, Kenneth Rogoff, Kickstarter, land value tax, light touch regulation, low interest rates, low skilled workers, market clearing, means of production, Modern Monetary Theory, money market fund, Mont Pelerin Society, moral hazard, mortgage debt, negative equity, neoliberal agenda, new economy, Nixon triggered the end of the Bretton Woods system, Northern Rock, offshore financial centre, paradox of thrift, payday loans, pensions crisis, Phillips curve, Ponzi scheme, Post-Keynesian economics, post-war consensus, price mechanism, principal–agent problem, profit motive, quantitative easing, race to the bottom, regulatory arbitrage, reserve currency, Right to Buy, rising living standards, risk-adjusted returns, road to serfdom, Robert Solow, savings glut, secular stagnation, shareholder value, Social Responsibility of Business Is to Increase Its Profits, sovereign wealth fund, the built environment, The Great Moderation, too big to fail, transfer pricing, universal basic income, Winter of Discontent, working-age population, yield curve, zero-sum game

The destruction of the war, the increasing size of the state, and the arrival of Bretton Woods led to something of a rebalancing in the power of labour relative to capital within the states of the global North.9 The rising political power of domestic labour movements led to the widespread take up of Keynes’ ideas, which were, after all, aimed at preventing recessions and unemployment. States and unions often developed close relationships with one another via emerging mass parties representing labour, and many had a centralised collective bargaining process. Taxes on the wealthy and on corporations were high — underpinned by low levels of capital mobility — and societies became much more equal. During this time, many Keynesians believed that they had finally succeeded in taming the excesses of a capitalist system that had caused so much destruction in the preceding decades, which is why this period was termed the golden age of capitalism, following the gilded age of the pre-war years.

Pursuing a more conciliatory approach, Harold Wilson raised the miners’ wages and attempted to implement a “social contract” between capital and labour, involving a voluntary incomes policy in which the government negotiated pay increases with the unions. But the second oil price spike — which came three years after the UK had sought an emergency loan from the International Monetary Fund — was the nail in the coffin of the social contract. In 1979, with inflation spiralling once again, the unions pushed for a return to free collective bargaining. 1979 was the coldest winter since 1962, and the combination of industrial action, economic stagnation, and energy shortages led to its being termed the “Winter of Discontent”. A sense of crisis hung in the air. In January 1979, Prime Minister James Callaghan was at a summit in Guadeloupe and was asked by a journalist about “the mounting chaos in the country”.

The war that had followed these events had empowered the state to levels never previously seen in history, and these states had used their power to constrain the activities of the international financiers who were sponsoring the event. The MPS objected to any state intervention that stood in the way of free markets. They were deeply offended by the creation of the National Health Service and the introduction of a social safety net. The rise of the unions and the role of the state in supporting collective bargaining were equally significant affronts to neoliberal ideology. But perhaps the most egregious aspect of the post-war consensus was the continued existence of capital controls. Allowing the state to determine where an individual could put their money was seen by some as a threat to human liberty, and to others simply as a barrier to profitability.


pages: 772 words: 203,182

What Went Wrong: How the 1% Hijacked the American Middle Class . . . And What Other Countries Got Right by George R. Tyler

"Friedman doctrine" OR "shareholder theory", "World Economic Forum" Davos, 8-hour work day, active measures, activist fund / activist shareholder / activist investor, affirmative action, Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, Alan Greenspan, bank run, banking crisis, Basel III, Bear Stearns, behavioural economics, benefit corporation, Black Swan, blood diamond, blue-collar work, Bolshevik threat, bonus culture, British Empire, business cycle, business process, buy and hold, capital controls, Carmen Reinhart, carried interest, cognitive dissonance, collateralized debt obligation, collective bargaining, commoditize, company town, compensation consultant, corporate governance, corporate personhood, corporate raider, corporate social responsibility, creative destruction, credit crunch, crony capitalism, crowdsourcing, currency manipulation / currency intervention, David Brooks, David Graeber, David Ricardo: comparative advantage, declining real wages, deindustrialization, Diane Coyle, disruptive innovation, Double Irish / Dutch Sandwich, eurozone crisis, financial deregulation, financial engineering, financial innovation, fixed income, Ford Model T, Francis Fukuyama: the end of history, full employment, George Akerlof, George Gilder, Gini coefficient, Glass-Steagall Act, Gordon Gekko, Greenspan put, hiring and firing, Ida Tarbell, income inequality, independent contractor, invisible hand, job satisfaction, John Markoff, joint-stock company, Joseph Schumpeter, junk bonds, Kenneth Rogoff, labor-force participation, laissez-faire capitalism, lake wobegon effect, light touch regulation, Long Term Capital Management, low interest rates, manufacturing employment, market clearing, market fundamentalism, Martin Wolf, minimum wage unemployment, mittelstand, Money creation, moral hazard, Myron Scholes, Naomi Klein, Northern Rock, obamacare, offshore financial centre, Paul Samuelson, Paul Volcker talking about ATMs, pension reform, performance metric, Pershing Square Capital Management, pirate software, plutocrats, Ponzi scheme, precariat, price stability, profit maximization, profit motive, prosperity theology / prosperity gospel / gospel of success, purchasing power parity, race to the bottom, Ralph Nader, rent-seeking, reshoring, Richard Thaler, rising living standards, road to serfdom, Robert Gordon, Robert Shiller, rolling blackouts, Ronald Reagan, Sand Hill Road, Savings and loan crisis, shareholder value, Silicon Valley, Social Responsibility of Business Is to Increase Its Profits, South Sea Bubble, sovereign wealth fund, Steve Ballmer, Steve Jobs, stock buybacks, subprime mortgage crisis, The Chicago School, The Spirit Level, The Theory of the Leisure Class by Thorstein Veblen, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, Thorstein Veblen, too big to fail, transcontinental railway, transfer pricing, trickle-down economics, tulip mania, Tyler Cowen, Tyler Cowen: Great Stagnation, union organizing, Upton Sinclair, upwardly mobile, women in the workforce, working poor, zero-sum game

Stagnant and declining wages are the new reality that makes Tim’s experience a common one, including surprisingly low wages, even in union shops or for higher technology jobs requiring college degrees and intensive training. Unionization has been integral to higher wages, and still is; in 2010, for example, unionized manufacturing workers in Indiana earned 16 percent more than nonunion employees. Union membership began eroding in 1965. But the benefits to the middle class of collective bargaining began to fall most sharply after 1980 as a new breed of executives began utilizing the Taft-Hartley Act to weaken unions and wages while stepping up the offshoring of high-value manufacturing jobs.6 Desperate to attract new jobs amid recession and rising imports, the UAW and other industrial unions reluctantly began to accept two-tier wage structures during the 1980s.

This requires … top-notch management skills that would innovate and capture opportunities.”36 The urgency of upskilling drives an inclusive education system where “every Australian is offered the opportunity to succeed and reach their full potential,” explained Chris Evans, Australian Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills, Jobs and Workplace Relations in November 2010. And it drives a business culture in which expectations are a “fair day’s work for a fair day’s pay, the right of employees to collectively bargain with their employer and the right to safe and fair working conditions.”37 For nearly a century, Australian voters have repeatedly made clear they want those expectations to be met by the business community and to be monitored by an alert trade union network and public sector. They demand that conservative and liberal governments alike implement those expectations, with a nationwide comprehensive bargaining and wage system overseen by the federal government as the day-to-day guarantor of Australian family prosperity.

Another factor has been the failure of Washington officials to mimic the tactics of the family capitalism countries in ameliorating the impact of globalization. Economists cite three other significant factors: employer collusion to limit wage increases, the sagging minimum wage, and the weakening of employee collective bargaining power.42 Employer Collusion to Minimize Wages Even blue-chip enterprises cross the line in colluding to suppress wages. For example, the Obama administration’s Department of Justice settled two antitrust lawsuits in 2010, in which several leading high-tech firms agreed to pay penalties for conspiring against their own highly skilled artisans.


pages: 338 words: 92,465

Reskilling America: Learning to Labor in the Twenty-First Century by Katherine S. Newman, Hella Winston

active measures, blue-collar work, business cycle, collective bargaining, Computer Numeric Control, deindustrialization, desegregation, factory automation, high-speed rail, information security, intentional community, interchangeable parts, invisible hand, job-hopping, knowledge economy, longitudinal study, low skilled workers, performance metric, proprietary trading, reshoring, Ronald Reagan, Silicon Valley, social intelligence, two tier labour market, union organizing, upwardly mobile, W. E. B. Du Bois, War on Poverty, Wolfgang Streeck, working poor

Companies gain from the investment they make in training low-skilled employees who they don’t want to lose; employers gain from the regulation of wages, which means very productive workers are paid less than they would be in a more flexible employment system.2 As we have seen, unions are also important, as they can shape how firms train and then subsequently employ workers. Also with highly centralized collective bargaining, unions and business groups are better positioned to lobby the state to enact policies that promote vocational training.3 Beginning at age sixteen, German students in the vocational and educational training (VET) sector attend school one or two days a week and spend the rest of the week in the workplace.

Works councils in every plant oversee the decision making on all aspects of plant operations. All employees below the level of senior management are represented in the councils, and they are paralleled by the trade unions, who appoint shop stewards whose main responsibilities involve provisions of the collective bargaining contracts. A Europe-wide works council deals with agreements that go beyond workplace policy. In 2002, the European Works Council developed a social rights charter and a platform that guarantees freedom of assembly. These are rights taken for granted in Europe, but in China, where VW was interested in setting up a number of new production facilities, this was hardly the case.

Some German unions are strong enough to insist that companies like Volkswagen adopt governing structures in the United States that look like the ones they are used to at home. This requirement was put to the test in 2014, when the VW plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, narrowly failed to adopt the United Auto Workers as its representatives for collective bargaining. The plant, which opened in 2008, first became the subject of controversy in 2013 after the UAW attempted to unionize the labor force, drawing opposition from right-wing politicians and others who feared such a move would deter other businesses from setting up shop in the state. In that right-to-work state, many workers were just as resistant to the entreaties of the UAW.24 Ultimately the union vote (narrowly) failed, but in November 2014 VW—apparently under pressure from its labor union in Germany—announced a new policy that would allow employees to be represented by several labor groups, among them the UAW.25 The new rules require that at least 15 percent of the workforce must join up for their union to have some level of representation.


pages: 309 words: 91,581

The Great Divergence: America's Growing Inequality Crisis and What We Can Do About It by Timothy Noah

air traffic controllers' union, Alan Greenspan, assortative mating, autonomous vehicles, Bear Stearns, blue-collar work, Bonfire of the Vanities, Branko Milanovic, business cycle, call centre, carbon tax, collective bargaining, compensation consultant, computer age, corporate governance, Credit Default Swap, David Ricardo: comparative advantage, Deng Xiaoping, easy for humans, difficult for computers, Erik Brynjolfsson, Everybody Ought to Be Rich, feminist movement, Ford Model T, Frank Levy and Richard Murnane: The New Division of Labor, Gini coefficient, government statistician, Gunnar Myrdal, income inequality, independent contractor, industrial robot, invisible hand, It's morning again in America, job automation, Joseph Schumpeter, longitudinal study, low skilled workers, lump of labour, manufacturing employment, moral hazard, oil shock, pattern recognition, Paul Samuelson, performance metric, positional goods, post-industrial society, postindustrial economy, proprietary trading, purchasing power parity, refrigerator car, rent control, Richard Feynman, Ronald Reagan, shareholder value, Silicon Valley, Simon Kuznets, Stephen Hawking, Steve Jobs, subprime mortgage crisis, The Spirit Level, too big to fail, trickle-down economics, Tyler Cowen, Tyler Cowen: Great Stagnation, union organizing, upwardly mobile, very high income, Vilfredo Pareto, War on Poverty, We are the 99%, women in the workforce, Works Progress Administration, Yom Kippur War

The next day three members of Walmart’s “labor relations team” arrived from the company’s headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas, and called a store-wide meeting (even though Noble was trying only to organize the tire and lube department). Company videos and PowerPoint presentations were shown. As Noble later recalled, one message was that “wages could be cut drastically” in collective bargaining. “People were giving me dirty looks,” Sylvia remembered. “I’m the only [union supporter] there, and they’re all staring at me like I’m the demon person from hell.” The labor relations team continued to hold similar meetings until the union vote took place in February. Meanwhile Noble, Sylvia, and the other pro-union employees weren’t permitted to discuss the union at all while they were on company property.

They did it because they had to, a circumstance wholly unimaginable today. The following year, Eric Johnston, president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, made a statement whose spirit of conciliation would likely get any current Chamber president fired: “Labor unions are woven into our economic pattern of American life, and collective bargaining is a part of the democratic process. I say recognize this fact not only with our lips but with our hearts.” No smelling salts were needed to revive any who heard it.6 After a century of struggle, unions had won acceptance as an inevitable component to the modern industrial economy. America’s labor movement stood at the summit of its power.

Then, in 1933, the National Industrial Recovery Act guaranteed the right of employees to join unions. Even though there was little the government could do to protect that right, the law’s passage stirred the rank and file to action. In 1935 the Wagner Act, often described as labor’s Magna Carta, established unions’ right to engage in collective bargaining and created the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to protect that right. Reuther’s beating two years later received prominent attention at an NLRB hearing on Henry Ford’s union-busting tactics, and the NLRB ordered Ford to desist. After Ford resisted the NLRB ruling in the courts, a UAW-organized strike at the Ford plant in 1941 persuaded the company to surrender.


pages: 339 words: 95,270

Trade Wars Are Class Wars: How Rising Inequality Distorts the Global Economy and Threatens International Peace by Matthew C. Klein

Alan Greenspan, Albert Einstein, Asian financial crisis, asset allocation, asset-backed security, Berlin Wall, Bernie Sanders, Branko Milanovic, Bretton Woods, British Empire, business climate, business cycle, capital controls, centre right, collective bargaining, currency manipulation / currency intervention, currency peg, David Ricardo: comparative advantage, deglobalization, deindustrialization, Deng Xiaoping, Donald Trump, Double Irish / Dutch Sandwich, Fall of the Berlin Wall, falling living standards, financial innovation, financial repression, fixed income, full employment, George Akerlof, global supply chain, global value chain, Great Leap Forward, high-speed rail, illegal immigration, income inequality, intangible asset, invention of the telegraph, joint-stock company, land reform, Long Term Capital Management, low interest rates, Malcom McLean invented shipping containers, manufacturing employment, Martin Wolf, mass immigration, Mikhail Gorbachev, Money creation, money market fund, mortgage debt, New Urbanism, Nixon triggered the end of the Bretton Woods system, offshore financial centre, oil shock, open economy, paradox of thrift, passive income, reserve currency, rising living standards, Robert Shiller, Ronald Reagan, savings glut, Scramble for Africa, sovereign wealth fund, stock buybacks, subprime mortgage crisis, The Nature of the Firm, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, Tim Cook: Apple, trade liberalization, Wolfgang Streeck

Union membership, which had dropped by a third from 1991 to 2000, fell by another 25 percent from 2000 to 2010. This has gone hand in hand with a collapse in the share of German workers covered by collective bargaining: whereas more than 80 percent of German workers had been covered by collective bargaining in the mid-1990s, fewer than 45 percent of German workers are covered by a collective bargaining agreement today. Economists estimate that “Germany’s wages in 2008 would have been higher if union coverage had remained the same as in 1995 throughout the entire wage distribution, but the difference is particularly large at the lower end of the wage distribution.”

After subtracting inflation, the median wage of manufacturing workers in the former West Germany grew just 5 percent in total between 1991 and 2000. These developments meant that unions were less useful to German workers than in the past, and membership plunged by a third in the 1990s. At the same time, industrywide collective bargains were watered down with so-called opening clauses that gave local union representatives the option to negotiate bespoke deals at the company level. By the end of the 1990s, most of the remaining German union members were working under these looser contracts. The unions’ priority was to preserve jobs at the cost of forgoing pay raises.

Economists estimate that “Germany’s wages in 2008 would have been higher if union coverage had remained the same as in 1995 throughout the entire wage distribution, but the difference is particularly large at the lower end of the wage distribution.” Fig. 5.5 Verteilungskampf (share of German national income going to the top 10 percent). Source: Charlotte Bartels via the World Inequality Database Inequality even rose within the ranks of the unionized thanks to the replacement of sectorwide collective bargaining with bespoke agreements negotiated by individual “works councils.” Real wages in the upper portion of the distribution grew while incomes for workers in the bottom half fell. The combined result, according to one study, is that “income concentration at the top decile in Germany today is even greater than it was during the industrialization period of 1871–1913.”39 This concentration of income was substantial enough to depress German household spending.


Power Systems: Conversations on Global Democratic Uprisings and the New Challenges to U.S. Empire by Noam Chomsky, David Barsamian

"World Economic Forum" Davos, affirmative action, Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, Albert Einstein, American ideology, Chelsea Manning, collective bargaining, colonial rule, corporate personhood, David Brooks, discovery of DNA, double helix, drone strike, failed state, Great Leap Forward, Herbert Marcuse, high-speed rail, Howard Zinn, hydraulic fracturing, income inequality, inflation targeting, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Julian Assange, land reform, language acquisition, Martin Wolf, Mohammed Bouazizi, Naomi Klein, Nelson Mandela, new economy, no-fly zone, obamacare, Occupy movement, oil shale / tar sands, pattern recognition, Powell Memorandum, public intellectual, quantitative easing, Ralph Nader, Ralph Waldo Emerson, single-payer health, sovereign wealth fund, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, theory of mind, Tobin tax, union organizing, Upton Sinclair, uranium enrichment, WikiLeaks

Over time, this campaign had some success, but a majority of the workforce would still prefer to be unionized if they could be.7 Barriers have been set up by state policy which make it very hard to join a union.8 The consequence of all this is that private-sector unionization is down to about 7 percent.9 Public-sector unions still haven’t been destroyed, but that’s why there is a bitter attack against them right now. The attack in Wisconsin on the right of workers to organize and collectively bargain is a clear example.10 The issues in Wisconsin have nothing to do with the state budget deficit. That’s a fraud that’s simply used as a pretext. The issue is the right of collective bargaining, one of the basic principles of union organization. The business world wants to destroy that. Rhetoric aside, has the Democratic Party really been a friend of organized labor and the working class?

., 7, 58, 70, 90, 110, 153 Iraq War, 16, 56, 114–16 response to 9/11, 15–26 war crimes, 114–16 business, 25, 36, 38, 39, 40, 76–77, 81, 103, 123, 169 Butler, Smedley, 13, 14 California, 167, 172 campaign finance, 173–74 Canada, 24, 73, 161–64 capitalism, 77–78, 147, 170–73 Caribbean, 7, 161 Carlos the Jackal, (Ilich Ramírez Sánchez), 21 Carothers, Thomas, 62, 64 Carter, Jimmy, 151 Ceauescu, Nicolae, 17 CELAC, 161 Central America, 21, 36 natural resources, 17–18 Chace, James, 61 Chavis, Benjamin, 65 children, 38, 82, 83 language acquisition in, 126–36 Chile, 61 China, 7–10, 50, 57, 77, 106, 107, 164, 169 ecological problems, 12 economic growth, 7–13 -India relations, 20–22 industry, 11–13 labor, 9–12 “loss of,” 57, 60 Maoist, 12 Chun Doo-hwan, 17 Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, 173–74 civil liberties, 69–73, 175 military detention and, 70–73 civil rights movement, 24, 30–31, 45, 65–66, 72, 150, 167, 176 climate change, 75, 121–25, 159 Clinton, Bill, 58, 83, 90, 170 Clinton, Hillary, 162 COINTELPRO, 73, 74, 120 collective bargaining, 40–41 Colombia, 7, 72, 145, 160, 164 colonialism, 3–5, 9, 46, 51 Communist Party, 23–24, 27, 29, 75, 118 Congress, U.S., 27, 32, 41–42, 85 Congress of Industrial Organizations, 23, 68 consensus, 74–75 Constitution, U.S., 72, 85, 174–75 consumerism, 36, 37, 80 corporations, 10, 24, 26, 27, 31–32, 38, 41, 76–77, 81, 103, 119, 152, 174 piracy issue, 107–8 Cuba, 4, 160, 161 culture, and language, 138–40 deaf-blind, 134–35 debt, 8, 87, 152, 168 student, 152 decolonization, 5, 46 democracy, 47, 54, 62, 79–81, 84–85, 109, 112, 143–44, 150, 151, 158–59, 172 Democratic Party, 32, 41–42 demonstrations, 29–33, 35, 40–43, 73–77 Arab Spring, 44–55, 60–64, 67, 112–13, 168 civil rights, 24, 30–31, 45, 65–66, 72, 150, 167, 176 Occupy, 47, 65–69, 74–77, 118–21, 146, 168, 177 student, 73–74 Depression, 23, 27, 28 deregulation, 48, 173–74 Dewey, John, 147, 148, 149 Dink, Hrant, 89, 91 dissidents, 144–45 doctrinal system, 8, 10, 36, 38, 158, 159 Dönitz, Karl, 116 Draghi, Mario, 169 drugs, 160–62 Durand Line, 99 Duvalier, Jean-Claude, 17 Economic Policy Institute, 168 economy, 4, 32, 76–78, 97, 121, 168, 171 Arab Spring, 44–55, 60–64, 67 Chinese, 7–10 financial crisis, 23, 48, 86–89, 168–69 global shift of power, 5–13, 58, 76–77 Indian, 7, 10–11, 20–23 stimulus, 33 U.S. decline, 4–10, 56, 59–60 education, 37, 82, 147–56, 165–68 battle over, 147–56 higher, 150–53, 165–68 K-to-12, 153–56 privatization of, 38–39, 156, 167–68 public, 37–39, 147–48, 153–56, 166–68 science, 154–55 Egypt, 35, 51, 53, 61, 67 Arab Spring, 44–49, 54, 60–64, 67, 168 Einstein, Albert, 143 Eisenhower, Dwight, 125 electoral politics, 102–13, 117–19 electronic books, 104 Ellsberg, Daniel, 15, 113 El Salvador, 145 Emerson, Ralph Waldo, 148, 156 Enlightenment, 116, 147, 148 environment, 12, 75, 121–25, 158–59, 163–65, 176 climate change, 75, 121–25, 159 fracking, 164–65 Erdoan, Recep Tayyip, 89, 90, 93 Europe, 5, 6, 9, 47, 51, 58, 161 economic crisis, 47, 86–89, 168–69 European Central Bank (ECB), 86–87, 169 European Union, 87, 89, 92 evolution, 128, 129, 137–38 Facebook, 145, 146 Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), 15, 71, 73 Federal Reserve, 86–87 financial crisis, 23, 48, 86–89, 168–69 Financial Times, 66, 76, 78, 123 Finland, 153, 154 Foreign Affairs, 59, 61 fossil fuels, 21, 22, 49–55, 122–24, 164, 165 fracking, 123, 164–65 France, 46, 50, 52, 68, 112–13, 170 Fraser, Doug, 25 Freedom of Information Act, 110 Gadhafi, Mu’ammar, 50, 53 Galileo, 143, 144 Gates, Bill, 11 Gaza, 93 General Motors, 33, 80 genetics, 126–27, 129, 140 Germany, 15, 27, 51, 58, 118, 153 economic policy, 88 Nazism, 28–29, 115–16 Weimar Republic, 25, 27–29 World War II, 115–16 GI bill, 152 Ginsberg, Benjamin, The Fall of the Faculty, 168 globalization, 5, 20–22, 170 financial crisis, 86–89, 168–69 labor, 9–12, 76–77, 169–70 shift of power, 5–13, 58, 76–77 Goldman Sachs, 42 Google, 107 government, 78–85, 150, 158 big, 81, 82 security, 107–13 “Grand Area” planning, 57 Great Britain, 5, 8–9, 16, 17, 21, 35, 50, 52, 61, 79, 107, 139, 172 colonialism, 9, 20 government, 79 slavery, 36 World War II, 115, 116 Greece, 87 Guantánamo, 72–73 Guatemala, 21 gun culture, 162–63 Gwadar, 22 Haiti, 11, 13–14, 17 Hale, Kenneth, 136, 139–41 Hanif, Mohammed, A Case of Exploding Mangoes, 106 Haq, Abdul, 16 Harvard University, Institute of Politics, 158 Havel, Václav, 145 health care, 24, 76, 82, 157 Obamacare, 124 Heilbrunn, Jacob, 111 Hindenburg, Paul von, 27–28 historical amnesia, 97–98 Hitler, Adolf, 28–29, 32, 88 Holder v.

., 85 Human Development Index, 13 “Human Intelligence and the Environment” (Chomsky), 42 Humanitarian Law Project, 70–71 human rights, 109, 113 violations, 89–92, 95–96, 145 Humboldt, Wilhelm von, 149 Hume, David, 79, 81 Hussein, Saddam, 17, 71, 95 imperialism, 1–33 saltwater fallacy, 3–4 terminology, 3 India, 7, 9, 10–11, 17–23, 38, 50, 51, 107, 164 Bhopal explosion, 174 British rule, 20 -China relations, 20–22 economic growth, 7, 10–11, 20–23 -Israel relations, 20, 21 natural resources, 17–20 neoliberalism and, 19–22 TAPI pipeline and, 17–18 -U.S. relations, 20–22 war, 20 indignados, 47 Indonesia, 17 intellectual culture, 79, 81, 104–6, 141 intellectual property rights, 107–8 International Energy Association (IEA), 121–22 International Monetary Fund (IMF), 47 International Organization for a Participatory Society, 171 international relations (IR) theory, 8, 63 Internet, 105–13 security, 107–13 iPhone, 145–46 Iran, 18, 60, 62, 63, 90–91, 93, 95–98, 111, 112, 114 nuclear threat, 112 TAPI pipeline and, 18 Iran-Iraq War, 97 Iraq, 16–17, 21, 60, 61 Kurds, 95–96 nationalism, 55–56 U.S. war in, 16–17, 55–56, 62–63, 114–16 Islam, 60 political, 49, 61 radical, 61, 100 Israel, 20, 21, 96, 112 -India relations, 20, 21 -Lebanon relations, 63 Palestinian conflict, 46 -Turkey relations, 92–94 -U.S. relations, 21 Jacob, François, 129 James, William, 130 Japan, 5, 8, 58, 131, 139 Jefferson, Thomas, 3, 172 job creation, 76, 87 Kagan, Elena, 70 Karachi, 22 Keller, Bill, 144 Keller, Helen, 134, 135 Kennan, George, 57 Kennedy, John F., 2–3 Vietnam policy, 2–3, 97 Khadr, Omar, 72–73 King, Martin Luther, 30–31, 66, 105 Klein, Naomi, 123, 124 Kurds, 21, 89–92, 95–96 labor, 38, 81, 87, 169 anti-labor movements, 40 Arab Spring, 44–55, 60–64, 67 Chinese, 9–10, 11–12 collective bargaining, 40–41 demonstrations and strikes, 29, 33, 35, 40–43, 68, 120, 146 Depression-era, 23, 40, 67–68 global, 9–12, 76–77, 169–70 organized, 23–25, 39–41, 67–68, 147, 171 rustbelt, 11–12 solidarity, 39–41 unemployment, 22–23, 38, 66, 76 unions, 24–26, 33, 39–41, 68, 79, 147, 171 language, 126–42 biological acquisition of, 129–36 culture and, 138–40 sensory deprivation and, 134–35 similarity of, 140–41 study of, 137–38, 142 universal grammar, 126–59 Latin America, 4–7, 22, 61, 160–62, 164 drugs, 160–62 integration of, 6–7, 47, 161 U.S. military bases in, 6–7 Laxness, Halldór, 106 Lebanon, 63 Lee, Ching Kwan, 11 Left, 23, 25, 32–33, 59, 117, 147, 149, 150, 151 student, 73–74 Left Forum, 25, 27, 33 libertarianism, 157, 158, 163 Libya, 50–54, 91 no-fly zone, 50–52 Lippmann, Walter, 81 Madison, James, 84, 85 Magna Carta, 59, 72, 116 Mandela, Nelson, 71 Manning, Bradley, 113, 114 Marcos, Ferdinand, 17 market system, 80–81 Marx, Karl, 173, 175 Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 13, 37, 105, 122, 134, 136, 149 mathematics, 137, 138 McCain, John, 103 McCarthyism, 24 McKiernan, Kevin, 95 media, 32, 66, 150, 151 mental slavery, 34–35, 101–25 Mexico, 11, 152–53, 162, 175 Middle East, 17, 44–64, 89–100, 111 Arab Spring, 44–55, 60–64, 67, 112–13, 168 oil, 21, 49–55 Turkish-Israeli relations, 92–94 uprisings, 44–64 military, 5, 98 Arab Spring, 44–55, 60–64 detention, 70–73 police, 119–20 U.S. bases in Latin America, 6–7 Mobutu Sese Seko, 17 Mondragon, 171 Montgomery, David, The Fall of the House of Labor, 23 Morgenthau, Hans, 63–64 The Purpose of American Politics, 64 Morocco, 46 Mubarak, Hosni, 45, 47, 62 Nader, Ralph, 150 NAFTA, 163, 175 Nasser, Gamal Abdel, 61 National Defense Authorization Act, 70 Native Americans, 22 natural gas, 17–18, 164–65 natural resources, 17–22, 164–65 Navy, U.S., 6–7, 14, 52, 116 Nazism, 28–29, 115–16 New Deal, 23, 82 New York, 67, 100, 166 New York Times, 60, 81, 89–91, 124, 144–45, 160 Ngo Dinh Diem, 2, 3 Ngo Dinh Nhu, 2, 3 Nicaragua, 7 9/11 attacks, 14, 15–16, 139 Nixon, Richard, 125, 150 No Child Left Behind, 153 Non-Proliferation Treaty, 18 North Africa, 46–48, 57, 60 North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), 50, 51, 91, 92 Norway, 115 nuclear weapons, 97, 98, 100, 110, 112, 176 Nuremberg Trials, 115–16 Nystrom, Paul, 36 Obama, Barack, 7, 33, 63, 90–91, 93, 110, 111, 114, 153, 162, 164 Afghanistan War and, 14–15 civil liberties and, 70–73 Libya and, 51–52 organized labor and, 41–42 2008 election, 102–3 Obamacare, 124 Occupy movements, 47, 65–69, 74–77, 118–21, 146, 168, 177 oil, 21, 22, 49–55, 124 Orwell, George, 19, 97 Pakistan, 16, 17, 22, 61, 98–100, 110 drone attacks on, 18–19, 98–99 nuclear industry, 98–100, 110 TAPI pipeline and, 18 Palestine, 46, 72 -Israel conflict, 46 Palmer raids, 68 Pamuk, Orhan, 91 Panama, 7 Panetta, Leon, 114 Pashtuns, 99 Patterson, Anne W., 99, 110 Paul, Rand, 157, 162, 163 Paul, Ron, 75, 124–25, 157, 163 pensions, 12, 22, 24, 26 Peres, Shimon, 93 Peshawar, 16 pharmaceutical companies, 107–8 Philippines, 4, 17 Pinochet, Augusto, 61 piracy, 107–8 political Islam, 49, 61 Political Science Quarterly, 82 police repression, 119–20 politics, 32, 41, 57, 59, 121, 142–45, 171 electoral, 102–3, 117–19 labor demonstrations and, 41–43 poverty, 6, 66, 82, 84 Powell, Colin, 115 Powell, Lewis, 150–51 Powell memorandum, 150–51 power systems, 34–35, 69 aristocrats and democrats, 160–78 chains of submission and subservience, 34–43 global shift, 5–13, 58, 76–77 language and education, 126–59 mental slavery, 101–25 new American imperialism, 1–33 uprisings, 44–64 privatization, 11, 38, 39, 40, 156–57, 167 Progressive Labor (PL), 73 propaganda system, 35–40, 66, 80, 82, 102, 119, 122–24 property rights, 84, 85 public, power of the, 78–81 public education, 37–39, 147–48, 153–56, 166–68 public relations, 35, 79–81, 102–3 Qasim, Abd al-Karim, 61 Race to the Top, 153 racism, 3, 31, 92 Ravitch, Diane, 154 Reagan, Ronald, 62, 71, 82, 95, 99 recession, 23, 48, 86–89 Red Scare, 23, 68, 120 Reich, Robert, 170, 172 Reilly, John, 122 Republican Party, 41, 57, 75, 76, 124, 125 Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), 72 Ribbentrop, Joachim von, 115 Right, 23, 32, 150–51 Riyadh, 52 Romney, Mitt, 57–58, 75 Roosevelt, Franklin D., 14, 23, 54 Roy, Arundhati, 22, 29, 31 Russia, 17–18, 20, 50, 61, 98, 102, 145 rustbelt, 11–12 Saharawi movement, 46 saltwater fallacy, 3–4 Saudi Arabia, 21, 49, 52, 61, 99, 111, 144 science, 142–43, 144 education, 154–55 modern, 143 sectarianism, 73–74 Seib, Gerald, 54 self-destruction, 42–43 Senate, U.S., 63, 85 sensory deprivation, 134–35 Shiites, 52–53 Singh, Manmohan, 19 Sino-Indian War, 20 slavery, 3, 34, 36, 51 end of, 34, 35, 36 mental, 34–35, 101–25 Slim, Carlos, 11 Smith, Adam, 8–9 social Darwinism, 157 social media, 105, 107, 145–47 Social Security, 39, 156–57 solidarity, 38–41, 146–47, 159 South Africa, 21, 50–51 apartheid, 71 South America, 6, 7, 57, 60, 161 Southeast Asia, 4, 60 South Korea, 9, 17 Spain, 4, 6, 33, 87 sports, college, 154–55 Stack, Joseph, 25–26, 29 Stalin, Joseph, 61 Stohl, Bev, 105 Stop Online Piracy Act, 107 strategic hamlets, 2 student activism, 73–74 submission and subservience, chains of, 34–43 Summit of the Americas (2012), 160–61 sunbelt, 11, 12 Sunnis, 52–53 Supreme Court, U.S., 70, 150 Buckley v.


pages: 283 words: 73,093

Social Democratic America by Lane Kenworthy

affirmative action, Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, Alan Greenspan, barriers to entry, basic income, benefit corporation, business cycle, carbon tax, Celtic Tiger, centre right, clean water, collective bargaining, corporate governance, David Brooks, desegregation, Edward Glaeser, endogenous growth, full employment, Gini coefficient, hiring and firing, Home mortgage interest deduction, illegal immigration, income inequality, invisible hand, Kenneth Arrow, labor-force participation, manufacturing employment, market bubble, minimum wage unemployment, new economy, off-the-grid, postindustrial economy, purchasing power parity, race to the bottom, rent-seeking, rising living standards, Robert Gordon, Robert Shiller, Ronald Reagan, school choice, shareholder value, sharing economy, Skype, Steve Jobs, too big to fail, Tyler Cowen, Tyler Cowen: Great Stagnation, union organizing, universal basic income, War on Poverty, working poor, zero day

Legislation (a statutory minimum wage) or collective bargaining can impose a wage floor with no employment-reducing impact, and so it is a good idea to do so. The trick is to figure out the tipping point—the level above which employment is impeded—and set the wage floor at or near that point. The optimal wage floor will differ across regions. In the United States the federal government sets a minimum wage, but many states and some cities establish a higher minimum. That’s a sensible arrangement. The optimal floor also will differ across industries. This is something collective bargaining is ideally suited to address, but America’s unions are so weak that at some point government may have to play a more active role. 2.

In the United States, by contrast, a comparable job would have yielded earnings of about $11,000. In fact, according to calculations by Peter Edelman, half of the jobs in the United States pay less than $34,000 a year, and nearly a quarter pay less than $22,000.128 There is no prospect of low-end service employees in the United States achieving Danish-level wages via collective bargaining. American unions are too weak. But suppose we raised the statutory minimum wage from its current level of $7.25 per hour to $15. Would that be a good thing to do? Maybe not. We should care more about posttransfer-posttax household income than about individual wages, and there are ways to get to a decent income floor that don’t require a high wage floor.129 The Denmark–United States comparison illustrates this.

In reality, this is extremely unlikely to happen. Figure 4.25 shows the evolution of America’s minimum wage and EITC, expressed in annual (rather than hourly) values. The minimum wage increased steadily until the 1970s, but it then fell and has been flat since. As of 2013 the federal minimum is $7.25 per hour, less than half the Danish (collectively bargained) minimum. We certainly can afford a higher minimum wage, yet recent history offers no reason to believe it will get close to the Danish level. More likely is a moderate increase in the minimum wage coupled with an increase in the EITC. In 1993 the EITC was indexed to the inflation rate, so it, unlike the minimum wage, always keeps up with price increases.


pages: 491 words: 77,650

Humans as a Service: The Promise and Perils of Work in the Gig Economy by Jeremias Prassl

3D printing, Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, Airbnb, algorithmic management, Amazon Mechanical Turk, Andrei Shleifer, asset light, autonomous vehicles, barriers to entry, call centre, cashless society, Clayton Christensen, collaborative consumption, collaborative economy, collective bargaining, creative destruction, crowdsourcing, death from overwork, Didi Chuxing, disruptive innovation, Donald Trump, driverless car, Erik Brynjolfsson, full employment, future of work, George Akerlof, gig economy, global supply chain, Greyball, hiring and firing, income inequality, independent contractor, information asymmetry, invisible hand, Jeff Bezos, job automation, John Maynard Keynes: Economic Possibilities for our Grandchildren, John Maynard Keynes: technological unemployment, Kevin Roose, Kickstarter, low skilled workers, Lyft, machine readable, Mahatma Gandhi, Mark Zuckerberg, market friction, means of production, moral hazard, Network effects, new economy, obamacare, pattern recognition, platform as a service, Productivity paradox, race to the bottom, regulatory arbitrage, remote working, ride hailing / ride sharing, Robert Gordon, Ronald Coase, Rosa Parks, scientific management, Second Machine Age, secular stagnation, self-driving car, shareholder value, sharing economy, Silicon Valley, Silicon Valley billionaire, Silicon Valley ideology, Simon Singh, software as a service, Steve Jobs, TaskRabbit, TechCrunch disrupt, The Future of Employment, The Market for Lemons, The Nature of the Firm, The Rise and Fall of American Growth, transaction costs, transportation-network company, Travis Kalanick, two tier labour market, two-sided market, Uber and Lyft, Uber for X, uber lyft, union organizing, warehouse automation, work culture , working-age population

Building on the notion that on-demand economy platforms represent a genuinely novel form of work, deserving of its own legal status and regulatory apparatus, Seth Harris, a former Deputy US Secretary of Labor, and Alan Krueger, a Princeton economist who has repeatedly collaborated with on-demand platforms, have argued in favour of the statutory introduction of a third, intermediate category to capture gig-economy workers. Their ‘independent worker’ would be entitled to some protection, including collective bargaining rights and elements of social security provision, whilst being denied recourse to basic standards such as wage and hours protection.67 Would the introduction of such a status be helpful? Not necessarily. Platforms would immediately be relieved of some of employers’ most costly obligations—whilst continuing to litigate over independent worker status.

The promise of freedom, finally, rings equally hollow, with platforms’ busi- ness models making it difficult for workers to assert their fundamental rights, including the freedom to form a union and bargain collectively. Most operators are unsurprisingly hostile to any efforts at organizing genuinely independent worker representation. When unionization was on the cards in Seattle, Uber’s call-centre representatives were instructed to ring up drivers and ‘share some thoughts’ about how ‘collective bargaining and unioniza- tion do not fit the characteristics of how most partners use the Uber platform’.69 * * * 66 Lost in the Crowd As former New York Times correspondent Steven Greenhouse notes: In many ways, digital on-demand workers face far more obstacles to organiz- ing and being heard than workers in the traditional economy.

Or maybe she just wants to take a job until she pays for a davenport or a new fur coat.’49 None of this is to suggest, of course, that in centuries past—as today—there wasn’t the same heterogeneity of motivations behind casual work, including instances of work to earn genuine supplementary income and while away the idle hours, or even those who genuinely preferred to stay away from work directly supervised by a boss, or from the often coarse environments of the factory and workshop floor.50 The overall impact of the ‘hybrid’ market–hierarchy model on labour markets is nonetheless clear: a large, low-skilled taskforce fundamentally undermines workers’ individual and collective bargaining power. The isola- tion and irregularity of the work made it hard to organize collectively,51 leaving some employers to brag in 1876 that the system allowed them to enjoy: a kind of auction reversed. On a Monday morning the contractors or master- men assemble at the master’s warehouse . . . he calls them in one by one, and test them as to what prices they will make certain chains for, invariably giving the work to those who offer the lowest tender.52 History Repeats Itself Even a brief historical survey can thus debunk the on-demand economy’s claim to innovation, at least as far as work is concerned.


pages: 823 words: 206,070

The Making of Global Capitalism by Leo Panitch, Sam Gindin

accounting loophole / creative accounting, active measures, airline deregulation, Alan Greenspan, anti-communist, Asian financial crisis, asset-backed security, bank run, banking crisis, barriers to entry, Basel III, Bear Stearns, Big bang: deregulation of the City of London, bilateral investment treaty, book value, Branko Milanovic, Bretton Woods, BRICs, British Empire, business cycle, call centre, capital controls, Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty, carbon credits, Carmen Reinhart, central bank independence, classic study, collective bargaining, continuous integration, corporate governance, creative destruction, Credit Default Swap, crony capitalism, currency manipulation / currency intervention, currency peg, dark matter, democratizing finance, Deng Xiaoping, disintermediation, ending welfare as we know it, eurozone crisis, facts on the ground, financial deregulation, financial innovation, Financial Instability Hypothesis, financial intermediation, floating exchange rates, foreign exchange controls, full employment, Gini coefficient, Glass-Steagall Act, global value chain, guest worker program, Hyman Minsky, imperial preference, income inequality, inflation targeting, interchangeable parts, interest rate swap, Kenneth Rogoff, Kickstarter, land reform, late capitalism, liberal capitalism, liquidity trap, London Interbank Offered Rate, Long Term Capital Management, low interest rates, manufacturing employment, market bubble, market fundamentalism, Martin Wolf, means of production, military-industrial complex, money market fund, money: store of value / unit of account / medium of exchange, Monroe Doctrine, moral hazard, mortgage debt, mortgage tax deduction, Myron Scholes, new economy, Nixon triggered the end of the Bretton Woods system, non-tariff barriers, Northern Rock, oil shock, precariat, price stability, proprietary trading, quantitative easing, Ralph Nader, RAND corporation, regulatory arbitrage, reserve currency, risk tolerance, Ronald Reagan, Savings and loan crisis, scientific management, seigniorage, shareholder value, short selling, Silicon Valley, sovereign wealth fund, special drawing rights, special economic zone, stock buybacks, structural adjustment programs, subprime mortgage crisis, Tax Reform Act of 1986, The Chicago School, The Great Moderation, the payments system, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, too big to fail, trade liberalization, transcontinental railway, trickle-down economics, union organizing, vertical integration, very high income, Washington Consensus, We are all Keynesians now, Works Progress Administration, zero-coupon bond, zero-sum game

When General Motors, the largest manufacturing company in the world, and the UAW, the most prominent union in the country, institutionalized the “Fordist” link between mass production and mass consumption through this path-breaking collective agreement, they went far beyond anything that Henry Ford ever imagined. By tying company-level wage increases to estimates of national productivity increases, and building in inflation protection through a cost-of-living index, they implicitly accepted that collective bargaining would not disturb the existing distribution of income. The Treaty also centralized power within the union. As the focus of collective bargaining shifted to the negotiation of company-wide wage and benefit increases, and as the union accepted management’s control over production at the shop-floor level, local rank-and-file power was undermined. Since the New Deal labor law allowed for the right to strike during the term of a collective agreement, the Treaty’s requirement that authority for this in any plant had to be secured from the national union leadership further institutionalized a corporatist relationship between top company and union leaders, and the loss of local autonomy.

This approach proved quite successful in the case of agriculture.49 But the limited capacity of the state in relation to industry was immediately revealed when the National Industry Recovery Act (NIRA) reverted to the corporatist model introduced in World War I. A National Recovery Administration (NRA) was established to oversee industrial self-regulation through a system of codes drawn up by the trade association in each sector. In a concession to labor, each code was required to establish minimum labor standards and collective bargaining rights, but its implementation was left to the discretion of the trade association itself.50 This failed as a solution to the crisis, not least because by “controlling most of the information about industrial operations on which the NRA codes and their enforcement would have to be based,” private firms constructed loopholes so as to escape the labor standards and cut back production while keeping prices high; while the “NRA apparatus, itself thoroughly permeated by conflicting business interests, was unable to resolve disputes in an authoritative fashion.”51 The experience with the NIRA “foreshadowed the trend for the executive branch of the state apparatus to organize and reorganize departments and decision-making centers that would eventually circumvent conflicting interests.”52 But for the time being, especially without increased wages or public expenditures on the scale needed to generate effective demand and restore profits (which fell by three-quarters in 1934), the promised economic recovery did not materialize.

Although long advanced by liberal reformers, the 1935 National Labor Relations Act was only passed in response to what Senator Wagner himself, in introducing the Bill associated with his name, called “the rising tide of industrial discontent.” The Wagner Act legalized unionization campaigns, collective bargaining and the right to strike, and established quasi-juridical procedures for securing recognition and settling disputes. The Social Security Act of the same year founded the American welfare state with its national provisions for unemployment and retirement benefits. To be sure, given the state’s responsibilities for mediating class conflict and its dependence on capital accumulation, the Wagner Act also constrained labor militancy in various ways (not least by setting strict conditions for when the right to strike could be legally exercised), while the Social Security Act (in any case funded by regressive taxation) reinforced the discipline of the labor market with its limited benefits and the many conditions it established for eligibility.


pages: 283 words: 81,163

How Capitalism Saved America: The Untold History of Our Country, From the Pilgrims to the Present by Thomas J. Dilorenzo

air traffic controllers' union, Alan Greenspan, banking crisis, British Empire, business cycle, California energy crisis, collective bargaining, Cornelius Vanderbilt, corporate governance, corporate social responsibility, electricity market, financial deregulation, Fractional reserve banking, Hernando de Soto, Ida Tarbell, income inequality, invisible hand, Joseph Schumpeter, laissez-faire capitalism, McDonald's hot coffee lawsuit, means of production, medical malpractice, Menlo Park, minimum wage unemployment, Money creation, Norman Mailer, plutocrats, price stability, profit maximization, profit motive, Ralph Nader, rent control, rent-seeking, Robert Bork, rolling blackouts, Ronald Coase, Ronald Reagan, scientific management, Silicon Valley, statistical model, Tax Reform Act of 1986, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, transcontinental railway, union organizing, Upton Sinclair, vertical integration, W. E. B. Du Bois, wealth creators, working poor, Works Progress Administration, zero-sum game

New York: Basic Books, 1988. Huber describes the causes and consequences of America’s crazy liability law system, in which people with deep pockets are often sued regardless of whether they are liable for harming anyone. Hutt, William H. The Theory of Collective Bargaining. Washington, D.C.: Cato Institute, 1974. Hutt challenges the notion that workers are better off with collective bargaining instead of individual bargaining over wages and working conditions. He also exposes numerous myths about labor unions, such as the myth that unions are necessary to raise the living standards of workers. Kirzner, Israel. Competition and Entrepreneurship.

Hoover may have been a world-class mining engineer, but he had a dangerously poor grasp of economics, which fed his desire to remake American society. Joan Hoff Wilson describes Hoover’s basic economic beliefs as follows: There was too much lawlessness, destructive competition, and economic waste, too much unemployment and repetitiveness in factory work; the twelve-hour day was too long; labor lacked the guarantee of collective bargaining; child labor still existed despite prewar progressive legislation; education was inadequate in most states; some people were making too much money—“far beyond the needs of stimulation to initiative.”11 Each of these statements reflected Hoover’s fundamental misunderstanding of economics. While Hoover complained of the “lawlessness” bred by capitalism, it seems to have been lost on him that most of the lawlessness of the 1920s was a direct effect of federal regulation—Prohibition.

Laws against extortion exempted unions as long as the extortion involved “the payment of wages by a bona fide employer to a bona fide employee.”42 We feel the effects of many of these laws even today. Thanks primarily to FDR’s Depression-era labor legislation, labor unions can compel workers to pay dues as a condition of keeping their jobs, with the dues often being used for political purposes unrelated to collective bargaining; are immune from most federal court injunctions; are legally empowered to “represent” all workers in a bargaining unit, regardless of whether they are union members; can compel employers to make their private property available to union officials; are all but immune from paying damages for personal and property injury that they inflict; and can force employers to open up their books to them.43 As Friedrich Hayek wrote in The Constitution of Liberty (1960), “We have now reached a state where they [unions] have become uniquely privileged institutions to which the general rules of law do not apply.


pages: 223 words: 10,010

The Cost of Inequality: Why Economic Equality Is Essential for Recovery by Stewart Lansley

"World Economic Forum" Davos, Adam Curtis, air traffic controllers' union, Alan Greenspan, AOL-Time Warner, banking crisis, Basel III, Big bang: deregulation of the City of London, Bonfire of the Vanities, borderless world, Branko Milanovic, Bretton Woods, British Empire, business cycle, business process, call centre, capital controls, collective bargaining, corporate governance, corporate raider, correlation does not imply causation, creative destruction, credit crunch, Credit Default Swap, crony capitalism, David Ricardo: comparative advantage, deindustrialization, Edward Glaeser, Everybody Ought to Be Rich, falling living standards, financial deregulation, financial engineering, financial innovation, Financial Instability Hypothesis, floating exchange rates, full employment, Goldman Sachs: Vampire Squid, high net worth, hiring and firing, Hyman Minsky, income inequality, James Dyson, Jeff Bezos, job automation, job polarisation, John Meriwether, Joseph Schumpeter, Kenneth Rogoff, knowledge economy, laissez-faire capitalism, Larry Ellison, light touch regulation, Londongrad, Long Term Capital Management, low interest rates, low skilled workers, manufacturing employment, market bubble, Martin Wolf, Mary Meeker, mittelstand, mobile money, Mont Pelerin Society, Myron Scholes, new economy, Nick Leeson, North Sea oil, Northern Rock, offshore financial centre, oil shock, plutocrats, Plutonomy: Buying Luxury, Explaining Global Imbalances, proprietary trading, Right to Buy, rising living standards, Robert Shiller, Robert Solow, Ronald Reagan, savings glut, shareholder value, The Great Moderation, The Spirit Level, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, Thomas Malthus, too big to fail, Tyler Cowen, Tyler Cowen: Great Stagnation, Washington Consensus, Winter of Discontent, working-age population

Independent studies have shown that greater controls would have only a minimal impact on the economy, but would greatly reduce the probability of crises.418 Secondly, the UK and the US currently have the most de-regulated labour markets amongst the world’s developed nations, offering only minimal levels of workplace protection.419 The evidence is clear, that countries with a high coverage of collective bargaining tend to have lower earnings dispersion. There is nothing unusual about labour being given a stronger voice in the workplace. Compared with the rest of Europe, the UK has one of the lowest proportions of workers covered by collective bargaining arrangements.420 In Germany and several other continental countries the unions are more integrated into workplace decision making in a way which brings a much more co-operative approach to the running of business and the economy.

‘There can be no robust recovery as long as corporations are intent on keeping idle workers sidelined and squeezing the pay of those on the job’ added the New York Times.415 Since the downturn there have been concerted efforts across the United States, mostly by big business, to further weaken the bargaining power of labour. In Wisconsin, the state’s Republican governor, Scott Walker, even tried in February 2011 to introduce a bill designed to remove collective bargaining and other union rights. In an echo of Ronald Reagan’s war on air traffic controllers in the 1980s, this was an attempt to dismantle what was left of union power, one which led to sustained protests across the country. A similar divide has been emerging in the UK. After falling in every year from 2005-2010, real take-home pay is now predicted to continue to fall for the next year or two at least.

As part of the new contract with labour, Britain should move more closely to the continental European practice, especially the ‘flexicurity’ model followed mainly in Scandinavia. These nations have both highly interventionist policies—which combine worker security with a flexible response to technological advance—and a strong record on employment generation, labour force participation and growth. They are characterised by strong collective bargaining and workforce protection along with generous welfare benefits buttressed by stringent job search requirements and time limits on the duration of benefits. In contrast to the Anglo-Saxon experience of high earnings inequality and high levels of in-work poverty, the flexicurity countries have combined high employment with much lower levels of wage inequality.


pages: 322 words: 87,181

Straight Talk on Trade: Ideas for a Sane World Economy by Dani Rodrik

3D printing, airline deregulation, Asian financial crisis, bank run, barriers to entry, behavioural economics, Berlin Wall, Bernie Sanders, blue-collar work, Bretton Woods, BRICs, business cycle, call centre, capital controls, Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty, carbon tax, Carmen Reinhart, carried interest, central bank independence, centre right, collective bargaining, conceptual framework, continuous integration, corporate governance, corporate social responsibility, currency manipulation / currency intervention, David Ricardo: comparative advantage, deindustrialization, Donald Trump, endogenous growth, Eugene Fama: efficient market hypothesis, eurozone crisis, export processing zone, failed state, financial deregulation, financial innovation, financial intermediation, financial repression, floating exchange rates, full employment, future of work, general purpose technology, George Akerlof, global value chain, income inequality, inflation targeting, information asymmetry, investor state dispute settlement, invisible hand, Jean Tirole, Kenneth Rogoff, low interest rates, low skilled workers, manufacturing employment, market clearing, market fundamentalism, meta-analysis, moral hazard, Nelson Mandela, new economy, offshore financial centre, open borders, open economy, open immigration, Pareto efficiency, postindustrial economy, precautionary principle, price stability, public intellectual, pushing on a string, race to the bottom, randomized controlled trial, regulatory arbitrage, rent control, rent-seeking, Richard Thaler, Robert Gordon, Robert Shiller, Ronald Reagan, Sam Peltzman, Silicon Valley, Solyndra, special economic zone, spectrum auction, Steven Pinker, tacit knowledge, The Rise and Fall of American Growth, the scientific method, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, Thomas L Friedman, too big to fail, total factor productivity, trade liberalization, transaction costs, Tyler Cowen, unorthodox policies, Washington Consensus, World Values Survey, zero-sum game, éminence grise

But there would be a compensatory boost to the economy, they argued, that would come from the long-delayed and much-needed opening of the Greek economy to competitive market forces. The specifics demanded from Greece ranged from mundane to gut-wrenching. They included (in no particular order) lower barriers to entry in service businesses such as notaries, pharmacies, and taxis; reduced scope of collective bargaining; privatization of state assets; a rollback of pensions; and the cleanup of Greece’s notoriously inefficient and arguably corrupt tax administration. The IMF’s then-chief economist, Olivier Blanchard, (among others) argued that such reforms were critical in light of the “dismal productivity growth record of Greece before the program.”2 Less ambitious reforms wouldn’t do because they would have less impact on growth potential and necessitate greater debt relief.

India’s growth performance lagged until the 1980s, but has been more than decent since (even overtaking China in recent years). Similarly, there is no reason why workers in low income countries should be deprived of fundamental labor rights for the sake of industrial development and export performance. These include freedom of association and collective bargaining, reasonably safe working conditions, nondiscrimination, maximum hours, and restrictions on arbitrary dismissal. As with democracy, these are basic requirements of a decent society. Their first-order effect is to level the bargaining relationship between employers and employees, rather than to raise overall costs of production.

In 1981, the “trade adjustment assistance (TAA) program was one of the first things Reagan attacked, cutting its weekly compensation payments.”5 The damage continued under subsequent, Democratic administrations. In the words of Mishel, “if free-traders had actually cared about the working class they could have supported a full range of policies to support robust wage growth: full employment, collective bargaining, high labor standards, a robust minimum wage, and so on.” And all of this could have been done “before administering ‘shocks’ by expanding trade with low-wage countries.” Could the United States now reverse course and follow the newly emergent conventional wisdom? As late as 2007, political scientist Ken Scheve and economist Matt Slaughter called for “a New Deal for globalization” in the United States, which would link “engagement with the world economy to a substantial redistribution of income.”6 In the United States, they argued, this would mean adopting a much more progressive federal tax system.


Working the Phones: Control and Resistance in Call Centres by Jamie Woodcock

always be closing, anti-work, antiwork, call centre, capitalist realism, cognitive dissonance, collective bargaining, David Graeber, emotional labour, gamification, invention of the telephone, job satisfaction, late capitalism, means of production, millennium bug, new economy, Panopticon Jeremy Bentham, post-Fordism, post-industrial society, post-work, precariat, profit motive, scientific management, social intelligence, stakhanovite, technological determinism, women in the workforce

There was no formal worker organisation – trade union or otherwise – in the call centre (but as we have seen this does not mean it was not a site of collective struggle). There are two key issues here. The first is the state of trade unionism in the UK. Trade unions have a basic aim under capitalism: to secure, usually by collective bargaining, better conditions for workers. But in practice contemporary trade unionism seems to have lost it’s ‘unionateness’: the ‘commitment of an organization to the general principles and ideology of trade unionism’,1 failing to even secure these better conditions in many cases. As we will discuss in this chapter, it is therefore difficult to connect workplace resistance to official trade unionism.

This remains primarily a demand on women in the workforce and increases the likelihood of employment in non-standard jobs that are temporary or casualised. It is therefore possible to say that the most precarious and vulnerable are those in low-paid, ‘non-standard’ jobs, without trade union organisation as they are not covered by either of the ‘three regulatory regimes – collective bargaining, employment protection rights and the national insurance system’.38 Much academic literature is concerned with ‘the unionized workforce’, yet ‘the non-unionized themselves, who comprise the majority of employees, have been marginalized’, something that Pollert and Charlwood argue demands renewed attention.39 138 Precarious Organisation the limitations of trade unions The problems of casualisation are compounded by the falling levels of trade union membership in the UK.

They continue to argue that due to this, ‘three significant dimensions of policy can be identified: a strategy of de-regulation of labour markets and promotion of a low wage, low skill economy as a means of attracting inward investment; competitive tendering and internal markets in the public sector; and the sustained legislative assault on union organisation, employment rights and collective bargaining’.41 The level of strike action can be used as an indicator of the confidence and combativity of the working class. The institutional figures for trade union membership are worrying and the figures for official strike days paint a similar picture. In the 1980s there was an average of 400 strike days lost per 1,000 workers annually.42 Between 2003 and 2007 the average number of strike days per 1,000 workers had fallen to only 25.1.43 The past few years have seen the trade union movement responding to government austerity programmes, which involved three dimensions: the Trade Union Congress organised a significant demonstration on 26 March 2011 in London which was followed by two large strikes in June and November later that year.


pages: 525 words: 153,356

The People: The Rise and Fall of the Working Class, 1910-2010 by Selina Todd

"there is no alternative" (TINA), call centre, collective bargaining, conceptual framework, credit crunch, deindustrialization, deskilling, different worldview, Downton Abbey, financial independence, full employment, income inequality, longitudinal study, manufacturing employment, meritocracy, Neil Kinnock, New Urbanism, Red Clydeside, rent control, Right to Buy, rising living standards, scientific management, sexual politics, strikebreaker, The Spirit Level, unemployed young men, union organizing, upwardly mobile, urban renewal, Winter of Discontent, women in the workforce, work culture , young professional

Yet as Alice Foley later wrote, the militancy of these years was ‘a first shot in the human struggle to retain traditional methods of production against those fierce on-coming thrusts of technocracy and automation which were to harass and bedevil the cotton industry for the next half-century.’15 The actions of people like her did help to establish a modicum of negotiation with their employers and ensured that industrial workers were not forced into the deferential role demanded of domestic servants, who lacked any collective bargaining rights. On the eve of the First World War, however, employers refused to grant their workers many rights at all. Unemployment was high, and their government favoured the harsh repression of industrial militancy; the mill owners and manufacturers of Britain could defy the strikers with the support of ministers of state.

During the war the government struck a contract with the people: work hard in return for a guaranteed job, a living wage and care in times of need. This bargain evolved because the demand for munitions and men created full employment in Britain for the first time, and the workers themselves used this to strengthen their collective bargaining power. But to call the Second World War ‘the people’s war’ does not mean that Britain became classless. The government sought to win the war by demanding ever greater sacrifice and effort from the workers in the factories and from ordinary troops. Only when the crisis absolutely demanded it did they oblige middle- and upper-class people to share in some of these sacrifices.

He began in May 1940 by cutting working hours in Royal Ordnance Factories, increasing the number of workplace canteens, building workers’ hostels and improving the medical services available to factory workers. Bevin professed himself determined to ensure that ‘no industry … lack trade agreement’ by the end of the war; by which he meant that every industry must institute collective bargaining between employers and trade unions, thereby granting the latter a new and permanent form of power.11 Workers needed to feel they had a vested interest in what they were doing, otherwise they wouldn’t be motivated to work at the rate the war effort required of them. Bevin won his case because, as the historian Keith Middlemas points out, ‘labour rather than machinery or capital had become the scarcest and most prized industrial commodity.’12 In other words, the war effort depended on workers – lots of them, working as hard as they possibly could.


pages: 655 words: 156,367

The Rise and Fall of the Neoliberal Order: America and the World in the Free Market Era by Gary Gerstle

2021 United States Capitol attack, A Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace, affirmative action, Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, air traffic controllers' union, Airbnb, Alan Greenspan, Alvin Toffler, anti-communist, AOL-Time Warner, Bear Stearns, behavioural economics, Bernie Sanders, Big Tech, Black Lives Matter, blue-collar work, borderless world, Boris Johnson, Brexit referendum, British Empire, Broken windows theory, business cycle, Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty, Cass Sunstein, collective bargaining, Cornelius Vanderbilt, coronavirus, COVID-19, creative destruction, crony capitalism, cuban missile crisis, David Brooks, David Graeber, death from overwork, defund the police, deindustrialization, democratizing finance, Deng Xiaoping, desegregation, Dissolution of the Soviet Union, Donald Trump, Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, European colonialism, Ferguson, Missouri, financial deregulation, financial engineering, Francis Fukuyama: the end of history, Frederick Winslow Taylor, full employment, future of work, Future Shock, George Floyd, George Gilder, gig economy, Glass-Steagall Act, global supply chain, green new deal, Greenspan put, guns versus butter model, Haight Ashbury, Henry Ford's grandson gave labor union leader Walter Reuther a tour of the company’s new, automated factory…, Ida Tarbell, immigration reform, informal economy, invention of the printing press, invisible hand, It's morning again in America, Jeff Bezos, John Perry Barlow, Kevin Kelly, Kitchen Debate, low interest rates, Lyft, manufacturing employment, market fundamentalism, Martin Wolf, mass incarceration, Menlo Park, microaggression, Mikhail Gorbachev, military-industrial complex, millennium bug, Modern Monetary Theory, money market fund, Mont Pelerin Society, mortgage debt, mutually assured destruction, Naomi Klein, neoliberal agenda, new economy, New Journalism, Northern Rock, obamacare, Occupy movement, oil shock, open borders, Peter Thiel, Philip Mirowski, Powell Memorandum, precariat, price stability, public intellectual, Ralph Nader, Robert Bork, Ronald Reagan, scientific management, Seymour Hersh, sharing economy, Silicon Valley, Silicon Valley ideology, Silicon Valley startup, social distancing, Steve Bannon, Steve Jobs, Stewart Brand, Strategic Defense Initiative, super pumped, technoutopianism, Telecommunications Act of 1996, The Bell Curve by Richard Herrnstein and Charles Murray, The Chicago School, The Rise and Fall of American Growth, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, Thomas L Friedman, too big to fail, Uber and Lyft, uber lyft, union organizing, urban decay, urban renewal, War on Poverty, Washington Consensus, We are all Keynesians now, We are the 99%, white flight, Whole Earth Catalog, WikiLeaks, women in the workforce, Works Progress Administration, Y2K, Yom Kippur War

This retreat was evident in a variety of ways: in the articulation of a set of managerial rights held by corporations that unions were not permitted to encroach upon; the abandonment, after World War II, of democratic forms of industrial planning through tripartite boards of corporate executives, union leaders, and representatives of the public; the passage of Taft-Hartley, a measure expressly intended to limit the power of unions by stripping communist-led unions of collective bargaining rights and allowing states to pass “right-to-work” laws that allowed individual workers to refuse to join unions, even where the latter had won elections to represent all the workers in a plant.21 The 1940s did witness the rollback of certain worker rights and New Deal ambitions. But our analysis did not take seriously the possibility that things might have gone much worse for the New Deal coalition.

The limits on competition meant that individual employers could tolerate higher wage and benefit costs. The clearest manifestation of that compromise was the landmark 1950 Treaty of Detroit in which automobile employers agreed to share a significant portion of their resources with autoworkers in return for labor peace. This collective bargaining agreement, much emulated across sectors of the American economy where organized labor was strong, had been made possible in the first instance by a federal government willing to support the right of workers to organize and willing to punish employers who violated that right. It had been made possible in the second instance by the extraordinary preeminence of American industry in the world.

The time had come for a strong central state to intervene in economic processes, to create a level playing field in which workers and employers could engage each other on more or less equal terms, and to provide a cushion for those who, through injury, unemployment, and poverty, had been cast aside. The Progressive era (1900–1920) was defined by efforts to curb corporate power, to grant labor unions rights to collective bargaining, to inaugurate schemes of social insurance, and to establish a welfare state. Herbert Croly had laid out a comprehensive program of this sort in The Promise of American Life, and Theodore Roosevelt had distilled it into this pithy and powerful sentence that stood at the heart of the epoch-defining oration he had given at Osawatomie, Kansas, in 1910, the place where, in the 1850s, the fiery abolitionist John Brown and his supporters had held off a large group of pro-slavery settlers in a fierce gun battle: “The man who wrongly holds that every human right is secondary to his profit,” Roosevelt declared, “must now give way to the advocate of human welfare, who rightly maintains that every man holds his property subject to the general right of the community to regulate its use to whatever degree the public welfare may require it.”17 In 1917, Wilson became the first president to attach the word “liberal” to the view expressed by Theodore Roosevelt in 1910.


Battling Eight Giants: Basic Income Now by Guy Standing

basic income, Bernie Sanders, carbon tax, centre right, collective bargaining, decarbonisation, degrowth, diversified portfolio, Donald Trump, Elon Musk, Extinction Rebellion, full employment, future of work, Gini coefficient, income inequality, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), job automation, labour market flexibility, Lao Tzu, longitudinal study, low skilled workers, Martin Wolf, Mont Pelerin Society, moral hazard, North Sea oil, offshore financial centre, open economy, pension reform, precariat, quantitative easing, rent control, Ronald Reagan, selection bias, universal basic income, Y Combinator

As it is, the welfare state has been made more fragile and ‘residual’ in character as successive governments have accelerated the trends to comprehensive means-testing, behavioural conditionality and workfare. None of the funding methods envisaged for basic income would mean less money for public services. (7) Basic income would weaken unions and collective bargaining. Some trade unionists have argued that, if workers had a basic income, they would not join unions and would be less inclined to push for higher wages. The opposite is the case. It would encourage workers to back collective bargaining for higher wages, because having basic income security would make them less fearful of retribution. A basic income would be a boon to unionism. (8) A basic income would subsidize low wages.

Yet today in Britain, of the more than 14 million people classified as living in poverty, 8 million or 58% have someone in Slaying Giants with Basic Income 11 the household in employment, up from 37% in 1995.10 Some 2.8 million people are living in poverty despite having all adults in their household employed full-time.11 Nearly three quarters of children in poverty have one or both parents in jobs, compared with about half in the 1990s. The fact is that a growing number of jobs do not enable people to escape from income poverty. Reforms in labour standards, minimum wages and collective bargaining could moderate this, but the pattern is likely to persist. Britain is not alone in this trend, but it has been among the worst.12 It is highly unlikely that, despite all these trends, there has been no increase in overall inequality. And it is worth highlighting some simple flaws in the statistics on which claims that there has been no such increase are based.


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Radical Markets: Uprooting Capitalism and Democracy for a Just Society by Eric Posner, E. Weyl

3D printing, activist fund / activist shareholder / activist investor, Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, Airbnb, Amazon Mechanical Turk, anti-communist, augmented reality, basic income, Berlin Wall, Bernie Sanders, Big Tech, Branko Milanovic, business process, buy and hold, carbon footprint, Cass Sunstein, Clayton Christensen, cloud computing, collective bargaining, commoditize, congestion pricing, Corn Laws, corporate governance, crowdsourcing, cryptocurrency, data science, deep learning, DeepMind, Donald Trump, Elon Musk, endowment effect, Erik Brynjolfsson, Ethereum, feminist movement, financial deregulation, Francis Fukuyama: the end of history, full employment, gamification, Garrett Hardin, George Akerlof, global macro, global supply chain, guest worker program, hydraulic fracturing, Hyperloop, illegal immigration, immigration reform, income inequality, income per capita, index fund, informal economy, information asymmetry, invisible hand, Jane Jacobs, Jaron Lanier, Jean Tirole, Jeremy Corbyn, Joseph Schumpeter, Kenneth Arrow, labor-force participation, laissez-faire capitalism, Landlord’s Game, liberal capitalism, low skilled workers, Lyft, market bubble, market design, market friction, market fundamentalism, mass immigration, negative equity, Network effects, obamacare, offshore financial centre, open borders, Pareto efficiency, passive investing, patent troll, Paul Samuelson, performance metric, plutocrats, pre–internet, radical decentralization, random walk, randomized controlled trial, Ray Kurzweil, recommendation engine, rent-seeking, Richard Thaler, ride hailing / ride sharing, risk tolerance, road to serfdom, Robert Shiller, Ronald Coase, Rory Sutherland, search costs, Second Machine Age, second-price auction, self-driving car, shareholder value, sharing economy, Silicon Valley, Skype, special economic zone, spectrum auction, speech recognition, statistical model, stem cell, telepresence, Thales and the olive presses, Thales of Miletus, The Death and Life of Great American Cities, The Future of Employment, The Market for Lemons, The Nature of the Firm, The Rise and Fall of American Growth, The Theory of the Leisure Class by Thorstein Veblen, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, Thorstein Veblen, trade route, Tragedy of the Commons, transaction costs, trickle-down economics, Tyler Cowen, Uber and Lyft, uber lyft, universal basic income, urban planning, Vanguard fund, vertical integration, women in the workforce, Zipcar

Marx argued that these labor practices created what his collaborator Friedrich Engels called a “reserve army of the labor” (that is, a class of unemployed) whose even more squalid condition would persuade workers to do anything to maintain their jobs.41 As economist John Roemer showed, Marx’s conclusions are extremely unlikely to prevail if employers compete for workers.42 However, they are exactly what one would anticipate in a world where capitalists conspired with each other, or had sufficient unilateral power, to hold down wages. Beatrice and Sydney Webb, a dynamic pair of late nineteenth-century British Radicals, advocated collective bargaining by workers, arguing that it would make production more efficient by raising wages above the levels that drove workers out of the labor force.43 John Kenneth Galbraith, the mid-twentieth-century American economist we met in chapter 2, hailed unions as a necessary form of “countervailing power” required to balance the power of monopsonists.44 This view has been partly vindicated by the research of subsequent economists.

Allen shows that prior to the emergence of unions, British wages during the early process of industrialization hardly advanced at all despite improvements in technology.45 Once unions managed to counter the monopsony power of British industrialists, not only did wages quickly increase, but the pace of overall productivity radically accelerated. Economists David Autor, Daron Acemoglu, and Suresh Naidu believe that the breaking of monopsony power through labor unions, government labor regulation, minimum wages, and other reforms was critical to the further acceleration of productivity.46 Beyond their role in collective bargaining, unions served other functions that helped support the “Fordist” mode of assembly line–based production that prevailed in the twentieth century: they screened and guaranteed the quality of the work produced by their workers and helped them learn the skills required by a rapidly changing work environment.

An individual data worker lacks bargaining power, so she cannot credibly threaten to withdraw her data from Facebook or Google unless she receives a fair reward. Furthermore, to realize the gains from data as labor, data workers will need some organization to vet them, ensure they provide quality data, and help them navigate the complexities of digital systems without overburdening their time. These triple roles, of collective bargaining, quality certification, and career development, are exactly the roles unions played during the Industrial Age. It may be time for “data workers of the world (to) unite” into a “data labor movement.”47 A striking feature of the data labor market is that it is an international market, one that is almost completely unaffected by borders and government regulation.


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The Knowledge Economy by Roberto Mangabeira Unger

additive manufacturing, adjacent possible, balance sheet recession, business cycle, collective bargaining, commoditize, deindustrialization, disruptive innovation, first-past-the-post, full employment, global value chain, information asymmetry, knowledge economy, market fundamentalism, means of production, Paul Samuelson, Phillips curve, post-Fordism, radical decentralization, savings glut, secular stagnation, side project, tacit knowledge, total factor productivity, transaction costs, union organizing, wealth creators

The approaches to organizing and representing labor that prevailed in the course of the twentieth century enjoyed such a foundation. The predominant arrangement for organizing and representing labor in the rich North Atlantic world and its outposts was the contractualist or collective bargaining labor-law regime: collective bargaining was designed to shore up the reality of contract in the unequal setting of the employment relation thanks to the “countervailing power” with which it endowed organized labor. In Latin America, an alternative, corporatist labor law emerged: workers (in the formal, legal economy that often accounted for half or less of the labor force) were automatically unionized according to their sector, under the tutelage of the ministry of labor.

The repetitious character of work, mimicking the operations of rigid machines, leaves the specialized implementers of productive tasks little occasion to redefine the plan that they are charged with executing. An implicit term of the employment contract—the contractual form of wage labor—is that all residual discretion to direct the process of production is reserved to managers appointed by owners, within the restraints of law and collective bargaining. In the established arrangements of the market economy, the central legal devices organizing decentralized access to productive resources and opportunities are the unified property right (a legal invention of the nineteenth century) and its counterpart in contract law, the bilateral executory promise—an arm’s-length deal, fully specifying the terms of a bargain that is exhausted in a single performance.

Index administrative Fordism, 86–87, 110, 185, 187 agency, 8, 145 enhancement of, 188, 214 agriculture market and, 210–11 mass production and, 87–88 scientific, 6, 53, 88, 163 transferring resources to industry from, 12, 15, 85–86, 161, 219 in US, 88, 209–10 Alphabet (company), 59 antitrust law, 66–67 artificial intelligence, 2, 21, 41, 42, 94, 223 belated Fordism, 15, 165, 166–67 Bentham, Jeremy, 229, 273 bilateral executory contract, 48, 102, 222, 245 Brazil, 164–70 entrepreneurial impulse in, 166, 168–69 industry in, 164–66 Britain, 32, 151, 210–11 capital access to, 119, 123, 125, 184 human, 160 labor’s relations with, 63–64, 184–86, 221, 224–25 providers and takers of, 221 social, 49–51, 105 venture, 119–20, 194 capital appreciation, 58 capitalism inclusive knowledge economy and, 236–37 Marx on, 32, 172, 210, 237, 266, 268 moral presuppositions of, 47–48 no in-built structure of, 179–80, 228, 236 “varieties of,” 179, 228 See also market economy and order China, 55, 141, 162, 199 Christensen, Clayton, 216 civil society, 110, 134 government and, 87, 157, 187 classical economics. See economics – classical closed-list thesis, 118, 235 coercion, 266–68 cognitive psychology, 42 collective bargaining, 64, 102 collective dictatorship, 140–41 collective difference, 148–49 combined and uneven development, 90, 137, 172, 186 comparative advantage doctrine, 253 compensatory and corrective redistribution demand constraints and, 205–8 market economy and, 73–74 progressive taxation, 73, 74, 76, 78–80, 182, 205, 208 public spending, 205, 207–8 social entitlements and transfers, 64, 73–75, 76, 248 tax-and-transfer, 13, 64, 78, 207, 209 competition cooperation and, 49, 67, 103, 133–34 between large and small firms, 59–60 market, 253–56 competitive selection, 253–56 consumption growth of, 53 individual desire and, 239, 280 mass, 176, 204–5 surplus over current, 9, 32, 266, 278 taxes on, 75, 77–78, 79, 208 contract and property law, 48, 102, 109, 124 need for new approach to, 113–14, 262 cooperation capability for, 104–8, 109–10 competition and, 49, 67, 103, 133–34 education and, 95, 110 as form of free labor, 45, 69, 185–86, 222 imagination and, 81, 93 independent role of, 50–51 innovation and, 47, 48–50, 93, 106–7, 109–11 between workers and owners, 115 cooperative regime, 105, 107–8, 112 decentralized initiative/access and, 105–6, 115 raising level of, 104–7, 214 technical division of labor and, 20–21, 35–36 copyright, 127–28, 129, 130, 131, 132 corporatism, 65, 165, 176, 204 countercylical management, 176, 231, 247, 260 Creative Commons license, 132 data trading, 128, 129–30 debt, 123, 176, 199 demand expansion and, 193, 203–5 decentralization coordinated production plan and, 23 of economic activity, 22, 106, 115, 186, 222 inclusive knowledge economy and, 50, 255–56 unified property right and, 102, 125, 186, 237 demand constraints and expansion, 13, 213, 209 broadening access, 13, 195–96, 200–201, 203–7, 209, 213, 257–58 compensatory redistribution and, 205–7 debt and, 203–5 Keynes on, 200–201, 257–58 See also supply-demand relationship democracy devolution principle in, 152–55 direct, 143, 156, 157 economy and, 143–44, 187 education and, 97–98 engagement principle and, 155–58 group difference and, 146–49 impasse resolution and, 150–52 institutional forms of, 143, 144–45 politics and, 77, 97, 156, 279 weak, 141–42, 143, 146, 156, 173 desire, human, 280–81 developing countries, 164–70 inclusive vanguardism in, 167, 171–72 industrialization and, 159–60, 161, 162–63 international division of labor and, 161, 162–63 development economics, classical on agriculture-to-industry transfer, 12, 15, 85–86, 161 broken formula of, 163–64, 171, 212, 219–20 on education and institutions, 160–61 on industrialization, 159–60, 161, 167–68 on productivity, 85–86, 161, 212 devolution, 152–55 digital technology, 9, 19, 57 diminishing marginal returns knowledge economy’s potential to relax or reverse, 25–26, 28–29, 30, 31, 33, 130, 196, 213, 221, 279 persistence of, 61, 283 productivity and, 25, 28–29, 191 returns to scale and, 25–26 disaggregation of property, 126–27, 222 disequilibrium Keynesianism on, 201, 259–60 perpetual, 202–3 disruptive innovation, 216–19 distancing, 36–37 diversity group difference and, 146–49 knowledge economy and, 255–56 as task, 254–55 division of labor character of work and, 101–2, 283 international, 55–56, 161, 162–63, 167, 168 technical, 20–21, 23, 35–36, 37–39, 84, 94, 223–24 Durkheim, Émile, 105 economic flexibility economic security and, 68–69, 109, 178 social protection and, 77, 112, 177, 181 economic planning, 20, 23, 103, 161 economics deficiencies of main line of, 231–32 empirical research and, 240–43 history of, 233–38 ideas from within and without in, 270–73 imperative of structural vision in, 227–33 role of mathematics in, 273, 274–75 as social theory, 232, 263, 264, 268, 271, 274 See also development economics; fundamentalist economics; marginalist economics; post-marginalist economics economics – classical, 262–70 on capitalism as historical stage, 268–70 causal theories and explanations of, 263–65 on coercion, 267–68 small business and, 11, 12 Smith and, 232, 263, 271 value theory in, 265–66 economic security, 111–13 flexibility and, 68–69, 109, 178 labor and, 49, 67–68, 109 Edgeworth, Francis, 241, 273 Mathematical Psychics, 229 education cooperation and, 95, 110 democracy and, 97–98 depth of, 95 development economics on, 160 dialectical approach to, 96–97 effect on inequality of, 13–14 experimentalist impulse and, 138 imagination and, 95 inclusive knowledge economy requirements for, 50, 82, 93–99, 186 industrial mass production’s requirements in, 85 institutional requirements of, 99 method and subject matter of, 96 technical, 93–94 empiricism, 240–43 empowerment, 75, 178, 184, 224 of difference, 146, 149, 150, 152, 153, 157 freedom/democracy and, 145, 286 engagement principle, 155–58 entrepreneurial impulse, 126, 166, 168–69 equivocating economics, 244, 249–50 exchange-production relationship, 227, 251–52 experimentalism as impulse, 136, 138–40 inclusive knowledge economy and, 138, 186–87 scientific, 30–31 federalism, 153–54 finance, 184, 193–94 financial derivatives, 126 firms government and, 67, 119–20, 121–24, 130–31, 176 knowledge economy and, 7, 27, 224 relations among, 124 small businesses, 11–12, 54–55, 77, 165, 170 supply/demand and, 215–19 flexsecurity, 67–68, 112 Ford, Henry, 16, 39, 196 Fordism administrative, 86–87, 110, 185, 187 belated, 15, 165, 166–67 See also industrial mass production fragmentary theory, 271–72, 273, 276 France, 152, 154, 211 freedom constraint and, 283–84 empowerment and, 286 imagination and, 287 free labor, 45, 69, 185–86, 222–23, 282, 286 frozen fighting, 234 fundamentalist economics, 244, 245–47 Germany, 89, 93 government civil society and, 87, 157, 187 firms and, 67, 119–20, 121–24, 130–31, 176 monetary policies of, 181, 203–4, 247–48, 249, 260 private venture capital and, 119 relations between central and local, 153–54 rewards for innovation by, 132–33, 134 government regulation, 53–54, 177, 181, 182 arms-length model of, 121–22 group difference, 146–49 Hansen, Alvin, 8, 9 Harrington, James, 105 Hayek, Friedrich, 245 human capital, 160 hyper-insular vanguardism developing countries and, 162 inequality and, 72 labor and, 63, 65–66 pseudo-vanguardism and, 59–60 imagination classical economics’ underestimation of, 266–68 cooperation and, 81, 93 education and, 95 freedom and, 287 institutional, 155, 243–50, 254, 264–65 as knowledge economy requirement, 37, 39–40, 93, 95, 186, 286–87 mind as, 36–37, 43, 81, 99–100, 186–87, 287 negative capability and, 43–44 production and, 37, 39, 40, 286–87 impasse resolution, 150–52 inclusive vanguardism.


pages: 497 words: 143,175

Pivotal Decade: How the United States Traded Factories for Finance in the Seventies by Judith Stein

1960s counterculture, accelerated depreciation, activist lawyer, affirmative action, airline deregulation, Alan Greenspan, anti-communist, Ayatollah Khomeini, barriers to entry, Berlin Wall, blue-collar work, Bretton Woods, business cycle, capital controls, centre right, collective bargaining, Credit Default Swap, crony capitalism, David Ricardo: comparative advantage, deindustrialization, desegregation, do well by doing good, Dr. Strangelove, energy security, Fall of the Berlin Wall, falling living standards, feminist movement, financial deregulation, floating exchange rates, full employment, Glass-Steagall Act, Gunnar Myrdal, guns versus butter model, Ida Tarbell, income inequality, income per capita, intermodal, invisible hand, knowledge worker, laissez-faire capitalism, Les Trente Glorieuses, liberal capitalism, Long Term Capital Management, low interest rates, manufacturing employment, market bubble, Martin Wolf, new economy, Nixon triggered the end of the Bretton Woods system, oil shale / tar sands, oil shock, open economy, Paul Samuelson, payday loans, post-industrial society, post-oil, price mechanism, price stability, Ralph Nader, RAND corporation, reserve currency, Robert Gordon, Robert Solow, Ronald Reagan, Savings and loan crisis, Simon Kuznets, strikebreaker, three-martini lunch, trade liberalization, union organizing, urban planning, urban renewal, War on Poverty, Washington Consensus, working poor, Yom Kippur War

Only William Miller, who had replaced Blumenthal as secretary of the treasury, supported the agreement and helped untie the final knots.62 Unlike most of Carter’s advisers, Miller came from industry, not the academy, and so understood the give and take of collective bargaining. In the end, Carter’s political advisers convinced him that the reelection in 1980 rode on the agreement with labor.63 The AFL-CIO would fill five of the fifteen seats on the new Pay Advisory Committee. Another five seats would go to business, and the remaining five would represent the general public. One of the public representatives was John Dunlop, the ultimate collective bargainer.64 The committee would advise the CWPS on pay standards. Whether the council was required to adopt the suggestions was deliberately left fuzzy.

Ray Marshall, another PhD in economics. AFL-CIO chief George Meany had urged Carter to appoint John Dunlop, the Harvard labor economist who had been President Ford’s secretary of labor. Dunlop had resigned after Ford vetoed labor reform legislation that he had pledged to sign. Believing that robust collective bargaining was the essence of industrial democracy, Dunlop was the consummate negotiator. But representatives of blacks and women did not believe he was committed enough to airmative action, which would have made him a problematic pick for Carter.3 Marshall, whose southern origins added to his appeal, seemed better on airmative action because he had written about racial discrimination and manpower policy.

The second bill aimed to empower the powerless, a more politically appealing group, particularly southern workers. The South was the bastion of anti-unionism. The journalist Harry Golden declared that the people of Charlotte, North Carolina, would “elect Cassius Clay mayor if he would promise no unions and no collective bargaining.”21 Aggressive anti-union tactics and corporate violations of the labor law were a major reason why unions that had won 60 percent of representation elections, were winning only 46 percent now. The proposed reform would make it easier for workers to unionize by amending the National Labor Relations Act of 1935 (better known as the Wagner Act, after its architect, Senator Robert Wagner of New York).


pages: 614 words: 168,545

Rentier Capitalism: Who Owns the Economy, and Who Pays for It? by Brett Christophers

"World Economic Forum" Davos, accounting loophole / creative accounting, Airbnb, Amazon Web Services, barriers to entry, Big bang: deregulation of the City of London, Big Tech, book value, Boris Johnson, Bretton Woods, Brexit referendum, British Empire, business process, business process outsourcing, Buy land – they’re not making it any more, call centre, Cambridge Analytica, Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty, Cass Sunstein, cloud computing, collective bargaining, congestion charging, corporate governance, data is not the new oil, David Graeber, DeepMind, deindustrialization, Diane Coyle, digital capitalism, disintermediation, diversification, diversified portfolio, Donald Trump, Downton Abbey, electricity market, Etonian, European colonialism, financial deregulation, financial innovation, financial intermediation, G4S, gig economy, Gini coefficient, Goldman Sachs: Vampire Squid, greed is good, green new deal, haute couture, high net worth, housing crisis, income inequality, independent contractor, intangible asset, Internet of things, Jeff Bezos, Jeremy Corbyn, Joseph Schumpeter, Kickstarter, land bank, land reform, land value tax, light touch regulation, low interest rates, Lyft, manufacturing employment, market clearing, Martin Wolf, means of production, moral hazard, mortgage debt, Network effects, new economy, North Sea oil, offshore financial centre, oil shale / tar sands, oil shock, patent troll, pattern recognition, peak oil, Piper Alpha, post-Fordism, post-war consensus, precariat, price discrimination, price mechanism, profit maximization, proprietary trading, quantitative easing, race to the bottom, remunicipalization, rent control, rent gap, rent-seeking, ride hailing / ride sharing, Right to Buy, risk free rate, Ronald Coase, Rutger Bregman, sharing economy, short selling, Silicon Valley, software patent, subscription business, surveillance capitalism, TaskRabbit, tech bro, The Nature of the Firm, transaction costs, Uber for X, uber lyft, vertical integration, very high income, wage slave, We are all Keynesians now, wealth creators, winner-take-all economy, working-age population, yield curve, you are the product

The first is that the impact of monopsony on wages is contingent: increasing monopsony drives down pay – and, extrapolated to the whole economy, labour’s share – only where workers are not covered by collective bargaining agreements. In other words, unionization, where present, serves as a bulwark against exploitation. But, as is well known, the neoliberal era has been one long period of union decline in the UK. In 1980, around 70 per cent of employees’ wages were set by collective bargaining.60 By 2018, the figure had plummeted to just 26 per cent for the workforce as a whole, and even lower – a paltry 15 per cent – in the private sector.61 The bulwark, then, has been removed.

Doward, ‘ “Second-Class” NHS Workers Struggle as Pay Gap Widens’, Guardian, 7 April 2019. 133. J. C. Wong, ‘Google Staff Condemn Treatment of Temp Workers in “Historic” Show of Solidarity’, Guardian, 2 April 2019. 134. J. Croft, ‘Outsourced University Workers Seek Collective Bargaining Rights’, Financial Times, 26 February 2019. 135. J. Croft, ‘High Court Dismisses Outsourced Workers’ Bid for Collective Bargaining Rights’, Financial Times, 25 March 2019. 136. Chakrabortty, ‘Some Call It Outsourcing’. 137. The number of PFI/PF2 deals contracted per annum plummeted from over sixty in 2007/08 to just one in 2016/17, PF2 having been used for just six projects in total by mid 2018.

It is most certainly not sustainable in a modern society.124 But, sustainable or not, this, it appears, is precisely where things now stand: the ‘dark days’ referred to by Tizard have indeed returned, and with a vengeance. As early as 2012, Ursula Huws and Sarah Podro sounded the alarm, painting a dismal picture of employment conditions for workers on both public- and private-sector contracts.125 Job security was limited. The scope for collective bargaining had been radically attenuated by the splintering of workforces. And, crucially, there was precious little evidence of either worker equality or cohesion, as even workers ‘performing the same role on the same site, who were previously colleagues, found themselves on differing terms and conditions’.126 Two years later, the Smith Institute released an equally damning report.


pages: 735 words: 165,375

The Survival of the City: Human Flourishing in an Age of Isolation by Edward Glaeser, David Cutler

Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, agricultural Revolution, Alvin Toffler, Andrei Shleifer, autonomous vehicles, basic income, Big bang: deregulation of the City of London, Big Tech, Black Lives Matter, British Empire, business cycle, buttonwood tree, call centre, carbon footprint, Cass Sunstein, classic study, clean water, collective bargaining, Columbian Exchange, contact tracing, Corn Laws, Cornelius Vanderbilt, coronavirus, COVID-19, crack epidemic, defund the police, deindustrialization, Deng Xiaoping, desegregation, discovery of penicillin, Donald Trump, Edward Glaeser, Elisha Otis, Fellow of the Royal Society, flying shuttle, future of work, Future Shock, gentrification, George Floyd, germ theory of disease, global pandemic, global village, hiring and firing, Home mortgage interest deduction, Honoré de Balzac, income inequality, industrial cluster, James Hargreaves, Jane Jacobs, Jevons paradox, job automation, jobless men, John Maynard Keynes: Economic Possibilities for our Grandchildren, John Snow's cholera map, knowledge worker, lockdown, Louis Pasteur, Mahatma Gandhi, manufacturing employment, mass incarceration, Maui Hawaii, means of production, megacity, meta-analysis, new economy, New Urbanism, Occupy movement, opioid epidemic / opioid crisis, out of africa, place-making, precautionary principle, RAND corporation, randomized controlled trial, remote working, Richard Florida, Salesforce, Saturday Night Live, Silicon Valley, Skype, smart cities, social distancing, Socratic dialogue, spinning jenny, superstar cities, Tax Reform Act of 1986, tech baron, TED Talk, The Death and Life of Great American Cities, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, TikTok, trade route, union organizing, universal basic income, Upton Sinclair, urban planning, working poor, Works Progress Administration, zero-sum game, zoonotic diseases

CNN reported that “on at least 20 occasions in that police officer’s 14-year career, citizens have filed complaints against Van Dyke.” The ensuing report of Chicago’s Police Accountability Task Force found that “the collective bargaining agreements between the police unions and the City have essentially turned the code of silence into official policy,” and that “even after a misconduct complaint is sustained, the collective bargaining agreements provide a grievance procedure that can minimize the severity of the punishment or overturn it completely.” A study by Dhammika Dharmapala, Richard McAdams, and John Rappaport of the University of Chicago investigates the impact of union contracts by examining a 2003 judicial decision in which “county sheriffs’ deputies won the right to organize for collective bargaining.”

A study by Dhammika Dharmapala, Richard McAdams, and John Rappaport of the University of Chicago investigates the impact of union contracts by examining a 2003 judicial decision in which “county sheriffs’ deputies won the right to organize for collective bargaining.” Those sheriffs’ deputies could be compared with municipal police departments that “had the right to bargain collectively both before and after that date.” The authors’ “estimates imply that collective bargaining rights led to a substantial increase in violent incidents of misconduct among sheriffs’ offices, relative to police departments.” Police unions will always try to protect their members.

., Police Contracts Shield Officers from Scrutiny and Discipline.” “on at least 20”: McLaughlin, “Chicago Officer Had History of Complaints before Laquan McDonald Shooting.” “the collective bargaining agreements”: Chicago Police Accountability Task Force, Recommendations for Reform: Restoring Trust between the Chicago Police and the Communities They Serve, 14, 85. “county sheriffs’”: Dharmapala, McAdams, and Rappaport, “Collective Bargaining Rights and Police Misconduct: Evidence from Florida,” 2. “estimates imply that”: Dharmapala, McAdams, and Rappaport, 1. “a program requiring officers”: Associated Press, “Boston Police Union Goes to Court after Officers’ Resistance to Wearing Body-Worn Cameras.”


pages: 678 words: 160,676

The Upswing: How America Came Together a Century Ago and How We Can Do It Again by Robert D. Putnam

affirmative action, Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, Alan Greenspan, Alvin Toffler, Arthur Marwick, classic study, clean water, collective bargaining, correlation does not imply causation, David Brooks, demographic transition, desegregation, different worldview, Donald Trump, Edward Glaeser, en.wikipedia.org, equal pay for equal work, financial deregulation, gender pay gap, ghettoisation, Gordon Gekko, greed is good, Gunnar Myrdal, guns versus butter model, Herbert Marcuse, Ida Tarbell, immigration reform, income inequality, Kenneth Arrow, knowledge economy, labor-force participation, laissez-faire capitalism, low skilled workers, Mark Zuckerberg, market fundamentalism, mass immigration, mega-rich, meta-analysis, minimum wage unemployment, MITM: man-in-the-middle, obamacare, occupational segregation, open economy, opioid epidemic / opioid crisis, Overton Window, plutocrats, post-industrial society, Powell Memorandum, prosperity theology / prosperity gospel / gospel of success, public intellectual, road to serfdom, Robert Shiller, Ronald Reagan, Scientific racism, Second Machine Age, shareholder value, Silicon Valley, Steve Jobs, Steven Pinker, strikebreaker, The Rise and Fall of American Growth, The Spirit Level, trade liberalization, Travis Kalanick, Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, Tyler Cowen, Tyler Cowen: Great Stagnation, union organizing, Upton Sinclair, upwardly mobile, W. E. B. Du Bois, War on Poverty, white flight, women in the workforce, working poor, Works Progress Administration, yellow journalism

This time union efforts proved more durable, and union membership would not fall below the new high-water mark for the rest of the century.74 Strikes became the workers’ weapon of choice in the struggle with management, and in the decades after 1870 America acquired “the bloodiest and most violent labor history of any industrial nation in the world.”75 On neither side was this tussle a polite effort to seek compromise through collective bargaining. Both sides used violence—from the notorious street battles of the Homestead steel strike in 1892, to the equally violent Pullman strike in Chicago in 1894, to the anthracite coal strike in Pennsylvania in 1902. In 1894 Democratic president Grover Cleveland and his attorney general, Richard Olney, crafted a strategy to use court injunctions to break the Pullman strike, but by 1902 the Progressive Republican president Teddy Roosevelt appointed the Anthracite Coal Commission that ended the miners’ strike, giving de facto recognition to the union.

Union blunders, including irksome public sector strikes and revelations of union corruption, especially in the Teamsters Union, which damaged the public legitimacy of unions.83 The devitalization of unions as a site for social connection, in part because of growing individualism on part of younger workers, who preferred watching television in isolating suburbs to bowling with the guys in the union hall, a factor to which we shall return in Chapter 4.84 Social connections like these waned in importance across the country after the 1960s, reducing the role of unions to mere collective bargaining agents. The ups and downs of union membership had important economic consequences, but the underlying causes of these fluctuations were as much political, sociological, and cultural as merely economic. What does a comparison of the trends in income equality in Figure 2.8 with the trends in union membership in Figure 2.12 tell us?

During the Great Convergence unions increased the incomes of what would otherwise have been low-income households, thus compressing the income distribution.87 Conversely, the decline of unions has fostered income inequality during the Great Divergence.88 Only a fraction of these effects comes from the direct impact of collective bargaining on the incomes of union members.89 Studies have found that unionization had an equalizing impact even on the nonunionized labor force,90 on broader norms of equity,91 and on CEO pay during the Great Convergence.92 During the Great Convergence unions also provided powerful support for political forces that were working for greater income equality.


pages: 474 words: 120,801

The End of Power: From Boardrooms to Battlefields and Churches to States, Why Being in Charge Isn’t What It Used to Be by Moises Naim

"World Economic Forum" Davos, additive manufacturing, AOL-Time Warner, barriers to entry, Berlin Wall, bilateral investment treaty, business cycle, business process, business process outsourcing, call centre, citizen journalism, Clayton Christensen, clean water, collapse of Lehman Brothers, collective bargaining, colonial rule, conceptual framework, corporate governance, creative destruction, crony capitalism, deskilling, disinformation, disintermediation, disruptive innovation, don't be evil, Evgeny Morozov, failed state, Fall of the Berlin Wall, financial deregulation, Francis Fukuyama: the end of history, illegal immigration, immigration reform, income inequality, income per capita, intangible asset, intermodal, invisible hand, job-hopping, Joseph Schumpeter, Julian Assange, Kickstarter, Lewis Mumford, liberation theology, Martin Wolf, mega-rich, megacity, military-industrial complex, Naomi Klein, Nate Silver, new economy, Northern Rock, Occupy movement, open borders, open economy, Peace of Westphalia, plutocrats, price mechanism, price stability, private military company, profit maximization, prosperity theology / prosperity gospel / gospel of success, radical decentralization, Ronald Coase, Ronald Reagan, seminal paper, Silicon Valley, Skype, Steve Jobs, The Nature of the Firm, Thomas Malthus, too big to fail, trade route, transaction costs, Twitter Arab Spring, vertical integration, Washington Consensus, WikiLeaks, World Values Survey, zero-sum game

But as much as unions get credit for major breakthroughs in working life, at least in rich countries (“the folks who brought you the weekend,” as the American sticker slogan says), the story of the great trade unions for several decades now has been one of decline. The numbers vary, and not every comparison is valid given the differences in structures from country to country. Still, both union density (the percentage of workers who are members of unions) and bargaining coverage (the percentage of workers covered by a collective bargaining agreement, whether they themselves are union members or not) have been declining in most OECD countries, in some cases steeply. In the United States, union density has plummeted from 36 percent after World War II to just 12 percent today. In the private sector, the drop has been even sharper, from about one-third half a century ago to less than 8 percent now.

Fast-forward three decades, to a protest held at the National Mall in 2010, and the labor unions could pull together only a small fraction of that number, with turnout lower than at Glenn Beck’s Tea Party rally five weeks earlier.22 And in 2012 another important defeat confirmed the waning power of the US labor movement as, despite a massive effort, unions failed to win a recall election against Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin. The causes of this general decline include familiar factors: globalization and technological innovation have made it easier for employers to move jobs to other countries or to eliminate them altogether, changing the balance of power in favor of employers. Though the point of collective bargaining might have been precisely to protect workers from this situation, the forces that gathered in favor of flexible and global labor markets, often supported by governments ideologically committed to market-oriented reforms, usually proved too strong. Moreover, unionization historically thrived in industries and occupations that rely on unskilled labor, which is easier to organize.

And like their predecessors in factories and warehouses, all of them were driven by an aspiration to better themselves and achieve the gains that first lured them to the United States. Led by Andy Stern, recognized as an innovator not just in American labor but also in politics and social mobilization,23 the union secured major victories with collective bargaining deals for some of the most vulnerable workers in the United States, such as janitors and child-care workers, many of whom work multiple part-time jobs and do not speak good English.24 Historically, these groups had been neglected by a union movement focused on factories and traditional industries.


Big Data and the Welfare State: How the Information Revolution Threatens Social Solidarity by Torben Iversen, Philipp Rehm

23andMe, Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, algorithmic bias, barriers to entry, Big Tech, business cycle, centre right, collective bargaining, COVID-19, crony capitalism, data science, DeepMind, deindustrialization, full employment, George Akerlof, income inequality, information asymmetry, invisible hand, knowledge economy, land reform, lockdown, loss aversion, low interest rates, low skilled workers, microbiome, moral hazard, mortgage debt, Network effects, new economy, obamacare, personalized medicine, Ponzi scheme, price discrimination, principal–agent problem, profit maximization, Robert Gordon, speech recognition, subprime mortgage crisis, tail risk, The Market for Lemons, The Rise and Fall of American Growth, union organizing, vertical integration, working-age population

Younger workers, either individually (as in the case of American 401(k)s or individual retirement accounts [IRAs]) or collectively (as in the case of collectively bargained occupational plans in Europe), have gradually moved into funded systems, which are usually defined-contribution (but not necessarily: annuities would be defined-benefit). Privately funded systems now make up an average of 72 percent of GDP (2017), up from 37 percent in 2002 (OECD 2018c). This shift has important implications for inequality. First, there is little or no redistribution going on in funded systems because benefits are directly tied to contributions (with some qualifications for collectively bargained plans). Where pension schemes are individualized, a second source of inequality is information about optimal investment strategies, which typically increases with income and education.

., 17 Calico, 62 Canada, 90, 102, 107 CAT scans, 1 Clareto, 77–78 Clinton, Bill, 116 Code on Genetics, 93 coercion, 15, 25 collective bargaining, 64, 159, 195 commercial banks, 116–117, 131n14 commercial insurance: customer exclusions and, 193; digitalization and, 76; mutual aid societies (MASs) and, 45–50, 54–55, 67; unemployment insurance funds (UIFs) and, 66 Comparative Political Data Set, 102 Comparative Study of Electoral Systems (CSES), 176 COVID-19 pandemic, 61, 74, 77, 86n20, 100, 189 credible information, 28, 38, 39 credit guarantee schemes (CGSs), 115 credit markets: access to, 105–106; adverse selection and, 112; banks and, 105 (see also banks); collective bargaining and, 64, 159, 193; default and, 108–120, 128, 131–136, 141–146, 196–197; democracy and, 105, 117; discretionary income and, 100, 105, 108–115, 118, 138, 140, 142, 196; education and, 7, 33, 110, 115, 138, 141; empirical applications and, 196– 198; employment and, 108, 133–135; FICO scores and, 121–130, 149, 151– 158; flat-rate benefits and, 37, 114–115, 132, 144–146; Germany and, 107, 131, 135n23, 147; Gini coefficient and, 121– 127, 129, 138; government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) and, 116–121; historical perspective on, 64–65; homeownership and, 108, 116, 131–140; inequality and, 106–115, 118–131, 138, 140, 144, 196–198; information and, 64– 65, 112–113; interest rates and, 105, 108, 111–132, 138–144, 152, 156; liquidity and, 109; loans and, 118–119 (see also loans); middle class and, 106; model for, 110–117, 141–144; mortgages and, 131 (see also mortgages); partisanship and, 118; pensions and, 64–65, 114, 131n14, 135n20, 141; Placebo outcomes and, 126–127, 146, 156–157; poor people and, 115, 133–140, 196; poverty and, 115; redistribution and, 109, 115, 124, 128, 144; reform and, 116–117, 120, 131– 137, 140; regression analysis and, 125– 126, 127, 130, 146, 147–158; regulation and, 14, 109–111, 115–131, 138, 140; rich people and, 133–137, 140, 196; risk and, 105, 108–120, 128–146; savings and loans (S&Ls), 116–117; segmentation and, 40, 159, 192; Single Family LoanLevel Dataset and, 121; subsidies and, 109, 116, 118, 131n14, 138, 139, 144; taxes and, 114–115, 139, 144; transfers and, 109, 114–115, 144; unemployment and, 108–109, 131–138; United States and, 106–107, 109, 117, 121, 124, 131, 139–140; wealth and, 108, 110, 111n2, 133, 140; welfare and, 105, 108–115, 131–138, 140 credit reports, 76 crime, 21n4 CT scans, 27, 83 deductibles, 17, 50, 195 DeepMind, 62 default: credit markets and, 108–120, 128, 131–136, 141–146, 196–197; flat-rate benefits and, 144–146; historical perspective on, 63; income relationship and, 146; information and, 7; private markets and, 80; theoretical model and, 17 democracy: asymmetric information and, 22–25; credit markets and, 105, 117; future issues, 199; historical perspective on, 51–52, 56, 63–64, 67–68; inequality and, 12, 70, 188; intergenerational https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009151405.009 Published online by Cambridge University Press Index transfers and, 190; labor markets and, 163, 183; market failure and, 19–30; mutual aid societies (MASs) and, 16; private markets and, 13, 70, 73, 89, 100; rich people and, 2, 73, 183; social protection and, 2, 56; symmetric information and, 25–29; theoretical model and, 16, 19–20, 30, 32nn15–16, 33; transfers and, 16, 30, 67, 190; uncertainty and, 8; welfare and, 8 Denmark, 8–9, 90, 92, 102, 107, 109, 117, 147, 183, 193, 197–198 Department of Motor Vehicles, 75 destitution, 45, 67 diagnostics, 10, 27, 49, 62, 81, 83–88, 94, 100, 193 digitalization, 76–79 disability, 34, 38, 44, 63, 75, 139, 197 Discovery Limited, 79 discretionary income: credit markets and, 100, 105, 108–115, 118, 138, 140, 142, 196; risk and, 100, 105, 108–115, 138; welfare and, 110–111 discrimination, 2, 5, 35, 38–39, 63, 81, 88, 93–94, 100, 116, 199, 202 “double payment” problem, 9, 13, 37, 39, 68, 89, 92, 94–95, 100, 198–199 education: additional schooling, 107; advantages of, 200; credit markets and, 7, 33, 110, 115, 138, 141; double-payment problem and, 9; employment and, 11, 33, 60, 66, 69, 159, 161–162, 165, 174, 179, 183–184, 192, 197–198; health and, 9, 60, 66, 84, 93, 95–96, 159, 192–193, 197; income and, 9, 11, 17, 33, 60, 64, 69, 92–96, 110, 115, 138, 141, 161, 174, 192, 197; labor markets and, 159, 161– 162, 165, 167, 174, 179, 183–184, 198; mutual aid societies (MASs) and, 192; private markets and, 84, 92–95, 96n24; rich people and, 9, 40, 60, 92, 95; risk and, 7, 11, 17, 33, 40, 60, 66, 69, 84, 93, 115, 138, 141, 159, 161–162, 165, 174, 179, 183–184, 192, 197n3, 198; social media and, 196; unemployment and, 11, 60, 66, 159, 161–162, 165, 174, 179, 183–184, 192, 197n3, 198 elasticity, 111 elderly: health and, 2, 7, 18, 29, 34, 96–97, 99; higher expenses of, 195; insecurity 221 and, 8, 18; labor markets and, 159, 171, 173, 185–186; market feasibility and, 16– 18, 30–35; Medicare and, 2, 7, 9, 17, 59– 60, 96–99, 133; mutual aid societies (MASs) and, 44, 47–49, 55; old-age insurance and, 4–5, 13, 31, 159; pensions and, 56 (see also pensions); poverty and, 46–47; private markets and, 18, 96–97; public spending on, 29n13; time inconsistency and, 7, 16–18, 30–35, 47, 56, 89, 96, 193; welfare and, 4, 7–8, 13– 14, 18, 33, 53–54, 58, 105, 188, 193, 199 electronic health records (EHRs), 76–79 empirical implications of theoretical models (EITM) approach, 201 Employee Retirement Income Security Act, 50n2, 60–61 employment: credit markets and, 108, 133– 135; education and, 11, 33, 60, 66, 69, 159, 161–162, 165, 174, 179, 183–184, 192, 197–198; health insurance and, 2, 4– 5, 10, 13, 18, 20, 34–35, 44, 50–51, 55, 58, 60, 66, 159–160, 191–192, 197; historical perspective on, 50, 58, 66, 69n9; homeownership and, 134–137; insiders vs. outsiders and, 66; Job Pact and, 182; labor market risks and, 159, 162, 165, 167, 174n9, 179–181, 184; Law on Employment Protection, 180; mobility and, 49, 66, 68, 189, 191–192, 200; mutual aid societies (MASs) and, 48– 49 (see also mutual aid societies (MASs); retirement and, 33 (see also retirement); sickness pay and, 44, 48; unemployment insurance funds (UIFs) and, 11, 14, 66, 177–184, 192, 198–199 employment protection, 159, 162, 180 Equitable Life Assurance Society, 49 error correction model (ECM), 87, 103 Esping-Andersen, Gosta, 52, 199 European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies (EOHSP), 93 European Social Survey (ESS), 174, 176, 186–187 Fair Housing Act, 12, 116n7 Fannie Mae, 65, 109, 116–117, 121 Federal Housing Administration (FHA), 117 FICO score: Gini coefficient and, 121–127, 129, 138; interest rates and, 121–130; loans and, 121–130, 149, 151–158 https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009151405.009 Published online by Cambridge University Press 222 Index financial crises, 14, 61, 65, 116n7 financialization, 7, 14, 16, 33, 65, 106–110, 115, 138–139 Finland, 90, 102, 107, 147 Fitbit, 79 flat-rate benefits, 37, 114–115, 132, 144–146 Food and Drug Administration, 62 Foote, Christopher, 120–121, 131 Fordism, 47, 106, 162 fragmentation: information revolution and, 58–67; labor markets and, 50n2; political polarization and, 2; risk pools and, 2, 12, 188; solidarity and, 58–67; unemployment insurance and, 11–12 France, 80, 90, 102, 107, 147 fraternal sciences, 47, 52 Freddie Mac, 65, 109, 116–130, 140n25, 197 Friedman, Rachel, 15n1, 19, 191 funded systems: adverse selection and, 45; information and, 18; intergenerational transfers and, 7; pension systems, 7, 17, 33, 53, 55, 58, 64, 193, 201; retirement and, 16, 33, 45, 64, 96; transfers and, 7, 16, 47, 64, 96 GDP, 64, 70, 83, 86n21, 87–91, 104, 139 Generali, 80 genetics, 18, 38, 62–63, 81–88, 93–94, 191, 193 German General Social Survey (ALLBUS), 171–172, 173, 185–186 German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP), 134–137, 165–172 Germany, 195; credit markets and, 107, 131, 135n23, 147; Hartz reforms and, 14, 65, 131–137, 140, 198; health insurance and, 17; health savings plans and, 7, 33; labor markets and, 165–172, 173, 185– 186, 198; private markets and, 80, 89n23, 90, 91, 96n25, 102; unemployment and, 14, 65, 165, 168– 173, 185–186, 198 Ghent system, 177, 179–180, 182, 184, 198 Gingrich, Jane R., 59 Gini coefficient, 121–127, 129, 138 Goering, John, 116n7 good state, 20–21, 25n9, 40, 41, 112n5, 114, 142n27, 143–144 Google, 62, 73 Gordon, Robert, 49 Gottlieb, Daniel, 48, 50n3 government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs), 116–121 GPS, 3 Great Depression, 30, 46, 117, 189 Grogan, Colleen M., 99 group plans, 49–50 Hacker, Jacob, 60 Hall, John, 93 Hariri, Jacob Gerner, 109 Harsanyi, John, 15–16 Hartz IV reforms, 14, 65, 131–137, 140, 198 health: data devices and, 62–63; diagnostics and, 10, 27, 49, 62, 81, 83–88, 94, 100, 193; disease, 10, 44, 62, 67, 79, 84, 86– 87, 100–102; education and, 9, 60, 66, 84, 93, 95–96, 159, 192–193, 197; elderly and, 2, 7, 18, 29, 34, 96–97, 99; genetics and, 18, 38, 62–63, 81–88, 93– 94, 191, 193; rich people and, 2, 4, 8–9, 58, 60, 91, 95, 193; younger generation and, 4, 6–7, 13, 17–18, 30–31, 48, 56, 67, 86, 92, 96, 101, 193–195 Healthcare NExt, 81 Health Information Technology and Economic and Clinical Health Act, 76 health insurance: Affordable Care Act (ACA), 11, 50n2, 60–61, 63, 91, 94, 97; artificial intelligence (AI) and, 81–82; choice between public/private, 94–99; electronic health records (EHRs), 76–79; empirical applications and, 193–196; employment and, 2, 4–5, 10, 13, 18, 20, 34–35, 44, 50–51, 55, 58, 60, 66, 159– 160, 191–192, 197; guaranty associations and, 33; historical perspective on, 44, 49– 51, 55, 58, 60–64; illness and, 8, 13–14, 20, 25, 48, 62–63, 75, 96, 108, 110, 171, 173, 185–186, 188; information and, 4– 8, 11, 13, 60–64, 192–196; laboratories and, 81, 83, 87; labor markets and, 159; medical data and, 75; Medical Information Bureau (MIB) and, 72n4, 75, 78–79; prescription databases and, 75, 77; private markets and, 70–102, 104, 201; Republican Party and, 94; as second largest insurance, 70; segmentation and, 70; supplementary private, 88–94; https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009151405.009 Published online by Cambridge University Press Index theoretical model and, 17–19, 33–37; trackers and, 76, 79–81, 100; underwriting and, 17, 92–94, 100; voluntary private, 63, 89–93 Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), 63n8, 78 health savings plans, 7, 17, 33, 96, 195 HealthVault, 62 Hicks, Timothy, 59, 197n3 high information, 8, 10, 25–27, 38, 56–58, 64, 82n17, 200 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA), 120n10 homeownership: credit markets and, 108, 116, 131–140; employment and, 134– 137; GSEOP and, 134–137; Hartz IV reforms and, 14; mortgages and, 106 (see also mortgages); private markets and, 93; Sample Survey of Income and Expenditure (EVS) and, 134–135, 137; stratified rates of, 198; subsidies and, 131, 138–139, 197; VPHI and, 93; welfare and, 131–138 homophily, 164 housing, 11–12, 115–117, 121, 132–133, 138–141, 192 Human API portal, 77–78 human genome, 62, 81, 83 IBM, 62 Ignacio Conde-Ruiz, J., 53 illness, 8, 13–14, 20, 25, 48, 62–63, 75, 96, 108, 110, 171, 173, 185–186, 188 immigrants, 46, 167 individual retirement accounts (IRAs), 47, 64, 193 industrialization, 17, 96n25; deindustrialization and, 12, 30, 179, 188– 189; health insurance and, 195; historical perspective on, 44, 49, 51, 56; knowledge economy and, 192; middle class and, 6, 15, 51, 53–54; mutual aid societies (MASs) and, 44, 190; uncertainty and, 189; urbanization and, 189 inequality: credit markets and, 106–115, 118–131, 138, 140, 144, 196–198; democracy and, 12, 70, 188; future issues and, 201; Hartz IV reforms and, 14; historical perspective on, 59–61, 64–65; increased, 2, 7, 14, 16, 19, 33, 59, 61, 64– 65, 70–71, 100, 106, 108–113, 118, 128, 223 130, 138, 140, 188–189, 197–198, 201; information and, 2, 5, 7, 12, 14; labor markets and, 198; mortgages and, 119– 131; private markets and, 70–71, 82, 92, 100; reduction of, 92, 112, 118, 138, 188–189, 198; regulation and, 119–131; risk and, 2, 7, 12, 14, 19, 33, 59–61, 65, 82, 92, 100, 108, 111–114, 130, 138, 144, 188–189, 196–198, 201; segmentation and, 59, 61, 188–189, 196; taxes and, 19, 60, 100, 188–189; theoretical model and, 16, 19, 33 information: actuarial science and, 49 (see also actuarial science); asymmetric, 2–4, 8, 15, 20–27, 38, 39, 55, 56, 63, 74, 82n17, 160, 190, 199, 202; Big Data, 5, 13, 22, 63, 108, 119, 138, 191; credible, 28, 38, 39; credit markets and, 64–65, 112–113; Department of Motor Vehicles and, 75; diagnostics and, 10, 27, 49, 62, 81–88, 94, 100, 193; division of insurance pools and, 5–10; electronic health records (EHRs) and, 76–79; funded systems and, 18; health insurance and, 4–8, 11, 13, 60–64, 192–196; high, 8, 10, 25–27, 38, 56–58, 64, 82n17, 200; human genome, 62, 81, 83; incomplete, 2, 12, 18, 29, 55, 66; inequality and, 2, 5, 7, 12, 14, 119–131; laboratories and, 81, 83, 87; labor markets and, 160–165; life insurance and, 4–7, 10, 13, 72–73, 82– 88, 101–103, 104, 193–193; loans and, 112–113, 118–119; low, 8, 10, 14, 18, 25–26, 28, 38, 39, 56, 57, 67, 199; market failure and, 6, 9, 19–30, 190; market feasibility and, 16–19, 30–37, 46, 58, 160, 199; Medical Information Bureau (MIB) and, 72n4, 75, 78–79; Moore’s Law and, 61–62, 83n18; mortgages and, 119–131; mutual aid societies (MASs) and, 6, 8, 10–13, 199; ownership of, 202; pensions and, 64–65; preferences and, 18–19, 35–37; prescription databases and, 75, 77; privacy and, 10, 26–29, 40–42, 63, 78, 94, 202; regulation and, 2, 14, 18, 38, 63– 65, 70, 73, 81, 87–89, 93–94, 100, 110, 117–131, 140, 199, 202; revolution in, 2, 4, 13, 35, 39, 55, 58–73, 82, 88, 94, 100, 108, 188, 201; risk and, 1–15, 18–30, 35– 37, 160–165; segmentation and, 2, 5–6, https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009151405.009 Published online by Cambridge University Press 224 Index 8, 11–14, 16, 18, 58–59, 66–67, 70, 89, 94, 159, 162, 165, 177, 180, 188–189, 192, 196; social insurance and, 2–13, 189–190, 193, 198; social solidarity and, 53–60; symmetric, 20, 25–29, 39, 55, 82n17; trackers and, 3–4, 29, 79–80, 191; uncertainty and, 16 (see also uncertainty); underwriting and, 74–75; unemployment insurance and, 65–67, 183; welfare and, 2–14 information and communication technology (ICT), 4, 8, 119, 131, 189 integration, 2, 5 interest rates: changing, 17; credit markets and, 105, 108, 111–132, 138–144, 152, 156; Denmark and, 198; equalization of, 65; FICO scores and, 121–130; Gini coefficient and, 121–127, 129, 138; mortgages, 14, 65, 116–124, 128, 138– 140, 197; segmentation and, 52, 58, 70 International Monetary Fund (IMF), 106, 107 Ireland, 90, 102, 107, 147 ISCO, 174 Italy, 90, 102, 107, 147, 203 Japan, 58, 66, 90, 91, 102, 107 Jawbone, 79 Job Pact, 182 John Hancock Life Insurance, 4, 29, 77–78, 80 Kaiser Family Foundation Poll, 99 Keen, Michael, 19 Korpi, Walter, 53, 193 laboratories, 81, 83, 87 labor markets: actuarial approach and, 160, 163n2, 177, 179, 184; collective bargaining and, 64, 159, 193; democracy and, 163, 183; disability and, 34, 38, 44, 63, 75, 139, 197; education and, 159, 161–162, 165, 167, 174, 179, 183–184, 198; elderly and, 159, 171, 173, 185– 186; empirical applications and, 198– 199; employment protection, 159, 162, 180; fragmentation and, 50n2; Germany and, 165–172, 173, 185–186, 198; Ghent system and, 177, 179–180, 182, 184, 198; health insurance and, 159; inequality and, 198; information and, 160–165; Law on Employment Protection, 180; market failure and, 184; partisanship and, 177, 183; poor people and, 160, 176; preferences and, 14, 66, 160, 163, 165– 177; public system and, 165, 177, 182– 183; redistribution and, 172, 174–176, 183, 186–187; reform and, 165, 177– 182, 198; regression analysis and, 166, 172, 173, 185–186; regulation and, 159; segmentation and, 14, 50, 67, 159, 162, 165, 177, 180, 182, 188, 192, 198; social insurance and, 159–160, 163, 177; subsidies and, 182, 185; Swedish unemployment insurance and, 177–183; taxes and, 159, 177, 180, 181; uncertainty and, 160, 163n2; unemployment protection, 46, 159, 164, 197n3; unions and, 159, 161, 164, 174, 177–184, 200; United States and, 66; voters and, 163–164, 184; wage protection, 159 Latin America, 66 Law on Employment Protection, 180 layoffs, 110 legal issues: clerical marriage, 44; discrimination, 116; intergenerational contracts and, 31; social media, 81; symmetric information and, 26 Lexis Nexis Risk Classifier, 76 life expectancy: adverse selection and, 45; historical perspective on, 45, 48–51; increased data on, 10, 45; predicting, 18, 193; premiums and, 17; private markets and, 72, 83–87; risk and, 34 life insurance: artificial intelligence (AI) and, 81–82; commercialization of, 45–50, 54– 55, 67; credit reports and, 76; Department of Motor Vehicles and, 75; diagnostics and, 10, 27, 49, 62, 81, 83– 88, 94, 100, 193; division of insurance pools and, 5, 7; electronic health records (EHRs) and, 76–79; empirical applications and, 193–196; funded plans and, 7, 16–18, 33, 45, 48, 53, 58, 96, 193–195; guaranty associations and, 33; historical perspective on, 44–49, 55, 58, 63; information and, 4–7, 10, 13, 72–73, 82–88, 101–103, 104, 193–193; laboratories and, 81, 83, 87; Lexis Nexis Risk Classifier and, 76; market penetration of, 82–88, 101–103, 104; https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009151405.009 Published online by Cambridge University Press Index Medical Information Bureau (MIB) and, 72n4, 75, 78–79; micro-targeted products and, 73; permanent, 72; prescription databases and, 75, 77; private markets and, 70–94, 100–102, 103–104; purpose of, 71–72; theoretical model and, 16–17, 29, 33–38; trackers and, 76, 79–81, 100; underwriting and, 71, 73–82, 87–88, 100–101 liquidity, 109 loans: access to, 65, 105–106, 110; bank, 65, 105, 116, 131–132, 202; credit markets and, 118–119; default and, 108 (see also default); discretionary income and, 100, 105, 108–115, 118, 138, 140, 142, 196; FICO scores and, 121–130, 149, 151–158; flat-rate benefits and, 37, 114–115, 132, 144–146; Gini coefficient and, 121–127, 129, 138; Hartz reform and, 65, 132; inequality and, 119–131; information and, 112–113, 118–119; interest rates and, 110 (see also interest rates); liquidity and, 109; model for, 110– 117, 141–144; mortgages, 110 (see also mortgages); private markets and, 83; regulation and, 115–131; risk and, 65, 100, 105, 108–109, 111–117, 130, 132, 138, 141–142, 196, 202; Single Family Loan-Level Dataset and, 121; welfare and, 110–111, 113–115, 131–138 loan-to-value ratio, 124, 131, 156 Loewenstein, Lara, 120–121, 131 low information, 8, 10, 14, 18, 25–26, 28, 38, 39, 56, 57, 67, 199 lump sum payments, 33, 35–36, 114 McFadden pseudo R-squared measure, 166–172, 173, 185–186 Maclaurin, Colin, 45 market failure: asymmetric information and, 22–25; classic framework for, 19– 30; democracy and, 19–30; historical perspective on, 53, 57, 67; information and, 6, 9, 190; labor markets and, 184; mutual aid societies (MASs) and, 6, 67; private markets and, 94; redistribution and, 6, 12, 67, 191, 200; symmetric information and, 25–29; theoretical model and, 12, 15, 18–20, 29 market feasibility, 160, 199; historical perspective on, 46, 58; information and, 225 16–18, 30–35; preferences and, 18–19, 35–37; time inconsistency and, 16–18, 30–35 market-mediated funded systems, 201 Medicaid, 8, 10, 60, 68, 96–99, 193 Medical Information Bureau (MIB), 72n4, 75, 78–79 Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online, 84 Medical Subject Headings (MeSH), 84 Medicare, 2, 7, 9, 17, 59–60, 96–99, 193 Meltzer-Richard model, 114 Microsoft, 5, 62, 81 micro-tracking, 3 middle class: credit markets and, 106; education and, 199; industry and, 6, 15, 51, 53–54; mortgages and, 65, 106; preferences of, 59, 196, 200; private markets and, 69, 71, 92, 97, 200; theoretical model and, 5; universal public system and, 30; voters, 32, 51, 61, 193; welfare and, 6, 8, 13, 15, 54, 68–69, 193– 195, 199 Misfit, 79 MLC On Track, 80 mobility, 49, 66, 68, 189, 191–192, 200 Moore’s Law, 61–62, 83n18 moral hazard, 10, 45, 48, 184, 198 mortality: artificial intelligence (AI) and, 81–82; Lexis Nexis Risk Classifier and, 76; life expectancy and, 10, 17, 34, 45, 48–51, 72, 83–87, 193; private markets and, 72, 75–76, 79, 81, 84, 86, 101–102 mortgages: credit markets and, 106, 109– 140, 146, 147; FICO scores and, 121– 130, 149, 151–158; Gini coefficient and, 121–127, 129, 138; Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) and, 120n10; inequality and, 119–131; information and, 119–131; interest rates and, 14, 65, 116–124, 128, 138–140, 197; middle class and, 65, 106; private markets and, 198; redlining and, 11, 116, 202; regulation and, 14, 65, 109, 115, 117– 131, 138, 140, 197; risk and, 14, 65, 109, 115–117, 120, 128, 132, 134–138, 197, 202; Single Family Loan-Level Dataset and, 121; underwriting, 120, 207–208 Motor Vehicle Reports, 75 MRI scans, 1, 27, 83 Murray, Charles, 51–52 https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009151405.009 Published online by Cambridge University Press 226 Index mutual aid societies (MASs): asymmetric information and, 23, 25, 199; burial insurance, 47–48; commercialization of, 45–50, 54–55, 67; democracy and, 16; destitution and, 45, 67; double bind of, 48, 50, 54, 67, 190; dues to, 46; education and, 192; elderly and, 44, 47–49, 55; Equitable Life Assurance Society, 49; failure of, 12; heyday of, 51; historical perspective on, 10–11, 13, 44–57, 65, 67, 192; immigrants and, 46; increase of, 44; industrialization and, 44; information and, 6, 8, 10–13, 199; limitations of, 6; market failure and, 6, 67; New England Mutual Life Insurance Company, 49; New York Life Insurance Company, 49; as partial solution, 190; protections by, 44; role of, 11; Scottish Presbyterian Widows Fund, 44–46, 49, 83, 193; sickness pay and, 44, 48; solidarity and, 46, 53–58; taxes and, 47; theoretical model and, 15–16, 23, 25, 32; timeinconsistency and, 6–7, 16, 32, 45, 47– 48, 54, 56, 199; transfers and, 6, 48, 57– 58; unions and, 192; United States and, 44, 46, 49, 55; welfare and, 6, 8, 10, 12– 13, 15–16, 25, 48, 51–52, 54, 56; widespread use of, 44 National Human Genome Research Institute, 62 National Laboratory of Medicine, 84 Netherlands, 90, 91, 102, 107, 147 New England Mutual Life Insurance Company, 49 New York Life Insurance Company, 49 New York State Department of Financial Services, 80–81 New Zealand, 90, 102, 107 Norway, 90, 92, 102, 107, 147 Obama, Barack, 76, 81, 90 occupational unemployment rates (OURs), 174n0 OECD Health Statistics, 89, 101 opting out: adverse selection and, 30, 54, 199; Akerlof and, 24; Bismarckian system and, 53; cost of, 19, 29; deterrents against, 9; private markets and, 25; privileged, 15; public system and, 8–9, 15, 19, 24–25, 30, 37, 54, 57, 59, 64, 71, 89n23, 94–96; segmentation and, 8; selfinsurance and, 11–12, 20–22, 50n2, 51, 57, 60, 67, 73, 93, 190; theoretical model and, 15, 19, 24–25, 29–30, 37, 41 Oscar Health Insurance, 80 Palme, Joakim, 53, 193 Park, Sunggeun (Ethan), 99 participation, 9, 67, 95, 102, 184 partisanship: adverse selection and, 37; coercion and, 6; Comparative Political Data Set and, 102; credit markets and, 118; historical perspective on, 59; labor markets and, 177, 183; preferences and, 12, 19, 59, 200; private markets and, 71, 92, 94, 97, 101–102, 103–104, 195; regulation and, 37–38; theoretical model and, 37–38; welfare and, 12 pay-as-you-go (PAYG) systems: credible government commitment to, 7; historical perspective on, 46–48, 53–58, 64, 67; market-mediated funded systems and, 201; private markets and, 96; redistribution and, 16, 18, 32, 53, 64, 67; subsidies and, 18, 67; time-inconsistency and, 16, 31–35, 47, 56, 96, 191, 193; transfers and, 16, 47, 55, 191; voters and, 193; welfare and, 16, 18, 33, 48, 53, 193; younger generation and, 16, 18, 31, 33, 47–48, 56, 64, 67, 96, 193 pay-how-you-drive (PHYD), 3 pensions: credit-based insurance and, 64– 65; credit markets and, 64–65, 114, 131n14, 135n20, 141; funded systems and, 7, 17, 33, 53, 55, 58, 64, 193, 201; historical perspective on, 51, 53–60, 64– 65; information and, 64–65; marketmediated funded systems and, 201; PAYG and, 31 (see also pay-as-you-go (PAYG) systems); private markets and, 18, 36, 70, 82; taxes and, 19, 31 “piggy bank”, 12, 24 Placebo outcomes, 126–127, 148, 156–157 “Politics of Medicaid, The: Most Americans Are Connected to the Program, Support Its Expansion, and Do Not View It as Stigmatizing” (Grogan and Park), 99 Ponzi schemes, 48 poor people: attitudinal gap and, 176; becoming, 7; cost of insurance and, 30; credit markets and, 115, 133–140, 196; https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009151405.009 Published online by Cambridge University Press Index labor markets and, 160, 176; Medicaid and, 8, 10, 60, 68, 96–99, 193; Medicare and, 2, 7, 9, 17, 59–60, 96–99, 193; private markets and, 96, 98, 100; support of by rich people, 4; transfers and, 7–8, 55, 115, 200; welfare and, 68 (see also welfare) Portugal, 90, 102, 147 Potential Years of Life Lost (PYLL), 86–87, 101–102, 104 poverty: credit markets and, 115; destitution, 45, 67; elderly and, 46–47; fear of, 7–8; historical perspective on, 46– 47, 55, 67–68; insurance against, 7–9, 193; private markets and, 71, 96, 99; transfers and, 13 Precision Medicine Initiative, 81 preferences: bifurcation of, 30, 163; constrained, 9, 59, 199; divergence in, 192; first-best, 9, 95; formation of, 35– 37; increased information and, 18–19, 35–37; labor markets and, 14, 66, 160, 163, 165–177; market feasibility and, 18– 19, 35–37; mass, 18; middle class, 59, 196, 200; partisan, 12, 19, 59, 200; polarization of, 2, 9, 12, 14, 16, 20, 37, 39, 66–67, 163, 169, 172, 176, 184; policy, 11–12, 14, 19, 26, 37, 67, 172, 184; political, 160, 163–177, 184, 186; private markets and, 95, 96n24, 99; public spending and, 18, 37, 59, 95, 192; redistribution, 12, 16, 18, 21n4, 35, 172, 174, 200, 203; risk and, 2, 12, 14, 16, 18, 21, 26, 30, 35, 37, 39, 57, 59, 66–67, 160, 163–176, 184, 192, 199–200, 203; shaping, 19, 59, 66, 160, 200; uncertainty and, 16, 26, 66, 199; welfare and, 2, 9, 12, 18, 21, 30, 37, 39, 68, 203 prescription databases, 75, 77 Preston, Ian, 93 price discrimination, 38 price nondiscrimination, 39 privacy, 10, 26–29, 40–42, 63, 78, 94, 202 private markets: actuarial approach and, 72, 81, 83, 89, 99–100; adverse selection and, 72, 82n17, 83, 88; Big Data and, 13, 63, 191; democracy and, 13, 70, 73, 89, 100; education and, 84, 92–95, 96n24; elderly and, 18, 96–97; Germany and, 80, 89n23, 90, 91, 96n25, 102; health insurance and, 70–102, 104, 201; homeownership and, 227 93; inequality and, 70–71, 82, 92, 100; life expectancy and, 72, 83–87; life insurance and, 70–94, 100–102, 103– 104; market failure and, 94; middle class and, 69, 71, 92, 97, 200; mortality and, 72, 75–76, 79, 81, 84, 86, 101–102; mortgages and, 198; opting out and, 25; partisanship and, 71, 92, 94, 97, 101– 102, 103–104, 195; pay-as-you-go (PAYG) systems and, 96; pensions and, 18, 36, 70, 82; poor people and, 96, 98, 100; poverty and, 71, 96, 99; preferences and, 95, 96n24, 99; public system and, 71, 82, 91–97, 100; reform and, 89–92; regression analysis and, 83; regulation and, 19, 37–38, 70, 73, 80–81, 87–94, 97, 100, 102; risk and, 70–100; segmentation and, 2, 5, 8, 11, 13–14, 18, 40, 53, 58–59, 63, 67, 70, 89, 94, 165, 180, 196; social insurance and, 70, 96; subsidies and, 94; taxes and, 89, 92, 100; time-inconsistency and, 71, 89, 96–99; top-up plans and, 9, 89, 179–182, 195; transfers and, 80n15, 81, 96; uncertainty and, 101; unemployment and, 4; United States and, 8, 18, 44, 51, 70, 74, 77–84, 89n23, 90, 91–99, 102–103, 195; voters and, 101; wealth and, 70, 97, 100; welfare and, 19, 37–38, 70; younger generation and, 84–86, 92, 96–97, 101 professional associations, 49, 66, 159, 161, 164, 179 Profeta, Paola, 53 Prudential, 80 Prussia, 44 Przeworski, Adam, 19 public spending, 29n13, 37, 68, 139, 145, 192, 199 public system: historical perspective on, 54, 57, 59, 63–64; information and, 8–9; labor markets and, 165, 177, 182–183; left’s support for, 19, 37–38; opting out and, 8–9, 15, 19, 24–25, 30, 37, 54, 57, 59, 64, 71, 89n23, 94–96; private markets and, 71, 82, 91–97, 100; taxes and, 9, 15, 19, 25, 31, 37, 39, 54, 60, 195, 200; theoretical model and, 15–20, 24– 25, 28–30, 35, 37–40; top-up plans and, 9, 36, 89, 179–182, 195; uncertainty and, 8, 15–16, 30, 61, 67 Putnam, Robert, 203 https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009151405.009 Published online by Cambridge University Press 228 Index Qualcomm, 80 Rawls, John, 8, 15n1, 54, 67 recessions, 46, 189 reciprocity, 46, 203 Recovery Act, 76 redistribution: credit markets and, 109, 115, 124, 128, 144; division of insurance pools and, 5; historical perspective on, 46, 53, 58, 60, 64, 67; intergenerational, 32, 67; labor markets and, 172, 174–176, 183, 186–187; literature on, 21n4, 189; lumpsum benefits and, 36; market failure and, 6, 12, 67, 191, 200; pay-as-you-go (PAYG) systems, 16, 18, 32, 53, 64, 67; preferences and, 12, 16, 18, 21n4, 35, 172, 174, 200, 203; risk, 5, 17, 30, 38, 53, 58, 60, 172, 174–176, 183, 186–187, 197, 200; time-inconsistency and, 30; transfers and, 16, 30, 64, 109, 144, 188– 189, 200; welfare and, 6, 12, 16, 18, 21, 36, 38, 53, 56, 58, 68, 115, 188, 191, 197, 203; younger generation and, 16, 30, 64 redlining, 11, 116, 202 reform, 201; credit markets and, 116–117, 120, 131–137, 140; Hartz IV, 14, 65, 131–137, 140, 198; historical perspective on, 65, 67; labor markets and, 165, 177– 182, 198; private markets and, 89–92; regulation and, 14, 18, 65, 89, 117; Scottish Reformation, 44; unemployment, 14, 29, 65, 67, 131–137, 165, 177–182, 198; voters and, 18, 29 regression analysis: credit markets and, 125–126, 127, 130, 146, 147–158; discontinuity results and, 148; labor markets and, 166, 172, 173, 185–186; private markets and, 83 regulation: adverse selection and, 37–38; constraints from, 2, 63, 68, 94, 111; credit markets and, 14, 109–111, 115–131, 138, 140; historical perspective on, 50, 60–65, 68; inequality and, 119–131; of information, 2, 14, 18, 38, 63–65, 70, 73, 81, 87–89, 93–94, 100, 110, 117– 131, 140, 199, 202; labor markets and, 159; loans and, 115–131; mortgage markets and, 14, 65, 109, 115, 117–131, 138, 140, 197; partisanship and, 37–38; private markets and, 19, 37–38, 70, 73, 80–81, 87–94, 97, 100, 102; redistribution and, 172, 174–176, 183, 186–187; reform and, 14, 18, 65, 89, 117; risk and, 2, 14, 18–19, 33, 42, 50, 60–61, 64–65, 70, 73, 81, 89, 94, 109, 115–120, 130–131, 138, 140, 159, 195, 197, 199, 202; role of, 37–38, 115–118; segmentation and, 2, 6, 11–14, 16, 18, 40, 50, 52–53, 58–67, 70, 89, 94, 159, 162, 165, 177, 180, 188–189, 192–193, 196, 198; tax, 19, 50, 63, 115, 195, 199; trackers and, 80–81; welfare and, 37–38 Reinfeldt, Fredrick, 92, 177 Republican Party, 94 retirement: adverse selection and, 45; Employee Retirement Income Security Act and, 50n2, 60–61; funded systems and, 16, 33, 45, 64, 96; individual retirement accounts (IRAs), 47, 64, 193; pensions and, 64–65 (see also pensions); Social Security, 47, 67 rich people: attitudinal gap and, 176; credit markets and, 133–137, 140, 196; democracy and, 2, 73, 183; education and, 9, 40, 60, 92, 95; health and, 2, 4, 8– 9, 58, 60, 91, 95, 193; self-insurance and, 11–12, 20–22, 50n2, 51, 57, 60, 67, 73, 93, 190; selfinsuring by, 12, 22; support of poor by, 4 risk: adverse selection and, 1–2, 4, 6, 13, 30, 34, 45–46, 49–50, 54, 65, 67, 72, 82, 112, 199, 202; Akerlof model and, 6, 12, 19, 23–25, 27, 29, 190, 196; argument synopsis on, 189–192; average, 16, 22– 23, 24n7, 25n8, 28, 38, 54–55, 57, 59, 163n2; aversion to, 20, 22n6, 29n14, 36– 37, 41–42, 54, 56; credit markets and, 105, 108–120, 128–146; default, 144–146 (see also default); discretionary income and, 100, 105, 108–115, 138, 196; distribution of, 5, 16–17, 29–30, 38, 53–60, 108, 112, 128n13, 132, 140, 183, 189, 191, 197–200; education and, 7, 11, 17, 33, 40, 60, 66, 69, 84, 93, 115, 138, 141, 159, 161–162, 165, 174, 179, 183– 184, 192, 197n3, 198; flat-rate benefits and, 144–146; historical perspective on, 44–69; inequality and, 2, 7, 12, 14, 19, 33, 59–61, 65, 82, 92, 100, 108, 111–114, https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009151405.009 Published online by Cambridge University Press Index 130, 138, 144, 188–189, 196–198, 201; information and, 1–15, 18–30, 35– 37, 160–165; labor markets and, 159– 185; Lexis Nexis Risk Classifier and, 76; life expectancy and, 34; loans and, 65, 105, 108–109, 111–112, 115–117, 130, 132, 141–142, 202; market failure and, 184 (see also market failure); medical data and, 75; moral hazard and, 10, 45, 48, 184, 198; mortgages and, 14, 65, 109, 115–117, 120, 128, 132, 134–138, 197, 202; pooling of, 1–16, 19, 22–29, 38–42, 50–51, 54–55, 58–68, 72, 128, 159–160, 171, 177, 179–180, 184–185, 188, 191, 200–203; preferences and, 2, 12, 14, 16, 18, 21, 26, 30, 35, 37, 39, 57, 59, 66–67, 160, 163–176, 184, 192, 199–200, 203; private markets and, 70–100; redistribution and, 5, 17, 30, 38, 53, 58, 60, 197, 200; regulation and, 2, 14, 18–19, 33, 42, 50, 60–61, 64–65, 70, 73, 81, 89, 94, 109, 115–120, 130–131, 138, 140, 159, 195, 197, 199, 202; segmentation and, 189; subsidies and, 1, 4, 11, 17–18, 23, 25, 28, 30, 54, 61, 67, 109, 116, 118, 185, 192, 197, 199; theoretical model and, 15–43; timeinconsistency and, 7, 30–35, 45, 47, 54, 56, 89, 96, 191, 199; traditional classification of, 3; uncertainty and, 8, 13, 16, 26, 30, 36, 56, 61, 66–67, 160, 163, 191, 196, 199; unemployment and, 5, 8– 14, 18, 20, 26, 29, 35, 44, 46, 51, 60, 65– 67, 108–109, 131–132, 136–138, 159– 166, 169, 171–174, 177–180, 183–184, 188, 191–192, 197–198; voters and, 18, 25, 29, 61, 64, 163, 184, 188–191, 197n3, 199; welfare and, 2, 6–30, 33, 36– 39, 48, 51–58, 68–69, 105, 108–109, 115, 138, 140, 188, 191, 193, 197, 201, 203 Rogers, Will, 108 Rothschild, Michael, 19, 25, 41 Rothstein, Bo, 52 Rueda, David, 162 Sample Survey of Income and Expenditure (EVS), 134–135, 137 SAP government, 182–183 savings: credit markets and, 114, 116–117, 133, 157; health savings plans and, 7, 17, 229 33, 96; private markets and, 96–97; wealth and, 1, 7–8, 17, 20–21, 29, 33–34, 36, 46–47, 51, 66, 96–97, 114, 116–117, 133, 136, 141, 160, 180, 190, 193 savings and loans (S&Ls), 116–117 Scottish Mutual, 55 Scottish Presbyterian Widows Fund, 44–46, 49, 83, 193 Scottish Reformation, 44 segmentation: choice and, 8; concept of, 6; credit markets and, 40, 159, 192; health insurance and, 70; historical perspective on, 50, 52–53, 58–59, 61, 63, 66–67; inequality and, 59, 61, 188–189, 196; information and, 2, 5–8, 11–18, 58–59, 66–67, 70, 89, 94, 159, 162, 165, 177, 180, 188–189, 192, 196; information levels and, 2, 5; integration and, 2, 5; interest rates and, 52, 58, 70; labor markets and, 14, 50, 67, 159, 162, 165, 177, 180, 182, 188, 192, 198; opting out and, 8; private markets and, 2, 5, 8, 11, 13–14, 18, 40, 53, 58–59, 63, 67, 70, 89, 94, 165, 180, 196; regulation and, 2, 70, 89, 94; risk and, 2, 6, 11, 13–14, 16, 18, 40, 50, 52–53, 58–59, 61, 63, 66–67, 70, 89, 94, 159, 162, 165, 177, 180, 188– 189, 192–193, 196, 198; state programs and, 11, 18, 50, 52–53, 159, 188; theoretical model and, 16, 18, 40; unemployment insurance and, 177–183; welfare and, 8, 18, 52–53, 188 self-insurance, 11–12, 20–22, 50n2, 51, 57, 60, 67, 73, 93, 190 self-interest, 19, 29, 52, 191 Shapley decomposition, 169, 170, 170 sickness pay, 44, 48 Single Family Loan Level Dataset, 121 social capital, 51–52, 203 social insurance: future politics of, 199–201; historical perspective on, 44, 51–52, 54, 56–60, 65, 67; information and, 2–13, 189–190, 193, 198; labor markets and, 159–160, 163, 177; private markets and, 70, 96; theoretical model and, 15, 19, 21n4, 30, 35, 37, 39 social media, 80–81 social networks, 11–12, 14, 18, 25, 66–67, 164, 183–184, 196 Social Security, 47, 67 https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009151405.009 Published online by Cambridge University Press 230 Index solidarity: COVID-19 pandemic and, 61; cross-class, 8, 14, 18, 203; emergence of, 53–58; fragmentation of, 58–67; information revolution and, 58–67, 71, 201; mutual aid societies (MASs) and, 46, 53–58; reciprocity and, 203; uncertainty and, 66, 160, 196; unemployment insurance and, 183, 192; welfare and, 8, 18, 40n21, 201, 203 Spain, 90, 102, 147 Stiglitz, Joseph, 19, 25 Stolle, Dietlind, 52 Study Watch, 62 subsidies: credit markets and, 109, 116, 118, 131n14, 138, 139, 144; historical perspective on, 54, 61, 67; homeownership, 131, 138–139, 197; labor markets and, 182, 185; pay-as-yougo (PAYG) systems and, 18, 67; private markets and, 94, 192; risk and, 1, 4, 11, 17–18, 23, 25, 28, 30, 54, 61, 67, 109, 116, 118, 185, 192, 197, 199; tax, 4, 37, 54, 199 supplementary health insurance, 88–94 Swaan, Abram de, 50–51 Sweden, 11, 38, 66, 90, 102; “Alliance for Sweden” campaign, 184; Bildt and, 11, 177; credit markets and, 107, 147; Democrats, 182–183; Ghent system and, 177, 179–180, 182, 184, 198; Job Pact and, 182; Law on Employment Protection and, 180; Left Party, 182; politics of private markets and, 180; Reinfeldt and, 92, 177; SAP government and, 182–183; unemployment insurance funds (UIFs) and, 180–184; unions and, 182 Swedish Confederation of Professional Associations (SACO), 179–180, 182 Swedish Confederation of Professional Employees (TCO), 180, 182 symmetric information, 20, 25–29, 39, 55, 82n17 taxes: coercive, 12; credit markets and, 114– 115, 139, 144; credits, 9, 195, 199; deductions, 50, 92, 115, 199; flat-rate, 37, 114–115, 132, 144–146; historical perspective on, 47, 50, 54–56, 60, 63, 66; inequality and, 19, 60, 100, 188–189; labor markets and, 159, 177, 180, 181; mutual aid societies (MASs) and, 47; paying for social protection by, 4, 8, 15, 19, 25, 31, 198–200; pensions and, 19, 31; power to, 54, 191; preference formation and, 35–37; price nondiscrimination and, 39; private markets and, 89, 92, 100; public system and, 9, 15, 19, 25, 31, 37, 39, 54, 60, 195, 200; regulation and, 19, 50, 63, 115, 195, 199; subsidies and, 4, 37, 54, 199; transfers and, 8, 114–115, 144, 188–191, 200; voters and, 25, 31, 188–191 time-inconsistency: adverse selection and, 30, 34; asymmetric information and, 56, 190, 199; elderly and, 7, 16–18, 30–35, 47, 56, 89, 96, 193; historical perspective on, 45, 47–48, 54, 56; intergenerational bargains and, 47, 191, 193; market feasibility and, 16–18, 30–35; mutual aid societies (MASs) and, 6–7, 16, 45, 47–48, 54, 56, 199; overlapping generations models and, 32; pay-as-you-go (PAYG) systems and, 16, 31–35, 47, 56, 96, 191, 193; persistence of, 7; private markets and, 71, 89, 96–99; redistribution and, 30; risk and, 7, 30–35, 45, 47, 54, 56, 89, 96, 191, 199; theoretical model and, 30– 35; voters and, 32, 191, 193, 199; younger generation and, 6–7, 16–18, 30–35, 47–48, 56, 96, 190, 194 top-up plans, 9, 36, 89, 179–182, 195 trackers, 3–4, 29, 76, 79–81, 100, 191 transfers: credit markets and, 109, 114–115, 144; democracy and, 16, 30, 67, 190; funded systems and, 7, 16, 47, 64, 96; intergenerational, 6–7, 13, 55, 56, 190; mutual aid societies (MASs), 6, 48, 57– 58; pay-as-you-go (PAYG) systems, 16, 47, 55, 191; poor people and, 7–8, 55, 115, 200; poverty and, 13; private markets and, 80n15, 81, 96; redistribution and, 16, 30, 64, 109, 144, 188–189, 200; taxes and, 8, 114–115, 144, 188–191, 200; theoretical model and, 16, 20, 30, 47–48, 55, 56–57, 64–65, 67; younger generation and, 6–7, 13, 16, 30, 47–48, 56, 67, 96, 190 uncertainty: democracy and, 8; incomplete information and, 8, 66–67; industrialization and, 189; labor markets and, 160, 163n2; preferences and, 16, 26, https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009151405.009 Published online by Cambridge University Press Index 66, 199; private markets and, 101; public system and, 8, 15–16, 30, 61, 67; risk and, 8, 13, 16, 26, 30, 36, 56, 61, 66–67, 160, 163, 191, 196, 199; solidarity and, 66, 160, 196; voters and, 31, 61, 101, 163, 199; welfare and, 8, 13, 36, 56, 189, 191 underwriting: actuarial science and, 49; artificial intelligence (AI) and, 81–82; COVID-19 pandemic and, 74, 77; current practices of, 73–76; Department of Motor Vehicles and, 75; diagnostics and, 10, 27, 49, 62, 81, 83–88, 94, 100, 193; digitalization and, 76–79; electronic health records (EHRs) and, 76–79; health insurance and, 17, 92– 94, 100; innovations in, 76–82; laboratories and, 81, 83, 87; Lexis Nexis Risk Classifier and, 76; life insurance and, 71, 73–82, 87–88, 100–101; Medical Information Bureau (MIB) and, 72n4, 75, 78–79; mortgages, 120–121, 207–208; prescription databases and, 75, 77; trackers and, 3–4, 29, 76, 79–81, 100, 191; unemployment insurance funds (UIFs) and, 180 unemployment: benefits during, 14, 65, 109, 131–133, 136n24, 137–138, 169–172, 173, 182–184, 185, 198, 200; credit markets and, 108–109, 131–138; disability and, 44, 139, 197; education and, 11, 60, 66, 159, 161–162, 165, 174, 179, 183–184, 192, 197n3, 198; Germany and, 14, 65, 165, 168–173, 185–186, 198; high levels of, 180, 182, 184; historical perspective on, 44, 46, 51, 55, 60, 65–67; homeownership and, 134– 137; information and, 8–14; insurance for, 4, 11, 14, 34, 35, 46, 55, 65–67, 159– 160, 163, 165, 177–184, 192, 198; lost income and, 109, 188; occupational unemployment rates (OURs), 174n0; private markets and, 4; reform and, 14, 29, 65, 67, 131–137, 165, 177–182, 198; risk and, 5, 8–11, 13–14, 18, 20, 26, 29, 35, 44, 46, 51, 60, 65–67, 108–109, 131– 132, 136–138, 159–166, 169, 171–174, 177–180, 183–184, 188, 191–192, 197– 198; theoretical model and, 16, 18, 20, 25, 26n10, 29–30, 35; United States and, 198 231 unemployment insurance funds (UIFs), 11, 14, 66, 177–184, 192, 198–199 unemployment protection, 46, 159, 164, 197n3 unions: fall of, 12, 188; historical perspective on, 58, 66; Job Pact and, 182; labor markets and, 159, 161, 164, 174, 177–184, 200; rise of, 12; Sweden and, 182; unemployment insurance funds (UIFs) and, 11, 14, 66, 177–184, 192, 198–199 UnitedHealth, 80 United Kingdom, 80, 90, 93, 147 United States: 401(k) plans, 33, 64; Bush and, 17; Clinton and, 116; credit markets and, 106–107, 109, 117, 121, 124, 131, 139–140; employer-based coverage, 58; Fair Housing Act and, 12; Fannie Mae, 65, 109, 116–117, 121; financial crisis of, 14; fraternal societies and, 47, 52; Freddie Mac, 65, 109, 116–117, 119–130, 140n25, 197; Great Depression, 30, 46, 117, 189; guaranty associations and, 33; healthcare costs in, 29n13, 62; health savings accounts (HSAs), 17, 195; individual retirement accounts (IRAs), 193; information revolution and, 58–60; labor markets and, 66; Medicaid, 8, 10, 60, 68, 96–99, 133; Medicare, 2, 7, 9, 17, 59–60, 96–99, 193; mutual aid societies (MASs) and, 44, 46, 49, 55; Obama and, 76, 81, 90; private markets and, 8, 18, 44, 51, 70, 74, 77–84, 89n23, 90, 91–99, 102–103, 195; Republican Party and, 94; self-insurance and, 11; Social Security, 47, 67; as stingy welfare state, 197; unemployment and, 198 universal public system, 18, 30, 91 University of Edinburgh, 45 urbanization, 6, 30, 51, 189 US Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA), 38, 63, 93, 94 Verily Life Sciences, 62, 81 Vitality Health, 79–80 voluntary private health insurance (VPHI), 63, 89–93 voters: Comparative Study of Electoral Systems (CSES), 176; labor markets and, 163–164, 184; median, 25, 32, 64; https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009151405.009 Published online by Cambridge University Press 232 Index middle-class, 1; pay-as-you-go (PAYG) systems and, 193; private markets and, 101; reform and, 18, 29; risk and, 18, 25, 29, 61, 64, 163, 184, 188–191, 197n3, 199; self-interested, 29; taxes and, 25, 31, 188–191; time inconsistency and, 32, 191, 193, 199; uncertainty and, 31, 61, 101, 163, 199 wage protection, 159 Wallace, Robert, 45 wealth: credit markets and, 108, 110, 111n2, 133, 140; discretionary income and, 100, 105, 108–115, 118, 138, 140, 142, 196; historical perspective on, 56; mobility and, 49, 66, 68, 189, 191–192, 200; private markets and, 70, 97, 100; public system and, 15; savings and, 1, 7–8, 17, 20–21, 29, 33–36, 46–47, 51, 66, 96– 97, 114–117, 133, 136, 141, 160, 180, 190, 193; self-insurance and, 11–12, 20–22, 50n2, 51, 57, 60, 67, 73, 93, 190, 192 Webster, Alexander, 45 welfare: Bismarckian, 52–53, 58, 67, 191, 199–201; credit markets and, 105, 108– 115, 131–138, 140; democracy and, 8; destitution and, 45, 67; discretionary income and, 110–111; elderly and, 4, 7–8, 13–14, 18, 33, 53–54, 58, 105, 188, 193, 199; Golden Age of, 54; historical perspective on, 44–58, 68–69; homeownership and, 131–138; information and, 2–14; loans and, 110–111, 113–115, 131–138; middle class and, 6, 8, 13, 15, 54, 68–69, 193– 195, 199; mutual aid societies (MASs) and, 6, 8, 10, 12–13, 15–16, 25, 48, 51– 52, 54, 56; partisanship and, 12; pay-asyou-go (PAYG) systems and, 16, 18, 33, 48, 53, 193; preferences and, 2, 9, 12, 18, 21, 30, 37, 39, 68, 203; private markets and, 19, 37–38, 70; public system and, 19; redistribution and, 6, 12, 16, 18, 21, 36, 38, 53, 56, 58, 68, 115, 188, 191, 197, 203; regulation and, 37–38; risk and, 2, 6–30, 33, 36–39, 48, 51–58, 68–69, 105, 108–109, 115, 138, 140, 188, 191, 193, 197, 201, 203; role of, 188; segmentation and, 8, 18, 52–53, 188; solidarity and, 8, 18, 40n21, 201, 203; theoretical model and, 15–25, 30–33, 36–40; uncertainty and, 8, 13, 36, 56, 189, 191 Westcott, Edward Noyes, 108 Wiedemann, Andreas, 109 Wienk, Ron, 116n7 Willen, Paul, 120–121 World Health Organization (WHO), 86, 93 World War II era, 4, 30, 36, 51, 189 younger generation: deductibles and, 17; health and, 4, 6–7, 13, 17–18, 30–31, 48, 56, 67, 86, 92, 96, 101, 193–195; health savings plans and, 7, 17, 33, 96; market feasibility and, 16–18, 30–35; pay-asyou-go (PAYG) systems and, 16, 18, 31, 33, 47–48, 56, 64, 67, 96, 193; private markets and, 84–86, 92, 96–97, 101; redistribution and, 16, 30, 64; support of elderly by, 4; time-inconsistency and, 6–7, 16–18, 30–35, 47–48, 56, 96, 190, 193; transfers and, 6–7, 13, 16, 30, 47–48, 56, 67, 96, 190 https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009151405.009 Published online by Cambridge University Press CAMBRIDGE STUDIES IN COMPARATIVE POLITICS Other Books in the Series (continued from page ii) Laia Balcells, Rivalry and Revenge: The Politics of Violence during Civil War Lisa Baldez, Why Women Protest?

(r) 17.15 BW bias (l) 28.13 BW bias (r) 28.13 (2) Ignored 1.228*** (0.102) [1.103; 1.525] mserd Triangular 1 2 5,025 2,147 2,878 180 200 9.56 9.56 22.32 22.32 Note: Standard errors in parentheses (clustered at the FICO-2d level) * p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, and ***p < 0.001 Model 1: Estimates adjusted for mass points in the running variable Model 2: Estimates not adjusted for mass points in the running variable Published online by Cambridge University Press 6 Labor Market Risks The focus in this chapter is on insurance against labor market risks. Such insurance comes in a variety of forms (Estevez-Abé, Iversen, and Soskice 2001): (i) employment protection, (ii) wage protection for workers with different skills and at different tenure levels, and (iii) unemployment protection. In CMEs, the first two are shaped by collective bargaining between employers’ associations, on the one hand, and unions and professional associations (with the state in a supporting role), on the other, while in liberal market economies (LMEs), they are left mostly to the market. In LMEs, instead, the main protection against risks is through the acquisition of general skills that are portable across jobs.


pages: 375 words: 88,306

The Sharing Economy: The End of Employment and the Rise of Crowd-Based Capitalism by Arun Sundararajan

"World Economic Forum" Davos, additive manufacturing, Airbnb, AltaVista, Amazon Mechanical Turk, asset light, autonomous vehicles, barriers to entry, basic income, benefit corporation, bike sharing, bitcoin, blockchain, book value, Burning Man, call centre, Carl Icahn, collaborative consumption, collaborative economy, collective bargaining, commoditize, commons-based peer production, corporate social responsibility, cryptocurrency, data science, David Graeber, distributed ledger, driverless car, Eben Moglen, employer provided health coverage, Erik Brynjolfsson, Ethereum, ethereum blockchain, Frank Levy and Richard Murnane: The New Division of Labor, future of work, general purpose technology, George Akerlof, gig economy, housing crisis, Howard Rheingold, independent contractor, information asymmetry, Internet of things, inventory management, invisible hand, job automation, job-hopping, John Zimmer (Lyft cofounder), Kickstarter, knowledge worker, Kula ring, Lyft, Marc Andreessen, Mary Meeker, megacity, minimum wage unemployment, moral hazard, moral panic, Network effects, new economy, Oculus Rift, off-the-grid, pattern recognition, peer-to-peer, peer-to-peer lending, peer-to-peer model, peer-to-peer rental, profit motive, public intellectual, purchasing power parity, race to the bottom, recommendation engine, regulatory arbitrage, rent control, Richard Florida, ride hailing / ride sharing, Robert Gordon, Ronald Coase, Ross Ulbricht, Second Machine Age, self-driving car, sharing economy, Silicon Valley, smart contracts, Snapchat, social software, supply-chain management, TaskRabbit, TED Talk, the long tail, The Nature of the Firm, total factor productivity, transaction costs, transportation-network company, two-sided market, Uber and Lyft, Uber for X, uber lyft, universal basic income, Vitalik Buterin, WeWork, Yochai Benkler, Zipcar

The Supreme Court draws its multi-factor test from Nationwide Mutual Ins. Co. v. Darden, 503 U.S. 318 (1992). Third, the true underlying issue isn’t really about a desire among workers for full-time employment, but rather about a desire to obtain the benefits currently and exclusively associated with that status. As Fox notes, since the 1944 ruling—which for collective bargaining purposes categorized the newsboys as employees—workers classified as employees “now enjoy a wide variety of federal, state and local protections, from minimum-wage and overtime laws to unemployment insurance, that aren’t available to independent contractors.”3 This is an important distinction for a number of reasons, most saliently because the specter of future litigation may actually be preventing workers from getting benefits funded by the platforms.

Although full-time employees can pool their individual bargaining power and take collective action, protected by the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), the NLRA does not protect independent contractors, and current antitrust law may penalize them for doing so, a point Elizabeth Kennedy highlights using the example of independent physicians in her 2005 paper on collective bargaining for dependent contractors.6 Further, as Ai-Jen Poo, a 2015 MacArthur Foundation Fellow, has highlighted for decades, the labor laws governing domestic workers are unfairly biased against workers relative to labor laws that cover other professions.7 Fifth, the current constraints of labor law will not allow a market-based solution to easily emerge.

The ambiguity, the paradox, of their position is thus reflected in the term used to identify them.11 Early discussions of a “third way” for worker classification in the sharing economy came from Wilma Liebman, the chair of the United States NLRB in the first Obama administration,12 and from Denise Cheng of MIT in her 2015 Roosevelt Institute policy paper.13 The more detailed Brookings Institute “independent worker” proposal from Harris and Krueger in December 2015 highlights a number of legal reforms that would need to accompany such a definition. Salient among them are the need to alter antitrust law to allow independent workers to collectively bargain (as I discussed earlier); the need to make entities that use labor provided from independent workers exempt from offering minimum wage, overtime, and other hours-of-work-based worker protections; the need to allow platforms to provide workers-compensation insurance without triggering employee categorization; and the need to allow non-employer platforms (or what they call “intermediaries”) to withhold taxes.


pages: 209 words: 89,619

The Precariat: The New Dangerous Class by Guy Standing

8-hour work day, banking crisis, barriers to entry, basic income, behavioural economics, Bertrand Russell: In Praise of Idleness, bread and circuses, call centre, Cass Sunstein, centre right, collective bargaining, company town, corporate governance, crony capitalism, death from overwork, deindustrialization, deskilling, emotional labour, export processing zone, fear of failure, full employment, Herbert Marcuse, hiring and firing, Honoré de Balzac, housing crisis, illegal immigration, immigration reform, income inequality, independent contractor, information security, it's over 9,000, job polarisation, karōshi / gwarosa / guolaosi, labour market flexibility, labour mobility, land reform, libertarian paternalism, low skilled workers, lump of labour, marginal employment, Mark Zuckerberg, mass immigration, means of production, mini-job, moral hazard, Naomi Klein, nudge unit, old age dependency ratio, Panopticon Jeremy Bentham, pension time bomb, pensions crisis, placebo effect, post-industrial society, precariat, presumed consent, quantitative easing, remote working, rent-seeking, Richard Thaler, rising living standards, Ronald Coase, Ronald Reagan, science of happiness, shareholder value, Silicon Valley, technological determinism, The Market for Lemons, The Nature of the Firm, The Spirit Level, Tobin tax, transaction costs, universal basic income, unpaid internship, winner-take-all economy, working poor, working-age population, young professional

How can people construct a career and build an occupational profile when they can be moved at short notice or when the next rungs on an occupational ladder are suddenly outsourced? A related trend is the spread of individual contracts, as part of the ‘contractualisation’ of life. In industrial society, the norm was a collective contract, set by collective bargaining, perhaps extended to other firms in a sector. But as unions and collective bargaining have shrunk, individualised contracts have grown. For a brief time, fewer workers were covered by any contracts, but the trend to individual contracts is strengthening. They allow firms to provide different treatments, degrees of security and status, so as to channel some workers into the salariat, some into stable jobs, some into a precariat status, increasing divisions and hierarchies.

In Italy, the precariat was enlarged by the Treu law of 1997, which introduced temporary contracts, and by the 2003 Biagi law, which allowed private recruitment agencies. One country after another has acknowledged the pressure of globalisation in extending temporary labour. It has accompanied what goes under the clumsy term of ‘triangulation’. Labour law and collective bargaining were constructed on the basis of direct relationships between employers and employees. But who is responsible when a third party becomes an intermediary? Who is in control, the final employer or the intermediary? The blurring of boundaries of decision-making and responsibility adds to the precariousness.

Work rights should include rules on acceptable practice between workers and within occupational communities as well as between ‘labour’ and ‘capital’. The precariat is at a disadvantage in these respects; a regime of ‘collaborative bargaining’ to give it Voice is required to complement regimes of collective bargaining between representatives of employers and employees, an issue to which we will return. The precariat should also demand construction of an international workrights regime, beginning with an overhaul of the International Labour Organisation, a bastion of labourism. How this could be done is dealt with elsewhere (Standing, 2010).


pages: 869 words: 239,167

The Story of Work: A New History of Humankind by Jan Lucassen

3D printing, 8-hour work day, affirmative action, agricultural Revolution, Albert Einstein, anti-work, antiwork, Asian financial crisis, banking crisis, basic income, Berlin Wall, Black Lives Matter, blue-collar work, bread and circuses, Bretton Woods, Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty, Charles Babbage, collective bargaining, Columbian Exchange, commoditize, computer age, coronavirus, COVID-19, demographic transition, deskilling, discovery of the americas, domestication of the camel, Easter island, European colonialism, factory automation, Fall of the Berlin Wall, fixed income, Ford Model T, founder crops, Frederick Winslow Taylor, full employment, future of work, Great Leap Forward, hiring and firing, income inequality, income per capita, informal economy, invisible hand, James Watt: steam engine, joint-stock company, knowledge economy, labour mobility, land tenure, long peace, mass immigration, means of production, megastructure, minimum wage unemployment, money: store of value / unit of account / medium of exchange, new economy, New Urbanism, out of africa, pension reform, phenotype, post-work, precariat, price stability, public intellectual, reshoring, scientific management, Scramble for Africa, Second Machine Age, stakhanovite, tacit knowledge, Thales of Miletus, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, Thorstein Veblen, trade route, transatlantic slave trade, two and twenty, universal basic income, W. E. B. Du Bois, women in the workforce, working poor

This could be in the form of the missionary zeal of communist, socialist, Christian, national, international and supranational organizations (like the socialist and communist internationals discussed below), but also of religiously inspired movements; think of the Catholic Church and the papal encyclical Quadragesimo Anno (1931) and its predecessor. Trade unions utilize various strategies and apply many tactics to achieve their goals, but at the centre is the collective bargaining of wages and work conditions, aimed at collective labour agreements. This requires considerable diplomacy, but in the knowledge that they have recourse to the ultimate bargaining lever – the threat of strike. If applied, this threat is the ultimate test of the union’s ability to impose its will on the employer or employers, but notably also to control its workers.

Indeed, the closed shop was particularly popular and successful among the skilled crafts in nineteenth-century Europe and, more recently, in England. The unification of workers, of course, provoked the unification of their counterparts, employers. Conventionally competitors, under the pressure of collective action and a united workforce they now attempted collective bargaining as a strategy and, in addition, put pressure on local or national governments to choose a side. Broadly speaking, for a long time, politicians and employers belonged to the same social class, with the latter having a much bigger chance of enforcing their conditions than their workers. Among their strategies was the organization of factory- or firm-based trade unions, meant to compete with unions controlled by the workers independently.

Even more extreme was the imposition of yellow-dog contracts, particularly widespread in the US in the interwar years before new arrangements under the New Deal saw the blossoming of trade unions in subsequent decades. The polar opposite of closed shop arrangements, the yellow-dog contract is ‘a promise, made by workers as a condition of employment, not to belong to a union during the period of employment, or not to engage in certain specified activities, such as collective bargaining or striking, without which the formal right to belong to a union is wholly valueless’.87 In post-war Japan and Korea, too, fierce battles between trade unions and employers who established competing top-down unions are not uncommon. Several trade unionists in the Korean shipbuilding industry even committed suicide in a final attempt to save their independent unions and to win disputes.


pages: 585 words: 165,304

Trust: The Social Virtue and the Creation of Prosperity by Francis Fukuyama

Alvin Toffler, barriers to entry, Berlin Wall, blue-collar work, business climate, business cycle, capital controls, classic study, collective bargaining, corporate governance, corporate raider, creative destruction, deindustrialization, Deng Xiaoping, deskilling, double entry bookkeeping, equal pay for equal work, European colonialism, Francis Fukuyama: the end of history, Frederick Winslow Taylor, full employment, George Gilder, glass ceiling, Glass-Steagall Act, global village, Gunnar Myrdal, hiring and firing, industrial robot, Jane Jacobs, job satisfaction, joint-stock company, joint-stock limited liability company, Joseph Schumpeter, Kanban, Kenneth Arrow, land reform, liberal capitalism, liberation theology, low skilled workers, manufacturing employment, mittelstand, price mechanism, profit maximization, RAND corporation, rent-seeking, Ronald Coase, scientific management, Silicon Valley, Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, The Death and Life of Great American Cities, The Nature of the Firm, the scientific method, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, transaction costs, transfer pricing, traveling salesman, union organizing, vertical integration, W. E. B. Du Bois

These include the Federal Association of German Employers, the Federal Association of German Industry, and various other groups connected with specific industrial sectors.13 These trade associations do not have ready counterparts outside Central Europe. Their activities and responsibilities are far broader than those of political lobbying associations like the American Chamber of Commerce or the National Association of Manufacturers. The German Verbände act as the counterparts of the trade unions during collective bargaining negotiations, by which wages, benefits, and work conditions are set on an industry-wide basis; they are actively involved in setting standards for training and product quality; and they engage in long-range planning for the strategic future of particular industrial sectors. The trade associations played a key role in initiating negotiations leading to the Investment Aid Act of 1952, for example, by which the relatively well-off sectors of German industry were taxed in order to subsidize certain bottleneck sectors like coal, steel, electricity, and railways.14 The third set of communitarian economic institutions consists of the complex of labor-management relations that were codified as part of Ludwig Erhardt’s postwar Sozialmarktwirtschaft, or social market economy.

It was Bismarck, after all, who implemented Europe’s first social security system in the 1880s (albeit as the counterpart to his antisocialist legislation that included a ban on the SPD).16 The Sozialmarktwirtschaft actually had its origins in the Weimar period in the 1920s, when various forms of labor legislation, including the right of free collective bargaining and workers’ councils, were introduced.17 After the tumultuous 1930s and 1940s, when the Nazis banned independent trade unions and set up their own “yellow” corporatist organizations, postwar German leaders shared a broad consensus that a new, more cooperative system needed to be established.

Major elements of the Sozialmarktwirtschaft were Mitbestimmung, or codetermination, a system under which labor representatives sat on boards of the companies they worked for, with access to corporate information and a real, if limited, participation in governance; a network of workers’ councils for managing problems and conflicts on an enterprise level; the system of collective bargaining between the industry associations and the labor unions, by which wages, hours, benefits, and the like are set on a sector- or industry-wide basis;18 and finally, the extensive social welfare legislation that stipulates health benefits, working conditions, hours, job security, and the like.


pages: 385 words: 133,839

The Coke Machine: The Dirty Truth Behind the World's Favorite Soft Drink by Michael Blanding

"World Economic Forum" Davos, An Inconvenient Truth, carbon footprint, classic study, clean water, collective bargaining, corporate social responsibility, Exxon Valdez, Gordon Gekko, Internet Archive, laissez-faire capitalism, market design, military-industrial complex, MITM: man-in-the-middle, Naomi Klein, Nelson Mandela, New Journalism, Pepsi Challenge, Ponzi scheme, profit motive, Ralph Nader, rolodex, Ronald Reagan, shareholder value, stock buybacks, The Theory of the Leisure Class by Thorstein Veblen, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, Thorstein Veblen, union organizing, Upton Sinclair, Wayback Machine

On November 18, 1996, the union submitted its final proposal for a new contract, demanding increased pay and bene­ fits, along with protection from firing and new security measures to keep union leadership safe from violence. The Coke plant’s local managers and its Florida-based owners had until December 5 to respond to the collective bargaining proposal. As he stood at the gate that morning, Gil was mentally preparing for the meeting that day, not knowing it would never take place. As he opened the gate to let out the delivery truck, he stepped back behind the gatehouse. The truck rumbled past, its bright red Coke logo shining in the morning light.

In 2002, González’s daughter, then “SYRUP IN THE VEINS” 197 twelve, answered the phone to a voice telling her that her “son-of-a-bitch terrorist father” had to give them 20 million pesos ($10,000) or they would kill his daughter. His wife left soon afterward. “She would say, ‘You ruined my life, my family, my daughters.’” González halts again, choking back tears. “Everyone starts to distrust you, even the neighbors.” As the tears flow, so do the words. “They want to destroy the union and because of that the collective bargaining gets worse, and the conditions for the workers get worse. I’m not a guerrilla member, I’m not a paramilitary member. I just have convictions that the country needs to change.” He suddenly explodes in a sardonic laugh. “You get so fucking pissed off by your helplessness that you want to put a bomb in the place and blow it up.

Much of the decline has been due to outsourcing of the workforce to contract or temporary workers, he says; from 10,000 full-time workers in 1993, the company now employs only 2,000. Most of the other workers are so-called cooperative workers who are responsible for their own health insurance and other benefits, and of course excluded from collective bargaining. 1 98 THE COKE MACHINE Even the direct workers have seen wages decline from a high of $800 a month to near $500. For nonunionized workers, wages are even worse— only $150 a month. In addition, workers have lost overtime and holiday bonuses. All of the consolidation and downsizing, however, has been tre­ mendously successful for the company; Coca-Cola now controls 60 per­ cent of the nonalcoholic beverages market in the country; with the acquisition of Panamco by Coca-Cola FEMSA in 2003, the country has been one of the new anchor bottlers’ primary growth markets.


pages: 443 words: 98,113

The Corruption of Capitalism: Why Rentiers Thrive and Work Does Not Pay by Guy Standing

"World Economic Forum" Davos, 3D printing, Airbnb, Alan Greenspan, Albert Einstein, Amazon Mechanical Turk, anti-fragile, Asian financial crisis, asset-backed security, bank run, banking crisis, basic income, Ben Bernanke: helicopter money, Bernie Sanders, Big bang: deregulation of the City of London, Big Tech, bilateral investment treaty, Bonfire of the Vanities, Boris Johnson, Bretton Woods, business cycle, Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty, carried interest, cashless society, central bank independence, centre right, Clayton Christensen, collapse of Lehman Brothers, collective bargaining, commons-based peer production, credit crunch, crony capitalism, cross-border payments, crowdsourcing, debt deflation, declining real wages, deindustrialization, disruptive innovation, Doha Development Round, Donald Trump, Double Irish / Dutch Sandwich, ending welfare as we know it, eurozone crisis, Evgeny Morozov, falling living standards, financial deregulation, financial innovation, Firefox, first-past-the-post, future of work, Garrett Hardin, gentrification, gig economy, Goldman Sachs: Vampire Squid, Greenspan put, Growth in a Time of Debt, housing crisis, income inequality, independent contractor, information retrieval, intangible asset, invention of the steam engine, investor state dispute settlement, it's over 9,000, James Watt: steam engine, Jeremy Corbyn, job automation, John Maynard Keynes: technological unemployment, labour market flexibility, light touch regulation, Long Term Capital Management, low interest rates, lump of labour, Lyft, manufacturing employment, Mark Zuckerberg, market clearing, Martin Wolf, means of production, megaproject, mini-job, Money creation, Mont Pelerin Society, moral hazard, mortgage debt, mortgage tax deduction, Neil Kinnock, non-tariff barriers, North Sea oil, Northern Rock, nudge unit, Occupy movement, offshore financial centre, oil shale / tar sands, open economy, openstreetmap, patent troll, payday loans, peer-to-peer lending, Phillips curve, plutocrats, Ponzi scheme, precariat, quantitative easing, remote working, rent control, rent-seeking, ride hailing / ride sharing, Right to Buy, Robert Gordon, Ronald Coase, Ronald Reagan, Sam Altman, savings glut, Second Machine Age, secular stagnation, sharing economy, Silicon Valley, Silicon Valley startup, Simon Kuznets, SoftBank, sovereign wealth fund, Stephen Hawking, Steve Ballmer, structural adjustment programs, TaskRabbit, The Chicago School, The Future of Employment, the payments system, The Rise and Fall of American Growth, Thomas Malthus, Thorstein Veblen, too big to fail, Tragedy of the Commons, Travis Kalanick, Uber and Lyft, Uber for X, uber lyft, Y Combinator, zero-sum game, Zipcar

There was no political will to challenge the might of financial capital. At the heart of neo-liberalism is a contradiction. While its proponents profess a belief in free ‘unregulated’ markets, they favour regulations to prevent collective bodies from operating in favour of social solidarity. That is why they want controls over unions, collective bargaining, professional associations and occupational guilds. When the interests of free markets and property clash, they favour the latter. Neo-liberalism is a convenient rationale for rentier capitalism. THE GREAT CONVERGENCE It is impossible to make sense of the Global Transformation without appreciating the role of China.

Alistair Darling, former Labour Chancellor, admitted as much when he wrote that tax credits ‘support many who will not benefit from the minimum wage’.22 Tax credits are a subsidy to capital, distort labour markets and hold down wages. Research suggests that employers gain a quarter to a third of their value through paying lower wages.23 The unions have erred in supporting them, since they are a poor substitute for collective bargaining and reduce the incentive for low-paid workers to join unions. They are also bad for productivity, since they result in an under-valuation of labour, reducing the pressure on employers to be efficient. They also encourage firms to use low-paid workers rather than higher-wage employees. By definition, tax credits raise the income of those receiving them, thereby helping them out of poverty.

Where taskers are contractors working primarily for one company and required to comply with its rules and standards, there is a case for calling them employees, as the California appeals court decided in the case of FedEx drivers. But any distinction between contractors and employees will be arbitrary. Instead of trying to shoehorn tasking into the dichotomous classification of contractor or employee, taskers should form a separate category. This is one reason for strengthening taskers’ collective bargaining capacities. Tasker associations should be set up, as separate entities or within occupational bodies. Certainly, the emergence of taskers will intensify friction between groups of workers; there is not and never has been a ‘unified working class’. The divergence of interests is why a ‘collaborative’ bargaining system is needed, for bargaining between complementary or substitute occupational groups, not just between employers and employees.8 On one side are employers, requesters and labour brokers; on the other, employees, taskers and freelancers.


pages: 364 words: 99,613

Servant Economy: Where America's Elite Is Sending the Middle Class by Jeff Faux

air traffic controllers' union, Alan Greenspan, back-to-the-land, Bear Stearns, benefit corporation, Bernie Sanders, Black Swan, Bretton Woods, BRICs, British Empire, business cycle, call centre, centre right, classic study, cognitive dissonance, collateralized debt obligation, collective bargaining, creative destruction, Credit Default Swap, credit default swaps / collateralized debt obligations, crony capitalism, currency manipulation / currency intervention, David Brooks, David Ricardo: comparative advantage, disruptive innovation, falling living standards, financial deregulation, financial innovation, full employment, Glass-Steagall Act, guns versus butter model, high-speed rail, hiring and firing, Howard Zinn, Hyman Minsky, illegal immigration, indoor plumbing, informal economy, invisible hand, John Maynard Keynes: Economic Possibilities for our Grandchildren, junk bonds, Kevin Roose, Kickstarter, lake wobegon effect, Long Term Capital Management, low interest rates, market fundamentalism, Martin Wolf, McMansion, medical malpractice, Michael Milken, military-industrial complex, Minsky moment, mortgage debt, Myron Scholes, Naomi Klein, new economy, oil shock, old-boy network, open immigration, Paul Samuelson, plutocrats, price mechanism, price stability, private military company, public intellectual, radical decentralization, Ralph Nader, reserve currency, rising living standards, Robert Shiller, rolodex, Ronald Reagan, Savings and loan crisis, school vouchers, Silicon Valley, single-payer health, Solyndra, South China Sea, statistical model, Steve Jobs, Suez crisis 1956, Thomas L Friedman, Thorstein Veblen, too big to fail, trade route, Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, union organizing, upwardly mobile, urban renewal, War on Poverty, We are the 99%, working poor, Yogi Berra, Yom Kippur War, you are the product

It is the result of the interaction of all the actors in the economic drama—the majority of who are people of ordinary talent, connections, perseverance, and/or luck. All have their part to play as workers and consumers, and therefore all have a claim on the benefits of growth. Economic security—pooling risks through social insurance, subsidizing higher education, and collective bargaining—is as important as the freedom to buy low and sell high. By providing a cushion for ordinary workers, the innovations of full employment, rising wages, unions, and government-sponsored safety nets also provided a protective cushion for the American capitalist class. After all, the implication of Keynes’s proposition was that what is good for General Motors is good for America—even though the businessmen had to also accept its corollary that what is good for the United Auto Workers is good for General Motors.

Keynesian economics validated the New Deal, which framed the social contract between U.S. capital and labor for approximately fifty years. The leaders of the U.S. labor movement abandoned any dream of creating a socialist future in exchange for business acceptance of social insurance programs and collective bargaining rights. Social Security guaranteed a minimal level of income for the elderly regardless of how they had fared in the market. Workers’ compensation buffered employees from the economic consequences of injury on the job, and unemployment insurance provided a way to ride out cyclical bouts of unemployment.

In effect, if workers can be fired for striking, then they do not have the right to strike; they simply have the right to quit. Reagan’s act signaled that the government would sanction a return to the pre–New Deal hard-line war against organized labor. Employers responded eagerly by stiffening resistance across the collective bargaining table, daring unions to strike, and creating sophisticated defenses against attempts to unionize. A new industry of consultants arose to run antiunion campaigns, teaching management how to threaten, bribe, and harass workers when union organizers showed up. Many of these tactics were illegal, but Reagan appointed antiunion hard-liners to the National Labor Relations Board, where they blocked, delayed, and denied complaints.


pages: 417 words: 97,577

The Myth of Capitalism: Monopolies and the Death of Competition by Jonathan Tepper

"Friedman doctrine" OR "shareholder theory", Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, air freight, Airbnb, airline deregulation, Alan Greenspan, bank run, barriers to entry, Berlin Wall, Bernie Sanders, Big Tech, big-box store, Bob Noyce, Boston Dynamics, business cycle, Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty, citizen journalism, Clayton Christensen, collapse of Lehman Brothers, collective bargaining, compensation consultant, computer age, Cornelius Vanderbilt, corporate raider, creative destruction, Credit Default Swap, crony capitalism, diversification, don't be evil, Donald Trump, Double Irish / Dutch Sandwich, Dunbar number, Edward Snowden, Elon Musk, en.wikipedia.org, eurozone crisis, Fairchild Semiconductor, Fall of the Berlin Wall, family office, financial innovation, full employment, gentrification, German hyperinflation, gig economy, Gini coefficient, Goldman Sachs: Vampire Squid, Google bus, Google Chrome, Gordon Gekko, Herbert Marcuse, income inequality, independent contractor, index fund, Innovator's Dilemma, intangible asset, invisible hand, Jeff Bezos, Jeremy Corbyn, Jevons paradox, John Nash: game theory, John von Neumann, Joseph Schumpeter, junk bonds, Kenneth Rogoff, late capitalism, London Interbank Offered Rate, low skilled workers, Mark Zuckerberg, Martin Wolf, Maslow's hierarchy, means of production, merger arbitrage, Metcalfe's law, multi-sided market, mutually assured destruction, Nash equilibrium, Network effects, new economy, Northern Rock, offshore financial centre, opioid epidemic / opioid crisis, passive investing, patent troll, Peter Thiel, plutocrats, prediction markets, prisoner's dilemma, proprietary trading, race to the bottom, rent-seeking, road to serfdom, Robert Bork, Ronald Reagan, Sam Peltzman, secular stagnation, shareholder value, Sheryl Sandberg, Silicon Valley, Silicon Valley billionaire, Skype, Snapchat, Social Responsibility of Business Is to Increase Its Profits, SoftBank, Steve Jobs, stock buybacks, tech billionaire, The Chicago School, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, Thomas Kuhn: the structure of scientific revolutions, too big to fail, undersea cable, Vanguard fund, vertical integration, very high income, wikimedia commons, William Shockley: the traitorous eight, you are the product, zero-sum game

Most people think of companies such as Uber, with an estimated seven million drivers worldwide, when they think of part-time and contracted work. The company is constantly in the headlines, facing a barrage of lawsuits aimed at reclassifying drivers as employees, rather than contractors, and at providing full-time benefits, overtime pay, and collective bargaining. Uber is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to contract work. In many other industries, the trend to seek cheap, no-strings-attached employees also applies. Every day we see workers dressed in bright, colored uniforms with corporate logos; but the people who are valeting cars at a hotel, acting as concierge, and cleaning your room do not work for Hilton, instead they are contracted through a third party.

With this increased bureaucracy, workers are left to navigate confusing legal processes alone. Unionization has collapsed while occupational licensing has grown exponentially (see Figure 4.9). While unions are imperfect and can, themselves, become powerful barriers to entry for people on the outside, workers have little to no collective bargaining power without them. Figure 4.9 The Great Suppression: Falling Unions and Increasing Licensing, 1950s–Today SOURCE: Taylor Mann, Pine Capital. Workers are now faced with pressure on all sides – governments that require excessive licensing to work, and corporates that require workers accept onerous employment terms.

Cartels set prices, limited production, and agreed to divide markets.28 Nazis had their reasons for preferring monopolies and cartels. The economist Arthur Schweitzer wrote about the power structure that existed between the Nazi party, large corporations and the generals in 1936. In his book Big Business and the Third Reich he wrote, within a few years of Hitler's accession, “middle-class socialism” had been defeated, collective bargaining had been banned, and unions had been outlawed. Unions were crushed as alternative centers of power. Large companies were favored over small businesses because, as Schweizer noted, “it is easier for the authorities to deal with a number of large companies than with innumerable small ones.”29 Consequently, the Nazi regime favored the process of monopolistic concentration, reinforcing the power of industrial magnates and weakening the position of the middle and working classes.30 The Nazis wanted almost all industries to become cartels.


pages: 330 words: 99,044

Reimagining Capitalism in a World on Fire by Rebecca Henderson

"Friedman doctrine" OR "shareholder theory", Airbnb, asset allocation, behavioural economics, benefit corporation, Berlin Wall, Bernie Sanders, business climate, Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty, carbon footprint, carbon tax, circular economy, collaborative economy, collective bargaining, commoditize, corporate governance, corporate social responsibility, crony capitalism, dark matter, decarbonisation, disruptive innovation, double entry bookkeeping, Elon Musk, Erik Brynjolfsson, export processing zone, Exxon Valdez, Fall of the Berlin Wall, family office, fixed income, George Akerlof, Gini coefficient, global supply chain, greed is good, Greta Thunberg, growth hacking, Hans Rosling, Howard Zinn, Hyman Minsky, impact investing, income inequality, independent contractor, index fund, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), joint-stock company, Kickstarter, Lyft, Marc Benioff, Mark Zuckerberg, Max Levchin, means of production, meta-analysis, microcredit, middle-income trap, Minsky moment, mittelstand, Mont Pelerin Society, Neil Armstrong, Nelson Mandela, opioid epidemic / opioid crisis, Paris climate accords, passive investing, Paul Samuelson, Philip Mirowski, plant based meat, profit maximization, race to the bottom, ride hailing / ride sharing, Ronald Reagan, Rosa Parks, Salesforce, scientific management, Second Machine Age, shareholder value, sharing economy, Silicon Valley, Snapchat, sovereign wealth fund, Steven Pinker, stocks for the long run, Tim Cook: Apple, total factor productivity, Toyota Production System, uber lyft, urban planning, Washington Consensus, WeWork, working-age population, Zipcar

Stinnes had vast holdings in coal, iron, steel, shipping, newspapers, and banks; one analyst described him as the Warren Buffett of his time.62 Together with a number of other private sector leaders, he approached moderate union leaders with proposals for a new economic order. In November 1918, the two groups signed the Stinnes-Legien Agreement, which established the eight-hour workday, the recognition of labor unions, a right to establish works councils, and the adoption of sectoral collective bargaining.63 Stinnes also laid the foundation for a national system of employer representation. Talks between the major firms began in 1918 and were concluded in 1919 when employer representation was unified under the Reich Association of German Industry (RdI). The RdI was organized along industry rather than regional lines, a structure that tended to favor big business interests, and the new association allowed Stinnes and his allies to expand the influence of the Stinnes-Legien Agreement across a broad swath of additional firms.64 Between 1933 and 1945, fascism, economic and political turmoil, and the disaster of World War II led to the breakdown of these agreements as the Nazis dissolved both employers’ associations and unions.

The Federation of German industries (BDI) emerged as the largest employer association, focusing largely on economic advocacy, while the Federation of German Employers’ Association (BDA) was formed to manage labor relations. The Confederation of German Trade Unions (DGB) was founded as an umbrella organization to represent the trade unions. The three organizations worked together to revive the tradition of employer-labor relations and collective bargaining that had been established between the wars. All three organizations exist today.66 One of the most critical tasks of postwar reconstruction was the revival and standardization of the apprenticeship system. Prior to World War II, the system had not been standardized by either sector or region.

The DA was able to negotiate an end to the strike, and in 1898 the Danish Confederation of Trade Unions, or the LO, was founded with the active assistance and support of the DA. Two years later a massive three-month labor conflict known as the “Great Lockout” erupted in the steel industry. Together the DA and LO were able to negotiate a “September Compromise,” which established a national system of collective bargaining. In 1907 the state gave the DA the power to intervene in sectoral disputes, reinforcing the DA’s role as the top employers’ association and giving the association a central role in negotiating business labor relations. Over the next fifty years cooperation between labor, business, and government became increasingly routinized—so much so that by the 1960s Danish conservatives were bragging that they were responsible for a “decisive step in the expansion of the welfare state.”


pages: 237 words: 67,154

Ours to Hack and to Own: The Rise of Platform Cooperativism, a New Vision for the Future of Work and a Fairer Internet by Trebor Scholz, Nathan Schneider

1960s counterculture, activist fund / activist shareholder / activist investor, Airbnb, Amazon Mechanical Turk, Anthropocene, barriers to entry, basic income, benefit corporation, Big Tech, bitcoin, blockchain, Build a better mousetrap, Burning Man, business logic, capital controls, circular economy, citizen journalism, collaborative economy, collaborative editing, collective bargaining, commoditize, commons-based peer production, conceptual framework, content marketing, crowdsourcing, cryptocurrency, data science, Debian, decentralized internet, deskilling, disintermediation, distributed ledger, driverless car, emotional labour, end-to-end encryption, Ethereum, ethereum blockchain, food desert, future of work, gig economy, Google bus, hiring and firing, holacracy, income inequality, independent contractor, information asymmetry, Internet of things, Jacob Appelbaum, Jeff Bezos, job automation, Julian Assange, Kickstarter, lake wobegon effect, low skilled workers, Lyft, Mark Zuckerberg, means of production, minimum viable product, moral hazard, Network effects, new economy, offshore financial centre, openstreetmap, peer-to-peer, planned obsolescence, post-work, profit maximization, race to the bottom, radical decentralization, remunicipalization, ride hailing / ride sharing, Rochdale Principles, SETI@home, shareholder value, sharing economy, Shoshana Zuboff, Silicon Valley, smart cities, smart contracts, Snapchat, surveillance capitalism, TaskRabbit, technological solutionism, technoutopianism, transaction costs, Travis Kalanick, Tyler Cowen, Uber for X, uber lyft, union organizing, universal basic income, Vitalik Buterin, W. E. B. Du Bois, Whole Earth Catalog, WikiLeaks, women in the workforce, workplace surveillance , Yochai Benkler, Zipcar

As the members say in their founding mission statement, their goals are “high-quality, convenient health care on-demand, to grow the LVN profession as well as employment opportunities for highly-trained LVNs, and to increase access to care.” By monopolizing the labor supply in a particular narrow market, organized labor can use the union worker cooperative model to enable workers to own their own labor and enjoy portable benefits, thanks to a collective bargaining agreement between the cooperative and the union. The cooperative guild can start on a manageable level by restricting the co-op work to one classification (like the LVN), but it can later scale to include multiple job classifications. What both of these paths signify is the potential for value when organized labor and worker cooperatives team up in the “gig economy.”

This represents a remarkable example of how solidarity-centric business structures can combine with determined union policy advocacy and market-available technology to produce more holistic business models. Green Taxi Cooperative has more than eight hundred worker-owners, who are also CWA members, with a newly signed collective bargaining agreement. Before this, CWA Local 7777 had assisted another local taxi cooperative, the two-hundred-driver Union Taxi, which is presently not unionized, and the union learned a lot from that process during round two. Green Taxi is joining other taxi drivers in New York City and elsewhere who are launching apps to step up the competition with Uber, allowing customers to hail a cab and pay for it with their devices of choice.

By controlling their digital ecosystems, they can turn everything into a productive asset, and every transaction can become an auction where they set the bidding and pricing rules. Platforms are also increasingly transforming the labor market. Uber, for instance, does not own cars and doesn’t employ drivers; it regards its workers as independent contractors. In this way, the company externalizes most costs to workers, eliminating collective bargaining and implementing intrusive data-driven mechanisms of reputation and rankings to reduce transaction costs (for the company). The growth of the sharing economy has so far come with an increasing precarization of labor, and erosion of job security, social protection, and safety nets for workers, such as benefits related to healthcare, pensions, parenting, and so on.


pages: 288 words: 64,771

The Captured Economy: How the Powerful Enrich Themselves, Slow Down Growth, and Increase Inequality by Brink Lindsey

Airbnb, Asian financial crisis, bank run, barriers to entry, Bernie Sanders, Build a better mousetrap, Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty, carbon tax, Carmen Reinhart, Cass Sunstein, collective bargaining, creative destruction, Credit Default Swap, crony capitalism, Daniel Kahneman / Amos Tversky, David Brooks, diversified portfolio, Donald Trump, Edward Glaeser, endogenous growth, experimental economics, experimental subject, facts on the ground, financial engineering, financial innovation, financial intermediation, financial repression, hiring and firing, Home mortgage interest deduction, housing crisis, income inequality, informal economy, information asymmetry, intangible asset, inventory management, invisible hand, Jones Act, Joseph Schumpeter, Kenneth Rogoff, Kevin Kelly, knowledge worker, labor-force participation, Long Term Capital Management, low skilled workers, Lyft, Mark Zuckerberg, market fundamentalism, mass immigration, mass incarceration, medical malpractice, Menlo Park, moral hazard, mortgage debt, Network effects, patent troll, plutocrats, principal–agent problem, regulatory arbitrage, rent control, rent-seeking, ride hailing / ride sharing, Robert Metcalfe, Robert Solow, Ronald Reagan, Savings and loan crisis, Silicon Valley, Silicon Valley ideology, smart cities, software patent, subscription business, tail risk, tech bro, too big to fail, total factor productivity, trade liberalization, tragedy of the anticommons, Tragedy of the Commons, transaction costs, tulip mania, Tyler Cowen, Uber and Lyft, uber lyft, Washington Consensus, white picket fence, winner-take-all economy, women in the workforce

But although the rich and the powerful are often the same group of people, they don’t have to be. Accordingly, regulation can redistribute downward as well as upward. The minimum wage, for instance, creates rents in the form of above-market wages for workers at the bottom of the pay scale. Likewise, collective bargaining under the Wagner Act confers a wage premium of roughly 15 percent for unionized workers. Overtime regulations, the Davis-Bacon Act mandating the payment of prevailing wages on public works projects, universal service requirements for telephone service and public utilities, rent control and tenant protection laws, and the Americans with Disabilities Act provide further examples of regulatory policies that create rents for the less-well-off.

See “cultural capture”; regulatory capture CBO (Congressional Budget Office), 162, 166 Center for Economic and Policy Research, 12 chain stores. See national chains “Chicago Plan”, 58 Clinton, Hillary, 145 Clinton administration, 44 Cochrane, John, 58 Code of Federal Regulations, 23 collective bargaining. See unionization competition, 5, 6, 13, 16, 31, 185n11 concentration of industry and, 20–21 occupational licensing and, 95–99 post-New Deal, 29 preventing inequality through, 8 regulation and, 7, 17 computers. See digital era/information technology concentrated interests, 129–33 concentration/consolidation of industry, 20–21, 185n8 Congressional Budget Office, 162, 166 Congressional Research Service, 161 Congressional staff system, 161–64 conservatism.

., 14, 36, 161 Temin, Peter, 11 temporary monopolies, 16, 73 TFP. See total factor productivity “third party support”, 155 Thomas, Diana, 186n14 “Tobin’s Q”, 19–20, 22–23 total factor productivity, 24–27, 78–79 “Treaty of Detroit”, 11 Trump, Donald, 2–4, 8 tulip mania, 46 unionization, 6, 11, 31, 146, 157 collective bargaining and, 28 decline of, 91–92 post-New Deal, 29 upstream innovation, 74 upward mobility, 1, 30, 97–98, 143 upward redistribution, 12–14, 28–31, 127. See also redistribution of wealth homeownership and, 121–22 land-use and, 110 mortgage lending and, 39 urban areas, 114–15 VA. See Veterans Administration Vergara v.


pages: 261 words: 64,977

Pity the Billionaire: The Unexpected Resurgence of the American Right by Thomas Frank

Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, Alan Greenspan, bank run, Bear Stearns, big-box store, bonus culture, business cycle, carbon tax, classic study, collateralized debt obligation, collective bargaining, commoditize, Credit Default Swap, credit default swaps / collateralized debt obligations, crony capitalism, Deng Xiaoping, false flag, financial innovation, General Magic , Glass-Steagall Act, housing crisis, invisible hand, junk bonds, Kickstarter, low interest rates, money market fund, Naomi Klein, obamacare, Overton Window, payday loans, profit maximization, profit motive, road to serfdom, Robert Bork, Ronald Reagan, shareholder value, strikebreaker, The Chicago School, The Myth of the Rational Market, Thorstein Veblen, too big to fail, union organizing, Washington Consensus, white flight, Works Progress Administration

People had moaned as far back as the 1840s that allowing labor unions to exist would destroy capitalism, the author recalled, and sure enough, the form of capitalism they had in those days died, to be replaced by “capitalism modified by the right of collective bargaining.” The end-time fears returned, according to Seldes, when the federal government threatened to begin regulating railroads in the 1880s, and again the end of the world came to pass. Capitalism died, to be replaced this time by “capitalism modified by collective bargaining and Federal regulation.”16 Life went on. Today, as in Gilbert Seldes’s time, the fear that true capitalism is about to perish is with us again. Now, as then, only absolutes seem to matter.

Millions of Americans, and a large number of their banks, became insolvent in a matter of weeks. Sixteen trillion dollars in household wealth was incinerated on the pyre Wall Street had kindled. And yet, as I write this, the most effective political response to these events is a campaign to roll back regulation, to strip government employees of the right to collectively bargain, and to clamp down on federal spending. So let us give the rebels their due. Let us acknowledge that the conservative comeback of the last few years is indeed something unique in the history of American social movements: a mass conversion to free-market theory as a response to hard times.


pages: 305 words: 69,216

A Failure of Capitalism: The Crisis of '08 and the Descent Into Depression by Richard A. Posner

Alan Greenspan, Andrei Shleifer, banking crisis, Bear Stearns, Bernie Madoff, business cycle, collateralized debt obligation, collective bargaining, compensation consultant, corporate governance, credit crunch, Credit Default Swap, credit default swaps / collateralized debt obligations, debt deflation, diversified portfolio, equity premium, financial deregulation, financial intermediation, Glass-Steagall Act, Home mortgage interest deduction, illegal immigration, laissez-faire capitalism, Long Term Capital Management, low interest rates, market bubble, Money creation, money market fund, moral hazard, mortgage debt, Myron Scholes, oil shock, Ponzi scheme, price stability, profit maximization, proprietary trading, race to the bottom, reserve currency, risk tolerance, risk/return, Robert Shiller, savings glut, shareholder value, short selling, statistical model, subprime mortgage crisis, too big to fail, transaction costs, very high income

Assuming, therefore, that the companies would be economically viable at a reduced level of production and are broke only because they are crushed by debts contracted when their output was much greater, reorganization in bankruptcy would be the sensible solution to their financial problems. The bankruptcy court could also abrogate the collective bargaining contracts between the automakers and the United Auto Workers. That would allow the automakers to slash wages and benefits — and a drastic reduction in labor costs may well be essential to their long-term survival. But this rosy picture belongs to normal times. There were three problems with allowing the automakers to be forced into bankruptcy just as the nation was sliding into a depression.

In supporting the auto bailout bill the Democrats scored points with their constituencies by standing up for union workers, for the "greening" of the automobile industry, for states in which the domestic auto industry is centered that voted Democratic in the recent election (Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana), for the principle of active government, and for trying to avert a deepening of the current depression. The auto-bailout bill had earned the ire of Republican senators because of its failure to lean hard on the collective bargaining agreements negotiated by the United Auto Workers, because of the divided control of the industry that the bill created— divided among the manufacturers, a federal "car czar," and intrusive congressional oversight— and because of the considerable element of fantasy in the idea that Congress plus the President can revitalize the domestic auto industry.

Quite apart from the UAW, the depression may give the Administration and Congress pause concerning measures to strengthen unions, such as the proposed Employee Free Choice Act. The act would abolish the requirement of secret elections to determine whether a workplace shall be unionized and, if the union prevails and union and employer cannot agree on the terms of a collective bargaining agreement, would require binding arbitration. A fall in wages is a problem in a depression, as we know, because it can further a deflationary spiral, although it can also reduce unemployment, so that the net effect is uncertain. But an increase in wages, and a reduction in the efficiency with which labor is utilized (because of union-imposed work rules), will have an unambiguously negative effect on output by increasing employers' labor costs, and the reduction in output will lead to an increase in unemployment.


pages: 215 words: 69,370

Still Broke: Walmart's Remarkable Transformation and the Limits of Socially Conscious Capitalism by Rick Wartzman

"Friedman doctrine" OR "shareholder theory", activist fund / activist shareholder / activist investor, An Inconvenient Truth, basic income, Bernie Sanders, call centre, collective bargaining, coronavirus, COVID-19, cryptocurrency, data science, Donald Trump, employer provided health coverage, fulfillment center, full employment, future of work, George Floyd, illegal immigration, immigration reform, income inequality, Jeff Bezos, job automation, Kickstarter, labor-force participation, low skilled workers, Marc Benioff, old-boy network, race to the bottom, RAND corporation, rolodex, Ronald Reagan, Salesforce, shareholder value, supply-chain management, TikTok, Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, union organizing, universal basic income, War on Poverty, warehouse robotics, We are the 99%, women in the workforce, working poor

In return, the unions wouldn’t oppose Walmart’s move into these locations. As the SEIU and Walmart continued to meet through 2006, Stern kept Joe Hansen apprised. The UFCW leader knew his union was in no position to sit down alone with Walmart, but he also knew that the SEIU—because it wasn’t trying to get to a collective bargaining agreement with the company—might be able to hash out some things and, ultimately, even bring the UFCW into the deliberations. “It’s kind of like Switzerland has to carry on the conversation in certain situations,” Stern said. In actuality, the SEIU was equal parts noncombatant and combatant.

“I knew how hard it was going to be,” O’Neill said. “I just think that’s what you have to do. It’s like if you’re a priest, you’ve got to keep out there until you’ve saved the flock.” What was different this time was OUR Walmart’s center of gravity. The UFCW knew it didn’t stand a chance of getting anywhere with a traditional collective bargaining campaign; the company had long ago shown that it was impervious to such efforts. And using political operatives to inflame the public about Walmart had also run its course. To chart a new path, the UFCW invited an eclectic group to Washington: labor and community organizers alongside experts on antitrust and supply-chain issues.

But unless there is a government mandate, Walmart—and most every other company in America—will never move far enough or fast enough to provide people with a genuine living wage. Washington’s prod is the only way to get there. There is no mystery as to the policies we need to help workers regain their rightful share of the nation’s prosperity. I’d start with these: rewriting labor law to expand collective bargaining, as well as to foster new avenues for employees’ voices to be heard, including seats on corporate boards; making “full employment”—the point at which most everyone who wants a job can find one and a catalyst for rising wages—a primary goal of government; restoring overtime pay so that the majority of salaried workers qualify as they did in the 1970s, not just the 15 percent who do now; buttressing worker protections so that it’s harder to pilfer people’s wages or misclassify employees as contractors; and devising a health system that gives every American affordable access to good medical care, untethered to the workplace.


pages: 128 words: 35,958

Getting Back to Full Employment: A Better Bargain for Working People by Dean Baker, Jared Bernstein

2013 Report for America's Infrastructure - American Society of Civil Engineers - 19 March 2013, Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, Alan Greenspan, American Society of Civil Engineers: Report Card, Asian financial crisis, business cycle, collective bargaining, declining real wages, full employment, George Akerlof, high-speed rail, income inequality, inflation targeting, low interest rates, mass immigration, minimum wage unemployment, new economy, Phillips curve, price stability, publication bias, quantitative easing, Report Card for America’s Infrastructure, rising living standards, selection bias, War on Poverty

The absence of full employment in most years since the 1970s was not the only factor in play; the reasons for the rise in inequality include globalization, technological change, a bubble-driven finance sector claiming disproportionate profit shares, declining unions, a falling value of the minimum wage, and more. But slack employment and its corollary – diminished bargaining power – get overlooked, in no small part because policymakers assume full employment is out of their control, though it is decidedly not. To give up on full employment is a mistake, because in an economy in which collective bargaining is minimal in the private sector and under siege in the public sector, full employment is the only route for working Americans can get ahead. Rising living standards for the majority require a labor market that is tight enough to force employers to raise compensation to the level where they can attract and keep the workers they need.

Instead, they will be having their skills continually upgraded, as will their colleagues at work, as companies adjust their production in response to changes in demand and technology. This system has worked well in Germany in part because it has a long tradition of labor–management cooperation. About 20 percent of Germany’s workforce is unionized, but collective bargaining covers a much larger share, about 60 percent (in the United States only about 11 percent of the workforce are union members and 12.5 percent are covered by agreements).[46] Under German law, all large companies have workers’ councils that provide a formal opportunity for worker input regardless of whether or not the workers are unionized.


pages: 382 words: 107,150

We Are All Fast-Food Workers Now: The Global Uprising Against Poverty Wages by Annelise Orleck

"World Economic Forum" Davos, airport security, American Legislative Exchange Council, anti-communist, Bernie Sanders, big-box store, Black Lives Matter, British Empire, call centre, Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty, card file, clean water, collective bargaining, corporate social responsibility, deindustrialization, Deng Xiaoping, Donald Trump, export processing zone, Ferguson, Missouri, financial deregulation, food desert, Food sovereignty, gentrification, gig economy, global supply chain, global value chain, immigration reform, independent contractor, indoor plumbing, Jeremy Corbyn, Kickstarter, land reform, land tenure, Mahatma Gandhi, mass immigration, McJob, means of production, new economy, payday loans, precariat, race to the bottom, Rana Plaza, rent-seeking, ride hailing / ride sharing, road to serfdom, Ronald Reagan, Rosa Parks, shareholder value, Shenzhen special economic zone , Skype, special economic zone, Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, union organizing, War on Poverty, women in the workforce, working poor

“Lessons in global capitalism.” She smiles. “My education.”2 The union educates the women well, she says. “The rep comes to see the women at least twenty times a year and invites us to classes. We learn about labor rights and gender-based violence at work. They teach us how to organize, how to negotiate a collective bargaining agreement.” But there is a deeper connection, an emotional bond. “I consider the union my second mother,” she says. “When I have problems, union members care about me, about my working conditions. And when we are challenged the union helps us.” Before she became a union member, Tep was earning $30–$40 a month.

Mary Kay Henry, the gifted and controversial organizer who became president of SEIU in 2010, sought ways to organize low-wage workers who were not, and might never be, union members, in order to build a national consensus that wages must rise. Both of these strategies have brought real change. The germ of what would become Fight for $15 was planted in the winter of 2011. Newly elected Wisconsin governor Scott Walker pushed the state to cut salaries and benefits. An ALEC bill was introduced to take away collective bargaining rights from public employees. Protests erupted at the state capitol in Madison. In a surprisingly strong response, eighty thousand people participated. Members of conservative police and firefighters’ unions joined more traditionally progressive nurses’ and teachers’ unions. Social media spread images of the protests worldwide.

Sion Binos is tired and angry.10 Still, she takes hope in the young organizers she has recruited, women in their twenties and thirties who are savvy and smart and full of new ideas. They communicate and organize via smartphones and social media. “They are inventing something new,” she says with hope. Even in the newest “cheapest” place to produce, Ethiopia, where there is not yet a minimum wage law, trade union organizers have won collective bargaining and 25 percent wage increases since 2014. The movement is truly global. Binos continues to believe.11 “But we still need the basics,” she says. Many workers she organizes are children of farmers who have lost their lands. She points to a poster on the walls of the SENTRO building. A woman with her mouth taped shut holds an empty bowl in outstretched hands: “No Rice Without Freedom.


pages: 364 words: 104,697

Were You Born on the Wrong Continent? by Thomas Geoghegan

Alan Greenspan, Albert Einstein, American Society of Civil Engineers: Report Card, An Inconvenient Truth, banking crisis, Bear Stearns, Berlin Wall, Bob Geldof, business logic, collective bargaining, corporate governance, cross-subsidies, dark matter, David Brooks, declining real wages, deindustrialization, disinformation, Easter island, ending welfare as we know it, facts on the ground, Gini coefficient, Glass-Steagall Act, haute cuisine, high-speed rail, income inequality, John Maynard Keynes: Economic Possibilities for our Grandchildren, knowledge economy, knowledge worker, laissez-faire capitalism, low skilled workers, Martin Wolf, McJob, military-industrial complex, minimum wage unemployment, mittelstand, offshore financial centre, Paul Samuelson, payday loans, pensions crisis, plutocrats, Prenzlauer Berg, purchasing power parity, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Robert Gordon, Ronald Reagan: Tear down this wall, Saturday Night Live, Silicon Valley, The Theory of the Leisure Class by Thorstein Veblen, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, Thorstein Veblen, union organizing, Wolfgang Streeck, women in the workforce

But that is bad news for upper-middle-class people like Barbara, whose 401(k) just got clobbered and now has to count more on Social Security. Okay, but hasn’t Europe cut back too? Even in the big example, Germany, where the public pension is just over 50 percent of working income, most Germans still have big supplements from collective bargaining. Besides, unlike us, who are deep in debt, Germans have high savings rates for their own accounts, which are not tied in to the stock market. Let’s assume that Alicia Munnell and other economists are correct and we should still get at least 67 percent of working income for retirement. That’s still true in Germany.

Because getting your wage set outside the firm—over your head—helps you get more power within the firm. Even if you’re on the works council, you don’t have to ask the boss for a raise. Even if you’re on the supervisory board, you don’t ask. As Professor Martin Malin at Chicago-Kent College of Law once told me, “It takes the blood sport out of collective bargaining.” Compared to all of that, it’s not such a big deal who gets to set the closing hours. But why aren’t there huge nationwide strikes? They don’t riot. They don’t burn tires. It’s not like France or Italy. Well, think of the difference between the French and German model. In the French model, the workers are outside in the street and throwing rocks through the window.

Let’s keep it, East Germany, a separate country, at least for five or six years,’ because we couldn’t afford it. It would ruin the whole country.” Specifically, he meant that, with the higher taxes that West Germans would have to pay to bail out East Germans, it would be impossible to keep the welfare state. It would be impossible to keep the system of collective bargaining. M. laid out the trap into which the left had fallen: to bail out the East Germans, the new Germany would have to run a deficit or cut benefits. Well, as they were about to introduce the euro under the Treaty of Maastricht, they were forbidden to run a deficit that might have weakened the new currency throughout Europe as a whole.


pages: 363 words: 109,077

The Raging 2020s: Companies, Countries, People - and the Fight for Our Future by Alec Ross

"Friedman doctrine" OR "shareholder theory", "World Economic Forum" Davos, Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, air gap, air traffic controllers' union, Airbnb, Albert Einstein, An Inconvenient Truth, autonomous vehicles, barriers to entry, benefit corporation, Bernie Sanders, Big Tech, big-box store, British Empire, call centre, capital controls, clean water, collective bargaining, computer vision, coronavirus, corporate governance, corporate raider, COVID-19, deep learning, Deng Xiaoping, Didi Chuxing, disinformation, Dissolution of the Soviet Union, Donald Trump, Double Irish / Dutch Sandwich, drone strike, dumpster diving, employer provided health coverage, Francis Fukuyama: the end of history, future of work, general purpose technology, gig economy, Gini coefficient, global supply chain, Goldman Sachs: Vampire Squid, Gordon Gekko, greed is good, high-speed rail, hiring and firing, income inequality, independent contractor, information security, intangible asset, invisible hand, Jeff Bezos, knowledge worker, late capitalism, low skilled workers, Lyft, Marc Andreessen, Marc Benioff, mass immigration, megacity, military-industrial complex, minimum wage unemployment, mittelstand, mortgage tax deduction, natural language processing, Oculus Rift, off-the-grid, offshore financial centre, open economy, OpenAI, Parag Khanna, Paris climate accords, profit motive, race to the bottom, RAND corporation, ride hailing / ride sharing, Robert Bork, rolodex, Ronald Reagan, Salesforce, self-driving car, shareholder value, side hustle, side project, Silicon Valley, smart cities, Social Responsibility of Business Is to Increase Its Profits, sovereign wealth fund, sparse data, special economic zone, Steven Levy, stock buybacks, strikebreaker, TaskRabbit, tech bro, tech worker, transcontinental railway, transfer pricing, Travis Kalanick, trickle-down economics, Uber and Lyft, uber lyft, union organizing, Upton Sinclair, vertical integration, working poor

We have labor laws that were written in 1947—nothing has been static in this country since 1947 except the labor laws.” When I pressed him for more specifics, he pointed to pending legislation that would strengthen penalties for companies that retaliate against workers who organize, expand collective bargaining rights, and weaken so-called right-to-work laws. “You also have to look at the trade laws, you have to look at the tax laws, you have to look at all the economic rules that have been written,” he added. He’s not wrong, but the fact that you have to, in his words, “look at all the economic rules that have been written” and rewrite labor laws that have not changed in seventy-five years highlights not just how much dramatic change is needed, but also how little progress Trumka and his peers have made in the last few decades.

Instead of a race to the bottom, wage standards were decided by stakeholders from business, labor, and government and set at a satisfactory minimum standard, which Brunello then took 20 percent higher. In Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden, more than half the workforces belong to labor unions, and more than 70 percent are covered by collective bargaining. In Denmark, Sweden, and Finland, unions are also responsible for administering unemployment insurance, which gives workers an incentive to sign up and pay dues. Today, these countries have some of the world’s highest rates of union membership. And unlike in the United States and United Kingdom, many of the European states seem to try to outdo themselves by making working conditions better.

As of August 2020, the lowest-paid Australian workers made $14.23 per hour, nearly double the earnings of their American counterparts. Australians’ proclivity for collective action extends to the workplace. While less than 15 percent of Australian workers belong to a labor union, about 60 percent of the workforce is covered by collective bargaining agreements. The country’s labor markets are heavily regulated by the government, which reduces mobility but ensures a high standard of living for most Australians. While safety net programs are a point of political contention in the United States, they receive near-universal support among Australian lawmakers, Gillard said.


pages: 524 words: 154,652

Blood in the Machine: The Origins of the Rebellion Against Big Tech by Brian Merchant

"World Economic Forum" Davos, Ada Lovelace, algorithmic management, Amazon Mechanical Turk, Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic, autonomous vehicles, basic income, Bernie Sanders, Big Tech, big-box store, Black Lives Matter, Cambridge Analytica, Charles Babbage, ChatGPT, collective bargaining, colonial rule, commoditize, company town, computer age, computer vision, coronavirus, cotton gin, COVID-19, cryptocurrency, DALL-E, decarbonisation, deskilling, digital rights, Donald Trump, Edward Jenner, Elon Musk, Erik Brynjolfsson, factory automation, flying shuttle, Frederick Winslow Taylor, fulfillment center, full employment, future of work, George Floyd, gig economy, gigafactory, hiring and firing, hockey-stick growth, independent contractor, industrial robot, information asymmetry, Internet Archive, invisible hand, Isaac Newton, James Hargreaves, James Watt: steam engine, Jeff Bezos, Jessica Bruder, job automation, John Maynard Keynes: Economic Possibilities for our Grandchildren, John Maynard Keynes: technological unemployment, Kevin Roose, Kickstarter, Lyft, Mark Zuckerberg, Marshall McLuhan, means of production, military-industrial complex, move fast and break things, Naomi Klein, New Journalism, On the Economy of Machinery and Manufactures, OpenAI, precariat, profit motive, ride hailing / ride sharing, Sam Bankman-Fried, scientific management, Second Machine Age, self-driving car, sharing economy, Silicon Valley, sovereign wealth fund, spinning jenny, Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, super pumped, TaskRabbit, tech billionaire, tech bro, tech worker, techlash, technological determinism, Ted Kaczynski, The Future of Employment, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, Thomas Malthus, Travis Kalanick, Uber and Lyft, uber lyft, union organizing, universal basic income, W. E. B. Du Bois, warehouse automation, warehouse robotics, working poor, workplace surveillance

If merchants or shop owners refused to pay established rates or tried to bypass legal regulations with new technology, workers might smash the machinery they deemed “obnoxious.” At a time when organizing unions was illegal, it was a strategy embraced by workmen whose jobs were on the line with no other recourse: “collective bargaining by riot,” as one historian termed it. “The eighteenth-century master was constantly aware that an intolerable demand would produce, not a temporary loss of profits, but the destruction” of his machinery. These workers did not view technology as inherently progressive; they had not been taught to lionize disruption.

If the Huddersfield Luddites could move successfully against a major operation in the region, it would imbue them with a new sense of power—a considerable strategic asset. “As the man you speak of is setting you at defiance, sooner you deal with him the better,” Weightman said. He then offered a window into how collective bargaining by riot works in practice: We have inspired such a wholesome dread of us at Nottingham, amongst all classes, that the threat of General Ludd is almost invariably sufficient. Our motions have been so rapid and our information respecting the possession of arms so accurate that few now dare to speak of us defiantly.

When the Society was firing on all cylinders by the end of 1813, the organization he’d helped build was remarkably effective. Workers could strike for better wages with a buffer to rely on, and few if any frames in Nottingham were smashed that year, owing to the new method. Slowly, and modestly, the knitters’ conditions began to improve. The Society offered a glimpse of the future, when workers could collectively bargain to improve their conditions, to rally the only viable power they held against the machine owners—each other—even if its chief organizers were never confident it was fully legal under the oppressively interpreted laws. As such, the Society’s coat of arms showed the numerous districts it represented, along with an image of a mechanical loom and an arm gripping a hammer.


pages: 870 words: 259,362

Austerity Britain: 1945-51 by David Kynaston

Alistair Cooke, anti-communist, Arthur Marwick, British Empire, Chelsea Manning, collective bargaining, continuous integration, deindustrialization, deskilling, Etonian, full employment, garden city movement, hiring and firing, industrial cluster, invisible hand, job satisfaction, labour mobility, Lewis Mumford, light touch regulation, mass immigration, moral panic, Neil Kinnock, occupational segregation, price mechanism, public intellectual, rent control, reserve currency, road to serfdom, Ronald Reagan, shared worldview, stakhanovite, strikebreaker, the market place, upwardly mobile, urban planning, urban renewal, very high income, wage slave, washing machines reduced drudgery, wealth creators, women in the workforce, young professional

When agreeing in the late 1940s to go out on a limb for the Labour government, Deakin was adamant that a temporary wage freeze should in no way be taken as undermining the hallowed principle of free collective bargaining – a principle at the very heart of British trade unionism. Allan Flanders, the leading academic analyst of industrial relations in this period, explained in 1952 the all-important historical, largely nineteenth-century, context: The significance of collective bargaining to the workers might be summed up in the word, self-protection. It enabled them to protect their interests in relation to their employment in three ways.

But we were also egalitarians, wishing to see a shift in the distribution of wealth towards those with lower incomes, and a shift of power over the conduct of their working lives and environment towards working men and women; and, for both these reasons, emphasising the importance of trade unions in industry, in the economy, and in society. We therefore attached special importance to collective bargaining as the means whereby trade unions pursue their objectives. The book itself was imbued with the assumption that enhanced trade union power was, if exercised in the appropriate way, an almost unequivocal social and economic good. The appropriate way included moderation in recourse to the strike weapon; the use wherever possible of industry-wide collective bargaining; and such bargaining to be reliant upon long-nurtured codes rather than externally imposed legal contracts.20Altogether, it was in its way a noble vision.

The Treasury, not for the first or last time, gave a masterclass in institutional scepticism; there was much intellectual confusion as to what economic planning in peacetime actually meant and entailed, as epitomised by the muddle-headedness of Morrison, theoretically in charge of planning; and for more than two years there was the unwillingness of either the Ministry of Labour or the trade union leaders (for all their considerable goodwill towards the government) to countenance a wages policy, seen as a direct threat to the long, jealously guarded tradition of free collective bargaining – an unwillingness that more or less scuppered the chance of any meaningful manpower planning. But ultimately, what really killed central economic planning was the lack of willpower on the part of government. In particular, the Labour Party’s commitment to democratic socialism meant in practice an aversion to either new, unaccountable administrative mechanisms or any form of tripartism (ie government, management and labour) that seemed to threaten the sovereignty of the familiar parliamentary system.


pages: 209 words: 80,086

The Global Auction: The Broken Promises of Education, Jobs, and Incomes by Phillip Brown, Hugh Lauder, David Ashton

active measures, affirmative action, An Inconvenient Truth, barriers to entry, Branko Milanovic, BRICs, business process, business process outsourcing, call centre, classic study, collective bargaining, corporate governance, creative destruction, credit crunch, David Ricardo: comparative advantage, deindustrialization, deskilling, disruptive innovation, Dutch auction, Ford Model T, Frederick Winslow Taylor, full employment, future of work, glass ceiling, global supply chain, Great Leap Forward, immigration reform, income inequality, industrial cluster, industrial robot, intangible asset, job automation, Jon Ronson, Joseph Schumpeter, knowledge economy, knowledge worker, low skilled workers, manufacturing employment, market bubble, market design, meritocracy, neoliberal agenda, new economy, Paul Samuelson, pensions crisis, post-industrial society, profit maximization, purchasing power parity, QWERTY keyboard, race to the bottom, Richard Florida, Ronald Reagan, shared worldview, shareholder value, Silicon Valley, sovereign wealth fund, stem cell, tacit knowledge, tech worker, The Bell Curve by Richard Herrnstein and Charles Murray, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, Thomas L Friedman, trade liberalization, transaction costs, trickle-down economics, vertical integration, winner-take-all economy, working poor, zero-sum game

Human capital ideas not only changed the way people thought about skills and productivity but also had wider political appeal, as they suggested a new relationship between capital (money) and labor (minds). Investment in human beings was no longer solely a source of wealth creation for companies but also a source of earning potential for individuals. What people were paid did not depend on owning one’s own business or result from collective bargaining that set employers against labor unions in a fight for a bigger slice of the cake. Rather, wages were based on a worker’s contribution to productivity, as earnings were assumed to reflect value added to the organization. Everyone could become a capitalist, whether or not people knew it (or liked it), by investing in themselves through learning.

It is not only the greed of executives that is at issue; they are also the beneficiaries of a free market system that distorts income distribution in favor of a few. Free market policies shifted the balance of power in favor of shareholders and corporate bosses as much as the deregulation of global financial markets. By removing the potential for collective bargaining with the decline of union representation, market power became even more concentrated on the upper floors of corporate headquarters. Much like a game of Monopoly, unregulated markets have their own internal logic, as most of the money goes to those who own the houses and hotels on the prized streets of Manhattan.

See also United Kingdom Brown, Gordon, 23 bailout, 111, 148, 151 Batra, Ravi, 178n21 Baumol, William, 152 Becker, Gary, 122–23 Brown, Phillip, 143, 182n3 Buchanan, James, 134 build to order, 101–2 Bush administration, 111–12 business processes, 51–52, 72, 74–76, 77, 79 Bussolo, Maurizio, 130–31 recessions, 148 reverse engineering, 42 riots, 10 call centers, 51–52, 73, 81 Callahan, David, 144 Cambridge University, 134 Canada, 30, 91 Cao, Cong, 44 technology transfer, 41 telecommunications industry, 54 trade imbalance, 108–9, 151 unemployment, 41, 47 wage rate increase, 59 Capco Consulting, 77 capital (defined), 162–63, 187n30 capitalism, 4–6, 10–11, 17, 23–26, 54, 67–68, 110–11, 113, 115, 151, 157, 161, 180n25, war for talent, 88–89 WTO (World Trade Organization), 41 Christian, Parenti, 174n33 classical economics theory, 100 187n26 casino economy, 187n31 club of rich nations, 30, 32, 168n2 cold-callers, 74 CFO Magazine, 79 Chambers, John, 85 Chanel, 114 collective bargaining, 17, 125, 160 colleges and universities, 6, 7–9, 25–26, 30, 31, 32, 40–41, 46–47, 87–88, 93–95, 116, childhood, 11–12, 143–46, 160 China. See also BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) nations auto industry, 54 Blackstone Group Greater China, 43, Collins, Randall, 139 The Coming of Post-Industrial Society, 18 comparative advantage, 111 180n24 cheating scandal, 144 competencies, 78–79 competition China Development Bank (CDB), 42 China International Marine Containers Group (CIMC), 57–58 academic credentials, 139 Asian Tigers, 18 and education, 40 China Investment Corporation, 42–43 Chinese Academy of Science, 44 elite universities, 95 global auction, 132 Chinese Dragons, 58 education, 7–8, 29–30, 32, 32–35 global auction, 148 global economy, 3 human capital, 18, 106, 161 knowledge economy, 15 government as economic partner, 157–58 green technologies, 157 knowledge wars, 20, 22–23, 30, 47, 164 mass production, 71–72 Harvard Girl Yiting Liu, 145 Higher Education Mega Centre, 29 Human Genome Project, 40 neoliberalism, 24 and prosperity, 154–55 quality-cost revolution, 50 income inequalities, 129 intellectual property rights (IPRs), 53 knowledge wars, 20 middle class, 2, 130 modernization, 157 nanotechnology program, 44 self-interest, 40 STEM subjects studies, 155 supply chains, 104–5 transnational companies, 99–100 trust relations, 107 war for talent, 87, 89–93 opportunity trap, 137 Project 211, 33 quality-cost revolution, 50, 55, 60–61 R&D (research and development), 42–43, 53, 157 190 119, 121, 133–34, 136, 140, 153, 162, 177n26 Index winner-takes-all, 11, 165n7 computer industry, 42, 56, 66, 72–77, 81, 89, 100–102, 174n27.


pages: 151 words: 38,153

With Liberty and Dividends for All: How to Save Our Middle Class When Jobs Don't Pay Enough by Peter Barnes

adjacent possible, Alfred Russel Wallace, banks create money, basic income, Buckminster Fuller, carbon tax, collective bargaining, computerized trading, creative destruction, David Ricardo: comparative advantage, declining real wages, deindustrialization, diversified portfolio, driverless car, en.wikipedia.org, Fractional reserve banking, full employment, Glass-Steagall Act, hydraulic fracturing, income inequality, It's morning again in America, Jaron Lanier, Jevons paradox, John Maynard Keynes: Economic Possibilities for our Grandchildren, Joseph Schumpeter, land reform, Mark Zuckerberg, Money creation, Network effects, oil shale / tar sands, Paul Samuelson, power law, profit maximization, quantitative easing, rent-seeking, Ronald Coase, Ronald Reagan, Silicon Valley, sovereign wealth fund, Stuart Kauffman, the map is not the territory, The Spirit Level, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, Thorstein Veblen, transaction costs, Tyler Cowen, Tyler Cowen: Great Stagnation, Upton Sinclair, Vilfredo Pareto, wealth creators, winner-take-all economy

Sustaining a large middle class requires counterbalancing the profit-maximizing imperative of corporations. For much of the twentieth century, the requisite counterforce came from labor unions. In the United States and Western Europe, labor unions finished the job that Henry Ford started. Through collective bargaining, they drove up wages and shortened the workweek; through political power, they won such benefits as unemployment insurance and Medicare. In countries like Germany and Sweden, where labor unions have remained strong, so has the middle class. In the United States, by contrast, union membership peaked in 1945 at 35 percent of nonagricultural workers, then started declining.

See also Carbon capping in California, 117–118 Clean Air Act creating, 99 climate change and, 99–100 labor unions and, 131–132 offsets in, 104–105 Capital gains, 47 Capitalism creative destruction and, 120 everyone-gets-a-share capitalism, 3–4, 42, 126 types of income and, 27–28 winner-take-all capitalism, 3, 33–34 Carbon capping, 97–118 European carbon trading system, 99, 104–105 Carbon dioxide carbon capping, 97–118 carbon taxing, 113–116 environmental movement and, 135–136 pollution permits, 93 Carbon Limits and Energy for America’s Renewal (CLEAR) Act, 142 Carbon taxing, 113–116 CheatNeutral.com, 104 China, 25–26, 105 Citizen’s income, 79–80 Civil War, debt-free money distribution and, 91–92 Clean Air Act, 99 Climate change, 99–100 Clinton, William J., 99, 114 Coal-burning power plants, 99 Coase, Ronald, 98–99 Collective bargaining, 19 Collins, Chuck, 33 Collins, Susan, 110 Commercial banks. See banks Committee on Economic Security (FDR), 41–42 Common Assets Trust in Vermont, 127–128 Common Sense (Paine), 7–8 Competition and monopolies, 51–52 Co-owned wealth. See also Dividends; Rent adjacent possible and, 121 audit of, 62 benefits, entitlement to, 62 components of, 60–61 defined, 11 at economy-wide level, 140–141 externalities and, 64 guidelines for creating, 89–92 management of, 62 mental ideas and, 122–127 one person, one share, 123–124 political environment and, 120 potential dividends and, 139–146 pre-distribution and, 125–127 quantity of assets needed for, 93–95 shared wealth dividends, 124–125 specific assets and, 141–146 user fees for, 85–86 Copyrights, rent from, 144 Cowen, Tyler, 135 Creative destruction, 120 Credo, 45 Crisis preparing for, 121–127 to-do lists and preparing for, 127–131 Currency trading, 92 D Dales, John, 98 Darwin, Charles, 120 Debt fractional reserve banking and, 90 leverage, 47 Debt-free money distribution, 90–91 Lincoln, Abraham and, 91 Defined-benefits pensions, 123 Deindustrialization, 17 Dell Computers, 25–26 Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, 109 Democrats and direct spending, 22 The Depression and the Townsend Plan, 133–134 Deregulation, 21 Derivatives, potential revenue from transaction fees, 143 Deunionization, 18–19 Distribution of wealth, 14 Dividends, 9–10.


pages: 1,172 words: 114,305

New Laws of Robotics: Defending Human Expertise in the Age of AI by Frank Pasquale

affirmative action, Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, Airbnb, algorithmic bias, Amazon Mechanical Turk, Anthropocene, augmented reality, Automated Insights, autonomous vehicles, basic income, battle of ideas, Bernie Sanders, Big Tech, Bill Joy: nanobots, bitcoin, blockchain, Brexit referendum, call centre, Cambridge Analytica, carbon tax, citizen journalism, Clayton Christensen, collective bargaining, commoditize, computer vision, conceptual framework, contact tracing, coronavirus, corporate social responsibility, correlation does not imply causation, COVID-19, critical race theory, cryptocurrency, data is the new oil, data science, decarbonisation, deep learning, deepfake, deskilling, digital divide, digital twin, disinformation, disruptive innovation, don't be evil, Donald Trump, Douglas Engelbart, driverless car, effective altruism, Elon Musk, en.wikipedia.org, Erik Brynjolfsson, Evgeny Morozov, fake news, Filter Bubble, finite state, Flash crash, future of work, gamification, general purpose technology, Google Chrome, Google Glasses, Great Leap Forward, green new deal, guns versus butter model, Hans Moravec, high net worth, hiring and firing, holacracy, Ian Bogost, independent contractor, informal economy, information asymmetry, information retrieval, interchangeable parts, invisible hand, James Bridle, Jaron Lanier, job automation, John Markoff, Joi Ito, Khan Academy, knowledge economy, late capitalism, lockdown, machine readable, Marc Andreessen, Mark Zuckerberg, means of production, medical malpractice, megaproject, meta-analysis, military-industrial complex, Modern Monetary Theory, Money creation, move fast and break things, mutually assured destruction, natural language processing, new economy, Nicholas Carr, Nick Bostrom, Norbert Wiener, nuclear winter, obamacare, One Laptop per Child (OLPC), open immigration, OpenAI, opioid epidemic / opioid crisis, paperclip maximiser, paradox of thrift, pattern recognition, payday loans, personalized medicine, Peter Singer: altruism, Philip Mirowski, pink-collar, plutocrats, post-truth, pre–internet, profit motive, public intellectual, QR code, quantitative easing, race to the bottom, RAND corporation, Ray Kurzweil, recommendation engine, regulatory arbitrage, Robert Shiller, Rodney Brooks, Ronald Reagan, self-driving car, sentiment analysis, Shoshana Zuboff, Silicon Valley, Singularitarianism, smart cities, smart contracts, software is eating the world, South China Sea, Steve Bannon, Strategic Defense Initiative, surveillance capitalism, Susan Wojcicki, tacit knowledge, TaskRabbit, technological solutionism, technoutopianism, TED Talk, telepresence, telerobotics, The Future of Employment, The Turner Diaries, Therac-25, Thorstein Veblen, too big to fail, Turing test, universal basic income, unorthodox policies, wage slave, Watson beat the top human players on Jeopardy!, working poor, workplace surveillance , Works Progress Administration, zero day

To alleviate economic pressures toward premature digitization, governments should help colleges pay adjuncts and education technologists fairly, while reducing student debt burdens.84 A similar dynamic should inform policy in elementary and secondary schools, promoting training for teachers so that they can be full partners in the use of technology in the classroom, rather than having technology imposed on them from above. Collective bargaining agreements and legal protections give unionized workers a chance to help shape the conditions of their labor, including the ways in which technology is adopted. Unions have helped teachers gain basic rights on the job and should give them a right to structured participation in the way future AI and robotics are deployed in the classroom.85 This ideal of worker self-governance is taken even further in the case of professions.

In the long run, they may evolve into professions with distinctive, socially recognized prerogatives to apply their expertise (in situations ranging from data collection to evaluation). Teachers, doctors, and nurses assert themselves in this way, and their example is already influencing many other workplaces. Think, for instance, of Uber drivers capable of collectively bargaining for safety measures, or capable of disputing unfair evaluations of their work. In this vision, the drivers are not seen as mere data reserves, gradually paving the way for their own obsolescence. Rather, they are an integral part of a gradual social realization of a safer, faster, and more reliable transport infrastructure.17 Traditional economic approaches elide workplace politics by modeling employment as good-faith bargaining.

See also caregiving children: dangers of behaviorist approach to educating, 75–77; and the downsides of online learning, 83, 86; ethics of collecting data from, 73–75; importance of human teachers for, 25, 65, 68–71; in less developed countries, 81–83; and positive robotic helpers, 77–81, 87; vulnerable to misuse of online media, 72, 97 China: AI arms race in, 165; social credit scoring in, 10–11, 132; development programs in, 169; edtech in, 60–61, 75, 77; as exporter of surveillance equipment, 166–167; facial recognition software in, 126; health sector in, 191; human-robot interaction in, 54–55; and land mines, 157; loyalty assessment in, 11, 160; military and military spending of, 147, 154, 159, 167–168, 291n74, 292n84; Muslims in, 126, 160, 167; online media platforms in, 60, 115; penalties in, for political involvement, 136; politics in, 160; prisons in, 124; and Project Dragonfly, 166; social credit in, 136–139, 160; surveillance in, 61, 160, 167–168; and Taiwan, 160, 163–164; traditional classrooms in, 81; treatment of the Uyhgurs in, 122 Chinese Communist Party (CCP), 160, 161 Christie’s (auction house), 220 CIA, 165 Cifu, Adam, 58 Citibank, 119, 136 civics, 65, 82, 91 Civilian Conservation Corps, 186 civil liberties, 128 civil rights, 122 clean energy, 182 cleaning (jobs in), 5, 49, 182; cleaners, robotic / automated, 171, 172 click farms, 92, 108 climate change, 169, 175, 186, 206; denialists, 98; and the shift from manufacturing to service jobs, 190; and transport solutions, 179 clinical decision support software (CDSS), 37–38, 244n16, 244n16, 244–245n17 Clinton, Hillary, 90, 93, 94, 98 “coding boot camps,” 66 Cohen, Julie, 276n29 Cole, August, 147 collective bargaining, 88, 177. See also unions colleges and universities: aims of, 63–64; for caregivers, 192; citizens entitled to four years of, 175; content of (intrinsic vs. instrumental), 178–179; costs of, 85, 87; evaluation in, 141–142; for-profit, 134; free, 135; making students “robot-proof,” 173–174; online, 84–86; STEM training at, 173.


pages: 775 words: 208,604

The Great Leveler: Violence and the History of Inequality From the Stone Age to the Twenty-First Century by Walter Scheidel

agricultural Revolution, assortative mating, basic income, Berlin Wall, Bernie Sanders, Branko Milanovic, British Empire, capital controls, Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty, classic study, collective bargaining, colonial rule, Columbian Exchange, conceptual framework, confounding variable, corporate governance, cosmological principle, CRISPR, crony capitalism, dark matter, declining real wages, democratizing finance, demographic transition, Dissolution of the Soviet Union, Downton Abbey, Edward Glaeser, failed state, Fall of the Berlin Wall, financial deregulation, fixed income, Francisco Pizarro, full employment, Gini coefficient, global pandemic, Great Leap Forward, guns versus butter model, hiring and firing, income inequality, John Markoff, knowledge worker, land reform, land tenure, low skilled workers, means of production, mega-rich, Network effects, nuclear winter, offshore financial centre, plutocrats, race to the bottom, recommendation engine, rent control, rent-seeking, road to serfdom, Robert Gordon, Ronald Reagan, Second Machine Age, Simon Kuznets, synthetic biology, The Future of Employment, The Rise and Fall of American Growth, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, Thomas Malthus, transaction costs, transatlantic slave trade, universal basic income, very high income, working-age population, zero-sum game

This form of worker organization was employed to motivate the labor force for the war effort and provided a basis for the creation of enterprise-based unions under occupation. The Labor Union Law was drafted immediately after the arrival of U.S. forces, in the fall of 1945, based on prewar plans that had failed. Passed at the very end of that year, it gave workers the right to organize, strike, and engage in collective bargaining. Membership soared: in 1946, 40 percent of workers were unionized, and almost 60 percent were by 1949. Benefits on top of wages increased, and the health insurance and pension systems created during the war were expanded. Unions proved instrumental in establishing cooperative industrial relations, with their emphasis on seniority wages, job security—and, most important from a leveling perspective, by fostering consensus regarding a new wage structure that determined pay based on age, need, living standards, prices, and inflation.

Formalized from the 1950s onward, the Japanese tax system imposed a marginal rate of 60 percent to 75 percent on top incomes and an estate tax in excess of 70 percent on the largest fortunes. This helped contain income inequality and wealth accumulation well into the 1990s, just as strong protections for tenants depressed housing rental income and collective bargaining ensured ongoing wage compression.25 The war and its consequences made leveling sudden, massive, and sustainable. The bloodiest years in Japanese history, a war that cost millions of lives and visited enormous destruction on the homeland, had produced a uniquely equalizing outcome. This outcome was made possible by a novel type of warfare that required full demographic and economic mobilization.

Sweden likewise witnessed a sudden rise in top income shares during World War I, followed by a sharp decline by 1920, and so did Denmark. In both countries, the top 1 percent income share briefly exploded to an exceptional 28 percent in 1916 or 1917. The Danish state was slow to impose price and rent controls, and a collective bargaining agreement that did not expire until 1916 depressed real wages for workers at a time of rapid economic growth. Taxation rose only feebly. (There are no usable income share data for Norway for these years.31) By contrast, World War II coincided with opposite trends in several of the few European countries that escaped the conflict.


pages: 327 words: 84,627

The Green New Deal: Why the Fossil Fuel Civilization Will Collapse by 2028, and the Bold Economic Plan to Save Life on Earth by Jeremy Rifkin

"World Economic Forum" Davos, 1919 Motor Transport Corps convoy, 2013 Report for America's Infrastructure - American Society of Civil Engineers - 19 March 2013, American Society of Civil Engineers: Report Card, autonomous vehicles, Bernie Sanders, Big Tech, bike sharing, blockchain, book value, borderless world, business cycle, business process, carbon footprint, carbon tax, circular economy, collective bargaining, corporate governance, corporate social responsibility, creative destruction, decarbonisation, digital rights, do well by doing good, electricity market, en.wikipedia.org, energy transition, failed state, general purpose technology, ghettoisation, green new deal, Greta Thunberg, high-speed rail, hydrogen economy, impact investing, information asymmetry, intangible asset, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Internet of things, invisible hand, it's over 9,000, Joseph Schumpeter, means of production, megacity, megaproject, military-industrial complex, Network effects, new economy, off grid, off-the-grid, oil shale / tar sands, peak oil, planetary scale, prudent man rule, remunicipalization, renewable energy credits, rewilding, Ronald Reagan, shareholder value, sharing economy, Sidewalk Labs, Silicon Valley, Skype, smart cities, smart grid, sovereign wealth fund, Steven Levy, subprime mortgage crisis, the built environment, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, Tim Cook: Apple, trade route, union organizing, urban planning, vertical integration, warehouse automation, women in the workforce, zero-sum game

Stymied, organized labor found itself with little left in its recruiting toolkit. What to do? We argued that America’s labor union leaders needed to wake up from a long sleep to a new and potentially powerful and promising reality. While slumbering, their millions of workers, both in public and private employment, had part of their weekly wages deferred via collective bargaining contracts in the form of pension funds, retrievable upon retirement. Nation-states, provinces, and cities around the world had been following America’s lead, establishing similar pension-fund accounts for both public employees and workers in the private sector. In America, we said, pension funds are a new form of wealth that has emerged over the past thirty years to become the largest single pool of private capital in the world.

Any use of unionized pension funds in green infrastructure investments and related projects must include unionized workforces in the roll-outs, wherever possible, so that workers’ pension capital isn’t used, once again, to finance companies that are anti-union and that consciously eliminate union jobs on their worksites. Since only 11 percent of the American workforce is currently unionized and there will be green infrastructure projects that can’t fill workloads with sufficient unionized workforces, there will need to be at least a guarantee that protects the rights of workers to organize and collectively bargain, if they so choose. The matchmaker in the coming together of public and private pension funds and the green infrastructure build-out is green banks. Their mission is to provide a percentage of available capital for the express purpose of financing large-scale build-outs of the Third Industrial Revolution green infrastructure.

Seventeenth, the use of union pension fund capital to finance federal, state, municipal, and county Third Industrial Revolution infrastructure projects should be conditional on ensuring that unionized workforces are employed wherever possible. Since only 11 percent of the American workforce is unionized, all Third Industrial Revolution infrastructure projects must also protect the right of workers to organize and safeguard collective bargaining rights. The state, municipal, and county governments should also provide “just transition” funds for communities that are economically dependent on the extracting, refining, and distributing of fossil fuels and should prioritize the transition from these stranded industries into the new green businesses and employment opportunities of a Third Industrial Revolution.


Innovation and Its Enemies by Calestous Juma

3D printing, additive manufacturing, agricultural Revolution, Asilomar, Asilomar Conference on Recombinant DNA, autonomous vehicles, behavioural economics, big-box store, biodiversity loss, business cycle, Cass Sunstein, classic study, clean water, collective bargaining, colonial rule, computer age, creative destruction, CRISPR, Daniel Kahneman / Amos Tversky, deskilling, disruptive innovation, driverless car, electricity market, energy transition, Erik Brynjolfsson, fail fast, financial innovation, global value chain, Honoré de Balzac, illegal immigration, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Internet of things, invention of movable type, invention of the printing press, Joseph Schumpeter, knowledge economy, loss aversion, Marc Andreessen, means of production, Menlo Park, mobile money, New Urbanism, Nicholas Carr, pensions crisis, phenotype, precautionary principle, Ray Kurzweil, Recombinant DNA, refrigerator car, Second Machine Age, self-driving car, smart grid, smart meter, stem cell, Steve Jobs, synthetic biology, systems thinking, tacit knowledge, technological singularity, The Future of Employment, Thomas Kuhn: the structure of scientific revolutions, Travis Kalanick

The new machinery allowed employers to replace high-skilled textile artisans with cheaper low-skilled labor. Fearing the loss of their livelihoods, textile artisans throughout Britain destroyed weaving machinery and other parts of their employers’ property, beginning in 1811 in Nottingham. The goal of this “collective bargaining by riot” was to force the end of mechanization in the textile industry.61 General public sentiment at the time opposed both the new machinery and the replacement of high-skilled workers with low-skilled labor in Britain, which made it possible for the Luddites to slow down the mechanization process.

CRLA claimed that UC overemphasized research on mechanization and agricultural technology, thus helping agricultural businesses at the expense of the family farm and the consumer. Specifically, the organization stated that UC’s research displaced farmworkers, eliminated small farms, harmed consumers, impaired the quality of rural life, and impeded collective bargaining.39 It asserted that in response to these grievances more resources should be applied to enhance the quality of life for small-scale farmers in California. This case sheds light on the sensitivity of mechanization, as well as on the extent to which parties will go to protect their interests.

Bourke, 163 Coconut oil, in margarine, 113–114 Coffee, 44–67 coffee beans (bunn), 49 coffee euphoria, 50–51 conclusions on, 64–67 debates over, 6 Europe, entry into, 54–64 expansion of trade, 53 history of, 46 indirect challenges to, 296 as “junior alcohol,” 304, 369n70 laws against, 302 origins of, 45–47 overview, 44–45 rumors about, 310 spread of, 47–54, 297 Sufis’ use of, 328n11 Vienna, coffee trade in, 297 Coffeehouses bans on, 49–50 as cultural innovation, 53–54 in England, 56–57, 60, 296 impact of growth of, 297, 329n36 in Marseilles, 55 as spaces for political discourse, 47, 52 in Yemen, 48 The Coffee Man’s Grenado Discharged upon the Maiden’s Complaint Against Coffee (pamphlet), 58 Cognitive components of attitudes, 36 Cohen, Stanley, 236 Cold storage, 185–187. See also Mechanical refrigeration Collective bargaining by riot, 26–27 Colomb (University of Aix freshman), 55–56 Colonialism, 57 Coloration of margarine, 105, 108 Columbian Exposition, cold-storage building fire at, 183 Columbia Records, 212, 216, 218 Command economies, free-market economies vs., 28 Commercial lighting systems, 145 Commission of the European Union, 286 Commission to Investigate the Subject of Cold Storage of Food (Massachusetts), 186–187, 188 Committee on Cold Storage (Warehousemen’s Association), 196 Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), 229 Communication, scientific and technical, changing ecology of, 312–314 Compact discs, 220 Compagnonnages (trade organizations), 30 Competition in capitalism, 146 Complex systems, 27, 143.


pages: 402 words: 126,835

The Job: The Future of Work in the Modern Era by Ellen Ruppel Shell

"Friedman doctrine" OR "shareholder theory", 3D printing, Abraham Maslow, affirmative action, Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, Airbnb, airport security, Albert Einstein, AlphaGo, Amazon Mechanical Turk, basic income, Baxter: Rethink Robotics, big-box store, blue-collar work, Buckminster Fuller, call centre, Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty, Clayton Christensen, cloud computing, collective bargaining, company town, computer vision, corporate governance, corporate social responsibility, creative destruction, crowdsourcing, data science, deskilling, digital divide, disruptive innovation, do what you love, Donald Trump, Downton Abbey, Elon Musk, emotional labour, Erik Brynjolfsson, factory automation, follow your passion, Frederick Winslow Taylor, future of work, game design, gamification, gentrification, glass ceiling, Glass-Steagall Act, hiring and firing, human-factors engineering, immigration reform, income inequality, independent contractor, industrial research laboratory, industrial robot, invisible hand, It's morning again in America, Jeff Bezos, Jessica Bruder, job automation, job satisfaction, John Elkington, John Markoff, John Maynard Keynes: Economic Possibilities for our Grandchildren, Joseph Schumpeter, Kickstarter, knowledge economy, knowledge worker, Kodak vs Instagram, labor-force participation, low skilled workers, Lyft, manufacturing employment, Marc Andreessen, Mark Zuckerberg, means of production, move fast and break things, new economy, Norbert Wiener, obamacare, offshore financial centre, Paul Samuelson, precariat, Quicken Loans, Ralph Waldo Emerson, risk tolerance, Robert Gordon, Robert Shiller, Rodney Brooks, Ronald Reagan, scientific management, Second Machine Age, self-driving car, shareholder value, sharing economy, Silicon Valley, Snapchat, Steve Jobs, stock buybacks, TED Talk, The Chicago School, The Theory of the Leisure Class by Thorstein Veblen, Thomas L Friedman, Thorstein Veblen, Tim Cook: Apple, Uber and Lyft, uber lyft, universal basic income, urban renewal, Wayback Machine, WeWork, white picket fence, working poor, workplace surveillance , Y Combinator, young professional, zero-sum game

As we’ve seen over the past half century, attempts to adopt federal legislation aimed at restoring the nation’s private sector unions have largely failed. Underlying this failure is a fundamental and intractable problem: collective bargaining. Built for an era of standardized industrial production, collective bargaining is a negotiation process between employers and a group of their employees to set the terms and conditions of work at a particular facility, typically a factory. Unfortunately, this system offers far fewer advantages today, when far fewer of us are working in manufacturing. Indeed, the portion of American workers currently covered by collective bargaining agreements is so small it seems wrong to call it a “system.” As we’ve also seen, in the absence of unions, the terms and conditions of work are under the unilateral control of employers, with individuals having little to no power to engage in meaningful negotiations.

“The economy is moving away from the way work was organized in the twentieth century, when ten thousand workers gathered in a single workplace, and where a strike of five hundred thousand steel workers could all but paralyze the nation,” labor historian Max Fraser told me. “Current attempts—the one-day strikes by fast-food employees and the online protests—are exciting and innovative, but they lack strategic focus. As a scholar of labor history, I know of no form of organizational power anything like the power of collective bargaining—unions were without a doubt the most effective way for workers to gain control over their work. But we’re in a moment in history where this no longer works, and we’re looking for new models.” Rob Witherell is part of a movement crafting what he hopes will become one of those new models—worker cooperatives that unite workers, owners, and consumers in a common cause that will benefit all stakeholders.


The Origins of the Urban Crisis by Sugrue, Thomas J.

affirmative action, business climate, classic study, collective bargaining, correlation coefficient, creative destruction, Credit Default Swap, deindustrialization, desegregation, Detroit bankruptcy, Ford paid five dollars a day, gentrification, George Gilder, ghettoisation, Gunnar Myrdal, hiring and firing, housing crisis, income inequality, indoor plumbing, informal economy, invisible hand, job automation, jobless men, Joseph Schumpeter, labor-force participation, low-wage service sector, manufacturing employment, mass incarceration, military-industrial complex, New Urbanism, oil shock, pink-collar, postindustrial economy, Quicken Loans, rent control, restrictive zoning, Richard Florida, Ronald Reagan, side project, Silicon Valley, strikebreaker, technological determinism, The Bell Curve by Richard Herrnstein and Charles Murray, The Chicago School, union organizing, upwardly mobile, urban planning, urban renewal, War on Poverty, white flight, working-age population, Works Progress Administration

At the outbreak of World War II, blacks made up only 4 percent of the auto work force; by 1945, they comprised 15 percent; by 1960, they made up about 16 percent of the work force. By any measure, auto work paid well. The average earnings of workers in the automobile industry were significantly greater than those of employees of other manufacturing concerns, and of nonmanufacturing workers. By the late 1940s, the fruits of collective bargaining between the UAW and the major automobile companies offered workers a pay package and benefits that were almost unsurpassed in American industry. And union-negotiated seniority rules meant that auto work was more stable and secure than many other jobs.8 But if auto work offered blacks their greatest opportunities in the postwar era, it was also the source of some of their greatest frustrations.

As early as 1946, George Crockett, head of the UAW’s Fair Practices Department, criticized union leadership for its failure to press General Motors for an antidiscrimination clause in contract negotiations.28 Walter Reuther, in his testimony to the United States Commission on Civil Rights fifteen years later, claimed that the union “spent some of the most precious hours of our collective bargaining time” pushing for a fair employment clause. Ultimately, faced with strike deadlines, the UAW did not press hard on the issue, probably because union leaders knew that antidiscrimination policies did not have widespread support among the white rank and file.29 As a matter of principle, the UAW also placed economic issues that affected the bulk of the rank and file ahead of race-specific measures.

As UAW International staff lawyer Harold Cranefield argued, the Local 600 suit, if successful, would limit the freedom of employers “to withdraw employment for any reason whatsoever (except one which would violate the National Labor Relations Act)” and would represent “a great gain for labor.”27 The Local 600 suit also challenged a basic assumption of labor law, that the mobility of capital was an inalienable property right, not subject to worker input or negotiation. Embedded in labor law was the tenet that certain spheres of business activity were protected as “managerial prerogative,” not subject to collective bargaining. Workers and unions had long struggled for control over the work process, and often gained tenuous control over promotion and work rules on the shopfloor, but companies seldom allowed workers even a small voice in firms’ long-term planning and economic decision making. Most significantly, the courts and the National Labor Relations Board tenaciously protected companies from labor interference in “enterprise affairs.”


pages: 626 words: 167,836

The Technology Trap: Capital, Labor, and Power in the Age of Automation by Carl Benedikt Frey

3D printing, AlphaGo, Alvin Toffler, autonomous vehicles, basic income, Bernie Sanders, Branko Milanovic, British Empire, business cycle, business process, call centre, Cambridge Analytica, Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty, Charles Babbage, Clayton Christensen, collective bargaining, computer age, computer vision, Corn Laws, Cornelius Vanderbilt, creative destruction, data science, David Graeber, David Ricardo: comparative advantage, deep learning, DeepMind, deindustrialization, demographic transition, desegregation, deskilling, Donald Trump, driverless car, easy for humans, difficult for computers, Edward Glaeser, Elon Musk, Erik Brynjolfsson, everywhere but in the productivity statistics, factory automation, Fairchild Semiconductor, falling living standards, first square of the chessboard / second half of the chessboard, Ford Model T, Ford paid five dollars a day, Frank Levy and Richard Murnane: The New Division of Labor, full employment, future of work, game design, general purpose technology, Gini coefficient, Great Leap Forward, Hans Moravec, high-speed rail, Hyperloop, income inequality, income per capita, independent contractor, industrial cluster, industrial robot, intangible asset, interchangeable parts, Internet of things, invention of agriculture, invention of movable type, invention of the steam engine, invention of the wheel, Isaac Newton, James Hargreaves, James Watt: steam engine, Jeremy Corbyn, job automation, job satisfaction, job-hopping, John Maynard Keynes: Economic Possibilities for our Grandchildren, John Maynard Keynes: technological unemployment, Joseph Schumpeter, Kickstarter, Kiva Systems, knowledge economy, knowledge worker, labor-force participation, labour mobility, Lewis Mumford, Loebner Prize, low skilled workers, machine translation, Malcom McLean invented shipping containers, manufacturing employment, mass immigration, means of production, Menlo Park, minimum wage unemployment, natural language processing, new economy, New Urbanism, Nick Bostrom, Norbert Wiener, nowcasting, oil shock, On the Economy of Machinery and Manufactures, OpenAI, opioid epidemic / opioid crisis, Pareto efficiency, pattern recognition, pink-collar, Productivity paradox, profit maximization, Renaissance Technologies, rent-seeking, rising living standards, Robert Gordon, Robert Solow, robot derives from the Czech word robota Czech, meaning slave, safety bicycle, Second Machine Age, secular stagnation, self-driving car, seminal paper, Silicon Valley, Simon Kuznets, social intelligence, sparse data, speech recognition, spinning jenny, Stephen Hawking, tacit knowledge, The Future of Employment, The Rise and Fall of American Growth, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, Thomas Malthus, total factor productivity, trade route, Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, Turing test, union organizing, universal basic income, warehouse automation, washing machines reduced drudgery, wealth creators, women in the workforce, working poor, zero-sum game

Most trade union officials may not have shared Reuther’s utopian vision, but as long as their members gained from progress, mechanization was equally in their interest. A series of separate case studies by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) illustrates this point by showing that unions frequently took an active role in the mechanization process. In one bakery, the introduction of semiautomatic production techniques was handled through collective bargaining, which allowed managers and union officials to resolve issues of displacement, downgrading, and compensation: “The consensus of the workers, as expressed by the local union president, was that the results of the changes on the whole were advantageous to them.… The local union president believed the workers have shared in the greater productivity of the plant through the wage increases and fringe benefits obtained in the past few years.”7 Naturally, the change to increased automation meant some shifting of people from jobs in reduced activities to jobs in expanding ones.

And the unions, acting in interest of their members, were for the most part a helpful facilitator in this regard. Looking back in 1984, the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment noted that “labor-management relations play an important role in the introduction of new technology. Using collective bargaining, organizing, and political strategies, unions in the United States have attempted to minimize what are perceived to be the socially harmful effects of new technologies on the labor force. Their efforts have generally been directed toward easing the adjustment process rather than retarding the process of change.”9 Labor had good reason to praise progress.

In 1950, UAW’s president, Walter Reuther, negotiated what Fortune magazine would call “the Treaty of Detroit” with General Motors and made similar deals with Ford and Chrysler, protecting car companies from strikes while gaining higher pay and more holidays for its members in return, among other things. These deals also influenced collective bargaining in many other mass-production industries of the Second Industrial Revolution. But as the sociologist Andrew Cherlin writes: Whereas the 1950s workers, backed by their powerful unions, trusted management enough to pledge uninterrupted labor on the assembly line in return for good wages and the promise of retirement pensions down the road, today’s workers and employers do not trust each other to pledge much of anything.… The power of unions has faded: the overwhelming majority of less-educated young adults do not work in a place where a union has successfully organized.


pages: 221 words: 46,396

The Left Case Against the EU by Costas Lapavitsas

anti-work, antiwork, banking crisis, Bretton Woods, capital controls, central bank independence, collective bargaining, declining real wages, eurozone crisis, financial engineering, Francis Fukuyama: the end of history, global reserve currency, hiring and firing, low interest rates, machine translation, neoliberal agenda, offshore financial centre, post-work, price stability, quantitative easing, reserve currency, Ronald Reagan, Washington Consensus, Wolfgang Streeck

The costs would be borne by the countries directly hit by the crisis as well as by working people across the EU. To be more specific, EU policy was based on the view that the crisis was caused by a loss of competitiveness by peripheral countries owing to their putative institutional weaknesses. These included, presumably: inadequate fiscal controls on government; weak taxation systems; collective bargaining and protection for workers against firing; extensive public ownership of productive and other resources; generous pension systems; restrictive regulations in goods and services markets; bank loans advanced on concessional and even corrupt terms; and so on. On these grounds the Commission imposed a host of neoliberal policies on the stricken Southern periphery, most notably fiscal austerity and wage reductions, along with deregulation and privatization.

But its application to Greece by the Troika offers fresh insights into how the approach works within a powerful monetary union.18 Greece was provided with funding in the form of loans that it urgently needed, which came with ‘conditionality’ attached: that is, austerity policies to stabilize the external and the fiscal deficits as well as economic ‘reforms’, including deregulation of markets and privatization of public assets. ‘Reforms’ were particularly severe in the labour market, for instance, limiting trade union rights, abolishing collective bargaining, easing dismissals, intensifying the precariousness of employment, and so on. The lever for applying ‘conditionality’ was the gradual release of loan funds. If Greece complied, funds would be released; if it did not, funds would be withheld. Blackmail has rarely been more brazen. IMF policies typically have enormous social costs, especially for the poorest, and they are also deeply problematic in terms of terms of growth, employment, income, and the productive structure of the economy.


pages: 515 words: 142,354

The Euro: How a Common Currency Threatens the Future of Europe by Joseph E. Stiglitz, Alex Hyde-White

"there is no alternative" (TINA), "World Economic Forum" Davos, Alan Greenspan, bank run, banking crisis, barriers to entry, battle of ideas, behavioural economics, Berlin Wall, Bretton Woods, business cycle, buy and hold, capital controls, carbon tax, Carmen Reinhart, cashless society, central bank independence, centre right, cognitive dissonance, collapse of Lehman Brothers, collective bargaining, corporate governance, correlation does not imply causation, credit crunch, Credit Default Swap, currency peg, dark matter, David Ricardo: comparative advantage, disintermediation, diversified portfolio, eurozone crisis, Fall of the Berlin Wall, fiat currency, financial innovation, full employment, George Akerlof, Gini coefficient, global supply chain, Great Leap Forward, Growth in a Time of Debt, housing crisis, income inequality, incomplete markets, inflation targeting, information asymmetry, investor state dispute settlement, invisible hand, Kenneth Arrow, Kenneth Rogoff, knowledge economy, light touch regulation, low interest rates, manufacturing employment, market bubble, market friction, market fundamentalism, Martin Wolf, Mexican peso crisis / tequila crisis, money market fund, moral hazard, mortgage debt, neoliberal agenda, new economy, open economy, paradox of thrift, pension reform, pensions crisis, price stability, profit maximization, purchasing power parity, quantitative easing, race to the bottom, risk-adjusted returns, Robert Shiller, Ronald Reagan, Savings and loan crisis, savings glut, secular stagnation, Silicon Valley, sovereign wealth fund, the payments system, The Rise and Fall of American Growth, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, too big to fail, transaction costs, transfer pricing, trickle-down economics, Washington Consensus, working-age population

Here is what the Troika demanded of the Tsipras government (to which it reluctantly agreed), with the interpretation of Yannis Varoufakis, Greece’s former finance minister, in brackets. The Greek government agreed to undertake rigorous reviews and modernization of collective bargaining [i.e. to make sure that no collective bargaining is allowed], industrial action [i.e. that must be banned] and, in line with the relevant EU directive and best practice, collective dismissals [i.e. that should be allowed at the employers’ whim], along the timetable and the approach agreed with the Institutions [i.e. the Troika decides.]

Not satisfied with the huge decreases in labor costs (in the case of Greece, reductions of about 20 percent) that the market had brought about on its own, just through the high unemployment that the Troika policies had engendered, the Troika demanded reform to labor institutions, in the euphemism of the day, to create more flexible labor markets; in the reality of the day, the reforms would weaken workers’ bargaining power, lower wages still further, and increase profits. The Troika even put into question their commitment to the basic right of collective bargaining, the core labor standards that have been agreed to by almost all of the countries around the world. The language in which European authorities shrouded their demands was often obscure, but the intention seemed clear, so clear that in 2011 one of Papandreou’s loyalists, a bright and devoted economist, resigned from the government rather than be a party to this abnegation of basic workers’ rights.

., 266 Camdessus, Michel, 314 campaign contributions, 195, 355 Canada, 96 early 1990s expansion of, 209 in NAFTA, xiv railroad privatization in, 55 tax system in, 191 US’s free trade with, 45–46, 47 capital, 76–77 bank, 284–85 human, 78, 137 return to, 388 societal vs. physical, 77–78 tax on, 356 unemployment increased by, 264 capital adequacy standards, 152 capital budget, 245 capital controls, 389–90 capital flight, 126–34, 217, 354, 359 austerity and, 140 and labor flows, 135 capital flows, 14, 15, 25, 26, 27–28, 40, 116, 125, 128, 131, 351 economic volatility exacerbated by, 28, 274 and foreign ownership, 195 and technology, 139 capital inflows, 110–11 capitalism: crises in, xviii, 148–49 inclusive, 317 capital requirements, 152, 249, 378 Caprio, Gerry, 387 capture, 158–60 carbon price, 230, 260, 265, 368 cash, 39 cash flow, 194 Catalonia, xi CDU party, 314 central banks, 59, 354, 387–88 balance sheets of, 386 capture of, 158–59 credit auctions by, 282–84 credit creation by, 277–78 expertise of, 363 independence of, 157–63 inequality created by, 154 inflation and, 153, 166–67 as lender of last resort, 85, 362 as political institutions, 160–62 regulations and, 153 stability and, 8 unemployment and, 8, 94, 97, 106, 147, 153 CEO compensation, 383 Chapter 11, 259–60, 291 childhood poverty, 72 Chile, 55, 152–53 China, 81, 98, 164, 319, 352 exchange-rate policy of, 251, 254, 350–51 global integration of, 49–50 low prices of, 251 rise of, 75 savings in, 257 trade surplus of, 118, 121, 350–52 wages controlled in, 254 as world’s largest economy, 318, 327 chits, 287–88, 290, 299–300, 387, 388–389 Citigroup, 355 climate change, 229–30, 251, 282, 319 Clinton, Bill, xiv, xv, 187 closing hours, 220 cloves, 230 cognitive capture, 159 Cohesion Fund, 243 Cold War, 6 collateral, 364 collective action, 41–44, 51–52 and inequality, 338 and stabilization, 246 collective bargaining, 221 collective goods, 40 Common Agricultural Policy, 338 common regulatory framework, 241 communism, 10 Community Reinvestment Act (CRA), 360, 382 comparative advantage, 12, 171 competition, 12 competitive devaluation, 104–6, 254 compromise, 22–23 confidence, 95, 200–201, 384 in banks, 127 in bonds, 145 and structural reforms, 232 and 2008 crisis, 280 confirmation bias, 309, 335 Congress, US, 319, 355 connected lending, 280 connectedness, 68–69 Connecticut, GDP of, 92 Constitutional Court, Greek, 198 consumption, 94, 278 consumption tax, 193–94 contract enforcement, 24 convergence, 13, 92–93, 124, 125, 139, 254, 300–301 convergence criteria, 15, 87, 89, 96–97, 99, 123, 244 copper mines, 55 corporate income tax, 189–90, 227 corporate taxes, 189–90, 227, 251 corporations, 323 regulations opposed by, xvi and shutdown of Greek banks, 229 corruption, 74, 112 privatization and, 194–95 Costa, António, 332 Council of Economic Advisers, 358 Council of State, Greek, 198 countercyclical fiscal policy, 244 counterfactuals, 80 Countrywide Financial, 91 credit, 276–85 “divorce”’s effect on, 278–79 excessive, 250, 274 credit auctions, 282–84 credit bubbles, 122–123 credit cards, 39, 49, 153 credit creation, 248–50, 277–78, 386 by banks, 280–82 domestic control over, 279–82 regulation of, 277–78 credit default swaps (CDSs), 159–60 crisis policy reforms, 262–67 austerity to growth, 263–65 debt restructuring and, 265–67 Croatia, 46, 331, 338 currency crises, 349 currency pegs, xii current account, 333–34 current account deficits, 19, 88, 108, 110, 120–121, 221, 294 and exit from euro, 273, 285–89 see also trade deficit Cyprus, 16, 30, 140, 177, 331, 386 capital controls in, 390 debt-to-GDP ratio of, 231 “haircut” of, 350, 367 Czech Republic, 46, 331 debit cards, 39, 49 debtors’ prison, 204 debt restructuring, 201, 203–6, 265–67, 290–92, 372, 390 of private debt, 291 debts, xx, 15, 93, 96, 183 corporate, 93–94 crisis in, 110–18 in deflation, xii and exit from eurozone, 273 with foreign currency, 115–18 household, 93–94 increase in, 18 inherited, 134 limits of, 42, 87, 122, 141, 346, 367 monetization of, 42 mutualization of, 242–43, 263 place-based, 134, 242 reprofiling of, 32 restructuring of, 259 debt-to-GDP ratio, 202, 210–11, 231, 266, 324 Declaration of Independence, 319 defaults, 102, 241, 338, 348 and debt mutualization, 243 deficit fetishism, 96 deficits, fiscal, xx, 15, 20, 93, 96, 106, 107–8, 122, 182, 384 and balanced-budget multiplier, 188–90, 265 constitutional amendment on, 339 and exit from euro, 273, 289–90 in Greece, 16, 186, 215, 233, 285–86, 289 limit of, 42, 87, 94–95, 122, 138, 141, 186, 243, 244, 265, 346, 367 primary, 188 problems financing, 110–12 structural, 245 deficits, trade, see trade deficits deflation, xii, 147, 148, 151, 166, 169, 277, 290 Delors, Jacques, 7, 332 democracy, lack of faith in, 312–14 Democracy in America (Tocqueville), xiii democratic deficit, 26–27, 35, 57–62, 145 democratic participation, xix Denmark, 45, 307, 313, 331 euro referendum of, 58 deposit insurance, 31, 44, 129, 199, 301, 354–55, 386–87 common in eurozone, 241, 242, 246, 248 derivatives, 131, 355 Deutsche Bank, 283, 355 devaluation, 98, 104–6, 254, 344 see also internal devaluation developing countries, and Washington Consensus, xvi discretion, 262–63 discriminatory lending practices, 283 disintermediation, 258 divergence, 15, 123, 124–44, 255–56, 300, 321 in absence of crisis, 128–31 capital flight and, 126–34 crisis policies’ exacerbation of, 140–43 free mobility of labor and, 134–36, 142–44, 242 in public investment, 136–38 reforms to prevent, 243 single-market principle and, 125–26 in technology, 138–39 in wealth, 139–40 see also capital flows; labor movement diversification, of production, 47 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, 355 dollar peg, 50 downsizing, 133 Draghi, Mario, 127, 145, 156, 158, 165, 269, 363 bond market supported by, 127, 200, 201 Drago, Luis María, 371 drug prices, 219 Duisenberg, Willem Frederik “Wim,” 251 Dynamic Stochastic Equilibrium model, 331 East Asia, 18, 25, 95, 102–3, 112, 123, 202, 364, 381 convergence in, 138 Eastern Europe, 10 Economic Adjustment Programme, 178 economic distortions, 191 economic growth, xii, 34 confidence and, 232 in Europe, 63–64, 69, 73–74, 74, 75, 163 lowered by inequality, 212–13 reform of, 263–65 and structural reforms, 232–35 economic integration, xiv–xx, 23, 39–50 euro and, 46–47 political integration vs., 51–57 single currency and, 45–46 economic rents, 226, 280 economics, politics and, 308–18 economic security, 68 economies of scale, 12, 39, 55, 138 economists, poor forecasting by, 307 education, 20, 76, 344 investment in, 40, 69, 137, 186, 211, 217, 251, 255, 300 electricity, 217 electronic currency, 298–99, 389 electronics payment mechanism, 274–76, 283–84 emigration, 4, 68–69 see also migration employment: central banks and, 8, 94, 97 structural reforms and, 257–60 see also unemployment Employment Act (1946), 148 energy subsidies, 197 Enlightenment, 3, 318–19 environment, 41, 257, 260, 323 equality, 225–26 equilibrium, xviii–xix Erasmus program, 45 Estonia, 90, 331, 346 euro, xiv, 325 adjustments impeded by, 13–14 case for, 35–39 creation of, xii, 5–6, 7, 10, 333 creation of institutions required by, 10–11 divergence and, see divergence divorce of, 272–95, 307 economic integration and, 46–47, 268 as entailing fixed exchange rate, 8, 42–43, 46–47, 86–87, 92, 93, 94, 102, 105, 143, 193, 215–16, 240, 244, 249, 252, 254, 286, 297 as entailing single interest rate, 8, 85–88, 92, 93, 94, 105, 129, 152, 240, 244, 249 and European identification, 38–39 financial instability caused by, 131–32 growth promised by, 235 growth slowed by, 73 hopes for, 34 inequality increased by, xviii interest rates lowered by, 235 internal devaluation of, see internal devaluation literature on, 327–28 as means to end, xix peace and, 38 proponents of, 13 referenda on, 58, 339–40 reforms needed for, xii–xiii, 28–31 risk of, 49–50 weakness of, 224 see also flexible euro Eurobond, 356 euro crisis, xiii, 3, 4, 9 catastrophic consequences of, 11–12 euro-euphoria, 116–17 Europe, 151 free trade area in, 44–45 growth rates in, 63–64, 69, 73–74, 74, 75, 163 military conflicts in, 196 social models of, 21 European Central Bank (ECB), 7, 17, 80, 112–13, 117, 144, 145–73, 274, 313, 362, 368, 380 capture of, 158–59 confidence in, 200–201 corporate bonds bought by, 141 creation of, 8, 85 democratic deficit and, 26, 27 excessive expansion controlled by, 250 flexibility of, 269 funds to Greece cut off by, 59 German challenges to, 117, 164 governance and, 157–63 inequality created by, 154–55 inflation controlled by, 8, 25, 97, 106, 115, 145, 146–50, 151, 163, 165, 169–70, 172, 250, 256, 266 interest rates set by, 85–86, 152, 249, 302, 348 Ireland forced to socialize losses by, 134, 156, 165 new mandate needed by, 256 as political institution, 160–62 political nature of, 153–56 quantitative easing opposed by, 151 quantitative easing undertaken by, 164, 165–66, 170, 171 regulations by, 249, 250 unemployment and, 163 as unrepresentative, 163 European Commission, 17, 58, 161, 313, 332 European Court of Human Rights, 45 European Economic Community (EEC), 6 European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM), 30, 335 European Exchange Rate Mechanism II (ERM II), 336 European Free Trade Association, 44 European Free Trade Association Court, 44 European Investment Bank (EIB), 137, 247, 255, 301 European Regional Development Fund, 243 European Stability Mechanism, 23, 246, 357 European Union: budget of, 8, 45, 91 creation of, 4 debt and deficit limits in, 87–88 democratic deficit in, 26–27 economic growth in, 215 GDP of, xiii and lower rates of war, 196 migration in, 90 proposed exit of UK from, 4 stereotypes in, 12 subsidiarity in, 8, 41–42, 263 taxes in, 8, 261 Euro Summit Statement, 373 eurozone: austerity in, see austerity banking union in, see banking union counterfactual in, 235–36 double-dip recessions in, 234–35 Draghi’s speech and, 145 economic integration and, xiv–xx, 23, 39–50, 51–57 as flawed at birth, 7–9 framework for stability of, 244–52 German departure from, 32, 292–93 Greece’s possible exit from, 124 hours worked in, 71–72 lack of fiscal policy in, 152 and move to political integration, xvi, 34, 35, 51–57 Mundell’s work on dangers of, 87 policies of, 15–17 possible breakup of, 29–30 privatization avoided in, 194 saving, 323–26 stagnant GDP in, 12, 65–68, 66, 67 structure of, 8–9 surpluses in, 120–22 theory of, 95–97 unemployment in, 71, 135, 163, 177–78, 181, 331 working-age population of, 70 eurozone, proposed structural reforms for, 239–71 common financial system, see banking union excessive fiscal responsibility, 163 exchange-rate risks, 13, 47, 48, 49–50, 125, 235 exchange rates, 80, 85, 288, 300, 338, 382, 389 of China, 251, 254, 350–51 and competitive devaluation, 105–6 after departure of northern countries, 292–93 of euro, 8, 42–43, 46–47, 86–87, 92, 93, 94, 102, 105, 215–16, 240, 244, 249, 252, 254, 286, 297 flexible, 50, 248, 349 and full employment, 94 of Germany, 254–55, 351 gold and, 344–45 imports and, 86 interest rates and, 86 quantitative easing’s lowering of, 151 real, 105–6 and single currencies, 8, 42–43, 46–47, 86–87, 92, 93, 94, 97–98 stabilizing, 299–301 and trade deficits, 107, 118 expansionary contractions, 95–96, 208–9 exports, 86, 88, 97–99, 98 disappointing performance of, 103–5 external imbalances, 97–98, 101, 109 externalities, 42–43, 121, 153, 301–2 surpluses as, 253 extremism, xx, 4 Fannie Mae, 91 farmers, US, in deflation, xii Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), 91 Federal Reserve, US, 349 alleged independence of, 157 interest rates lowered by, 150 mandate of, 8, 147, 172 money pumped into economy by, 278 quantitative easing used by, 151, 170 reform of, 146 fiat currency, 148, 275 and taxes, 284 financial markets: lobbyists from, 132 reform of, 214, 228–29 short-sighted, 112–13 financial systems: necessity of, xix real economy of, 149 reform of, 257–58 regulations needed by, xix financial transaction system, 275–76 Finland, 16, 81, 122, 126, 292, 296, 331, 343 growth in, 296–97 growth rate of, 75, 76, 234–35 fire departments, 41 firms, 138, 186–87, 245, 248 fiscal balance: and cutting spending, 196–98 tax revenue and, 190–96 Fiscal Compact, 141, 357 fiscal consolidation, 310 fiscal deficits, see deficits, fiscal fiscal policy, 148, 245, 264 in center of macro-stabilization, 251 countercyclical, 244 in EU, 8 expansionary, 254–55 stabilization of, 250–52 fiscal prudence, 15 fiscal responsibility, 163 flexibility, 262–63, 269 flexible euro, 30–31, 272, 296–305, 307 cooperation needed for, 304–5 food prices, 169 forbearance, 130–31 forecasts, 307 foreclosure proposal, 180 foreign ownership, privatization and, 195 forestry, 81 France, 6, 14, 16, 114, 120, 141, 181–82, 331, 339–40, 343 banks of, 202, 203, 231, 373 corporate income tax in, 189–90 euro creation regretted in, 340 European Constitution referendum of, 58 extreme right in, xi growth in, 247 Freddie Mac, 91 Freefall (Stiglitz), 264, 335 free mobility of labor, xiv, 26, 40, 125, 134–36, 142–44, 242 Friedman, Milton, 151, 152–53, 167, 339 full employment, 94–97, 379 G-20, 121 gas: import of, 230 from Russia, 37, 81, 93 Gates Foundation, 276 GDP-indexed bonds, 267 German bonds, 114, 323 German Council of Economic Experts, 179, 365 Germany, xxi, 14, 30, 65, 108, 114, 141, 181–82, 207, 220, 286, 307, 331, 343, 346, 374 austerity pushed by, 186, 232 banks of, 202, 203, 231–32, 373 costs to taxpayers of, 184 as creditor, 140, 187, 267 debt collection by, 117 debt in, 105 and debt restructuring, 205, 311 in departure from eurozone, 32, 292–93 as dependent on Russian gas, 37 desire to leave eurozone, 314 ECB criticized by, 164 EU economic practices controlled by, 17 euro creation regretted in, 340 exchange rate of, 254–55, 351 failure of, 13, 78–79 flexible exchange of, 304 GDP of, xviii, 92 in Great Depression, 187 growing poverty in, 79 growth of, 78, 106, 247 hours worked per worker in, 72 inequality in, 79, 333 inflation in, 42, 338, 358 internal solidarity of, 334 lack of alternative to euro seen by, 11 migrants to, 320–21, 334–35, 393 minimum wage in, 42, 120, 254 neoliberalism in, 10 and place-based debt, 136 productivity in, 71 programs designed by, 53, 60, 61, 202, 336, 338 reparations paid by, 187 reunification of, 6 rules as important to, 57, 241–42, 262 share of global employment in, 224 shrinking working-age population of, 70, 78–79 and Stability and Growth Pact, 245 and structural reforms, 19–20 “there is no alternative” and, 306, 311–12 trade surplus of, 117, 118–19, 120, 139, 253, 293, 299, 350–52, 381–82, 391 “transfer union” rejected by, 22 US loans to, 187 victims blamed by, 9, 15–17, 177–78, 309 wages constrained by, 41, 42–43 wages lowered in, 105, 333 global financial crisis, xi, xiii–xiv, 3, 12, 17, 24, 67, 73, 75, 114, 124, 146, 148, 274, 364, 387 and central bank independence, 157–58 and confidence, 280 and cost of failure of financial institutions, 131 lessons of, 249 monetary policy in, 151 and need for structural reform, 214 originating in US, 65, 68, 79–80, 112, 128, 296, 302 globalization, 51, 321–23 and diminishing share of employment in advanced countries, 224 economic vs. political, xvii failures of, xvii Globalization and Its Discontents (Stig-litz), 234, 335, 369 global savings glut, 257 global secular stagnation, 120 global warming, 229–30, 251, 282, 319 gold, 257, 275, 277, 345 Goldman Sachs, 158, 366 gold standard, 148, 291, 347, 358 in Great Depression, xii, 100 goods: free movement of, 40, 143, 260–61 nontraded, 102, 103, 169, 213, 217, 359 traded, 102, 103, 216 Gordon, Robert, 251 governance, 157–63, 258–59 government spending, trade deficits and, 107–8 gravity principle, 124, 127–28 Great Depression, 42, 67, 105, 148, 149, 168, 313 Friedman on causes of, 151 gold standard in, xii, 100 Great Malaise, 264 Greece, 14, 30, 41, 64, 81, 100, 117, 123, 142, 160, 177, 265–66, 278, 307, 331, 343, 366, 367–68, 374–75, 386 austerity opposed by, 59, 60–62, 69–70, 207–8, 392 balance of payments, 219 banks in, 200–201, 228–29, 231, 270, 276, 367, 368 blaming of, 16, 17 bread in, 218, 230 capital controls in, 390 consumption tax and, 193–94 counterfactual scenario of, 80 current account surplus of, 287–88 and debt restructuring, 205–7 debt-to-GDP ratio of, 231 debt write-offs in, 291 decline in labor costs in, 56, 103 ECB’s cutting of funds to, 59 economic growth in, 215, 247 emigration from, 68–69 fiscal deficits in, 16, 186, 215, 233, 285–86, 289 GDP of, xviii, 183, 309 hours worked per worker in, 72 inequality in, 72 inherited debt in, 134 lack of faith in democracy in, 312–13 living standards in, 216 loans in, 127 loans to, 310 migrants and, 320–21 milk in, 218, 223, 230 new currency in, 291, 300 oligarchs in, 16, 227 output per working-age person in, 70–71 past downturns in, 235–36 pensions in, 16, 78, 188, 197–98, 226 pharmacies in, 218–20 population decline in, 69, 89 possible exit from eurozone of, 124, 197, 273, 274, 275 poverty in, 226, 261, 376 primary surplus of, 187–88, 312 privatization in, 55, 195–96 productivity in, 71, 342 programs imposed on, xv, 21, 27, 60–62, 140, 155–56, 179–80, 181, 182–83, 184–85, 187–88, 190–93, 195–96, 197–98, 202–3, 205, 206, 214–16, 218–23, 225–28, 229, 230, 231, 233–34, 273, 278, 308, 309–11, 312, 315–16, 336, 338 renewable energy in, 193, 229 social capital destroyed in, 78 sovereign spread of, 200 spread in, 332 and structural reforms, 20, 70, 188, 191 tax revenue in, 16, 142, 192, 227, 367–368 tools lacking for recovery of, 246 tourism in, 192, 286 trade deficits in, 81, 194, 216–17, 222, 285–86 unemployment in, xi, 71, 236, 267, 332, 338, 342 urgency in, 214–15 victim-blaming of, 309–11 wages in, 216–17 youth unemployment in, xi, 332 Greek bonds, 116, 126 interest rates on, 4, 114, 181–82, 201–2, 323 restructuring of, 206–7 green investments, 260 Greenspan, Alan, 251, 359, 363 Grexit, see Greece, possible exit from eurozone of grocery stores, 219 gross domestic product (GDP), xvii decline in, 3 measurement of, 341 Growth and Stability Pact, 87 hedge funds, 282, 363 highways, 41 Hitler, Adolf, 338, 358 Hochtief, 367–68 Hoover, Herbert, 18, 95 human capital, 78, 137 human rights, 44–45, 319 Hungary, 46, 331, 338 hysteresis, 270 Iceland, 44, 111, 307, 354–55 banks in, 91 capital controls in, 390 ideology, 308–9, 315–18 imports, 86, 88, 97–99, 98, 107 incentives, 158–59 inclusive capitalism, 317 income, unemployment and, 77 income tax, 45 Independent Commission for the Reform of International Corporate Taxation, 376–377 Indonesia, 113, 230–31, 314, 350, 364, 378 industrial policies, 138–39, 301 and restructuring, 217, 221, 223–25 Industrial Revolution, 3, 224 industry, 89 inequality, 45, 72–73, 333 aggregate demand lowered by, 212 created by central banks, 154 ECB’s creation of, 154–55 economic performance affected by, xvii euro’s increasing of, xviii growth’s lowering of, 212 hurt by collective action, 338 increased by neoliberalism, xviii increase in, 64, 154–55 inequality in, 72, 212 as moral issue, xviii in Spain, 72, 212, 225–26 and tax harmonization, 260–61 and tax system, 191 inflation, 277, 290, 314, 388 in aftermath of tech bubble, 251 bonds and, 161 central banks and, 153, 166–67 consequences of fixation on, 149–50, 151 costs of, 270 and debt monetization, 42 ECB and, 8, 25, 97, 106, 115, 145, 146–50, 151, 163, 165, 169–70, 172, 255, 256, 266 and food prices, 169 in Germany, 42, 338, 358 interest rates and, 43–44 in late 1970s, 168 and natural rate hypothesis, 172–73 political decisions and, 146 inflation targeting, 157, 168–70, 364 information, 335 informational capital, 77 infrastructure, xvi–xvii, 47, 137, 186, 211, 255, 258, 265, 268, 300 inheritance tax, 368 inherited debt, 134 innovation, 138 innovation economy, 317–18 inputs, 217 instability, xix institutions, 93, 247 poorly designed, 163–64 insurance, 355–356 deposit, see deposit insurance mutual, 247 unemployment, 91, 186, 246, 247–48 integration, 322 interest rates, 43–44, 86, 282, 345, 354 in aftermath of tech bubble, 251 ECB’s determination of, 85–86, 152, 249, 302, 348 and employment, 94 euro’s lowering of, 235 Fed’s lowering of, 150 on German bonds, 114 on Greek bonds, 4, 114, 181–82 on Italian bonds, 114 in late 1970s, 168 long-term, 151, 200 negative, 316, 348–49 quantitative easing and, 151, 170 short-term, 249 single, eurozone’s entailing of, 8, 85–88, 92, 93, 94, 105, 129, 152, 240, 244, 249 on Spanish bonds, 114, 199 spread in, 332 stock prices increased by, 264 at zero lower bound, 106 intermediation, 258 internal devaluation, 98–109, 122, 126, 220, 255, 388 supply-side effects of, 99, 103–4 International Commission on the Measurement of Economic Performance and Social Progress, 79, 341 International Labor Organization, 56 International Monetary Fund (IMF), xv, xvii, 10, 17, 18, 55, 61, 65–66, 96, 111, 112–13, 115–16, 119, 154, 234, 289, 309, 316, 337, 349, 350, 370, 371, 381 and Argentine debt, 206 conditions of, 201 creation of, 105 danger of high taxation warnings of, 190 debt reduction pushed by, 95 and debt restructuring, 205, 311 and failure to restore credit, 201 global imbalances discussed by, 252 and Greek debts, 205, 206, 310–11 on Greek surplus, 188 and Indonesian crisis, 230–31, 364 on inequality’s lowering of growth, 212–13 Ireland’s socialization of losses opposed by, 156–57 mistakes admitted by, 262, 312 on New Mediocre, 264 Portuguese bailout of, 178–79 tax measures of, 185 investment, 76–77, 111, 189, 217, 251, 264, 278, 367 confidence and, 94 divergence in, 136–38 in education, 137, 186, 211, 217, 251, 255, 300 infrastructure in, xvi–xvii, 47, 137, 186, 211, 255, 258, 265, 268, 300 lowered by disintermediation, 258 public, 99 real estate, 199 in renewable energy, 229–30 return on, 186, 245 stimulation of, 94 in technology, 137, 138–39, 186, 211, 217, 251, 258, 265, 300 investor state dispute settlement (ISDS), 393–94 invisible hand, xviii Iraq, refugees from, 320 Iraq War, 36, 37 Ireland, 14, 16, 44, 113, 114–15, 122, 178, 234, 296, 312, 331, 339–40, 343, 362 austerity opposed in, 207 debt of, 196 emigrants from, 68–69 GDP of, 18, 231 growth in, 64, 231, 247, 340 inherited debt in, 134 losses socialized in, 134, 156–57, 165 low debt in, 88 real estate bubble in, 108, 114–15, 126 surplus in, 17, 88 taxes in, 142–43, 376 trade deficits in, 119 unemployment in, 178 irrational exuberance, 14, 114, 116–17, 149, 334, 359 ISIS, 319 Italian bonds, 114, 165, 323 Italy, 6, 14, 16, 120, 125, 331, 343 austerity opposed in, 59 GDP per capita in, 352 growth in, 247 sovereign spread of, 200 Japan, 151, 333, 342 bubble in, 359 debt of, 202 growth in, 78 quantitative easing used by, 151, 359 shrinking working-age population of, 70 Java, unemployment on, 230 jobs gap, 120 Juncker, Jean-Claude, 228 Keynes, John Maynard, 118, 120, 172, 187, 351 convergence policy suggested by, 254 Keynesian economics, 64, 95, 108, 153, 253 King, Mervyn, 390 knowledge, 137, 138–39, 337–38 Kohl, Helmut, 6–7, 337 krona, 287 labor, marginal product of, 356 labor laws, 75 labor markets, 9, 74 friction in, 336 reforms of, 214, 221 labor movement, 26, 40, 125, 134–36, 320 austerity and, 140 capital flows and, 135 see also migration labor rights, 56 Lamers, Karl, 314 Lancaster, Kelvin, 27 land tax, 191 Latin America, 10, 55, 95, 112, 202 lost decade in, 168 Latvia, 331, 346 GDP of, 92 law of diminishing returns, 40 learning by doing, 77 Lehman Brothers, 182 lender of last resort, 85, 362, 368 lending, 280, 380 discriminatory, 283 predatory, 274, 310 lending rates, 278 leverage, 102 Lichtenstein, 44 Lipsey, Richard, 27 liquidity, 201, 264, 278, 354 ECB’s expansion of, 256 lira, 14 Lithuania, 331 living standards, 68–70 loans: contraction of, 126–27, 246 nonperforming, 241 for small and medium-size businesses, 246–47 lobbyists, from financial sector, 132 location, 76 London interbank lending rate (LIBOR), 131, 355 Long-Term Refinancing Operation, 360–361 Lucas, Robert, xi Luxembourg, 6, 94, 142–43, 331, 343 as tax avoidance center, 228, 261 luxury cars, 265 Maastricht Treaty, xiii, 6, 87, 115, 146, 244, 298, 339, 340 macro-prudential regulations, 249 Malta, 331, 340 manufacturing, 89, 223–24 market failures, 48–49, 86, 148, 149, 335 rigidities, 101 tax policy’s correction of, 193 market fundamentalism, see neoliberalism market irrationality, 110, 125–26, 149 markets, limitations of, 10 Meade, James, 27 Medicaid, 91 medical care, 196 Medicare, 90, 91 Mellon, Andrew, 95 Memorandum of Agreement, 233–34 Merkel, Angela, 186 Mexico, 202, 369 bailout of, 113 in NAFTA, xiv Middle East, 321 migrant crisis, 44 migration, 26, 40, 68–69, 90, 125, 320–21, 334–35, 342, 356, 393 unemployment and, 69, 90, 135, 140 see also labor movement military power, 36–37 milk, 218, 223, 230 minimum wage, 42, 120, 254, 255, 351 mining, 257 Mississippi, GDP of, 92 Mitsotakis, Constantine, 377–78 Mitsotakis, Kyriakos, 377–78 Mitterrand, François, 6–7 monetarism, 167–68, 169, 364 monetary policy, 24, 85–86, 148, 264, 325, 345, 364 as allegedly technocratic, 146, 161–62 conservative theory of, 151, 153 in early 1980s US, 168, 210 flexibility of, 244 in global financial crisis, 151 political nature of, 146, 153–54 recent developments in theory of, 166–73 see also interest rates monetary union, see single currencies money laundering, 354 monopolists, privatization and, 194 moral hazard, 202, 203 mortgage rates, 170 mortgages, 302 multinational chains, 219 multinational development banks, 137 multinationals, 127, 223, 376 multipliers, 211–12, 248 balanced-budget, 188–90, 265 Mundell, Robert, 87 mutual insurance, 247 mutualization of debt, 242–43, 263 national development banks, 137–38 natural monopolies, 55 natural rate hypothesis, 172 negative shocks, 248 neoliberalism, xvi, 24–26, 33, 34, 98–99, 109, 257, 265, 332–33, 335, 354 on bubbles, 381 and capital flows, 28 and central bank independence, 162–63 in Germany, 10 inequality increased by, xviii low inflation desired by, 147 recent scholarship against, 24 Netherlands, 6, 44, 292, 331, 339–40, 343 European Constitution referendum of, 58 New Democracy Party, Greek, 61, 185, 377–78 New Mediocre, 264 New World, 148 New Zealand, 364 Nokia, 81, 234, 297 nonaccelerating inflation rate of unemployment (NAIRU), 379–80 nonaccelerating wage rate of unemployment (NAWRU), 379–80 nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), 276 nonperforming loans, 241 nontraded goods sector, 102, 103, 169, 213, 217, 359 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), xiv North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), 196 Norway, 12, 44, 307 referendum on joining EU, 58 nuclear deterrence, 38 Obama, Barack, 319 oil, import of, 230 oil firms, 36 oil prices, 89, 168, 259, 359 oligarchs: in Greece, 16, 227 in Russia, 280 optimal currency area, 345 output, 70–71, 111 after recessions, 76 Outright Monetary Transactions program, 361 overregulate, 132 Oxfam, 72 panic of 1907, 147 Papandreou, Andreas, 366 Papandreou, George, xiv, 60–61, 184, 185, 220, 221, 226–27, 309, 312, 366, 373 reform of banks suggested by, 229 paradox of thrift, 120 peace, 34 pensions, 9, 16, 78, 177, 188, 197–98, 226, 276, 370 People’s Party, Portugal, 392 periphery, 14, 32, 171, 200, 296, 301, 318 see also specific countries peseta, 14 pharmacies, 218–20 Phishing for Phools (Akerlof and Shiller), 132 physical capital, 77–78 Pinochet, Augusto, 152–53 place-based debt, 134, 242 Pleios, George, 377 Poland, 46, 333, 339 assistance to, 243 in Iraq War, 37 police, 41 political integration, xvi, 34, 35 economic integration vs., 51–57 politics, economics and, 308–18 pollution, 260 populism, xx Portugal, 14, 16, 64, 177, 178, 331, 343, 346 austerity opposed by, 59, 207–8, 315, 332, 392 GDP of, 92 IMF bailout of, 178–79 loans in, 127 poverty in, 261 sovereign spread of, 200 Portuguese bonds, 179 POSCO, 55 pound, 287, 335, 346 poverty, 72 in Greece, 226, 261 in Portugal, 261 in Spain, 261 predatory lending, 274, 310 present discount value, 343 Price of Inequality, The (Stiglitz), 154 prices, 19, 24 adjustment of, 48, 338, 361 price stability, 161 primary deficit, 188, 389 primary surpluses, 187–88 private austerity, 126–27, 241–42 private sector involvement, 113 privatization, 55, 194–96, 369 production costs, 39, 43, 50 production function, 343 productivity, 71, 332, 348 in manufacturing, 223–24 after recessions, 76–77 programs, 17–18 Germany’s design of, 53, 60, 61, 187–88, 205, 336, 338 imposed on Greece, xv, 21, 27, 60–62, 140, 155–56, 179–80, 181, 182–83, 184–85, 187–88, 190–93, 195–96, 197–98, 202–3, 205, 206, 214–16, 218–23, 225–28, 229, 230, 231, 233–34, 273, 278, 308, 309–11, 312, 315–16, 336, 338 of Troika, 17–18, 21, 155–57, 179–80, 181, 182–83, 184–85, 187–93, 196, 202, 205, 207, 208, 214–16, 217, 218–23, 225–28, 229, 231, 233–34, 273, 278, 308, 309–11, 312, 313, 314, 315–16, 323–24, 346, 366, 379, 392 progressive automatic stabilizers, 244 progressive taxes, 248 property rights, 24 property taxes, 192–93, 227 public entities, 195 public goods, 40, 337–38 quantitative easing (QE), 151, 164, 165–66, 170–72, 264, 359, 361, 386 railroads, 55 Reagan, Ronald, 168, 209 real estate bubble, 25, 108, 109, 111, 114–15, 126, 148, 172, 250, 301, 302 cause of, 198 real estate investment, 199 real exchange rate, 105–6, 215–16 recessions, recovery from, 94–95 recovery, 76 reform, 75 theories of, 27–28 regulations, 24, 149, 152, 162, 250, 354, 355–356, 378 and Bush administration, 250–51 common, 241 corporate opposition to, xvi difficulties in, 132–33 of finance, xix forbearance on, 130–31 importance of, 152–53 macro-prudential, 249 in race to bottom, 131–34 Reinhardt, Carmen, 210 renewable energy, 193, 229–30 Republican Party, US, 319 research and development (R&D), 77, 138, 217, 251, 317–18 Ricardo, David, 40, 41 risk, 104, 153, 285 excessive, 250 risk markets, 27 Rogoff, Kenneth, 210 Romania, 46, 331, 338 Royal Bank of Scotland, 355 rules, 57, 241–42, 262, 296 Russia, 36, 264, 296 containment of, 318 economic rents in, 280 gas from, 37, 81, 93, 378 safety nets, 99, 141, 223 Samaras, Antonis, 61, 309, 377 savings, 120 global, 257 savings and loan crisis, 360 Schäuble, Wolfgang, 57, 220, 314, 317 Schengen area, 44 schools, 41, 196 Schröeder, Gerhard, 254 self-regulation, 131, 159 service sector, 224 shadow banking system, 133 shareholder capitalism, 21 Shiller, Rob, 132, 359 shipping taxes, 227, 228 short-termism, 77, 258–59 Silicon Valley, 224 silver, 275, 277 single currencies: conflicts and, 38 as entailing fixed exchange rates, 8, 42–43, 46–47, 86–87, 92, 93, 94, 97–98 external imbalances and, 97–98 and financial crises, 110–18 integration and, 45–46, 50 interest rates and, 8, 86, 87–88, 92, 93, 94 Mundell’s work on, 87 requirements for, 5, 52–53, 88–89, 92–94, 97–98 and similarities among countries, 15 trade integration vs., 393 in US, 35, 36, 88, 89–92 see also euro single-market principle, 125–26, 231 skilled workers, 134–35 skills, 77 Slovakia, 331 Slovenia, 331 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), 127, 138, 171, 229 small and medium-size lending facility, 246–47, 300, 301, 382 Small Business Administration, 246 small businesses, 153 Smith, Adam, xviii, 24, 39–40, 41 social cohesion, 22 Social Democratic Party, Portugal, 392 social program, 196 Social Security, 90, 91 social solidarity, xix societal capital, 77–78 solar energy, 193, 229 solidarity fund, 373 solidarity fund for stabilization, 244, 254, 264, 301 Soros, George, 390 South Dakota, 90, 346 South Korea, 55 bailout of, 113 sovereign risk, 14, 353 sovereign spreads, 200 sovereign wealth funds, 258 Soviet Union, 10 Spain, 14, 16, 114, 177, 178, 278, 331, 335, 343 austerity opposed by, 59, 207–8, 315 bank bailout of, 179, 199–200, 206 banks in, 23, 186, 199, 200, 242, 270, 354 debt of, 196 debt-to-GDP ratio of, 231 deficits of, 109 economic growth in, 215, 231, 247 gold supply in, 277 independence movement in, xi inequality in, 72, 212, 225–26 inherited debt in, 134 labor reforms proposed for, 155 loans in, 127 low debt in, 87 poverty in, 261 real estate bubble in, 25, 108, 109, 114–15, 126, 198, 301, 302 regional independence demanded in, 307 renewable energy in, 229 sovereign spread of, 200 spread in, 332 structural reform in, 70 surplus in, 17, 88 threat of breakup of, 270 trade deficits in, 81, 119 unemployment in, 63, 161, 231, 235, 332, 338 Spanish bonds, 114, 199, 200 spending, cutting, 196–98 spread, 332 stability, 147, 172, 261, 301, 364 automatic, 244 bubble and, 264 central banks and, 8 as collective action problem, 246 solidarity fund for, 54, 244, 264 Stability and Growth Pact, 245 standard models, 211–13 state development banks, 138 steel companies, 55 stock market, 151 stock market bubble, 200–201 stock market crash (1929), 18, 95 stock options, 259, 359 structural deficit, 245 Structural Funds, 243 structural impediments, 215 structural realignment, 252–56 structural reforms, 9, 18, 19–20, 26–27, 214–36, 239–71, 307 from austerity to growth, 263–65 banking union, 241–44 and climate change, 229–30 common framework for stability, 244–52 counterproductive, 222–23 debt restructuring and, 265–67 of finance, 228–29 full employment and growth, 256–57 in Greece, 20, 70, 188, 191, 214–36 growth and, 232–35 shared prosperity and, 260–61 and structural realignment, 252–56 of trade deficits, 216–17 trauma of, 224 as trivial, 214–15, 217–20, 233 subsidiarity, 8, 41–42, 263 subsidies: agricultural, 45, 197 energy, 197 sudden stops, 111 Suharto, 314 suicide, 82, 344 Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), 91 supply-side effects: in Greece, 191, 215–16 of investments, 367 surpluses, fiscal, 17, 96, 312, 379 primary, 187–88 surpluses, trade, see trade surpluses “Swabian housewife,” 186, 245 Sweden, 12, 46, 307, 313, 331, 335, 339 euro referendum of, 58 refugees into, 320 Switzerland, 44, 307 Syria, 321, 342 Syriza party, 309, 311, 312–13, 315, 377 Taiwan, 55 tariffs, 40 tax avoiders, 74, 142–43, 227–28, 261 taxes, 142, 290, 315 in Canada, 191 on capital, 356 on carbon, 230, 260, 265, 368 consumption, 193–94 corporate, 189–90, 227, 251 cross-border, 319, 384 and distortions, 191 in EU, 8, 261 and fiat currency, 284 and free mobility of goods and capital, 260–61 in Greece, 16, 142, 192, 193–94, 227, 367–68 ideal system for, 191 IMF’s warning about high, 190 income, 45 increase in, 190–94 inequality and, 191 inheritance, 368 land, 191 on luxury cars, 265 progressive, 248 property, 192–93, 227 Reagan cuts to, 168, 210 shipping, 227, 228 as stimulative, 368 on trade surpluses, 254 value-added, 190, 192 tax evasion, in Greece, 190–91 tax laws, 75 tax revenue, 190–96 Taylor, John, 169 Taylor rule, 169 tech bubble, 250 technology, 137, 138–39, 186, 211, 217, 251, 258, 265, 300 and new financial system, 274–76, 283–84 telecoms, 55 Telmex, 369 terrorism, 319 Thailand, 113 theory of the second best, 27–28, 48 “there is no alternative” (TINA), 306, 311–12 Tocqueville, Alexis de, xiii too-big-to-fail banks, 360 tourism, 192, 286 trade: and contractionary expansion, 209 US push for, 323 trade agreements, xiv–xvi, 357 trade balance, 81, 93, 100, 109 as allegedly self-correcting, 98–99, 101–3 and wage flexibility, 104–5 trade barriers, 40 trade deficits, 89, 139 aggregate demand weakened by, 111 chit solution to, 287–88, 290, 299–300, 387, 388–89 control of, 109–10, 122 with currency pegs, 110 and fixed exchange rates, 107–8, 118 and government spending, 107–8, 108 of Greece, 81, 194, 215–16, 222, 285–86 structural reform of, 216–17 traded goods, 102, 103, 216 trade integration, 393 trade surpluses, 88, 118–21, 139–40, 350–52 discouragement of, 282–84, 299–300 of Germany, 118–19, 120, 139, 253, 293, 299, 350–52, 381–82, 391 tax on, 254, 351, 381–82 Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, xv, 323 transfer price system, 376 Trans-Pacific Partnership, xv, 323 Treasury bills, US, 204 Trichet, Jean-Claude, 100–101, 155, 156, 164–65, 251 trickle-down economics, 362 Troika, 19, 20, 26, 55, 56, 58, 60, 69, 99, 101–3, 117, 119, 135, 140–42, 178, 179, 184, 195, 274, 294, 317, 362, 370–71, 373, 376, 377, 386 banks weakened by, 229 conditions of, 201 discretion of, 262 failure to learn, 312 Greek incomes lowered by, 80 Greek loan set up by, 202 inequality created by, 225–26 poor forecasting of, 307 predictions by, 249 primary surpluses and, 187–88 privatization avoided by, 194 programs of, 17–18, 21, 155–57, 179–80, 181, 182–83, 184–85, 187–93, 196, 197–98, 202, 204, 205, 207, 208, 214–16, 217, 218–23, 225–28, 229, 231, 233–34, 273, 278, 308, 309–11, 312, 313, 314, 315–16, 323–24, 348, 366, 379, 392 social contract torn up by, 78 structural reforms imposed by, 214–16, 217, 218–23, 225–38 tax demand of, 192 and tax evasion, 367 see also European Central Bank (ECB); European Commission; International Monetary Fund (IMF) trust, xix, 280 Tsipras, Alexis, 61–62, 221, 273, 314 Turkey, 321 UBS, 355 Ukraine, 36 unemployment, 3, 64, 68, 71–72, 110, 111, 122, 323, 336, 342 as allegedly self-correcting, 98–101 in Argentina, 267 austerity and, 209 central banks and, 8, 94, 97, 106, 147 ECB and, 163 in eurozone, 71, 135, 163, 177–78, 181, 331 and financing investments, 186 in Finland, 296 and future income, 77 in Greece, xi, 71, 236, 267, 331, 338, 342 increased by capital, 264 interest rates and, 43–44 and internal devaluation, 98–101, 104–6 migration and, 69, 90, 135, 140 natural rate of, 172–73 present-day, in Europe, 210 and rise of Hitler, 338, 358 and single currency, 88 in Spain, 63, 161, 231, 235, 332, 338 and structural reforms, 19 and trade deficits, 108 in US, 3 youth, 3, 64, 71 unemployment insurance, 91, 186, 246, 247–48 UNICEF, 72–73 unions, 101, 254, 335 United Kingdom, 14, 44, 46, 131, 307, 331, 332, 340 colonies of, 36 debt of, 202 inflation target set in, 157 in Iraq War, 37 light regulations in, 131 proposed exit from EU by, 4, 270 United Nations, 337, 350, 384–85 creation of, 38 and lower rates of war, 196 United States: banking system in, 91 budget of, 8, 45 and Canada’s 1990 expansion, 209 Canada’s free trade with, 45–46, 47 central bank governance in, 161 debt-to-GDP of, 202, 210–11 financial crisis originating in, 65, 68, 79–80, 128, 296, 302 financial system in, 228 founding of, 319 GDP of, xiii Germany’s borrowing from, 187 growing working-age population of, 70 growth in, 68 housing bubble in, 108 immigration into, 320 migration in, 90, 136, 346 monetary policy in financial crisis of, 151 in NAFTA, xiv 1980–1981 recessions in, 76 predatory lending in, 310 productivity in, 71 recovery of, xiii, 12 rising inequality in, xvii, 333 shareholder capitalism of, 21 Small Business Administration in, 246 structural reforms needed in, 20 surpluses in, 96, 187 trade agenda of, 323 unemployment in, 3, 178 united currency in, 35, 36, 88, 89–92 United States bonds, 350 unskilled workers, 134–35 value-added tax, 190, 192 values, 57–58 Varoufakis, Yanis, 61, 221, 309 velocity of circulation, 167 Venezuela, 371 Versaille, Treaty of, 187 victim blaming, 9, 15–17, 177–78, 309–11 volatility: and capital market integration, 28 in exchange rates, 48–49 Volcker, Paul, 157, 168 wage adjustments, 100–101, 103, 104–5, 155, 216–17, 220–22, 338, 361 wages, 19, 348 expansionary policies on, 284–85 Germany’s constraining of, 41, 42–43 lowered in Germany, 105, 333 wage stagnation, in Germany, 13 war, change in attitude to, 38, 196 Washington Consensus, xvi Washington Mutual, 91 wealth, divergence in, 139–40 Weil, Jonathan, 360 welfare, 196 West Germany, 6 Whitney, Meredith, 360 wind energy, 193, 229 Wolf, Martin, 385 worker protection, 56 workers’ bargaining rights, 19, 221, 255 World Bank, xv, xvii, 10, 61, 337, 357, 371 World Trade Organization, xiv youth: future of, xx–xxi unemployment of, 3, 64, 71 Zapatero, José Luis Rodríguez, xiv, 155, 362 zero lower bound, 106 ALSO BY JOSEPH E.


pages: 357 words: 95,986

Inventing the Future: Postcapitalism and a World Without Work by Nick Srnicek, Alex Williams

3D printing, additive manufacturing, air freight, algorithmic trading, anti-work, antiwork, back-to-the-land, banking crisis, basic income, battle of ideas, blockchain, Boris Johnson, Bretton Woods, business cycle, call centre, capital controls, capitalist realism, carbon footprint, carbon tax, Cass Sunstein, centre right, collective bargaining, crowdsourcing, cryptocurrency, David Graeber, decarbonisation, deep learning, deindustrialization, deskilling, Doha Development Round, Elon Musk, Erik Brynjolfsson, Evgeny Morozov, Ferguson, Missouri, financial independence, food miles, Francis Fukuyama: the end of history, full employment, future of work, gender pay gap, general purpose technology, housing crisis, housing justice, income inequality, industrial robot, informal economy, intermodal, Internet Archive, job automation, John Maynard Keynes: Economic Possibilities for our Grandchildren, John Maynard Keynes: technological unemployment, Kickstarter, Kiva Systems, late capitalism, liberation theology, Live Aid, low skilled workers, manufacturing employment, market design, Martin Wolf, mass immigration, mass incarceration, means of production, megaproject, minimum wage unemployment, Modern Monetary Theory, Mont Pelerin Society, Murray Bookchin, neoliberal agenda, New Urbanism, Occupy movement, oil shale / tar sands, oil shock, Overton Window, patent troll, pattern recognition, Paul Samuelson, Philip Mirowski, post scarcity, post-Fordism, post-work, postnationalism / post nation state, precariat, precautionary principle, price stability, profit motive, public intellectual, quantitative easing, reshoring, Richard Florida, rising living standards, road to serfdom, Robert Gordon, Ronald Reagan, Second Machine Age, secular stagnation, self-driving car, Slavoj Žižek, social web, stakhanovite, Steve Jobs, surplus humans, synthetic biology, tacit knowledge, technological determinism, the built environment, The Chicago School, The Future of Employment, the long tail, Tyler Cowen, Tyler Cowen: Great Stagnation, universal basic income, wages for housework, warehouse automation, We are all Keynesians now, We are the 99%, women in the workforce, working poor, working-age population

Our preference is for the establishment of a three-day weekend, rather than a reduction in the working day, in order to cut down on commuting and to build upon the long holiday weekends already in existence. This demand can be achieved in a number of ways – through trade union struggles, pressure from social movements, and legislative change by political parties. Trade unions building a strategy for the future, rather than accepting the capitalist demand for jobs at all costs, could use collective bargaining to accept automation in return for a shorter working week. Indeed, the historical record suggests that trade unions are often reactive in the face of technological change, and that wage concessions only delay automation, rather than preventing it.80 An alternative approach that focused on the reduction and diffusion of work could reduce work without leaving workers out on the streets.81 Efforts can also be made to gain recognition for unofficial, unpaid labour as part of the working week, reducing it simply by bringing attention to it.82 A focus on a shorter working week also requires that unions build links with part-time and precarious workers.

We believe many unions will be better served by refocusing towards a post-work society and the liberating aspects of a reduced working week, job sharing and a basic income.55 The West Coast longshoremen in the United States represent one successful example of allowing automation in exchange for guaranteeing higher wages and less job cuts (though they also occupy a key point of leverage in the capitalist infrastructure).56 The Chicago Teachers’ Union offers another example of a union going far beyond collective bargaining, and instead mobilising a broad social movement around the state of education in general. Moreover, shifting in a post-work direction overcomes some of the key impasses between ecological movements and organised labour. The deployment of productivity increases for more free time, rather than increased jobs and output, can bring these groups together.

Rather than relying on excluding particular groups from skilled trades, the tactic of reducing working hours relies on withdrawing a portion of everyone’s labour time.76 For various reasons, though – not least because of the postwar consensus between capital and labour – this tactic fell out of favour, and the labour movement’s attention instead turned towards collective bargaining over pay. As we argued earlier, however, this tactic has the potential to be revived in the effort to transform our socioeconomic system. Another key tactic has been strikes, whose logic is to inflict costs on capital and force its hand in negotiations. But this approach was limited by the fact that unskilled labour could be easily replaced with new (and more docile) scab workers.


pages: 172 words: 50,777

The Nowhere Office: Reinventing Work and the Workplace of the Future by Julia Hobsbawm

8-hour work day, Airbnb, augmented reality, Bertrand Russell: In Praise of Idleness, Black Lives Matter, blockchain, Cal Newport, call centre, Cass Sunstein, collective bargaining, coronavirus, corporate governance, corporate social responsibility, COVID-19, David Graeber, death from overwork, Diane Coyle, digital capitalism, digital nomad, driverless car, emotional labour, future of work, George Floyd, gig economy, glass ceiling, global pandemic, Google Hangouts, Greensill Capital, job satisfaction, karōshi / gwarosa / guolaosi, knowledge economy, knowledge worker, lockdown, Mark Zuckerberg, Martin Wolf, means of production, megacity, Neal Stephenson, Ocado, pensions crisis, remote working, San Francisco homelessness, Second Machine Age, shareholder value, Sheryl Sandberg, Silicon Valley, Skype, Snow Crash, social distancing, solopreneur, Steve Jobs, systems thinking, TED Talk, The Great Resignation, the long tail, the strength of weak ties, TikTok, Tim Cook: Apple, Upton Sinclair, WeWork, work culture

Organisations should start to mix up the formations of in-house networks and make them more like office parties – where everyone gets to mingle regardless of age or rank. This is not to say that specialist networks should be dismantled, but that a new emphasis should be placed by leaders on what the network science shows, namely that diversity should show up right across the board, starting with company networks themselves. The Collective Bargain As the Nowhere Office develops there is one gap in the structure and management of networks within the workplace that has to be addressed if social capital and diversity are to expand and not shrink. The workplace has been very good at siloed, special-interest networks, reflecting the importance people attach to seeing themselves and their communities represented.

Interestingly, it is not clear whether trade unions are confident that they can appeal to the next generation: a European study in 2019 found that a fifth of young people in work had never joined a trade union because they had not been asked (and another fifth admitted they had been asked but had not got round to it).17 Most trade unions are currently concerning themselves with the collective bargaining challenge of drawing up contracts for workers who need new protections around working from home, in terms of cost and safety and campaigning. But campaigning is not networking. It can actually be alienating for some people who do not regard themselves as political but who do want to feel they gain something from belonging to a network.


pages: 356 words: 103,944

The Globalization Paradox: Democracy and the Future of the World Economy by Dani Rodrik

"World Economic Forum" Davos, affirmative action, Alan Greenspan, Asian financial crisis, bank run, banking crisis, Bear Stearns, bilateral investment treaty, borderless world, Bretton Woods, British Empire, business cycle, capital controls, Carmen Reinhart, central bank independence, classic study, collective bargaining, colonial rule, Corn Laws, corporate governance, corporate social responsibility, credit crunch, Credit Default Swap, currency manipulation / currency intervention, David Ricardo: comparative advantage, deindustrialization, Deng Xiaoping, Doha Development Round, en.wikipedia.org, endogenous growth, eurozone crisis, export processing zone, financial deregulation, financial innovation, floating exchange rates, frictionless, frictionless market, full employment, George Akerlof, guest worker program, Hernando de Soto, immigration reform, income inequality, income per capita, industrial cluster, information asymmetry, joint-stock company, Kenneth Rogoff, land reform, liberal capitalism, light touch regulation, Long Term Capital Management, low interest rates, low skilled workers, margin call, market bubble, market fundamentalism, Martin Wolf, mass immigration, Mexican peso crisis / tequila crisis, microcredit, Monroe Doctrine, moral hazard, Multi Fibre Arrangement, night-watchman state, non-tariff barriers, offshore financial centre, oil shock, open borders, open economy, Paul Samuelson, precautionary principle, price stability, profit maximization, race to the bottom, regulatory arbitrage, Savings and loan crisis, savings glut, Silicon Valley, special drawing rights, special economic zone, subprime mortgage crisis, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, Thomas L Friedman, Tobin tax, too big to fail, trade liberalization, trade route, transaction costs, tulip mania, Washington Consensus, World Values Survey

This presumption contributes to our bias in favor of technical progress because it reduces, if not eliminates altogether, the concern that the playing field was tilted against the loser. Free trade is different. Firms abroad can obtain a competitive advantage not only because they are more productive or labor is more abundant (and hence cheaper), but also because they prevent their workers from engaging in collective bargaining, they have to comply with lower health and safety standards, or they are subsidized by their governments. This is another important way in which differences in institutional arrangements across nations generate opposition and create frictions in international trade. A second difference is that the adverse effects of new technologies hit different groups over time, so that one can plausibly argue that most, if not all people are made better off over the long run.

These regulations dictate who can work, the minimum wage, the maximum hours of work, the nature of working conditions, what the employer can ask the worker to do, and how easily the worker can be fired. They guarantee the worker’s freedom to form unions to represent his or her interests and set the rules under which collective bargaining can take place over pay and benefits. From a classical liberal standpoint, most of these regulations make little sense. They interfere with an individual’s right to enter into contracts of his or her choosing. If you are willing to work for 70 hours a week below the minimum wage under unsafe conditions and allow the employer to dismiss you at will, why should the state prevent you from accepting such terms?

Lax child-labor regulations are often justified by the argument that it is not feasible or desirable to withdraw young workers from the labor force in a country with widespread poverty. In other cases, arguments like these carry less weight. Basic labor rights such as non-discrimination, freedom of association, collective bargaining, and prohibition of forced labor do not cost anything. Compliance with these rights does not harm, and indeed possibly benefits, economic development. Gross violations constitute exploitation of labor, and will open the door for safeguards in importing countries on the ground that they generate unfair distributional costs.


The Rise and Decline of Nations: Economic Growth, Stagflation, and Social Rigidities by Mancur Olson

barriers to entry, British Empire, business cycle, California gold rush, collective bargaining, correlation coefficient, David Ricardo: comparative advantage, full employment, income per capita, Kenneth Arrow, market clearing, Norman Macrae, Pareto efficiency, Phillips curve, price discrimination, profit maximization, rent-seeking, Robert Solow, Sam Peltzman, search costs, selection bias, Simon Kuznets, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, trade liberalization, transaction costs, urban decay, working poor

The theory implies that in sectors where there is special-interest organization there will be more stickiness, and (because of Implication 3) in industries where there is a fairly small number of firms that can collude more easily, there will on average be less price flexibility than in industries with so many firms that they cannot collude without selective incentives. Those large groups that are organized because of selective incentives may have even slower decision-making. The sluggish movement of wages that are set by collective bargaining is well known. Wage flexibility appears to be particularly great in temporary markets where organization is pretty much ruled out, as in the markets for seasonal workers, consultants, and so on. There also appears to be less flexibility in manufacturing prices than in farm prices (except when farm prices are determined by governments under the influence of lobbies).

X Implication 6 also tells us something about how those prices and wages influenced by special-interest groups will react to unexpected inflation or deflation. A cartel or lobby will seek whatever price it believes best, but for the reasons explained in chapter 3 it will seek agreements or arrangements that last for some length of time. Collective bargaining agreements in the United States offer a clear, though perhaps extreme, example of this; they customarily last for three years. Now suppose that there is unexpected inflation or deflation. With unexpected inflation the price the special-interest group obtained will become lower in relation to other prices than the group wanted or expected it to be, but the group will not quickly be able to change the relevant agreement or legislation.

It not only allowed but enthusiastically encouraged each industry to set up a "code of fair competition" and a "code authority." The codes of fair competition typically required "fair" behavior with respect to output, prices, and various trade prices, and also "fair" wages, hours of work, collective bargaining, and so forth. It is estimated that 95 percent of industrial employees came to be covered by these codes.34 Although the NRA also stipulated minimum wages and rules against wage-cutting, the interests of the trade associations of business firms seemed more significant. As Franklin Roosevelt later described it, the "codes were developed, as a matter of Administration policy, from proposals initiated from within the industries themselves.


pages: 346 words: 97,330

Ghost Work: How to Stop Silicon Valley From Building a New Global Underclass by Mary L. Gray, Siddharth Suri

"World Economic Forum" Davos, Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, AlphaGo, Amazon Mechanical Turk, Apollo 13, augmented reality, autonomous vehicles, barriers to entry, basic income, benefit corporation, Big Tech, big-box store, bitcoin, blue-collar work, business process, business process outsourcing, call centre, Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty, cloud computing, cognitive load, collaborative consumption, collective bargaining, computer vision, corporate social responsibility, cotton gin, crowdsourcing, data is the new oil, data science, deep learning, DeepMind, deindustrialization, deskilling, digital divide, do well by doing good, do what you love, don't be evil, Donald Trump, Elon Musk, employer provided health coverage, en.wikipedia.org, equal pay for equal work, Erik Brynjolfsson, fake news, financial independence, Frank Levy and Richard Murnane: The New Division of Labor, fulfillment center, future of work, gig economy, glass ceiling, global supply chain, hiring and firing, ImageNet competition, independent contractor, industrial robot, informal economy, information asymmetry, Jeff Bezos, job automation, knowledge economy, low skilled workers, low-wage service sector, machine translation, market friction, Mars Rover, natural language processing, new economy, operational security, passive income, pattern recognition, post-materialism, post-work, power law, race to the bottom, Rana Plaza, recommendation engine, ride hailing / ride sharing, Ronald Coase, scientific management, search costs, Second Machine Age, sentiment analysis, sharing economy, Shoshana Zuboff, side project, Silicon Valley, Silicon Valley startup, Skype, software as a service, speech recognition, spinning jenny, Stephen Hawking, TED Talk, The Future of Employment, The Nature of the Firm, Tragedy of the Commons, transaction costs, two-sided market, union organizing, universal basic income, Vilfredo Pareto, Wayback Machine, women in the workforce, work culture , Works Progress Administration, Y Combinator, Yochai Benkler

Ghost work is arguably just the most recent iteration of a well-established historical trend. 2 From Piecework to Outsourcing: A Brief History of Automation’s Last Mile The National Labor Relations Act of 1935, authored by New York senator Robert F. Wagner, became the first piece of federal legislation in the United States to guarantee the basic right of workers to form unions, collectively bargain, and strike for better work conditions. Most think of the Wagner Act as the country’s first publicly mandated social contract and safety net for modern employment. But defining workers’ rights and weaving them into the nation’s fabric actually started a century before that. A thin, almost invisible thread connects the fates of 19th-century factory workers addressed by the Wagner Act and today’s on-demand workers left unprotected by it.

But efforts to expand to other industries stalled for the next decade in the face of World War II. The war effort diverted young men away from factories to the front lines of Europe. Unions felt that they had lost their core membership. Several unions brokered deals with employers and agreed to delay strikes and collective bargaining efforts until after the war. The famed image of Rosie the Riveter could easily stand in for the temp worker keeping the metal, transportation, and chemical industries alive during the war. She was expected to go back home once her brother or sweetheart came back from the war. As such, unions did not see a need to argue for expanding workers’ rights until men returned to their roles as the primary breadwinners working full-time on the line.17 Once the war ended and manufacturing industries ramped up production lines for new products in glass, plastics, and metal, unions got back to work, too.

But outsourcing was never simply about cost cutting. It was also about the growing resistance to unionization and evading long-standing labor regulations. As companies expanded their reliance on a far-flung network of contingent staff, they shrank the number of on-site, full-time employees who were eligible to collectively bargain or to push for increasing workers’ benefits. Following a largely untested management theory, a wave of corporations in the 1980s cut anything that could be defined as “non-essential business operations”—from cleaning offices to debugging software programs—in order to impress stockholders with their true value, defined in terms of “return on investment” (in industry lingo, ROI) and “core competencies.”


pages: 173 words: 52,725

How to Be Right: In a World Gone Wrong by James O'Brien

Black Lives Matter, Boris Johnson, Brexit referendum, clockwatching, collective bargaining, death of newspapers, Donald Trump, fake news, game design, housing crisis, Jeremy Corbyn, mass immigration, Neil Armstrong, plutocrats, post-industrial society, QAnon, ride hailing / ride sharing, sexual politics, Social Justice Warrior, Steve Bannon, young professional

While the paper’s owners insisted that the decision had nothing to do with the UVW’s actions, or the petition, or the threatened strike, March 2018 saw the cleaners secure the desired pay rises. So, a newspaper which routinely peddles the notion that immigration drives down the wages of ‘ordinary’ workers had its offices cleaned by adults earning about £15,600 a year, while its editor received £2.37 million. And when collective bargaining, under the auspices of a trade union, appeared to secure precisely the sort of pay rises Daily Mail readers are routinely told they are being denied by immigration, the paper’s owners passed it all off as a remarkable coincidence. You will, needless to say, struggle to find any mention of this episode in any right-wing British newspaper because right-wing British newspapers despise trade unions, and the complete demonisation of immigrants in the workplace can obviously only work when carried out in tandem with the demonisation of trade unions.

He has persuaded himself that the only reason why he and his driver’s mate have to endure such punitive and degrading working conditions is because some people who were born overseas also endure such punitive and degrading working conditions. Suggest to him that the real source of his impotence is a dearth of trade union power and collective bargaining and he will decry you as a ‘leftie’ before returning to the comforting banality of bogus immigrant-blaming. The company whose vans he pays to drive is a household name. I wonder how many of their customers know the terms and conditions inflicted upon the people delivering their washing machines.


pages: 585 words: 151,239

Capitalism in America: A History by Adrian Wooldridge, Alan Greenspan

"Friedman doctrine" OR "shareholder theory", "World Economic Forum" Davos, 2013 Report for America's Infrastructure - American Society of Civil Engineers - 19 March 2013, Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, agricultural Revolution, air freight, Airbnb, airline deregulation, Alan Greenspan, American Society of Civil Engineers: Report Card, Asian financial crisis, bank run, barriers to entry, Bear Stearns, Berlin Wall, Blitzscaling, Bonfire of the Vanities, book value, Bretton Woods, British Empire, business climate, business cycle, business process, California gold rush, Charles Lindbergh, cloud computing, collateralized debt obligation, collective bargaining, Corn Laws, Cornelius Vanderbilt, corporate governance, corporate raider, cotton gin, creative destruction, credit crunch, debt deflation, Deng Xiaoping, disruptive innovation, Donald Trump, driverless car, edge city, Elon Musk, equal pay for equal work, Everybody Ought to Be Rich, Fairchild Semiconductor, Fall of the Berlin Wall, fiat currency, financial deregulation, financial engineering, financial innovation, fixed income, Ford Model T, full employment, general purpose technology, George Gilder, germ theory of disease, Glass-Steagall Act, global supply chain, Great Leap Forward, guns versus butter model, hiring and firing, Ida Tarbell, income per capita, indoor plumbing, informal economy, interchangeable parts, invention of the telegraph, invention of the telephone, Isaac Newton, Jeff Bezos, jimmy wales, John Maynard Keynes: technological unemployment, Joseph Schumpeter, junk bonds, Kenneth Rogoff, Kitchen Debate, knowledge economy, knowledge worker, labor-force participation, land bank, Lewis Mumford, Louis Pasteur, low interest rates, low skilled workers, manufacturing employment, market bubble, Mason jar, mass immigration, McDonald's hot coffee lawsuit, means of production, Menlo Park, Mexican peso crisis / tequila crisis, Michael Milken, military-industrial complex, minimum wage unemployment, mortgage debt, Myron Scholes, Network effects, new economy, New Urbanism, Northern Rock, oil rush, oil shale / tar sands, oil shock, Peter Thiel, Phillips curve, plutocrats, pneumatic tube, popular capitalism, post-industrial society, postindustrial economy, price stability, Productivity paradox, public intellectual, purchasing power parity, Ralph Nader, Ralph Waldo Emerson, RAND corporation, refrigerator car, reserve currency, rising living standards, road to serfdom, Robert Gordon, Robert Solow, Ronald Reagan, Sand Hill Road, savings glut, scientific management, secular stagnation, Silicon Valley, Silicon Valley startup, Simon Kuznets, Social Responsibility of Business Is to Increase Its Profits, South Sea Bubble, sovereign wealth fund, stem cell, Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, strikebreaker, supply-chain management, The Great Moderation, The Rise and Fall of American Growth, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, Thomas Malthus, Thorstein Veblen, too big to fail, total factor productivity, trade route, transcontinental railway, tulip mania, Tyler Cowen, Tyler Cowen: Great Stagnation, union organizing, Unsafe at Any Speed, Upton Sinclair, urban sprawl, Vannevar Bush, vertical integration, War on Poverty, washing machines reduced drudgery, Washington Consensus, white flight, wikimedia commons, William Shockley: the traitorous eight, women in the workforce, Works Progress Administration, Yom Kippur War, young professional

George Johnson, a shoe entrepreneur, introduced an eight-hour workday, a forty-hour workweek, and comprehensive medical care. Philip Wrigley proved that he could embrace social reform and make gum at the same time by introducing an income insurance plan and a pension system. Lewis Brown, an asbestos magnate, introduced collective bargaining, the eight-hour workday, a forty-hour workweek, and regular surveys of employee opinion.19 These new professionally managed corporations extended their reign into new areas such as distribution and retail. Chain stores that specialized in no-frills services expanded rapidly in the 1920s, using their massive scale to put pressure on their suppliers and their national footprint to reach into the expanding suburbs.

After the New Deal, the federal government sat at the heart of American society. In short: FDR inherited a highly decentralized political economy committed to flexible markets and transformed it into a Washington-dominated political economy committed to demand management, national welfare programs, and compulsory collective bargaining. The most obvious change was in size: in 1930, the federal government consumed less than 4 percent of GDP and the largest government employer was the Post Office. Only a tiny minority of Americans—4 million in 1929 and 3.7 million in 1930—paid income tax.34 By 1936, the federal government consumed 9 percent of GDP and employed 7 percent of the workforce.

The NRA was a strange beast: in part a capitalist version of the Soviet Union’s Gosplan, in part an all-American version of Mussolini’s corporatist capitalism that tried to cartelize firms that made up four-fifths of the nonagricultural economy.39 The NRA encouraged big businesses to collaborate to set the prices of their products and the wages and prices that went into making them. The NRA also required firms to pay higher wages and accept compulsory collective bargaining. Firms that complied with these strictures were allowed to display a blue eagle insignia: more than 2 million quickly signed up. Firms that failed to comply with the rules were often driven out of business. Blue eagle signs soon became ubiquitous in store windows and on billboards. Hugh Johnson, the former general who was put in charge of the NRA, became one of the most recognizable men in America.


pages: 226 words: 59,080

Economics Rules: The Rights and Wrongs of the Dismal Science by Dani Rodrik

airline deregulation, Alan Greenspan, Albert Einstein, bank run, barriers to entry, behavioural economics, Bretton Woods, business cycle, butterfly effect, capital controls, carbon tax, Carmen Reinhart, central bank independence, collective bargaining, congestion pricing, Daniel Kahneman / Amos Tversky, David Ricardo: comparative advantage, distributed generation, Donald Davies, Edward Glaeser, endogenous growth, Eugene Fama: efficient market hypothesis, Everything should be made as simple as possible, Fellow of the Royal Society, financial deregulation, financial innovation, floating exchange rates, fudge factor, full employment, George Akerlof, Gini coefficient, Growth in a Time of Debt, income inequality, inflation targeting, informal economy, information asymmetry, invisible hand, Jean Tirole, Joseph Schumpeter, Kenneth Arrow, Kenneth Rogoff, labor-force participation, liquidity trap, loss aversion, low skilled workers, market design, market fundamentalism, minimum wage unemployment, oil shock, open economy, Pareto efficiency, Paul Samuelson, price elasticity of demand, price stability, prisoner's dilemma, profit maximization, public intellectual, quantitative easing, randomized controlled trial, rent control, rent-seeking, Richard Thaler, risk/return, Robert Shiller, school vouchers, South Sea Bubble, spectrum auction, The Market for Lemons, the scientific method, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, Thomas Kuhn: the structure of scientific revolutions, Thomas Malthus, trade liberalization, trade route, ultimatum game, University of East Anglia, unorthodox policies, Vilfredo Pareto, Washington Consensus, white flight

Distinguishing among these alternative explanations is difficult because the neoclassical theory hinges on the mathematical representation of the underlying technology (the “production function”) and the changes therein, which are not directly observable. Ultimately, a theory that cannot be pinned down is not very helpful. A wide variety of alternative theories of distribution exist. Some emphasize explicit bargaining between employers and employees, where the prevalence of trade unions and collective-bargaining rules can shape the sharing of revenues of the enterprise between the two parties. Compensation levels of high income earners such as CEOs seem also to be determined largely by bargaining.3 Other models highlight the role of norms in the spread that is considered acceptable between, say, the CEO’s compensation and the amounts earned by rank-and-file employees.

., 1n Boulding, Kenneth, 11 bounded rationality, 203 Bowles, Samuel, 71n Brazil: antipoverty programs of, 4 globalization and, 166 Bretton Woods Conference (1944), 1–2 Britain, Great, property rights and, 98 bubbles, 152–58 business cycles, 125–37 balanced budgets and, 171 capital flow in, 127 classical economics and, 126–27, 129, 137 inflation in, 126–27, 133, 135, 137 new classical models and, 130–34, 136–37 butterfly effect, 39 California, University of: at Berkeley, 107, 136, 147 at Los Angeles, 139 Cameron, David, 109 capacity utilization rates, 130 capital, neoclassical distribution theory and, 122, 124 capital flow: in business cycles, 127 economic growth and, 17–18, 114, 164–67 globalization and, 164–67 growth diagnostics and, 90 speculation and, 2 capitalism, 118–24, 127, 144, 205, 207 carbon, emissions quotas vs. taxes in reduction of, 188–90, 191–92 Card, David, 57 Carlyle, Thomas, 118 carpooling, 192, 193–94 cartels, 95 Cartwright, Nancy, 20, 22n, 29 cash grants, 4, 55, 105–6 Cassidy, John, 157n Central Bank of India, 154 Chang, Ha-Joon, 11 chaos theory, butterfly effect and, 39 Chicago, University of, 131, 152 Chicago Board of Trade, 55 Chile, antipoverty programs and, 4 China, People’s Republic of, 156, 163, 164 cigarette industry, taxation and, 27–28 Clark, John Bates, 119 “Classical Gold Standard, The: Some Lessons for Today” (Bordo), 127n classical unemployment, 126 climate change, 188–90, 191–92 climate modeling, 38, 40 Cochrane, John, 131 coffee, 179, 185 Colander, David, 85 collective bargaining, 124–25, 143 Colombia, educational vouchers in, 24 colonialism, developmental economics and, 206–7 “Colonial Origins of Comparative Development, The” (Acemoglu, Robinson, and Johnson), 206–7 Columbia University, 2, 108 commitment, in game theory, 33 comparative advantage, 52–55, 58n, 59–60, 139, 170 compensation for risk models, 110 competition, critical assumptions in, 28–29 complementarities, 42 computable general equilibrium (CGE) models, 41 computational models, 38, 41 computers, model complexity and, 38 Comte, Auguste, 81 conditional cash transfer (CCT) programs, 4, 105–6 congestion pricing, 2–3 Constitution, U.S., 187 construction industry, Great Recession and, 156 consumers, consumption, 119, 129, 130, 132, 136, 167 cross-price elasticity in, 180–81 consumer’s utility, 119 contextual truths, 20, 174 contingency, 25, 145, 173–74, 185 contracts, 88, 98, 161, 205 coordination models, 16–17, 42, 200 corn futures, 55 corruption, 87, 89, 91 costs, behavioral economics and, 70 Cotterman, Nancy, xiv Cournot, Antoine-Augustin, 13n Cournot competition, 68 credibility, in game theory, 33 “Credible Worlds, Capacities and Mechanisms” (Sugden), 172n credit rating agencies, 155 credit rationing, 64–65 critical assumptions, 18, 26–29, 94–98, 150–51, 180, 183–84, 202 cross-price elasticity, 180–81 Cuba, 57 currency: appreciation of, 60, 167 depreciation of, 153 economic growth and, 163–64, 167 current account deficits, 153 Curry, Brendan, xv Dahl, Gordon B., 151n Darwin, Charles, 113 Davis, Donald, 108 day care, 71, 190–91 Debreu, Gerard, 49–51 debt, national, 153 decision trees, 89–90, 90 DeLong, Brad, 136 democracy, social sciences and, 205 deposit insurance, 155 depreciation, currency, 153 Depression, Great, 2, 128, 153 deregulation, 143, 155, 158–59, 162, 168 derivatives, 153, 155 deterrence, in game theory, 33 development economics, 75–76, 86–93, 90, 159–67, 169, 201, 202 colonial settlement and, 206–7 institutions and, 98, 161, 202, 205–7 reform fatigue and, 88 diagnostic analysis, 86–93, 90, 97, 110–11 Dijkgraaf, Robbert, xiv “Dirtying White: Why Does Benn Steil’s History of Bretton Woods Distort the Ideas of Harry Dexter White?”


pages: 207 words: 52,716

Capitalism 3.0: A Guide to Reclaiming the Commons by Peter Barnes

Albert Einstein, car-free, carbon tax, clean water, collective bargaining, corporate governance, corporate personhood, corporate raider, corporate social responsibility, cotton gin, dark matter, digital divide, diversified portfolio, do well by doing good, Easter island, en.wikipedia.org, Garrett Hardin, gentrification, hypertext link, Isaac Newton, James Watt: steam engine, jitney, junk bonds, Michael Milken, military-industrial complex, money market fund, new economy, patent troll, precautionary principle, profit maximization, Ronald Coase, telemarketer, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, Tragedy of the Commons, transaction costs, War on Poverty, Yogi Berra

The first wave consisted of rights against the state. The second included rights against unequal treatment based on race, nationality, gender, or sexual orientation. The third wave— which, historically speaking, is just beginning—consists of rights not against things, but for things—free public education, collective bargaining for wages, security in old age. They can be thought of as rights necessary for the pursuit of happiness. 104 | A SOLUTION What makes this latest wave of birthrights strengthen community is their universality. If some Americans could enjoy free public education while others couldn’t, the resulting inequities would divide rather than unite us as a nation.

Seuss), 10, 72, 73 General Electric (NBC), 125 General Social Survey, 29–30 George, Henry, 93–94 Glaxo Wellcome, 37 global atmospheric trust, 147–50 globalization, 28, 97 Index government bias towards property owners, 39 corporate dominance of, xv–xvi, 45, 47–48, 155 corporate/commons sector balance via the, 76–78, 162 limits of regulation, 35–39, 58, 59 and pollution rights, 39–42, 60–61 role in protecing the commons, x, 33–34, 47, 152–53 Grassley, Chuck, 37 Great Britain, 16–17, 109, 114, 118, 119 Great Plains, 142 “green taxes,” 39 groundwater trusts, 138 H Haggin, James, 18–19 Hammond, Jay, 46 happiness and community, 101 and property, 110 and surplus capitalism, 29–31, 65 as universal birthright, 103, 164 Hardin, Garrett, x, 7–8, 33, 49, 169n7 Hawken, Paul, 55 health care as birthright, xv, 104, 112–15, 157, 164 management of, 109, 153 pharmaceutical lobbyists, 36–37 universal health insurance, 113–15 Hickel, Walter, 19 Homestead Act of 1862, 18 Hurwitz, Charles, 53 I illth and the commons, 9–10, 19–20, 45 definition, 9 need to address, 12 and pollution rights, 58–59 and valve keepers, 88, 163 | 189 incentives, 13, 95 inclusivity, 6, 75 inequality and birthrights, 103–5 and capitalism, 26–29, 50, 65 and commons trusts, 88 and commons rent, 96–97 in distribution of wealth, 26–29, 105–6, 143–44 in Internet access, 126–28 “influence industry,” 36–38 infrastructure, as joint inheritance, 12, 71 inheritance tax, 110–11 intellectual property, 119 Internal Revenue Service, 112 Internet digital divide, 127 “net neutrality,” 128 as product of publicly funded research, 131 resource guide, 175–76 as social asset, 70–71, 75, 118, 126–28, 157 two-tiered Internet, 128 wi-fi access, 126, 140, 145 World Wide Web, 159 J Jefferson, Thomas, 103, 108, 110, 128–29 John, King of England, 16 joint stock corporation. See corporations K Kelly, Marjorie, 28–29, 80, 81 Kennedy, Robert F., Jr., 59–60 Kyoto Protocol, 148, 149 L labor and the bottom line, 50, 54, 80 collective bargaining, 103 decimation of unions, 47, 157 190 | Land Ordinance of 1785, 18, 44 land trusts, 136–37, 142–43, 147, 175 Lasn, Kalle, 122 lawyers, 160 liquidity of common property, 76 premium, 67–68, 71 live arts, 120–21 lobbyists, 35–39, 162 local food sources, 138–39, 165 local initiatives, 136–40 Locke, John, 16–17, 74, 103, 110, 119 Lorax, The (Seuss), 10, 72, 73 Losing Ground (Murray), 28 M Madison, James, 99, 108 Magna Carta, 16 managers and capitalism, 50, 157 enlightened, 51–54, 65 free market environmentalism, 59 shareholder activism, 56 trusts, 45, 83–84, 163 Marin Agricultural Land Trust (MALT), 85–86, 136 Massachusetts Climate Action Network, 140 Maxxam, 53 MBNA, 36 media companies, 19, 37, 121, 123–26, 145–46 Medicare, 37, 75, 130, 153 Mill, John Stuart, 93, 94 Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, 25 Mining Act of 1872, 43 Mississippi basin, 141–42 Monopoly (game), 8, 102, 106 Monsanto, 36 Morrill Land Grant College Act of 1862, 18, 44 multiple bottom lines, 51–53 municipal wi-fi, 126, 140 Murdoch, Rupert, 125 C A P I TA L I S M 3 . 0 Murray, Charles, 28 Music Performance Trust Fund, 121 N NAFTA (North America Free Trade Agreement), 81 National Science Foundation, 131 National Trust (Great Britain), 84 natural assets, 70 Natural Resources Defense Council, 59 nature and capitalism, 25–26, 50, 65, 80, 81 and the commons sector, 66, 165 corporate disregard of, 54 desperate state of, 3–4, 11, 25 duty to, 79–80 fortification of, 131, 165 as joint inheritance, 12 as part of the commons, 5–6 and pollution taxes, 39–42, 91 powerlessness of, 38–39 See also common property trusts; ecosystems; global atmospheric trust; nonhuman species Nature Conservancy, 73, 84, 143 NBC, 125 negative externalities.


pages: 242 words: 60,595

Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In by Roger Fisher, Bruce Patton

book value, cognitive dissonance, collective bargaining, rent control, sealed-bid auction, transaction costs, zero-sum game

Principled negotiation can be used by United States diplomats in arms control talks with the Soviet Union, by Wall Street lawyers representing Fortune 500 companies in antitrust cases, and by couples in deciding everything from where to go for vacation to how to divide their 6 property if they get divorced. Anyone can use this method. Every negotiation is different, but the basic elements do not change. Principled negotiation can be used whether there is one issue or several; two parties or many; whether there is a prescribed ritual, as in collective bargaining, or an impromptu free-for-all, as in talking with hijackers. The method applies whether the other side is more experienced or less, a hard bargainer or a friendly one. Principled negotiation is an all-purpose strategy. Unlike almost all other strategies, if the other side learns this one, it does not become more difficult to use; it becomes easier.

Where do you suggest we look for standards to resolve this question?" It is no easier to build a good contract than it is to build strong foundations. If relying on objective standards applies so clearly to a negotiation between the house owner and a contractor, why not to business deals, collective bargaining, legal settlements, and international negotiations? Why not insist that a negotiated price, for example, be based on some standard such as market value, replacement cost, depreciated book value, or competitive prices, instead of whatever the seller demands? In short, the approach is to commit yourself to reaching a solution based on principle, not pressure.


pages: 431 words: 106,435

How the Post Office Created America: A History by Winifred Gallagher

British Empire, California gold rush, centre right, Charles Lindbergh, City Beautiful movement, clean water, collective bargaining, cotton gin, financial engineering, Ford Model T, glass ceiling, hiring and firing, indoor plumbing, military-industrial complex, Monroe Doctrine, New Urbanism, off-the-grid, pneumatic tube, public intellectual, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Republic of Letters, Silicon Valley, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, transcontinental railway, traveling salesman, upwardly mobile, white flight, wikimedia commons, women in the workforce, Works Progress Administration

It should be freed from the spoils system and depoliticized but not actually privatized—at least not yet—primarily because only the federal government could handle finances on such a scale. It should be run by a board of directors that would set postage rates in consultation with a panel of independent experts. Its employees should receive the right of collective bargaining but not to strike. Importantly, this new post should balance its budget while continuing to provide universal mail service to every American everywhere for the same low price. Not everyone rejoiced at the prospect of turning one of the federal government’s oldest institutions into a mere business.

On March 17 in New York City, Branch 36 of the National Association of Letter Carriers, fed up with low pay and worried by the looming prospect of the post’s reorganization as a business, decided to take action. (Their nationwide organization of some 175,000 members, which had been founded in 1889, had grown more powerful in 1962, when Executive Order 10988 gave partial collective bargaining rights to government employee unions that did not segregate or discriminate based on race.) The New York City group broke with its parent organization to mount a wildcat strike, which quickly spread to involve perhaps a third of the post’s workers in cities across the nation. Almost seven hundred post offices were shut down, including nine of the ten biggest.

The post pulled the rest of the stamps, but the disgruntled public demanded that they be put back on sale. The USPS also responded to the turbulent American milieu of the 1960s and ’70s with changes in its employment policies. The number of African Americans in its ranks increased in 1962, when Executive Order 10988 gave some collective bargaining rights to government unions that did not discriminate based on race. Efforts such as the President’s Commission on the Status of Women in 1961 and the Equal Pay Act of 1963 also expanded women’s employment in the postal service, and their numbers rose from just 22 percent of the workforce in the 1940s to 33 percent in the 1960s.


pages: 364 words: 108,237

Janesville: An American Story by Amy Goldstein

1960s counterculture, Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, collective bargaining, Donald Trump, job-hopping, mass affluent, payday loans, uranium enrichment, War on Poverty, women in the workforce, working poor, Works Progress Administration

Diane stands close and looks him straight in the eye. “Any chance we’ll ever get to be a completely red state and work on these unions and become a right-to-work? What can we do to help you?” “Oh yeah,” Walker replies. “Well, we’re going to start in a couple weeks with our budget adjustment bill. The first step is, we’re going to deal with collective bargaining for all public employee unions, because you use divide and conquer.” “You’re right on target,” Diane says, as Mary looks on. By the time they get up to the boardroom, there is no more union talk. The leaders of Rock County 5.0 have decided that widening the Interstate, from the Illinois line to Madison, would be one of the best boosts for the local economy, and they are thrilled when Walker tells them that he supports this idea, hard as it will be to find the money for it in his lean, lean budget.

He is calling it a Budget Repair Bill. In the past, that has meant a slight fiscal tinkering. Not this time. The governor wants to carve and reshape the state government, saying that his bill is necessary to pull Wisconsin out of its recession-driven deficit. He also, it turns out, wants to shred most collective bargaining rights of most Wisconsin public sector unions. This was the plan about which he hinted to Diane and Mary the morning he met with Rock County 5.0. He had never mentioned it during his campaign. The bill would unwind Wisconsin’s own history. At the turn of the twentieth century, the state had become a hub of the Progressive movement, with the election in 1900 of Robert M.

In 1932, the year the plant closed during the Great Depression, Wisconsin was the first state to establish a system of unemployment benefits, three years before Congress adopted the federal Social Security Act that spread a similar system nationwide. It was in Madison in 1932, too, that a group of state employees formed a union that would, within a few years, grow into the country’s main labor organization of state and municipal workers. And in 1959, Wisconsin became the first state to pass a law guaranteeing collective bargaining for public employees. The surprise, labor-weakening aspect of Walker’s Budget Repair Bill is the reason that a considerable, sustained expression of fury has amassed at Capitol Square. Deri teaches U.S. history to teenagers and grew up in Wisconsin and certainly knows about its labor traditions.


pages: 332 words: 106,197

The Divide: A Brief Guide to Global Inequality and Its Solutions by Jason Hickel

"World Economic Forum" Davos, Alan Greenspan, Andrei Shleifer, Asian financial crisis, Atahualpa, Bartolomé de las Casas, Bernie Sanders, Bob Geldof, Bretton Woods, British Empire, Cape to Cairo, capital controls, carbon credits, carbon footprint, carbon tax, clean water, collective bargaining, colonial rule, Cornelius Vanderbilt, David Attenborough, David Graeber, David Ricardo: comparative advantage, declining real wages, degrowth, dematerialisation, Doha Development Round, Elon Musk, European colonialism, falling living standards, financial deregulation, flying shuttle, Fractional reserve banking, Francisco Pizarro, full employment, Glass-Steagall Act, Global Witness, Hans Rosling, happiness index / gross national happiness, Howard Zinn, income inequality, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), investor state dispute settlement, James Watt: steam engine, laissez-faire capitalism, land reform, land value tax, liberal capitalism, Live Aid, Mahatma Gandhi, Money creation, Monroe Doctrine, Mont Pelerin Society, moral hazard, Naomi Klein, negative emissions, Nelson Mandela, offshore financial centre, oil shale / tar sands, out of africa, Phillips curve, planned obsolescence, plutocrats, purchasing power parity, race to the bottom, rent control, road to serfdom, Ronald Reagan, Scramble for Africa, shareholder value, sharing economy, Silicon Valley, Simon Kuznets, structural adjustment programs, TED Talk, The Chicago School, The Spirit Level, trade route, transatlantic slave trade, transfer pricing, trickle-down economics, Washington Consensus, WikiLeaks, women in the workforce, Works Progress Administration

For Keynes, excess protectionism was a primary driver of the Great Depression – a depression that had caused such misery in Germany and Japan, for example, that it had eventually given rise to the fascist politics that led to the war. Keynes believed that demand could be revived by carefully relaxing trade tariffs. This would allow prices to fall, people would start consuming again and the economy would be jolted back to life. The goal of the GATT was to reduce tariffs across the board through collective bargaining among industrialised countries. The system was designed to be beneficial to all, in the spirit of unity and solidarity, so the rules were not rigidly applied: member states could negotiate to avoid policies that would cause their economies significant harm. In other words, the GATT began its life as an ostensibly benevolent institution, set on maintaining economic stability and peace.

In the wake of decolonisation, however, most Latin American countries were controlled by autocratic governments, and by the early 20th century the United States began to exert a strong influence over the region. 4  ‘These measures, he said …’ Keynes outlined these ideas in 1933 in The Means to Prosperity (copies of which were sent to the governments of Britain and the United States), and more thoroughly in 1936 in his famous text The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money. 5  ‘When Franklin Delano Roosevelt came …’ The Works Progress Administration was established in 1939 to employ unemployed citizens in public works projects. 6  ‘When the Second World War …’ The Roosevelt administration raised the top marginal tax rate to 75 per cent in 1939, and then to 94 per cent in 1944. It remained above 90 per cent until the mid-1960s. 7  ‘This new system relied on …’ In the United States, the key piece of legislation was the National Labor Relations Act of 1935, which facilitated trade unions and collective bargaining. 8  ‘Middle-class women, for example …’ Consider, for instance, Betty Friedan’s critique of women’s social subordination in her 1963 book The Feminine Mystique. 9  ‘The progressive political parties that …’ See, for example, Frederick Cooper, Decolonization and African Society (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996). 10 ‘The policy suspended the long …’ In 1933 the United States signed the Convention on the Rights and Duties of States.

Also see Jason Hickel, ‘It’s time for a global minimum wage’, Al Jazeera English, 10 June 2013. 9  ‘There is no evidence that …’ The evidence suggests that raising the minimum wage has no negative effect on employment. See John Schmitt, Why Does the Minimum Wage Have No Discernible Effect on Employment? (Washington, DC: Center for Economic and Policy Research, 2013). See also International Labour Organization, Global Wage Report 2008/9: Minimum Wages and Collective Bargaining (Geneva: International Labour Office, 2008). 10 ‘In fact, you could raise …’ Robert Pollin et al., ‘Global apparel production and sweatshop labour: can raising retail prices finance living wages?’, Cambridge Journal of Economics 28(2), 2002, pp. 153–71. 11 ‘It might sound like a …’ See ‘C131 Minimum Wage Fixing Convention’, 1970. 12 ‘This could be done by …’ Like the Brussels Definition of Value, which was abolished by the WTO. 13 ‘Requiring global financial transparency would …’ The United States, Britain and the European Parliament are already taking steps in this direction.


pages: 726 words: 210,048

Hard Landing by Thomas Petzinger, Thomas Petzinger Jr.

airline deregulation, Boeing 747, buy and hold, Carl Icahn, centralized clearinghouse, Charles Lindbergh, collective bargaining, cross-subsidies, desegregation, Donald Trump, emotional labour, feminist movement, index card, junk bonds, low cost airline, low skilled workers, Marshall McLuhan, means of production, Michael Milken, mutually assured destruction, Neil Armstrong, Network effects, offshore financial centre, oil shock, Ponzi scheme, postindustrial economy, price stability, profit motive, Ralph Nader, revenue passenger mile, Ronald Reagan, scientific management, Silicon Valley, strikebreaker, technological determinism, the medium is the message, The Predators' Ball, Thomas L Friedman, union organizing, yield management, zero-sum game

As one of its biggest shareholders, he simply wanted the company to deploy its workforce in the most efficient manner possible. To help accomplish this Kelleher, wearing his lawyer’s hat, insisted that department heads participate in the contract negotiations involving the employees in their jurisdiction, a practice far from routine in labor relations. More commonly the entire affair of collective bargaining was turned over to lawyers and negotiating specialists. But professional negotiators were principally interested in controlling wages, and wages, so far as Southwest was concerned, were not the main issue. Only the middle managers understood the fine points of a 10-minute airplane turnaround, which was why Kelleher insisted on their presence at the bargaining table.

It was also common knowledge to union people that Lorenzo in his early days at Texas International had taken one of the longest strikes in airline history. Ominously, Lorenzo had filed a legal statement in connection with the proposed takeover saying that if he established control of Continental, “it will be necessary to renegotiate existing collective bargaining agreements.” By this time “renegotiate” was an often-used word in the Lorenzo lexicon—a word whose first five letters made it a cousin of the less dignified “renege.” The employees of Continental were beside themselves at the idea. They had contracts, after all. A group of Continental pilots came up with the ingenious idea of using an employee stock ownership plan, or ESOP, to block Lorenzo.

• • • A few months earlier Bakes had been interested to read about an appellate court decision in Philadelphia. A New Jersey building supply company called Bildisco had filed for bankruptcy protection, and in doing so had repudiated its labor contracts along with its financial obligations, as if its work rules and wage rates were accounts payable. The court ruled that if collective bargaining agreements threatened the claims of other creditors, they could, in fact, be unilaterally abrogated—wiped out, kaput, while the company continued about its business. Bakes passed out copies of the case to some of his fellow executives. Bankruptcy. The notion was so … intriguing: a perfectly solvent company, with a valuable franchise and assets of tremendous value, nevertheless using bankruptcy as a way of escaping from wage agreements it no longer wished to honor.


pages: 236 words: 62,158

Marx at the Arcade: Consoles, Controllers, and Class Struggle by Jamie Woodcock

4chan, Alexey Pajitnov wrote Tetris, anti-work, antiwork, augmented reality, barriers to entry, battle of ideas, Boris Johnson, Build a better mousetrap, butterfly effect, call centre, capitalist realism, collective bargaining, Columbine, conceptual framework, cuban missile crisis, David Graeber, deindustrialization, deskilling, Donald Trump, emotional labour, game design, gamification, gentrification, gig economy, glass ceiling, global supply chain, global value chain, Hacker Ethic, Howard Zinn, Ian Bogost, independent contractor, Jeremy Corbyn, John Conway, Kickstarter, Landlord’s Game, late capitalism, Marshall McLuhan, means of production, microaggression, military-industrial complex, Minecraft, mutually assured destruction, Naomi Klein, Oculus Rift, pink-collar, planned obsolescence, scientific management, sexual politics, Silicon Valley, SimCity, Steve Bannon, systems thinking, tech worker, union organizing, unpaid internship, V2 rocket, WarGames: Global Thermonuclear War

Their statement, released through Le Syndicat des Travailleurs et Travailleuses du Jeu Vidéo (STJV, the videogame workers union), read, “In the face of the refusal to pay us as required by law, and the manifest lack of consideration for the value of our work, we have come to the conclusion that, in order to make ourselves heard, we have no option but to go on strike.”11 The roots of the strike lay in one developer looking closely at existing labor contracts and coming across the SYNTEC collective bargaining agreement, which covered tech workers generally and therefore included videogame workers.12 Along with employee terms over pay and overtime compensation, this agreement also included the workers’ “right to log-off,” and not be required to answer emails after 6 p.m. Discovering that these terms applied to them, the workers attempted to negotiate with management about their concerns.13 These peculiarities of the French industrial relations system, along with the formation of the union in the autumn of 2017, provided the channel for this action.

Notes from Below 2 (March 30, 2018), www.notesfrombelow.org/article/tech-workers-platform-workers-and-workers-inquiry. 5Tech Workers Coalition, “Tech Workers, Platform Workers, and Workers’ Inquiry.” 6“Why We Strike,” SAG-AFTRA, 2016, www.sagaftra.org/files/whywestrike.pdf. 7Quoted in Ian Williams, “The Ongoing Voice Actor’s Strike Is More than Just a Little Drama,” Waypoint, December 29, 2016, https://waypoint.vice.com/en_us/article/nznyxq/the-ongoing-voice-actors-strike-is-more-than-just-a-little-drama. 8Quoted in Williams, “The Ongoing Voice Actor’s Strike.” 9Luke Plunkett, “The Video Game Voice-Actor’s Strike Is Over,” Kotaku, November 7, 2017, https://kotaku.com/the-video-game-voice-actors-strike-is-over-1820240476. 10Dante Douglas, “Game Developers Need a Union,” Paste, March 7, 2018, www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2018/03/game-developers-need-a-union.html. 11Quoted in Ethan Gach, “Developers at One French Game Studio Have Been on Strike for a Month,” Kotaku, March 16, 2018, https://kotaku.com/developers-at-one-french-game-studio-have-been-on-strik-1823833426. 12This is a national collective bargaining agreement in France that mainly covers consulting firms. 13Gach, “Developers at One French Game Studio.” 14Quoted in Gach, “Developers at One French Game Studio.” 15Gach, “Developers at One French Game Studio.” 16Quoted in Gach, “Developers at One French Game Studio.” 17“A Black and White Tri-Fold Leaflet,” Game Workers Unite UK, 2018, http://gwu-uk.org/assets/trifold-bw-uk.pdf. 18Matt Kim, “IGDA Director Says Capital, Not Unions, Will Keep Game Development Jobs Secure,” US Gamer, January 19, 2018, www.usgamer.net/articles/igda-director-union-crunch-interview. 19Ian Williams, “After Destroying Lives for Decades, Gaming Is Finally Talking Unionization,” Waypoint, March 23, 2018, https://waypoint.vice.com/en_us/article/7xdv5e/after-destroying-lives-for-decades-gaming-is-finally-talking-unionization. 20Williams, “After Destroying Lives for Decades.” 21Williams, “After Destroying Lives for Decades.” 22Williams, “After Destroying Lives for Decades.” 23Michelle Ehrhardt, “IGDA, Union-Busting and GDC 2018,” Unwinnable, March 22, 2018, https://unwinnable.com/2018/03/22/igda-union-busting-and-gdc-2018. 24Ehrhardt, “IGDA, Union-Busting and GDC 2018.” 25Game Workers Unite, “Game Workers Unite Zine,” Notes from Below 2 (March 30, 2018), www.notesfrombelow.org/article/game-workers-unite-zine. 26Game Workers Unite, “Game Workers Unite Zine.” 27Game Workers Unite, “Game Workers Unite Zine.” 28Quoted in Thomas Wilde, “‘It’s Very David and Goliath’: Inside the Growing Effort to Unionize Video Game Developers,” Geekwire, May 9, 2018, www.geekwire.com/2018/david-goliath-inside-growing-effort-unionize-video-game-developers. 29Quoted in Wilde, “It’s Very David and Goliath.” 30“Prospects for Organising the Videogames Industry: Interview with Game Workers Unite UK,” interview by Jamie Woodcock, Notes from Below 3 (August 16, 2018), https://notesfrombelow.org/article/prospects-for-organising-the-videogames-industry. 31“Prospects for Organising.” 32“Prospects for Organising.” 33“Prospects for Organising.” 34Jamie Woodcock, “Playing for Power,” Jacobin, January 3, 2019, https://jacobinmag.com/2019/01/video-game-workers-unite-union-uk. 35See, for example, articles at https://notesfrombelow.org/.


pages: 396 words: 113,613

Chokepoint Capitalism by Rebecca Giblin, Cory Doctorow

Aaron Swartz, AltaVista, barriers to entry, Berlin Wall, Bernie Sanders, Big Tech, big-box store, Black Lives Matter, book value, collective bargaining, commoditize, coronavirus, corporate personhood, corporate raider, COVID-19, disintermediation, distributed generation, Fairchild Semiconductor, fake news, Filter Bubble, financial engineering, Firefox, forensic accounting, full employment, gender pay gap, George Akerlof, George Floyd, gig economy, Golden age of television, Google bus, greed is good, green new deal, high-speed rail, Hush-A-Phone, independent contractor, index fund, information asymmetry, Jeff Bezos, John Gruber, Kickstarter, laissez-faire capitalism, low interest rates, Lyft, Mark Zuckerberg, means of production, microplastics / micro fibres, Modern Monetary Theory, moral hazard, multi-sided market, Naomi Klein, Network effects, New Journalism, passive income, peak TV, Peter Thiel, precision agriculture, regulatory arbitrage, remote working, rent-seeking, ride hailing / ride sharing, Robert Bork, Saturday Night Live, shareholder value, sharing economy, Silicon Valley, SoftBank, sovereign wealth fund, Steve Jobs, Steven Levy, stock buybacks, surveillance capitalism, Susan Wojcicki, tech bro, tech worker, The Chicago School, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, TikTok, time value of money, transaction costs, trickle-down economics, Turing complete, Uber and Lyft, uber lyft, union organizing, Vanguard fund, vertical integration, WeWork

But [if] 20 of those truck drivers decide to be independent and agree on the prices together, that is going to be prohibited by antitrust law as a price-fixing cartel.”3 In the EU, by comparison, unions have more power to help atomized individual workers enforce their rights. For example, the recently formed App Drivers and Couriers Union was entitled under the GDPR to help thirteen drivers sue Uber and Ola, demanding that they provide drivers with greater access to data held about them. One purpose of the action was to improve their ability to collectively bargain against the rideshare giants, causing the companies to complain that it was an abuse of the data protection rights. However, the court ruled that that purpose did not disqualify the action and ordered the companies to provide drivers with anonymized ratings by passengers and some other data used to profile and surveil them.4 The US rules prohibit smaller companies from banding together to collectively negotiate rights against bigger ones.

But one of the most notable things about the deal they struck with Apple was how desperate it was—they colluded to be paid substantially less out of fear of where Amazon’s dominance was leading. That they reached such a state of desperation is a sign that the balance is seriously out of whack. So long as excessively powerful buyers exist, there should be better mechanisms to promote collective bargaining by weaker ones. Sometimes, anticompetitive conduct can actually have pro-competitive effects. One solution might be limited protection for producer cartels. Antitrust scholar John Kirkwood doesn’t think the publishers’ collusion against Amazon was warranted, but the case did get him thinking about the need for antitrust reform.

Mat Dryhurst sees enormous potential in co-operatizing music, and, instead of selling it as a commodity, would focus on generating revenue from its peculiar ability to offer connection and community: “Rather than pursuing the sisyphean task of imploring listeners to pay for files they already receive for free, why not invite people to become cherished members of an interdependent international network of venues, labels, publications and studios? Rather than corporate brands lining the pockets of individual artists under the guise of supporting the culture, why not collectively bargain for them to support the spaces and scenes that create it?”25 We need protest platforms for other forms of culture too. As we described in chapter 16, it’s particularly easy to envisage one for ebooks, owned by and showcasing local authors and frequented by customers who want an alternative to Amazon—at least if we can strip away the DRM stranglehold that keeps publishers and readers locked in.


pages: 246 words: 68,392

Gigged: The End of the Job and the Future of Work by Sarah Kessler

"Susan Fowler" uber, Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, Airbnb, Amazon Mechanical Turk, basic income, bitcoin, blockchain, business cycle, call centre, cognitive dissonance, collective bargaining, crowdsourcing, data science, David Attenborough, do what you love, Donald Trump, East Village, Elon Musk, financial independence, future of work, game design, gig economy, Hacker News, income inequality, independent contractor, information asymmetry, Jeff Bezos, job automation, law of one price, Lyft, Mark Zuckerberg, market clearing, minimum wage unemployment, new economy, opioid epidemic / opioid crisis, payday loans, post-work, profit maximization, QR code, race to the bottom, ride hailing / ride sharing, Salesforce, Second Machine Age, self-driving car, shareholder value, sharing economy, Silicon Valley, Snapchat, TaskRabbit, TechCrunch disrupt, Travis Kalanick, Uber and Lyft, Uber for X, uber lyft, union organizing, universal basic income, working-age population, Works Progress Administration, Y Combinator

They come with commitments to contribute to government safety net programs for retirement and unemployment benefits. And they can be difficult to fire when business circumstances change. Independent contractors come with none of these responsibilities. They also do not have the right to unionize under US federal collective bargaining laws, and there’s no requirement to provide them with training, equipment to do the job, or benefits.4 The situation is similar, albeit to a lesser extent, elsewhere. UK employers, for instance, do not need to offer sick days, holiday pay, a guaranteed minimum wage, or other benefits to self-employed contractors.

They change one policy, they’ll find five other ways to implement the same thing that is so-called changed.” * * * Traditional unions had two options if they wanted to organize Uber drivers. The first was to argue that drivers were being treated as employees, and as employees, they could organize under federal collective bargaining laws. The second was to find some way outside of those laws to organize independent contractors. A local chapter of the Teamsters in Seattle lobbied for a law that would allow Uber drivers to form a union. It passed. (Shortly later, the US Chamber of Commerce sued the city, saying the law conflicted with anti-trust law.)


pages: 272 words: 64,626

Eat People: And Other Unapologetic Rules for Game-Changing Entrepreneurs by Andy Kessler

23andMe, Abraham Maslow, Alan Greenspan, Andy Kessler, bank run, barriers to entry, Bear Stearns, behavioural economics, Berlin Wall, Bob Noyce, bread and circuses, British Empire, business cycle, business process, California gold rush, carbon credits, carbon footprint, Cass Sunstein, cloud computing, collateralized debt obligation, collective bargaining, commoditize, computer age, Cornelius Vanderbilt, creative destruction, disintermediation, Douglas Engelbart, Dutch auction, Eugene Fama: efficient market hypothesis, fiat currency, Firefox, Fractional reserve banking, George Gilder, Gordon Gekko, greed is good, income inequality, invisible hand, James Watt: steam engine, Jeff Bezos, job automation, Joseph Schumpeter, junk bonds, Kickstarter, knowledge economy, knowledge worker, Larry Ellison, libertarian paternalism, low skilled workers, Mark Zuckerberg, McMansion, Michael Milken, Money creation, Netflix Prize, packet switching, personalized medicine, pets.com, prediction markets, pre–internet, profit motive, race to the bottom, Richard Thaler, risk tolerance, risk-adjusted returns, Silicon Valley, six sigma, Skype, social graph, Steve Jobs, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, transcontinental railway, transfer pricing, vertical integration, wealth creators, Yogi Berra

Broadcasters own valuable TV spectrum, and for the longest time there were only three broadcast networks, ABC, CBS, and NBC, with a set of arcane laws protecting their government-mandated franchises. Then the laws were amended to allow for a fourth network, Fox. And this leaks to other markets. Because of high advertising rates, broadcasters overpay for the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the World Series, and the Masters. The NFL passes along these fees to owners who, through collective bargaining, are forced to pass them along to players. No one is worth $10 million a year to catch a football like Terrell Owens, or $25 million a year to play shortstop and hit like Derek Jeter. (Yes, they are part of the “vital few,” but vital to our entertainment, not wealth creation!) Because of the exclusivity of media, Heineken (a Super Slopper) pays up and then passes along their advertising costs in the form of higher beer prices.

So often, publicly managed and funded projects can cost two or three times as much to build, and take two or three times as long, as similar projects done by the private sector. California has a prevailing wage law. You would think they call around to private contractors, survey what they are paying workers in the area, and then set an average wage rate. That would make too much sense. Instead, California surveys collective bargaining agreements reached with unions, and then adds up salary and health benefits and paid leaves and disability benefits and sets a prevailing wage that can easily be 50 to 100 percent more than the local private market is paying for workers. No wonder our public works are so shabby! What other political entrepreneurs are robbing us blind?


pages: 211 words: 67,975

The Victory Machine: The Making and Unmaking of the Warriors Dynasty by Ethan Sherwood Strauss

Broken windows theory, collective bargaining, Donald Trump, Gavin Belson, hive mind, If something cannot go on forever, it will stop - Herbert Stein's Law, Larry Ellison, off-the-grid, Salesforce, side project, Silicon Valley, social contagion, Steve Ballmer, Steve Jobs

The “max” contract dictated a ceiling on how much a team can pay an individual player, represented as a percentage of the salary cap. It doesn’t matter if LeBron James might have garnered $100 million per year on the open market in his last Cavs seasons. He had to content himself with a third of that. The owners negotiated for the “max,” along with shorter guaranteed contracts in subsequent collective bargaining agreements. For years, there was a trope of owners attempting to “protect themselves from themselves.” There had been bad, lengthy contracts handed out. Sports pundits delighted in mocking these terrible decisions. These billionaires just couldn’t help but make poor choices, it was reasoned by many observers.

Will Cain, an ESPN TV commentator, mocked the latter pratfall, exclaiming, “This fool hid contraband inside contraband!” But this was all the price of getting back in the big game. Russell would have a max contract, which paradoxically made him more valuable to the Warriors than if he came cheaper. For a trade to be possible under collective bargaining agreement rules, salaries must “match” on both sides within a certain range. Were Russell to have a quality season, he could be swapped for a possibly unhappy superstar who wanted out of his situation, thanks to the contract match. This was how the league had moved. D’Angelo Russell was as much an asset as he was an investment, even if the Warriors had committed four years and over $117 million to him.


pages: 199 words: 64,272

Money: The True Story of a Made-Up Thing by Jacob Goldstein

Alan Greenspan, Antoine Gombaud: Chevalier de Méré, back-to-the-land, bank run, banks create money, Bear Stearns, Berlin Wall, Bernie Sanders, bitcoin, blockchain, break the buck, card file, central bank independence, collective bargaining, coronavirus, COVID-19, cryptocurrency, David Graeber, Edmond Halley, Fall of the Berlin Wall, fiat currency, financial innovation, Fractional reserve banking, full employment, German hyperinflation, Glass-Steagall Act, index card, invention of movable type, invention of writing, Isaac Newton, life extension, M-Pesa, Marc Andreessen, Martin Wolf, Menlo Park, Mikhail Gorbachev, mobile money, Modern Monetary Theory, money market fund, probability theory / Blaise Pascal / Pierre de Fermat, Ronald Reagan, Ross Ulbricht, Satoshi Nakamoto, Second Machine Age, side hustle, Silicon Valley, software is eating the world, Steven Levy, the new new thing, the scientific method, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, too big to fail, transaction costs

Workers who were good at building factories or repairing machines did pretty well. But it was a bad time to be a skilled artisan whose job could be done by a machine. The Luddites who destroyed machines were not deluded. They didn’t have the right to vote or to form unions, so they pursued their economic self-interest by destroying machines. One historian called it “collective bargaining by riot.” We are living in the middle of a second machine age. It’s computers and software now, not weaving machines. But some of the same things are happening. People talk about the rise of the 1 percent. About how income for ordinary people is stagnant. Part of that is caused by technological change.

Data on workers’ wages in this era, how they were an incentive for mechanization, and how they stagnated after mechanization, come from Robert Allen’s The British Industrial Revolution in Global Perspective and Allen’s “Engels’ Pause: Technical Change, Capital Accumulation, and Inequality in the British Industrial Revolution,” from Explorations in Economic History. Eric Hobsbawm called the Luddite attacks “collective bargaining by riot.” The economic historian Joel Mokyr provided useful details about the Luddites in an interview. Chapter 10 Hume’s Political Discourses was published in 1752. The chapter on trade is “Of the Balance of Trade.” The Infidel and the Professor, by Dennis C. Rasmussen, helped me understand Hume’s work and, especially, Hume’s influence on Adam Smith.


pages: 480 words: 119,407

Invisible Women by Caroline Criado Perez

"Hurricane Katrina" Superdome, Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, algorithmic bias, augmented reality, Bernie Sanders, Cambridge Analytica, collective bargaining, crowdsourcing, data science, Diane Coyle, Donald Trump, falling living standards, first-past-the-post, gender pay gap, gig economy, glass ceiling, Grace Hopper, Hacker Ethic, independent contractor, Indoor air pollution, informal economy, lifelogging, low skilled workers, mental accounting, meta-analysis, Nate Silver, new economy, obamacare, Oculus Rift, offshore financial centre, pattern recognition, phenotype, post-industrial society, randomized controlled trial, remote working, Sheryl Sandberg, Silicon Valley, Simon Kuznets, speech recognition, stem cell, Stephen Hawking, Steven Levy, tech bro, the built environment, urban planning, women in the workforce, work culture , zero-sum game

An analysis of pay policy in Europe criticises the outsourcing trend for seeming ‘to have been implemented with little or no reference to their gender effects’.27 And existing data suggests that those gender effects are plentiful. There is, to begin with, ‘limited scope for collective bargaining’ in agency jobs. This is a problem for all workers, but can be especially problematic for women because evidence suggests that collective bargaining (as opposed to individual salary negotiation) could be particularly important for women – those pesky modesty norms again. As a result, an increase in jobs like agency work that don’t allow for collective bargaining might be detrimental to attempts to close the gender pay gap. But the negative impact of precarious work on women isn’t just about unintended side effects.


In the Age of the Smart Machine by Shoshana Zuboff

affirmative action, American ideology, blue-collar work, collective bargaining, computer age, Computer Numeric Control, conceptual framework, data acquisition, demand response, deskilling, factory automation, Ford paid five dollars a day, fudge factor, future of work, industrial robot, information retrieval, interchangeable parts, job automation, lateral thinking, linked data, Marshall McLuhan, means of production, old-boy network, optical character recognition, Panopticon Jeremy Bentham, pneumatic tube, post-industrial society, radical decentralization, RAND corporation, scientific management, Shoshana Zuboff, social web, systems thinking, tacit knowledge, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, Thorstein Veblen, union organizing, vertical integration, work culture , zero-sum game

RECENT CHALLENGES TO MANAGERIAL AUTHORITY These conceptions of the rights and obligations of workers and their managers remained relatively stable throughout the 1950s and 1960s. The trade union movement had significantly improved the economic well-being of the worker and helped to buffer the impact of managerial decision making. Yet the basic thrust of collective bargaining continued to reflect the spirit of New Deal legislation: management manages while workers and their unions protest unsatisfactory managerial deci- sions or attempt to negotiate their impacts. The late 1960s and the 1970s saw the beginning of a new kind of challenge to the old faith in the necessity and legitimacy of manager's exclusive right to command.

Department of Health, Education, and Welfare in 1973, became an immediate cultural artifact when it declared that significant numbers of men and women in virtually every occupational category were alienated from their work. 52 By the mid-l 970s, there was a new appreciation among many man- agement leaders of the challenges associated with successfully harness- ing the aspirations of the new worker to the goals of private enter- prise. 53 At an increasing rate, social scientists were invited to design and evaluate new work arrangements meant to provide psychologically more enhancing, and economically more productive, work experi- ences. These efforts, which came to be known as the "Quality of Work Life" movement, stressed the value of individual participation, cooper- ation, problem solving, and trust, in contrast to collective bargaining's emphasis on the management of conflict, due process, and contractual work practices. This approach questioned the image of the manager as the only one who knows and the one who always knows best. 54 The Quality of Work Life movement resulted in a wide range of innovations of varying degrees of comprehensiveness.

In a recent study of unionized industries, labor-relations experts Thomas Kochan, Harry Katz, and Robert McKersie have grouped these reforms into three categories- innovations with a focus limited to the workplace (quality circles in which workers and managers collaborate on ways to improve produc- tion, or improvements in worker-supervisor communication); innova- tions with extensive linkages to traditional collective bargaining issues (pay-for-knowledge systems, self-managing work teams, or increased sharing of business information); and innovations that link work reforms 242 AUTHORITY: THE SPIRITUAL DIMENSION OF POWER to the business strategy (union board representation, profit sharing, or I · I .. ) ss emp oyment securIty po lCles .


pages: 268 words: 76,709

Tomatoland: How Modern Industrial Agriculture Destroyed Our Most Alluring Fruit by Barry Estabrook

"RICO laws" OR "Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations", Bernie Sanders, biofilm, collective bargaining, Columbian Exchange, low interest rates, McMansion, medical malpractice, old-boy network, urban sprawl, women in the workforce

Roosevelt’s Depression-era New Deal, the National Labor Relations Act granted workers the right to form unions and engage in collective bargaining without fear of being fired. In early drafts, the legislation covered everybody, but the final version exempted domestic help and farmworkers from the basic protections provided by the act. In the wording of the bill, the definition of “employee” did not include “any individual employed as an agricultural laborer.” The official reason given was that, in those days, farmers kept at most only one or two hired men and that households had only a few domestic servants, so unions and collective bargaining were not an issue. But in the 1930s, most domestics and farmworkers in this country were African American, and Roosevelt needed the support of southern Democratic legislators to get his New Deal legislation through Congress.


pages: 918 words: 257,605

The Age of Surveillance Capitalism by Shoshana Zuboff

"World Economic Forum" Davos, algorithmic bias, Amazon Web Services, Andrew Keen, augmented reality, autonomous vehicles, barriers to entry, Bartolomé de las Casas, behavioural economics, Berlin Wall, Big Tech, bitcoin, blockchain, blue-collar work, book scanning, Broken windows theory, California gold rush, call centre, Cambridge Analytica, Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty, Cass Sunstein, choice architecture, citizen journalism, Citizen Lab, classic study, cloud computing, collective bargaining, Computer Numeric Control, computer vision, connected car, context collapse, corporate governance, corporate personhood, creative destruction, cryptocurrency, data science, deep learning, digital capitalism, disinformation, dogs of the Dow, don't be evil, Donald Trump, Dr. Strangelove, driverless car, Easter island, Edward Snowden, en.wikipedia.org, Erik Brynjolfsson, Evgeny Morozov, facts on the ground, fake news, Ford Model T, Ford paid five dollars a day, future of work, game design, gamification, Google Earth, Google Glasses, Google X / Alphabet X, Herman Kahn, hive mind, Ian Bogost, impulse control, income inequality, information security, Internet of things, invention of the printing press, invisible hand, Jean Tirole, job automation, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, John Markoff, John Maynard Keynes: Economic Possibilities for our Grandchildren, John Maynard Keynes: technological unemployment, Joseph Schumpeter, Kevin Kelly, Kevin Roose, knowledge economy, Lewis Mumford, linked data, longitudinal study, low skilled workers, Mark Zuckerberg, market bubble, means of production, multi-sided market, Naomi Klein, natural language processing, Network effects, new economy, Occupy movement, off grid, off-the-grid, PageRank, Panopticon Jeremy Bentham, pattern recognition, Paul Buchheit, performance metric, Philip Mirowski, precision agriculture, price mechanism, profit maximization, profit motive, public intellectual, recommendation engine, refrigerator car, RFID, Richard Thaler, ride hailing / ride sharing, Robert Bork, Robert Mercer, Salesforce, Second Machine Age, self-driving car, sentiment analysis, shareholder value, Sheryl Sandberg, Shoshana Zuboff, Sidewalk Labs, Silicon Valley, Silicon Valley ideology, Silicon Valley startup, slashdot, smart cities, Snapchat, social contagion, social distancing, social graph, social web, software as a service, speech recognition, statistical model, Steve Bannon, Steve Jobs, Steven Levy, structural adjustment programs, surveillance capitalism, technological determinism, TED Talk, The Future of Employment, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, Tim Cook: Apple, two-sided market, union organizing, vertical integration, Watson beat the top human players on Jeopardy!, winner-take-all economy, Wolfgang Streeck, work culture , Yochai Benkler, you are the product

The disciplines of competitive markets promised to quiet unruly individuals and even transform them back into subjects too preoccupied with survival to complain. As the old collectivist enemies had receded, new ones took their place: state regulation and oversight, social legislation and welfare policies, labor unions and the institutions of collective bargaining, and the principles of democratic politics. Indeed, all these were to be replaced by the market’s version of truth, and competition would be the solution to growth. The new aims would be achieved through supply-side reforms, including deregulation, privatization, and lower taxes. Thirty-five years before Hayek and Friedman’s ascendance, the great historian Karl Polanyi wrote eloquently on the rise of the market economy.

This is illustrated in Schumpeter’s example of US Steel, founded by some of the Gilded Age’s most notorious “robber barons,” including Andrew Carnegie and J. P. Morgan. Under pressure from an increasingly insistent double movement, US Steel eventually institutionalized fair labor practices through unions and collective bargaining as well as internal labor markets, career ladders, professional hierarchies, employment security, training, and development, all while implementing its technological advances in mass production. Mutation is not a fairy tale; it is rational capitalism, bound in reciprocities with its populations through democratic institutions.

Such pathologies can be cured only by a politics that asserts the people’s right to contest, confront, and prevail in the face of unequal and illegitimate power over society. In the late nineteenth century and most of the twentieth century, that contest was led by labor and other social movements that asserted social equality through institutions such as collective bargaining and public education. The transformation that we witness in our time echoes these historical observations as the division of learning follows the same migratory path from the economic to the social domain once traveled by the division of labor. Now the division of learning “passes far beyond purely economic interests,” for it establishes the basis for our social order and its moral content.


pages: 307 words: 82,680

A Pelican Introduction: Basic Income by Guy Standing

"World Economic Forum" Davos, anti-fragile, bank run, basic income, behavioural economics, Bernie Sanders, Bertrand Russell: In Praise of Idleness, Black Lives Matter, Black Swan, Boris Johnson, British Empire, carbon tax, centre right, collective bargaining, cryptocurrency, David Graeber, declining real wages, degrowth, deindustrialization, Donald Trump, Elon Musk, Fellow of the Royal Society, financial intermediation, full employment, future of work, gig economy, Gunnar Myrdal, housing crisis, hydraulic fracturing, income inequality, independent contractor, intangible asset, Jeremy Corbyn, job automation, job satisfaction, Joi Ito, labour market flexibility, land value tax, libertarian paternalism, low skilled workers, lump of labour, Marc Benioff, Mark Zuckerberg, Martin Wolf, mass immigration, mass incarceration, moral hazard, Nelson Mandela, nudge theory, offshore financial centre, open economy, Panopticon Jeremy Bentham, Paul Samuelson, plutocrats, precariat, quantitative easing, randomized controlled trial, rent control, rent-seeking, Salesforce, Sam Altman, self-driving car, shareholder value, sharing economy, Silicon Valley, sovereign wealth fund, Stephen Hawking, The Future of Employment, universal basic income, Wolfgang Streeck, women in the workforce, working poor, Y Combinator, Zipcar

Some critics of basic income contend that labour’s share of national income has fallen only in countries where unions are weak and that, if they were strengthened, wages and worker living standards would rise.19 The trouble with that argument is that the labour share of national income has fallen even where unions and collective bargaining systems have remained relatively strong, as in Austria. A basic income would underpin the total income gained by the precariat. It would also enable those on low incomes to do odd jobs for other low-income people for a modest amount. At present, potential suppliers of labour cannot afford to work for a small sum, especially if they risk losing means-tested benefits, while potential clients cannot afford to pay the worker the going rate.

Each policy should be evaluated with these principles in mind. Of course, there are trade-offs in some cases, but we should be wary of any policy that demonstrably runs counter to them. Statutory Minimum and ‘Living’ Wages Almost all governments in the globalization era have curtailed collective bargaining and constrained trade unions, as part of their agenda to make labour markets more flexible. Most have combined that with a wage floor, introducing national statutory minimum wages as in Britain and, more recently, Germany, or putting more emphasis on existing minimum-wage legislation, as the US has done, even while allowing the wage’s real value to decline.


pages: 237 words: 72,716

The Inequality Puzzle: European and US Leaders Discuss Rising Income Inequality by Roland Berger, David Grusky, Tobias Raffel, Geoffrey Samuels, Chris Wimer

"World Economic Forum" Davos, Bear Stearns, Branko Milanovic, business cycle, Caribbean Basin Initiative, Celtic Tiger, collective bargaining, corporate governance, corporate social responsibility, double entry bookkeeping, equal pay for equal work, fear of failure, financial innovation, full employment, Gini coefficient, hiring and firing, illegal immigration, income inequality, invisible hand, Long Term Capital Management, long term incentive plan, microcredit, military-industrial complex, Money creation, offshore financial centre, principal–agent problem, profit maximization, proprietary trading, rent-seeking, shareholder value, Silicon Valley, Silicon Valley startup, time value of money, very high income

John Monks is the General Secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), an organization established in 1973 to represent trade unions across Europe. Monks has held this position since 2003, prior to which he served as the General Secretary of the Trades Union Congress, a similarly purposed United Kingdom organization. With the rise of the European Union, Monks has helped make the ETUC the primary organization working for collective bargaining, good working conditions, business-labor dialogue, and worker consultation on business topics. The ETUC works with all EU governing bodies to address these issues. He is a Visiting Professor, Manchester Business School, a member of the Councils of the European Policy Centre, Brussels, and the Centre for European Studies, London, and a Fellow of the City and Guilds of London Institute. ______________________________ R.

When the Polish worker goes to Britain, it’s not because he loves to go to Britain, it’s because he needs to go there for higher earnings, to go back home to buy his house, help his wife, his kids. I’m not saying it’s wrong, I’m only saying how do we do it in a better way to ensure we achieve equal pay for equal work and full respect for collective bargaining agreements. What we need in legislation is the so-called equal pay principle, that no matter where you are, you receive adequate wages, have access to social insurance, pensions, and can benefit from high workers’ protection standards. So when Polish workers go to Germany, they are treated according to the German rules and when German workers go to Denmark, they enjoy Danish standards.


pages: 334 words: 82,041

How Did We Get Into This Mess?: Politics, Equality, Nature by George Monbiot

Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, Alfred Russel Wallace, Anthropocene, bank run, bilateral investment treaty, Branko Milanovic, Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty, collective bargaining, Corn Laws, creative destruction, credit crunch, David Attenborough, dematerialisation, demographic transition, drone strike, en.wikipedia.org, first-past-the-post, full employment, Gini coefficient, hedonic treadmill, income inequality, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), investor state dispute settlement, invisible hand, land bank, land reform, land value tax, Leo Hollis, market fundamentalism, meta-analysis, Mont Pelerin Society, moral panic, Naomi Klein, Northern Rock, obamacare, oil shale / tar sands, old-boy network, peak oil, place-making, planned obsolescence, plutocrats, profit motive, rent-seeking, rewilding, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, Thomas Malthus, transaction costs, urban sprawl, We are all Keynesians now, wealth creators, World Values Survey

They extend their power beyond their trading relationships through their ownership of the media and their funding and control of political parties. Freedom of the kind championed by neoliberals means freedom from competing interests. It means freedom from the demands of social justice, from environmental constraints, from collective bargaining and from the taxation that funds public services. It means, in sum, freedom from democracy. The negative freedom enjoyed by corporations and billionaires (freedom to be or to act without interference from others; as defined by Isaiah Berlin in his essay Two Concepts of Liberty4) intrudes upon the negative freedom the rest of us enjoy.

It was founded and is funded by Charles and David Koch.8 They run what they call ‘the biggest company you’ve never heard of’,9 and between them they are worth $43 billion.10 Koch Industries is a massive oil, gas, minerals, timber and chemicals company. Over the past fifteen years the brothers have poured at least $85 million into lobby groups arguing for lower taxes for the rich and weaker regulations for industry.11 The groups and politicians funded by the Kochs also lobby to destroy collective bargaining, to stop laws reducing carbon emissions, to stymie health care reform and to hobble attempts to control the banks. During the 2010 election cycle, Americans for Prosperity spent $45 million supporting its favoured candidates.12 But the Kochs’ greatest political triumph is the creation of the Tea Party movement.


pages: 353 words: 81,436

Buying Time: The Delayed Crisis of Democratic Capitalism by Wolfgang Streeck

"there is no alternative" (TINA), "World Economic Forum" Davos, activist fund / activist shareholder / activist investor, air traffic controllers' union, Alan Greenspan, banking crisis, basic income, Bretton Woods, business cycle, capital controls, Carmen Reinhart, central bank independence, collective bargaining, corporate governance, creative destruction, currency risk, David Graeber, deindustrialization, Deng Xiaoping, Eugene Fama: efficient market hypothesis, financial deregulation, financial engineering, financial repression, fixed income, full employment, Garrett Hardin, Gini coefficient, Growth in a Time of Debt, income inequality, Joseph Schumpeter, Kenneth Rogoff, Kickstarter, knowledge economy, labour market flexibility, labour mobility, late capitalism, liberal capitalism, low interest rates, means of production, moral hazard, Myron Scholes, Occupy movement, open borders, open economy, Plutonomy: Buying Luxury, Explaining Global Imbalances, profit maximization, risk tolerance, shareholder value, too big to fail, Tragedy of the Commons, union organizing, winner-take-all economy, Wolfgang Streeck

In subsequent years, the capitalist elites and their political allies looked for ways to extricate themselves from the obligations that they had had to incur for the sake of social peace and which, broadly speaking, they had been able to meet during the reconstruction phase. New product strategies to ward off market saturation, a growing labour surplus resulting from changes in the social structure, and not least the internationalization of markets and production systems, gradually opened up ways for firms to shake off the social policies and collective bargaining regimes that after 1968 threatened to subject them to a long-term profit squeeze.38 With time, this turned into an enduring liberalization process that brought about the powerful, wide-scale return of self-regulating markets, not anticipated in any theory and without precedent in the political economy of modern capitalism.

They must also find ways of adapting their wage formation systems to macroeconomic stability goals defined by the EU, and must for this purpose be prepared to ‘reform’ their national institutions, if necessary against the resistance of their citizens and without regard for either national rights to free collective bargaining or the limits of the jurisdiction of European-level institutions. 3) Equally important are the areas in which the new EU statutes refrain from interfering in the autonomy of member-states. No provisions stipulate a minimum level of taxation, such as would limit fiscal competition within the single market.27 This keeps up the tradition of the European Monetary Union, whose convergence and admission criteria contained nothing about a maximum tolerable level of unemployment or social inequality. 4) EU institutions, whether already existing or still to be built, get ever more far-reaching rights to oversee the economic, social and fiscal policies of member-states, even prospectively and in matters before national parliaments.


pages: 361 words: 81,068

The Internet Is Not the Answer by Andrew Keen

"World Economic Forum" Davos, 3D printing, A Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace, Airbnb, AltaVista, Andrew Keen, AOL-Time Warner, augmented reality, Bay Area Rapid Transit, Berlin Wall, Big Tech, bitcoin, Black Swan, Bob Geldof, Boston Dynamics, Burning Man, Cass Sunstein, Charles Babbage, citizen journalism, Clayton Christensen, clean water, cloud computing, collective bargaining, Colonization of Mars, computer age, connected car, creative destruction, cuban missile crisis, data science, David Brooks, decentralized internet, DeepMind, digital capitalism, disintermediation, disruptive innovation, Donald Davies, Downton Abbey, Dr. Strangelove, driverless car, Edward Snowden, Elon Musk, Erik Brynjolfsson, fail fast, Fall of the Berlin Wall, Filter Bubble, Francis Fukuyama: the end of history, Frank Gehry, Frederick Winslow Taylor, frictionless, fulfillment center, full employment, future of work, gentrification, gig economy, global village, Google bus, Google Glasses, Hacker Ethic, happiness index / gross national happiness, holacracy, income inequality, index card, informal economy, information trail, Innovator's Dilemma, Internet of things, Isaac Newton, Jaron Lanier, Jeff Bezos, job automation, John Perry Barlow, Joi Ito, Joseph Schumpeter, Julian Assange, Kevin Kelly, Kevin Roose, Kickstarter, Kiva Systems, Kodak vs Instagram, Lean Startup, libertarian paternalism, lifelogging, Lyft, Marc Andreessen, Mark Zuckerberg, Marshall McLuhan, Martin Wolf, Mary Meeker, Metcalfe’s law, military-industrial complex, move fast and break things, Nate Silver, Neil Armstrong, Nelson Mandela, Network effects, new economy, Nicholas Carr, nonsequential writing, Norbert Wiener, Norman Mailer, Occupy movement, packet switching, PageRank, Panopticon Jeremy Bentham, Patri Friedman, Paul Graham, peer-to-peer, peer-to-peer rental, Peter Thiel, plutocrats, Potemkin village, power law, precariat, pre–internet, printed gun, Project Xanadu, RAND corporation, Ray Kurzweil, reality distortion field, ride hailing / ride sharing, Robert Metcalfe, Robert Solow, San Francisco homelessness, scientific management, Second Machine Age, self-driving car, sharing economy, Sheryl Sandberg, Silicon Valley, Silicon Valley billionaire, Silicon Valley ideology, Skype, smart cities, Snapchat, social web, South of Market, San Francisco, Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, Steven Levy, Stewart Brand, subscription business, TaskRabbit, tech bro, tech worker, TechCrunch disrupt, Ted Nelson, telemarketer, The future is already here, The Future of Employment, the long tail, the medium is the message, the new new thing, Thomas L Friedman, Travis Kalanick, Twitter Arab Spring, Tyler Cowen, Tyler Cowen: Great Stagnation, Uber for X, uber lyft, urban planning, Vannevar Bush, warehouse robotics, Whole Earth Catalog, WikiLeaks, winner-take-all economy, work culture , working poor, Y Combinator

But for those not fortunate enough to own a $130 million yacht as long as a football field, this world offered an economic and cultural center, a middle ground where jobs and opportunity were plentiful. The late industrial age of the second half of the twentieth century was a middle-class world built, Packer notes, by “state universities, progressive taxation, interstate highways, collective bargaining, health insurance for the elderly, credible news organizations.”65 According to the Harvard economists Claudia Goldin and Lawrence Katz, this was a “golden age” of labor in which increasingly skilled workers won the “race between education and technology” and made themselves essential to the industrial economy.66 And, of course, it was a world of publicly funded institutions like ARPA and NSFNET that provided the investment and opportunities to build valuable new technologies like the Internet.

On Twitter, @travisk even once borrowed the cover of The Fountainhead, Ayn Rand’s extreme libertarian celebration of free-market capitalism, as his profile photo.3 Kalanick’s $18 billion venture is certainly a badass company, with customers accusing its drivers of every imaginable crime from kidnapping4 to sexual harassment.5 Since its creation, the unregulated Uber has not only been in a constant legal fight with New York City, San Francisco, Chicago, and federal regulators, but has been picketed by its own nonunionized drivers demanding collective bargaining rights and health-care benefits.6 Things aren’t any better overseas. In France, opposition to the networked transportation startup has been so intense that, in early 2014, there were driver strikes and even a series of violent attacks on Uber cars in Paris.7 While in September 2014, a Frankfurt court banned Uber’s budget price UberPop product entirely from the German market, claiming that the massively financed startup unfairly competed with local taxi companies.8 Uber drivers don’t seem to like Kalanick’s anti-union company any more than regulators do.


pages: 284 words: 85,643

What's the Matter with White People by Joan Walsh

affirmative action, Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, air traffic controllers' union, banking crisis, clean water, collective bargaining, David Brooks, desegregation, Donald Trump, Edward Glaeser, full employment, General Motors Futurama, Glass-Steagall Act, global village, Golden Gate Park, hiring and firing, impulse control, income inequality, invisible hand, It's morning again in America, knowledge worker, labor-force participation, mass immigration, new economy, obamacare, Occupy movement, plutocrats, Ralph Nader, Ronald Reagan, Savings and loan crisis, Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, upwardly mobile, urban decay, W. E. B. Du Bois, War on Poverty, We are the 99%, white flight, women in the workforce, zero-sum game

Wisconsin’s Scott Walker and Ohio’s John Kasich made public workers the new public enemy, demonizing them as slackers and moochers living off the government, as if they were twenty-first century welfare queens. In November 2011, Ohio repealed GOP Kasich’s bill that stripped public sector unions of their collective bargaining rights, and Wisconsin voters began a drive to recall Walker. Maine elected a Tea Party Republican governor in 2010. A year later, voters overturned a GOP-sponsored law that had abolished the state’s traditional same-day registration practice. The states that allowed citizens to register and vote at the same time, a practice that dramatically increases voter turnout, just happened to be the nation’s most homogeneous—that is, the whitest—from Idaho to Wyoming to Maine.

“Voting liberal, that’s what kids do,” a New Hampshire Republican said in defense of a bill that would prohibit people from voting with only a college ID—and given his state’s demographics, he was mainly talking about white kids. Thus the radical GOP is now rolling back rights white people have long taken for granted—and in Maine, at least, they fought back. The Ohio collective bargaining victory, the Wisconsin recall, the Maine same-day voter registration backlash: all were evidence of the new activism most widely represented in the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement. It had an immediate success: media mentions of the word inequality soared as OWS took off. A Tumblr blog, “We are the 99 percent,” became the twenty-first-century, DIY version of Michael Harrington’s The Other America.


pages: 273 words: 83,802

Hostile Environment: How Immigrants Became Scapegoats by Maya Goodfellow

Black Lives Matter, Boris Johnson, British Empire, call centre, collective bargaining, colonial rule, creative destruction, deindustrialization, disinformation, Donald Trump, European colonialism, fake news, falling living standards, G4S, housing crisis, illegal immigration, Jeremy Corbyn, low skilled workers, mass immigration, megacity, moral panic, open borders, open immigration, race to the bottom, Right to Buy, Scientific racism, W. E. B. Du Bois, Winter of Discontent, working poor

‘It wasn’t that people were across the different races working on the same shop floor and were being paid differently. So that solidarity within factory was probably possible because of that,’ Dr Anitha says. Like many others, the Grunwick strike was about racism, but it could also be cast as concerning trade union recognition and collective bargaining. ‘It became … easier for trade unions to mobilise to defend workers who wanted to join the union rather than workers who were critical of the way the union was functioning.’ Alongside the Imperial Typewriters strike, people were laying down tools in Woolf’s rubber factory in Southall, Courtaulds’ Red Scar Mill in Preston and Mansfield Hosiery Mills in Derbyshire.

Thatcher restructured the economy away from the manufacturing sector, dismantled forms of wage protection, privatised and semi-privatised key industries, and oversaw a worsening of pay and conditions, all the while undermining trade union rights. She set out to defeat striking workers and systematically removed employment rights, restricting union activity, including making it illegal to picket away from your own workplace. These changes, paired with economic shifts, brought about the collapse of collective bargaining. The proportion of employees who were members of a trade union plummeted from 56 per cent to 31 per cent under the Conservatives.15 Rights became less about the collective and more about the individual. Labour, traditionally the party of the unions, were expected in 1997 to revive what Thatcher had sought to quash.


pages: 391 words: 22,799

To Serve God and Wal-Mart: The Making of Christian Free Enterprise by Bethany Moreton

affirmative action, American Legislative Exchange Council, anti-communist, Berlin Wall, big-box store, Bretton Woods, Buckminster Fuller, collective bargaining, company town, corporate personhood, creative destruction, deindustrialization, desegregation, Donald Trump, emotional labour, estate planning, eternal september, Fall of the Berlin Wall, Frederick Winslow Taylor, George Gilder, global village, Great Leap Forward, informal economy, invisible hand, liberation theology, longitudinal study, market fundamentalism, Mont Pelerin Society, mortgage tax deduction, Naomi Klein, new economy, post-industrial society, postindustrial economy, prediction markets, price anchoring, prosperity theology / prosperity gospel / gospel of success, Ralph Nader, RFID, road to serfdom, Ronald Reagan, scientific management, Silicon Valley, Stewart Brand, strikebreaker, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, union organizing, walkable city, Washington Consensus, white flight, Whole Earth Catalog, work culture , Works Progress Administration

Making common cause with probusiness Republicans, these segregationist Democrats broke the back of the labor and civil rights Left in the years immediately following the war with a pair of crucial initiatives: The antiÂ�union Taft-Â�Hartley Act of 1947 essentially halted the spread of Â�unions beyond their established territory in Northern industry by encouraging the states to pass “right-Â�to-Â�work” legislation. These laws made the beneÂ�fits of collective bargaining flow equally to those who paid Â�union dues and those who did not, thus giving workers no incentive to join the Â�union. Southern champions of industrial development lost no time in promoting their region’s antiÂ�unionism to lure facilities out of the Northeast. Arkansas, Wal-Â�Mart’s home state, passed one of the first “right-Â�to-Â�work” laws in 1947; by 1954, the entire South had enacted such legislation.11 When it came time to select sites for military bases and war contracts, the conservative conÂ�gresÂ�sional coalition made its power felt as well.

Lassiter, The Silent Majority: Suburban Politics in the Sunbelt South (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2006); McGirr, Suburban Warriors. 17. Bethany E. Moreton, “The Soul of the Service Economy: Wal-Mart and the Making of Christian Free Enterprise” (Ph.D. diss., Yale University, 2006), 47–49. 18. Nelson Lichtenstein, “From Corporatism to Collective Bargaining: Organized Labor and the Eclipse of Social Democracy in the Postwar Era,” in The Rise and 289 NOTES TO PAGES 41 – 4 5 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. Fall of the New Deal Order, 1930–1980, ed. Steve Fraser, Gary Gerstle (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1989), 120.

See also Associates 358 INDEX Clinton, Bill, 34, 46, 201, 204, 248, 252, 254, 257, 261–262, 280n12, 345n29 Clinton, Hillary Rodham, 34, 248, 254 Coca-Cola, 34, 243 Cold War, 2, 10, 37, 39, 164, 169, 171, 176, 193, 196, 218, 220–221, 224–225, 228, 232–233, 238, 238, 240, 242–243, 247, 249–251, 254, 257, 261 Collective bargaining, 39, 104 Colleges/universities, 38, 95, 133, 173–174, 226, 228–229, 232, 270, 319n40; Christian student orÂ�gaÂ�niÂ�zaÂ� tions, 87–88, 97–98; Walton management recruited from, 127, 131–132, 134–137; new technologies at, 138–141, 143; shift to business education, 138, 142, 145–163, 167–172; emphasis on free enterprise, 180–181, 183–184, 186–190, 192; student activism, 195–200, 202–205, 207–212, 217–218; Walton scholars at, 222, 224–225, 230–231, 233–238, 240–247, 251–252; foreign students at, 234–236, 240–243, 245–246.


pages: 665 words: 146,542

Money: 5,000 Years of Debt and Power by Michel Aglietta

accelerated depreciation, Alan Greenspan, bank run, banking crisis, Basel III, Berlin Wall, bitcoin, blockchain, Bretton Woods, British Empire, business cycle, capital asset pricing model, capital controls, cashless society, central bank independence, circular economy, collapse of Lehman Brothers, collective bargaining, corporate governance, David Graeber, debt deflation, dematerialisation, Deng Xiaoping, double entry bookkeeping, energy transition, eurozone crisis, Fall of the Berlin Wall, falling living standards, financial deregulation, financial innovation, Financial Instability Hypothesis, financial intermediation, floating exchange rates, forward guidance, Francis Fukuyama: the end of history, full employment, German hyperinflation, income inequality, inflation targeting, information asymmetry, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), invention of writing, invisible hand, joint-stock company, Kenneth Arrow, Kickstarter, land bank, liquidity trap, low interest rates, margin call, means of production, Money creation, money market fund, moral hazard, Nash equilibrium, Network effects, Northern Rock, oil shock, planetary scale, plutocrats, precautionary principle, price stability, purchasing power parity, quantitative easing, race to the bottom, reserve currency, secular stagnation, seigniorage, shareholder value, special drawing rights, special economic zone, stochastic process, Suez crisis 1956, the payments system, the scientific method, tontine, too big to fail, trade route, transaction costs, transcontinental railway, Washington Consensus

The European ideal rapidly appeared not only as a means of putting an end to wars on the continent, but also of promoting a new and dynamic principle that could cohere labour societies. And this principle was social progress. Two institutions of social mediation were charged with putting this principle into practice: collective bargaining over wages, and redistribution via the state budget. There was a wide political consensus, across party divides, in favour of the notion of social progress and the legitimacy of the institutions tasked with promoting it. Collective bargaining over wages played a decisive role in this regard, aligning progress in real wages to productivity advances at the macroeconomic level, and moreover imposed limits on inequalities, within the terms of a stable wage structure in the major branches of industry.

These result from the need to protect workers without jobs who are deprived of their means of existence. This is why the welfare state has become a principal institution of social cohesion. The welfare state brings together the rules of social legislation, of unions that represent employees’ and employers’ collective interests, and of negotiation procedures and collective bargaining. It is thus an essentially political institution, and as a result it differs from one nation to another. Thus, Anglo-Saxon social liberalism, Scandinavian social democracy, German ordoliberalism and French social corporatism constitute varieties of capitalism that differ in terms of their respective income distribution and production of public goods.


pages: 273 words: 93,419

Let them eat junk: how capitalism creates hunger and obesity by Robert Albritton

"RICO laws" OR "Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations", Bretton Woods, California gold rush, carbon tax, clean water, collective bargaining, computer age, corporate personhood, creative destruction, deindustrialization, Food sovereignty, Haber-Bosch Process, illegal immigration, immigration reform, invisible hand, joint-stock company, joint-stock limited liability company, Kickstarter, land reform, late capitalism, means of production, military-industrial complex, offshore financial centre, oil shale / tar sands, peak oil, planned obsolescence, price stability, profit maximization, profit motive, South Sea Bubble, the built environment, union organizing, Unsafe at Any Speed, upwardly mobile

Cheap and plentiful oil and natural gas which fuelled a petrochemical revolution of new technologies and the mass consumption of consumer durables.11 Oligopoly in the dominant economic sectors which increased not only the economic power but the political and ideological power of large corporations. Relative industrial peace made possible by a rate of growth in productivity and profits which could sustain a collective bargaining process that generally improved real wages, benefits and working conditions in the main sectors of industrial accumulation. A strong sense of togetherness generated by victory in World War II and maintained by the cold war. A welfare state which made huge investments in material and social infrastructure.

Index A abstract theory 10–12, 18–50 see also deep structure, inner logic, pure capitalism accountability 205–10 see also democracy addiction 43, 45, 95–6, 177, 179, 222 advertising 70, 167–8, 172–4, 177 Africa 153, 156, 158 agriculture 7, 11, 18, 32, 40, 125, 127, 128, 132, 134, 141, 158, 185, 202, 205 American 8, 135, 148–9 non-food crops 7, 142, 157 (see also cotton, tobacco) see also aid to agriculture, exportoriented agriculture, family farms, industrial farms aid 134 see also aid to agriculture, food aid, foreign aid AIDS 153, 178 Alberta tar sands 148, 206 see also peak oil algae blooms 156, 159 see also chemical fertilizer allergies 118, 161–2 American hegemony 52, 76, 91, 125 see also US hegemony American Council on Science and Health 195 American Sugar Association 188 anaemia 107 anti-depressants 178 antibiotics 103 anxiety 173 Archer Daniels Midland 186, 189 asthma 149 atomism 72–3 see also individualism, islandization, possessive individualism Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) 63, 114, 173 austerity policies 135 see also structural adjustment policies automobile 57, 59–60, 72–3 see also car-dependent development B Baby Milk Action Group 96 balance of payments 58, 68, 220 balance of trade 136, 220 banana workers 136–8, 143 Bangladesh 142 Bernay, Edward 168 biodiesel 142 see also biofuel, ethanol biofuel 151–2 blacklisting 127 Borneo 155 bottom trawling 160 bovine growth hormone 116, 236 boycotts 206 brand loyalty 166, 169, 173, 176 see also advertising, marketing Brandt, Allan 8, 168, 170 Brazil 139, 140, 151, 155 [ 251 ] 252 INDEX Bretton Woods monetary system 68 Buffet, Warren 84 bulimia 176 Bush, President George W. 149, 152 Butz, Earl (US Secretary of Agriculture) 59, 68–9, 75 C Califano, Joseph 170 California 127, 159 cancer 63 see also carcinogen capitalism x, 8–11, 50–1, 61, 82–3, 93, 122, 124, 126, 178, 183, 184, 190, 197, 201–2, 204, 210, 213 capitalist farms 130–1, 214 capitalist ideology 73–4, 165, 168, 183, 196–7 car-dependent development 60, 64 see also automobile carbon dioxide (CO2) 149, 151, 154 carbon tax 209 carcinogens 111–12, 114, 137, 178, 191, 194 Carson, Rachel 61, 77, 111 causality 169–70 causes ix, 90, 180 Center for Consumer Freedom 188, 196 Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) 93, 174 Channel One 176 chemical fertilizers 58, 129, 149, 151, 159–60, 217 chemicalization 83, 158–9, 202 see also chemical fertilizers, nemagon, pesticides Chicago Board of Trade 153 child labour 138–9 see also slavery China 122, 142, 155, 175 choice 165–81, 187 see also consumer sovereignty, freedom chronic illnesses 94 class 99, 168, 213 class struggle 12 Clinton, President Bill 100 coal 151 cocoa 135, 138, 202 codex alimentarius 97, 188 coffee 135, 140–3, 202 cold war 58–9, 61–2, 74–6 collective bargaining 127 colonialism 18, 25, 44–5, 71, 124, 153 see also developing countries command economy 202 commodification 12, 21, 37–8, 39, 214–15 commodities 12, 20 commodity futures 89, 108, 142, 145, 153 see also Chicago Board of Trade concentration/centralization 25, 45, 114, 120, 131–2, 137, 187, 216 competition 11, 26, 43, 127–8, 135 confined animal feeding operation (CAFO) 101–2, 150, 153, 155, 159, 163 consumer sovereignty 165, 178–80 see also choice, freedom, rights consumerism xii, 42, 68–9, 72, 125, 173, 176, 180 consumers 28, 144, 166, 178 consumption 9, 165 contradiction x, 25 see also irrationality, rationality cooking skills 121–2 cooperation 144, 200–11 see also movements coral 159 corn 108, 111, 136, 151–3 see also ethanol, subsidies corporate lobbies 186 corporations xi, 8, 14–15, 45, 60–1, 70, 87, 123, 130, 132, 136, 138, 141–2, 145, 147–8, 162, 165, 168–9, 172, 183,–4, 186, 193–5, 197, 203, 206–7, 218–19 Costa Rica 138 INDEX cotton 111, 129, 143 see also non-food crops, pesticides, subsidies crises 12, 25, 38, 39, 42, 216 ecological crisis 146–7 see also food crisis D Dalley, George 187 death rate 127, 130 debt 42–3 64, 66, 68, 70, 122, 129, 134, 141, 205, 208 ecological debt 43, 147 health debt 43 decline of civilization 7 deep cause/deep structure ix, 12, 16, 18–50, 52, 106 see also abstract theory, inner logic, levels of analysis, pure capitalism deforestation 35, 86, 102, 140 142–3, 151, 155, 157 democracy x, 9, 19, 52, 85, 162, 166, 181, 197, 206 see also accountability, equality, freedom, inequality, liberaldemocracy, rights democratization of corporations xii, 14, 15, 205–8 of markets xii, 15, 208–10 Department of Agriculture (US) 171 deportation 126–7 depression 94, 222 desertification 157 see also deforestation developing countries 45, 58–9, 69, 76, 78, 85–6, 104, 106, 111, 129, 134–37, 140–3, 162, 193, 203, 205 diabetes 94, 96, 99, 100 diet 174, 191 distributive justice 8, 10, 16, 91, 142, 194, 209–10 division of labour 6 Doll, Sir Richard 194–5 Dominican Republic 128 253 drought 158 see also water dumping 59, 129, 135, 205 see also developing countries, food prices, subsidies E E.


pages: 343 words: 91,080

Uberland: How Algorithms Are Rewriting the Rules of Work by Alex Rosenblat

"Susan Fowler" uber, Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, Airbnb, algorithmic management, Amazon Mechanical Turk, autonomous vehicles, barriers to entry, basic income, big-box store, bike sharing, Black Lives Matter, business logic, call centre, cashless society, Cass Sunstein, choice architecture, cognitive load, collaborative economy, collective bargaining, creative destruction, crowdsourcing, data science, death from overwork, digital divide, disinformation, disruptive innovation, don't be evil, Donald Trump, driverless car, emotional labour, en.wikipedia.org, fake news, future of work, gender pay gap, gig economy, Google Chrome, Greyball, income inequality, independent contractor, information asymmetry, information security, Jaron Lanier, Jessica Bruder, job automation, job satisfaction, Lyft, marginal employment, Mark Zuckerberg, move fast and break things, Network effects, new economy, obamacare, performance metric, Peter Thiel, price discrimination, proprietary trading, Ralph Waldo Emerson, regulatory arbitrage, ride hailing / ride sharing, Salesforce, self-driving car, sharing economy, side hustle, Silicon Valley, Silicon Valley ideology, Skype, social software, SoftBank, stealth mode startup, Steve Jobs, strikebreaker, TaskRabbit, technological determinism, Tim Cook: Apple, transportation-network company, Travis Kalanick, Uber and Lyft, Uber for X, uber lyft, union organizing, universal basic income, urban planning, Wolfgang Streeck, work culture , workplace surveillance , Yochai Benkler, Zipcar

David Gutman, “Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Seeking to Block Seattle Law Allowing Uber and Lyft Drivers to Unionize,” Seattle Times, August 1, 2017, www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/transportation/judge-dismisses-lawsuit-seeking-to-block-seattle-law-allowing-uber-and-lyft-drivers-to-unionize/. 17. Seattle.gov, “For-Hire Driver Collective Bargaining,” n.d., www.seattle.gov/business-regulations/taxis-for-hires-and-tncs/for-hire-driver-collective-bargaining. 18. Lindsey D. Cameron, “Making Out While Driving: Control, Coordination, and Its Consequences for Algorithmic Labor” (PhD diss., Stephen M. Ross School of Business, 2018). 19. Aaron Smith, “Gig Work, Online Selling and Home Sharing,” Pew Research Center, November 17, 2016, www.pewinternet.org/2016/11/17/gig-work-online-selling-and-home-sharing/. 20.


pages: 323 words: 90,868

The Wealth of Humans: Work, Power, and Status in the Twenty-First Century by Ryan Avent

3D printing, Airbnb, American energy revolution, assortative mating, autonomous vehicles, Bakken shale, barriers to entry, basic income, Bernie Sanders, Big Tech, BRICs, business cycle, call centre, Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty, Clayton Christensen, cloud computing, collective bargaining, computer age, creative destruction, currency risk, dark matter, David Ricardo: comparative advantage, deindustrialization, dematerialisation, Deng Xiaoping, deskilling, disruptive innovation, Dissolution of the Soviet Union, Donald Trump, Downton Abbey, driverless car, Edward Glaeser, Erik Brynjolfsson, eurozone crisis, everywhere but in the productivity statistics, falling living standards, financial engineering, first square of the chessboard, first square of the chessboard / second half of the chessboard, Ford paid five dollars a day, Francis Fukuyama: the end of history, future of work, general purpose technology, gig economy, global supply chain, global value chain, heat death of the universe, hydraulic fracturing, income inequality, independent contractor, indoor plumbing, industrial robot, intangible asset, interchangeable parts, Internet of things, inventory management, invisible hand, James Watt: steam engine, Jeff Bezos, Jeremy Corbyn, John Maynard Keynes: Economic Possibilities for our Grandchildren, Joseph-Marie Jacquard, knowledge economy, low interest rates, low skilled workers, lump of labour, Lyft, machine translation, manufacturing employment, Marc Andreessen, mass immigration, means of production, new economy, performance metric, pets.com, post-work, price mechanism, quantitative easing, Ray Kurzweil, rent-seeking, reshoring, rising living standards, Robert Gordon, Robert Solow, Ronald Coase, savings glut, Second Machine Age, secular stagnation, self-driving car, sharing economy, Silicon Valley, single-payer health, software is eating the world, supply-chain management, supply-chain management software, tacit knowledge, TaskRabbit, tech billionaire, The Future of Employment, The Nature of the Firm, The Rise and Fall of American Growth, The Spirit Level, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, trade liberalization, transaction costs, Tyler Cowen, Tyler Cowen: Great Stagnation, Uber and Lyft, Uber for X, uber lyft, very high income, warehouse robotics, working-age population

Such organizations, in addition, are seen as important counterweights to owners of other productive factors – either land or capital – who, thanks to the relative scarcity of their contribution to production, enjoy significant bargaining power in negotiations with labour. It is no coincidence that trade unionism emerged as a powerful political force over the course of a tumultuous nineteenth century, a century in which workers often suffered miserable conditions and pay while capitalists prospered. Collective bargaining addressed the difficulty created by the relative abundance of labour. In the absence of organization, a firm faced little pressure to increase the share of the economic surplus created, when a worker was hired, that flowed to the workers themselves. If the worker didn’t like it, he could bugger off, and there would be a long line of replacements waiting to take his spot.

Acemoglu, Daron ageing populations agency, concept of Airbnb Amazon American Medical Association (AMA) anarchism Andreessen, Marc Anglo-Saxon economies Apple the iPhone the iPod artisanal goods and services Atkinson, Anthony Atlanta, Georgia austerity policies automation in car plants fully autonomous trucks of ‘green jobs’ during industrial revolution installation work as resistant to low-pay as check on of menial/routine work self-driving cars and technological deskilling automobiles assembly-line techniques automated car plants and dematerialization early days of car industry fully autonomous trucks self-driving cars baseball Baumol, William Belgium Bernanke, Ben Bezos, Jeff black plague (late Middle Ages) Boston, Massachusetts Brazil BRIC era Bridgewater Associates Britain deindustrialization education in extensions of franchise in financial crisis (2008) Great Exhibition (London 1851) housing wealth in and industrial revolution Labour Party in liberalization in political fractionalization in real wages in social capital in surpassed by US as leading nation wage subsidies in Brontë, Charlotte Brynjolfsson, Erik bubbles, asset-price Buffalo Bill (William Cody) BuzzFeed Cairncross, Frances, The Death of Distance (1997) capital ‘deepening’ infrastructure investment investment in developing world career, concept of cars see automobiles Catalan nationalism Central African Republic central banks Chait, Jonathan Charlotte chemistry, industrial Chicago meat packers in nineteenth-century expansion of World’s Columbia Exposition (1893) China Deng Xiaoping’s reforms economic slow-down in era of rapid growth foreign-exchange reserves ‘green jobs’ in illiberal institutions in inequality in iPod assembly in technological transformation in wage levels in Chorus (content-management system) Christensen, Clayton Cisco cities artisanal goods and services building-supply restrictions growth of and housing costs and industrial revolution and information membership battles in rich/skilled and social capital clerical work climate change Clinton, Hillary Coase, Ronald Columbia University, School of Mines communications technology communism communities of affinity computing app-based companies capability thresholds cloud services cycles of experimentation desktop market disk-drive industry ‘enterprise software’ products exponential progress narrative as general purpose technology hardware and software infrastructure history of ‘Moore’s Law’ and productivity switches transistors vacuum tubes see also digital revolution; software construction industry regulations on Corbyn, Jeremy Corliss steam engine corporate power Cowen, Tyler craft producers Craigslist creative destruction the Crystal Palace, London Dalio, Ray Dallas, Texas debt deindustrialization demand, chronically weak dematerialization Detroit developing economies and capital investment and digital revolution era of rapid growth and industrialization pockets of wealth in and ‘reshoring’ phenomenon and sharp slowdown and social capital see also emerging economies digital revolution and agency and company cultures and developing economies and distance distribution of benefits of dotcom tech boom emergence of and global imbalances and highly skilled few and industrial institutions and information flows investment in social capital niche markets pace of change and paradox of potential productivity and output and secular stagnation start-ups and technological deskilling techno-optimism techno-pessimism as tectonic economic transformation and trading patterns web journalism see also automation; computing; globalization discrimination and exclusion ‘disruption’, phenomenon of distribution of wealth see inequality; redistribution; wealth and income distribution dotcom boom eBay economics, classical The Economist education in emerging economies during industrial revolution racial segregation in USA and scarcity see also university education electricity Ellison, Glenn Ellison, Sara Fisher emerging economies deindustrialization economic growth in education in foreign-exchange reserves growth in global supply chains highly skilled workers in see also developing economies employment and basic income policy cheap labour as boost to and dot.com boom in Europe and financial crisis (2008) ‘green jobs’ low-pay sector minimum wage impact niche markets in public sector ‘reshoring’ phenomenon as rising globally and social contexts and social membership as source of personal identity and structural change trilemma in USA see also labour; wages Engels, Friedrich environmental issues Etsy euro- zone Europe extreme populist politics liberalized economies political fractionalization in European Union Facebook face-recognition technology factors of production land see also capital; labour ‘Factory Asia’ factory work assembly-line techniques during industrial revolution family fascism Federal Reserve financial crisis (2008) financial markets cross-border capital flows in developing economies Finland firms and companies Coase’s work on core competencies culture of dark matter (intangible capital) and dematerialization and ‘disruption’ ‘firm-specific’ knowledge and information flows internal incentive structures pay of top executives shifting boundaries of social capital of and social wealth start-ups Ford, Martin, Rise of the Robots (2015) Ford Motor Company fracking France franchise, electoral Friedman, Milton Fukuyama, Francis Gates, Bill gender discrimination general purpose technologies enormous benefits from exponential progress and skilled labour supporting infrastructure and time lags see also digital revolution Germany ‘gig economy’ Glaeser, Ed global economy growth in supply chains imbalances lack of international cooperation savings glut and social consensus globalization hyperglobalization and secular stagnation and separatist movements Goldman Sachs Google Gordon, Robert Gothenburg, Sweden Great Depression Great Depression (1930s) Great Exhibition, London (1851) Great Recession Great Stagnation Greece ‘green jobs’ growth, economic battle over spoils of boom (1994-2005) and classical economists as consistent in rich countries decline of ‘labour share’ dotcom boom emerging economies gains not flowing to workers and industrial revolution Kaldor’s ‘stylized facts of’ and Keynes during liberal era pie metaphor in post-war period and quality of institutions and rich/elite cities rich-poor nation gap and skilled labour guilds Hansen, Alvin Hayes, Chris, The Twilight of the Elites healthcare and medicine hedge funds and private equity firms Holmes, Oliver Wendell Hong Kong housing in Bay-Area NIMBY campaigns against soaring prices pre-2008 crisis zoning and regulations Houston, Texas Huffington Post human capital Hungary IBM identity, personal immigration and ethno-nationalist separatism and labour markets in Nordic countries and social capital income distribution see inequality; redistribution; wealth and income distribution India Indonesia industrial revolution automation during and economic growth and growth of cities need for better-educated workers and productivity ‘second revolution’ and social change and wages and World’s Fairs inequality and education levels between firms and housing wealth during industrial revolution during liberal era between nations pay of top executives rise of in emerging economies and secular stagnation in Sweden wild contingency of wealth see also rich people; wealth and income distribution inflation in 1970s hyperinflation information technology see computing Intel interest rates International Space Station (ISS) iRobot ISIS Italy Jacksonville, Florida Jacquard, Joseph Marie Japan journalism Kaldor, Nicholas Keynes, John Maynard Kurzweil. Ray labour abundance as good problem bargaining power cognitive but repetitive collective bargaining and demographic issues discrimination and exclusion global growth of workforce and immigration liberalization in 1970s/80s ‘lump of labour’ fallacy occupational licences organized and proximity reallocation to growing industries retraining and skill acquisition and scarcity and social value work as a positive good see also employment Labour Party, British land scarcity Latvia Le Pen, Jean-Marie Le Pen, Marine legal profession Lehman Brothers collapse (2008) Lepore, Jill liberalization, economic (from 1970s) Linkner, Josh, The Road to Reinvention London Lucas, Robert Lyft maker-taker distinction Malthus, Reverend Thomas Manchester Mandel, Michael Mankiw, Gregory marketing and public relations Marshall, Alfred Marx, Karl Mason, Paul, Postcapitalism (2015) McAfee, Andrew medicine and healthcare ‘mercantilist’ world Mercedes Benz Mexico Microsoft mineral industries minimum wage Mokyr, Joel Monroe, President James MOOCs (‘massive open online courses’) Moore, Gordon mortality rates Mosaic (web browser) music, digital nation states big communities of affinity inequality between as loci of redistribution and social capital nationalist and separatist movements Netherlands Netscape New York City Newsweek NIMBYism Nordic and Scandinavian economies North Carolina North Dakota Obama, Barack oil markets O’Neill, Jim Oracle Orbán, Viktor outsourcing Peretti, Jonah Peterson Institute for International Economics pets.com Philadelphia Centennial Fair (1876) Philippines Phoenix, Arizona Piketty, Thomas, Capital in the Twenty-First Century (2013) Poland political institutions politics fractionalization in Europe future/emerging narratives geopolitical forces human wealth narrative left-wing looming upheaval/conflict Marxism nationalist and separatist movements past unrest and conflict polarization in USA radicalism and extremism realignment revolutionary right-wing rise of populist outsiders and scarcity social membership battles Poor Laws, British print media advertising revenue productivity agricultural artisanal goods and services Baumol’s Cost Disease and cities and dematerialization and digital revolution and employment trilemma and financial crisis (2008) and Henry Ford growth data in higher education of highly skilled few and industrial revolution minimum wage impact paradox of in service sector and specialization and wage rates see also factors of production professional, technical or managerial work and education levels and emerging economies the highly skilled few and industrial revolution and ‘offshoring’ professional associations skilled cities professional associations profits Progressive Policy Institute property values proximity public spending Putnam, Robert Quakebot quantitative easing Race Against the Machine, Brynjolfsson and McAfee (2011) railways Raleigh, North Carolina Reagan, Ronald redistribution and geopolitical forces during liberal era methods of nation state as locus of as a necessity as politically hard and societal openness wealth as human rent, economic Republican Party, US ‘reshoring’ phenomenon Resseger, Matthew retail sector retirement age Ricardo, David rich people and maker-taker distinction wild contingency of wealth Robinson, James robots Rodrik, Dani Romney, Mitt rule of law Russia San Francisco San Jose Sanders, Bernie sanitation SAP Saudi Arabia savings glut, global ‘Say’s Law’ Scalia, Antonin Scandinavian and Nordic economies scarcity and labour political effects of Schleicher, David Schwartz, Anna scientists Scotland Sears Second World War secular stagnation global spread of possible solutions shale deposits sharing economies Silicon Valley Singapore skilled workers and education levels and falling wages the highly skilled few and industrial revolution ‘knowledge-intensive’ goods and services reshoring phenomenon technological deskilling see also professional, technical or managerial work Slack (chat service) Slate (web publication) smartphone culture Smith, Adam social capital and American Constitution baseball metaphor and cities ‘deepening’ definition/nature of and dematerialization and developing economies and erosion of institutions of firms and companies and good government and housing wealth and immigration and income distribution during industrial revolution and liberalization and nation-states productive application of and rich-poor nation gap and Adam Smith and start-ups social class conflict middle classes and NIMBYism social conditioning of labour force working classes social democratic model social reform social wealth and social membership software ‘enterprise software’ products supply-chain management Solow, Robert Somalia South Korea Soviet Union, dissolution of (1991) specialization Star Trek state, role of steam power Subramanian, Arvind suburbanization Sweden Syriza party Taiwan TaskRabbit taxation telegraphy Tesla, Nikola Thatcher, Margaret ‘tiger’ economies of South-East Asia Time Warner Toyota trade China as ‘mega-trader’ ‘comparative advantage’ theory and dematerialization global supply chains liberalization shaping of by digital revolution Adam Smith on trade unions transhumanism transport technology self-driving cars Trump, Donald Twitter Uber UK Independence Party United States of America (USA) 2016 Presidential election campaign average income Bureau of Labour Statistics (BLS) Constitution deindustrialization education in employment in ethno-nationalist diversity of financial crisis (2008) housing costs in housing wealth in individualism in industrialization in inequality in Jim Crow segregation labour scarcity in Young America liberalization in minimum wage in political polarization in post-crisis profit rates productivity boom of 1990s real wage data rising debt levels secular stagnation in shale revolution in social capital in and social wealth surpasses Britain as leading nation wage subsidies in university education advanced degrees downward mobility of graduates MOOCs (‘massive open online courses’) and productivity see also education urbanization utopias, post-work Victoria, Queen video-gamers Virginia, US state Volvo Vox wages basic income policy Baumol’s Cost Disease cheap labour and employment growth and dot.com boom and financial crisis (2008) and flexibility and Henry Ford government subsidies and housing costs and immigration and industrial revolution low-pay as check on automation minimum wage and productivity the ‘reservation wage’ as rising in China rising in emerging economies and scarcity in service sector and skill-upgrading approach stagnation of and supply of graduates Wandsworth Washington D.C.


pages: 326 words: 88,905

Days of Destruction, Days of Revolt by Chris Hedges, Joe Sacco

Berlin Wall, Bernie Sanders, clean water, collective bargaining, company town, corporate personhood, dumpster diving, Easter island, Exxon Valdez, food desert, Goldman Sachs: Vampire Squid, Howard Zinn, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), invisible hand, laissez-faire capitalism, Mahatma Gandhi, mass immigration, mass incarceration, Naomi Klein, Nelson Mandela, Occupy movement, oil shale / tar sands, race to the bottom, Ralph Nader, Silicon Valley, Steve Jobs, strikebreaker, union organizing, urban decay, wage slave, white flight, women in the workforce

One dies, get another.”30 In the 1920s, labor contractors, known as crew leaders, rounded up poor, itinerant workers and began to ship them north to harvest the summer crops and then back south again for the winter crops. These migrant workers, largely African American, were left out of the labor protections put in place later by the New Deal, including collective bargaining, part of a backroom deal Franklin Roosevelt made with white Southern politicians, who wanted African-Americans kept out of unions.31 Collective bargaining among agricultural laborers, while not illegal in Florida, is unprotected under the state labor laws. Workers who attempt to form a union can be summarily fired.32 “We used to own our slaves,” a grower said in Edward R.


pages: 90 words: 27,452

No More Work: Why Full Employment Is a Bad Idea by James Livingston

Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, Bear Stearns, business cycle, collective bargaining, delayed gratification, do what you love, emotional labour, full employment, future of work, Herbert Marcuse, Internet of things, John Maynard Keynes: Economic Possibilities for our Grandchildren, labor-force participation, late capitalism, Lewis Mumford, liberal capitalism, obamacare, post-work, Project for a New American Century, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Robert Gordon, Ronald Reagan, scientific management, Silicon Valley, surplus humans, TED Talk, The Future of Employment, Tyler Cowen, union organizing, warehouse automation, working poor

II The contemporary advocates of workers’ cooperatives and trade unions are no less Protestant (or Hegelian, or Marxist) in their insistence that work is the essence of human nature—and so must be protected against the degradation of wage labor, on the one hand, or protected by contractual agreements (collective bargaining), on the other. It’s clear at any rate that the American version of the movement for cooperative workers’ ownership is intellectually grounded in more than the grand success of Mondragon, the huge worker-owned enterprise in Spain that has astonished the world with its efficiencies. In the United States, this movement is also inspired by the nineteenth-century antislavery argument that there could be “no property in man”—the argument that one’s capacity to produce value through work is an inalienable element of being human, a natural right that can’t be bought or sold.


pages: 558 words: 168,179

Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right by Jane Mayer

Adam Curtis, affirmative action, Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, Alan Greenspan, American Legislative Exchange Council, An Inconvenient Truth, anti-communist, Bakken shale, bank run, battle of ideas, Berlin Wall, Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty, carbon tax, carried interest, centre right, clean water, Climategate, Climatic Research Unit, collective bargaining, company town, corporate raider, crony capitalism, David Brooks, desegregation, disinformation, diversified portfolio, Donald Trump, energy security, estate planning, Fall of the Berlin Wall, financial engineering, George Gilder, high-speed rail, housing crisis, hydraulic fracturing, income inequality, independent contractor, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), invisible hand, job automation, low skilled workers, mandatory minimum, market fundamentalism, mass incarceration, military-industrial complex, Mont Pelerin Society, More Guns, Less Crime, multilevel marketing, Nate Silver, Neil Armstrong, New Journalism, obamacare, Occupy movement, offshore financial centre, oil shale / tar sands, oil shock, plutocrats, Powell Memorandum, Ralph Nader, Renaissance Technologies, road to serfdom, Robert Mercer, Ronald Reagan, school choice, school vouchers, Solyndra, The Bell Curve by Richard Herrnstein and Charles Murray, The Chicago School, the scientific method, University of East Anglia, Unsafe at Any Speed, War on Poverty, working poor

As the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel noted in 2011, the Bradley Foundation was “one of the most powerful philanthropic forces behind America’s conservative movement” and “the financial backer behind public policy experiments that started in the state and spread across the nation—including welfare reform, public vouchers for private schools and, this year, cutbacks in public employee benefits and collective bargaining.” As Grebe later acknowledged about Walker’s meteoric rise to The New York Times, “At the risk of being immodest, I probably lent some credibility to his campaign early on.” As a college dropout with no exceptional charisma or charm, Walker might not ordinarily have been marked for high office, but Americans for Prosperity, which had a large chapter in Wisconsin, had provided him with a field operation and speaking platform at its Tea Party rallies when he was still just the Milwaukee county executive.

As a college dropout with no exceptional charisma or charm, Walker might not ordinarily have been marked for high office, but Americans for Prosperity, which had a large chapter in Wisconsin, had provided him with a field operation and speaking platform at its Tea Party rallies when he was still just the Milwaukee county executive. The Kochs’ political organization had been fighting the state’s powerful public employee unions there since 2007. The fight was freighted with larger significance. In 1959, Wisconsin had become the first state to allow its public employees to form unions and engage in collective bargaining, which conservatives detested in part because the unions provided a big chunk of muscle to the Democratic Party. “We go back a long way on this in Wisconsin, and in other states,” Tim Phillips, the head of Americans for Prosperity, acknowledged to Politico. In the past, Phillips had spoken enviously of the unions as the Left’s “army on the ground.”

Looking glamorous but impatient, the sixty-something widow pressed Walker to turn Wisconsin into a “completely red” “right-to-work” state. Walker assured her that he had a plan. He had kept voters in the dark about it during his campaign, but he confided to Hendricks that his first step was to “deal with collective bargaining for all public employees’ unions.” This, he assured her, would “divide and conquer” the labor movement. Evidently, this was what Hendricks wanted to hear. She had amassed a fortune estimated at $3.6 billion from ABC Supply, the nation’s largest wholesale distributor of roofing, windows, and siding, which she and her late husband, Ken, founded in 1982.


pages: 102 words: 30,120

Why Wages Rise by F. A. Harper

business cycle, collective bargaining, fixed income, full employment, means of production, wage slave

A Wage Contract for My Boy In the year 2012, the Lord willing, my boy will be old enough to retire at age 65. He will then be in the final year of what I hope will have been a worthy occupational life, just prior to being forced to retire. Here is a proposal. Let us say that I want to help him by bargaining for his wage for that year — the year 2012. As his representative at this collective bargaining table, I shall herewith state my proposal and give my reasons for my demands. Then if anyone will accept the offer, we shall see if we can work out the other minor details of the agreement. My proposal is that you pay him a wage of $29.99 per hour for the year 2012. This figure is arrived at by the same method now coming into vogue in negotiations over wage contracts.


pages: 379 words: 99,340

The Revolt of the Public and the Crisis of Authority in the New Millennium by Martin Gurri

Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, Alan Greenspan, Albert Einstein, anti-communist, Arthur Eddington, Ayatollah Khomeini, bitcoin, Black Monday: stock market crash in 1987, Black Swan, Burning Man, business cycle, citizen journalism, Climategate, Climatic Research Unit, collective bargaining, creative destruction, crowdsourcing, currency manipulation / currency intervention, dark matter, David Graeber, death of newspapers, disinformation, Eddington experiment, en.wikipedia.org, Erik Brynjolfsson, facts on the ground, Francis Fukuyama: the end of history, Frederick Winslow Taylor, full employment, Great Leap Forward, housing crisis, income inequality, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), invention of writing, job-hopping, military-industrial complex, Mohammed Bouazizi, Nate Silver, Occupy movement, Port of Oakland, Republic of Letters, Ronald Reagan, scientific management, Skype, Steve Jobs, the scientific method, The Signal and the Noise by Nate Silver, too big to fail, traveling salesman, University of East Anglia, urban renewal, War on Poverty, We are the 99%, WikiLeaks, Yochai Benkler, young professional

Manuel Castells, a sympathetic observer, perused the online records of the Occupy sites’ general assemblies, and compiled a roster of changes the participants expected to work on the world. It made exhausting reading. …controlling financial speculation, particularly high frequency trading; auditing the Federal Reserve; addressing the housing crisis; regulating overdraft fees; controlling currency manipulation; opposing the outsourcing of jobs; defending collective bargaining and union rights; reducing income inequality; reforming tax law; reforming political campaign finance; reversing the Supreme Court’s decision allowing unlimited campaign contributions from corporations; banning bailouts of companies; controlling the military-industrial complex; improving the care of veterans; limiting terms for elected politicians; defending freedom on the Internet; assuring privacy on the Internet and in the media; combating economic exploitation; reforming the prison system; reforming health care; combating racism, sexism, and xenophobia; improving student loans; opposing the Keystone pipeline and other environmentally predatory projects; enacting policies against global warming; fining and controlling BP and similar oil spillers; enforcing animal rights; supporting alternative energy sources; critiquing personal leadership and vertical authority, beginning with a new democratic culture in the camps; and watching out for cooptation in the political system…[72] The action words used for these improvements of the status quo connoted negation and elimination: “reform,” “control,” “reverse,” “limit,” “combat,” “fine,” “critique.”

Ormerod’s endless list of parliamentary claims of competence can find a mirror image in the equally endless expectations of government culled by Manuel Castells from Occupier statements: …controlling financial speculation, particularly high frequency trading; auditing the Federal Reserve; addressing the housing crisis; regulating overdraft fees; controlling currency manipulation; opposing the outsourcing of jobs; defending collective bargaining and union rights; reducing income inequality; reforming tax law; reforming political campaign finance; reversing the Supreme Court’s decision allowing unlimited campaign contributions from corporations; banning bailouts of companies; controlling the military-industrial complex; improving the care of veterans; limiting terms for elected politicians; defending freedom on the Internet…[185] The public has judged government on government’s own terms, but added bad intentions.


pages: 261 words: 103,244

Economists and the Powerful by Norbert Haring, Norbert H. Ring, Niall Douglas

accounting loophole / creative accounting, Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, Alan Greenspan, Albert Einstein, asset allocation, bank run, barriers to entry, Basel III, Bear Stearns, Bernie Madoff, book value, British Empire, buy and hold, central bank independence, collective bargaining, commodity trading advisor, compensation consultant, corporate governance, creative destruction, credit crunch, Credit Default Swap, David Ricardo: comparative advantage, diversified portfolio, financial deregulation, George Akerlof, illegal immigration, income inequality, inflation targeting, information asymmetry, Jean Tirole, job satisfaction, Joseph Schumpeter, Kenneth Arrow, knowledge worker, land bank, law of one price, light touch regulation, Long Term Capital Management, low interest rates, low skilled workers, mandatory minimum, market bubble, market clearing, market fundamentalism, means of production, military-industrial complex, minimum wage unemployment, Money creation, moral hazard, new economy, obamacare, old-boy network, open economy, Pareto efficiency, Paul Samuelson, pension reform, Ponzi scheme, price stability, principal–agent problem, profit maximization, purchasing power parity, Renaissance Technologies, Robert Solow, rolodex, Savings and loan crisis, Sergey Aleynikov, shareholder value, short selling, Steve Jobs, The Chicago School, the payments system, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, too big to fail, Tragedy of the Commons, transaction costs, ultimatum game, union organizing, Vilfredo Pareto, working-age population, World Values Survey

For Germany, a study of the automobile and telecommunications industries has shown that outsourcing parts has cut the wage bill. The vertical disintegration of major German employers contributed to the disorganization of Germany’s dual system of in-plant and sectoral negotiations. Subcontractors, subsidiaries and temporary agencies often have no collective bargaining institutions or are covered by different firm-level and sectoral agreements. Moving employers to these firms introduced new organizational boundaries and disrupted traditional bargaining structures to the detriment of unions (Doellgast and Greer 2007). For the US, a different study shows that contract cleaning firms and security guards employed by a service contractor receive substantially lower wages and benefits than employees doing the same jobs employed 186 ECONOMISTS AND THE POWERFUL by manufacturing firms.

D. 13 American Economic Association ix, 10, 17, 20, 26–7, 44 American Economic Review 8, 20, 26–7 American International Group (AIG) 70, 90–91 Anglo-Saxon economics ix Arrow, Kenneth 7, 23–4, 212; see also impossibility theorem (Arrow’s) asset bubble 104 asymmetric information: see information, asymmetric AT&T 147 authoritarianism 24, 210 average cost 148, 151 Bank of America 77, 86, 94 barriers to entry 54, 160 Basel III Accord 104–5 Bear Stearns 90, 96, 107, 111 Becker, Gary S. 186 Bemis, Edward 9–10 Bentham, Jeremy 11 Berlin, Isaiah 25 Bernays, Edward 15–17 Bill of Rights (US) 208 Bolsa Família program 41 Boskin Commission 36 Bourdieu, Pierre 25, 115, 160 Bridgestone (tire manufacturer) 163–4, 166–7 British Empire ix, 16, 100 Buchanan, James 23–4 Buffett, Warren 93, 107–9 Bullionists 2 Bureau of Labor Statistics 32–3, 35 capitalism vii–viii, ix, 2, 5–6, 10, 18–19, 21, 31, 46, 142, 153, 158, 165 central bank 43, 67, 79–88, 104–5 CEO: see chief executive officer (CEO) Chicago, University of 10, 17, 19, 26, 27, 44, 80, 84, 168, 186, 193 chief executive officer (CEO) xi, 16, 47, 61, 70, 93, 95–6, 103, 107–13, 115–27, 132, 138–9, 215, 217 Chrysler xi, 113 Citicorp (bank) 43 Citigroup (bank) xi, 61, 63, 96, 105, 112, 125 Clark, John Bates 6, 10–11, 155, 193 classical value theory 5 Cold War 2, 18, 21, 25–8, 46 collective bargaining 185 Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CTFC) 90, 92 Commons, John R. 8–10 communism xii, 2, 19, 21, 25, 139 comparative advantage 4 Condorcet, Marquis de 23 conflict 165 consumption viii, 11, 13, 32, 78, 158, 192, 203, 211 control fraud 94–5 convergence vii 242 ECONOMISTS AND THE POWERFUL cooperation 73–5, 165, 167, 170, 198 cooperative 102 Cornell University 10 corporate elite x, xii, 115, 117, 140 corporate governance 92, 119, 127, 135, 136 corporate government 135 corporate management 109 corporation tax 139 corruption 220 credit x, xi, 29, 48–50, 59–60, 62, 65, 71, 73, 75, 77–84, 90–91, 95–8, 100, 104, 110, 149, 183 credit default swap 91, 93 CTFC: see Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CTFC) Darwinism 167 Debreu, Gerard 7 demand curve 146 democracy 18, 207, 211–13, 220 depreciation 33, 147 derivatives 67, 90–93, 96–7 Deutsche Bank 105, 121 disability adjusted life expectancy vii discrimination 130, 186–7 earnings management 129–30 economic growth xi, 80 economic policy xi, 46, 66, 76, 152 economic utility 4–5, 13 economics, mainstream viii, x–xi, xiii, 1, 29, 47, 136, 145, 164, 170, 208, 211, 214 economics, neoclassical ix, xii, 6, 8, 10–11, 13, 21–2, 25, 30, 38, 42, 45, 141, 143–4, 153–5, 157–60, 163–4, 168, 170–71, 173, 180–82, 188, 191–2, 210, 213 economies of scale 3, 54, 152, 161 economies of scope 54 Edgeworth, Francis Y. 10 efficiency vii, x, xi, xii, 13, 19, 25, 39, 43, 48, 62, 73, 101, 108, 136–7, 143, 144, 146–7, 149, 156, 160, 170, 176, 179, 183, 190, 193, 197, 202–4, 216, 219 efficient markets x Ely, Richard T. 9–10 employment protection 188, 200–203, 205 Enron 52, 92, 98, 110, 128, 132, 217 entrenchment 126, 135 equality of opportunity vii–ix, xii, 37, 39–41, 45, 53, 114, 124, 172 equality of outcome vii equilibrium x, 6–7, 37, 47, 146, 159, 161, 181–2, 197, 208 euro ix, 67, 82, 102 European Central Bank 103, 189, 215 European Commission/Union 67, 152 executive compensation 120–21, 138 exploitation 6, 156, 209, 212 exports 2, 34, 180–81 fairness ix, 13, 37, 39–40, 160, 164–6, 169–70, 177, 220 Fannie Mae (US government subsidizer of mortgages) 217 fear, uncertainty, doubt (FUD) 145 Federal Reserve (US) 43–4, 69–70, 85, 87–92, 143, 215 feedback loop 40, 216, 220 fiat money 75, 81 filibuster (US antilegislative maneuver) 218 financial industry xi, 44, 46–8, 51, 54–6, 64, 70, 89, 91–2, 121, 129, 217 financial markets xi, 47, 92, 108, 110, 128 financial rating agencies: see rating agencies financial sector xi, 43–4, 47–8, 53–4, 60, 64, 69, 79, 81, 83, 88–9, 100–101, 103, 105 Financial Stability Board 103 First (Workingmen’s) International 5 first mover advantage 132 Fisher, Irving 10, 13, 60, 75, 81, 83–4, 214 Fitch (ratings agency) 97 fixed costs 143 INDEX Fortune (magazine) 128 Fortune 500 (index) 49, 139 forwards (financial instrument) 67 founding fathers (of the United States) 207, 218 Freddie Mac (US government subsidizer of mortgages) 217 free market 6–7, 24, 46, 84, 147, 188, 193, 209 free riding 24, 37, 164 free trade 3–4, 16, 46, 209 freedom viii, 10, 18, 21, 25, 80, 94, 188, 191, 218 Freud, Sigmund 15 Friedman, Milton 44, 57, 81 front running (trading strategy) 65–6 FUD: see fear, uncertainty, doubt (FUD) fund managers 56–8, 63–4, 68, 134 futures (financial instrument) 67 Galbraith, John Kenneth 11, 74 GDP: see gross domestic product (GDP) General Motors xi, 16, 184–5 global financial crisis ix, 90; see also Great Financial Crisis God 24 gold 2, 72–7, 79–80, 86–7, 89 golden parachutes 112 Goldman Sachs 47, 49, 54, 56, 63, 66, 69, 88, 93, 105, 121, 215 goodwill 131 Great Depression 11, 70, 80, 138–9, 181, 204 Great Financial Crisis 79, 100, 111, 136; see also global financial crisis gross domestic product (GDP) vii–ix, xi, 28–31, 143 growth 27–8, 31, 33, 35, 39, 71, 90, 102, 108, 128, 132, 135, 151, 195, 203–4 Hadley, Arthur 10 happiness 202 Harvard Business Review 17–18 Harvard University 17–18, 26, 109, 208 243 hedge fund 29, 43, 46, 53, 58, 64–8, 92, 96, 101, 107 hedonic method 33–6 Hicks, John 13–14, 21 Homo economicus 164–6, 173 hostile takeovers 126 human capital 128 imports 2, 12, 34, 35 impossibility theorem (Arrow’s) 23–4, 212–13 incentives 39–40, 42–5, 52, 91, 93, 109, 114–15, 129, 132, 140, 172–4, 177, 182, 214 income guarantee 41 incompleteness viii, 12, 49, 145, 169, 184 incumbency 121, 134, 149 index tracking fund 55, 58 indifference 141, 168 industrial goods 2–3, 142 industrial production 2, 179 Industrial Revolution 5, 143, 181 inequality vii, 40, 138, 140 inflation 32–3, 36, 50, 78, 81, 104, 109, 120 information advantage 48, 131 information, asymmetric x, 191 information costs 144 information goods 143 information, imperfect x, xii, 142, 145, 149, 220 information technology 34, 218 innovation 34, 43, 147, 150–52, 160, 208 insider information 53–4, 62–3, 131 insider knowledge 131 insider trading 63–4, 131 institutionalism 8, 21 insurance xi, 39, 69, 82, 89–91,152, 189, 198, 204, 210 interest rate, real 50, 159 International Monetary Fund 27, 31, 48, 69, 74 International Workingmen’s Association 5 244 ECONOMISTS AND THE POWERFUL investment 32–3, 37, 41, 51, 56–7, 68, 78, 96–100, 103–4, 128–30, 133, 135, 140, 157, 184, 217 advice 51, 54, 56, 129 banking 29, 43, 47, 51, 52, 54, 55, 60–62, 64, 70–71, 89–90, 93, 94, 96, 97, 101, 107, 111–12, 125, 132 personal viii irrationality vii, 1, 13, 16, 38, 40, 151, 205, 211–12 Ivy League 27 Jevons, William Stanley 5, 16 job security viii, 108, 199–200, 202–4 J.P.


pages: 390 words: 96,624

Consent of the Networked: The Worldwide Struggle for Internet Freedom by Rebecca MacKinnon

A Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace, Bay Area Rapid Transit, Berlin Wall, blood diamond, business cycle, business intelligence, Cass Sunstein, Chelsea Manning, citizen journalism, Citizen Lab, cloud computing, cognitive dissonance, collective bargaining, conceptual framework, corporate social responsibility, Deng Xiaoping, digital divide, digital Maoism, don't be evil, Eben Moglen, Evgeny Morozov, Filter Bubble, Firefox, future of journalism, Global Witness, high-speed rail, illegal immigration, Jaron Lanier, Jeff Bezos, John Markoff, John Perry Barlow, Joi Ito, Julian Assange, Mark Zuckerberg, Mikhail Gorbachev, MITM: man-in-the-middle, national security letter, online collectivism, Panopticon Jeremy Bentham, Parag Khanna, pre–internet, race to the bottom, real-name policy, Richard Stallman, Ronald Reagan, sharing economy, Silicon Valley, Silicon Valley startup, Skype, Steve Crocker, Steven Levy, Tactical Technology Collective, technological determinism, WikiLeaks, Yochai Benkler

There is no reason an Internet freedom movement cannot eventually do the same thing, with enough effort by enough people. CORPORATE TRANSPARENCY AND NETIZEN ENGAGEMENT The power of corporations to shape netizens’ digital discourse and hence our political lives will not be constrained without new mechanisms and strategies for collective bargaining by netizens with corporations. The existing political and legislative processes of nation-states are failing to do the job. While it makes no sense for a company to try to duplicate the mechanisms of representative parliamentary democracy within their global constituencies, the status quo is also unacceptable.

Anger over identity policy on Facebook and Google Plus, problems caused by Facebook’s privacy policy changes, the disastrous Google Buzz rollout, and Flickr’s clashes with activists might all have been prevented if companies adopted more innovative ways to engage with netizens around the world who are affected by their businesses. A way must be found for companies to work more directly with netizens, their constituents, in shaping products and services. Netizens need to devise more systematic and effective strategies for organizing, lobbying, and collective bargaining with the companies whose services we depend upon—to minimize the chances that terms of service, design choices, technical decisions, or market entry strategies could put people at risk or result in infringement of their rights. The idea that companies can and should engage with user and customer communities is not new.


pages: 116 words: 31,356

Platform Capitalism by Nick Srnicek

"World Economic Forum" Davos, 3D printing, additive manufacturing, Airbnb, Amazon Mechanical Turk, Amazon Web Services, Big Tech, Californian Ideology, Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty, cloud computing, collaborative economy, collective bargaining, data science, deindustrialization, deskilling, Didi Chuxing, digital capitalism, digital divide, disintermediation, driverless car, Ford Model T, future of work, gig economy, independent contractor, Infrastructure as a Service, Internet of things, Jean Tirole, Jeff Bezos, knowledge economy, knowledge worker, liquidity trap, low interest rates, low skilled workers, Lyft, Mark Zuckerberg, means of production, mittelstand, multi-sided market, natural language processing, Network effects, new economy, Oculus Rift, offshore financial centre, pattern recognition, platform as a service, quantitative easing, RFID, ride hailing / ride sharing, Robert Gordon, Salesforce, self-driving car, sharing economy, Shoshana Zuboff, Silicon Valley, Silicon Valley startup, software as a service, surveillance capitalism, TaskRabbit, the built environment, total factor productivity, two-sided market, Uber and Lyft, Uber for X, uber lyft, unconventional monetary instruments, unorthodox policies, vertical integration, warehouse robotics, Zipcar

The labour process was organised along Taylorist principles, which sought to break tasks down into smaller deskilled pieces and to reorganise them in the most efficient way; and workers were gathered together in large numbers in single factories. This gave rise to the mass worker, capable of developing a collective identity on the basis of fellow workers’ sharing in the same conditions. Workers in this period were represented by trade unions that reached a balance with capital and repressed more radical initiatives.5 Collective bargaining ensured that wages grew at a healthy pace, and workers were increasingly bundled into manufacturing industries with relatively permanent jobs, high wages, and guaranteed pensions. Meanwhile the welfare state redistributed money to those left outside the labour market. As its nearest competitors were devastated by the war, American manufacturing profited and was the powerhouse of the postwar era.6 Yet Japan and Germany had their own comparative advantages – notably relatively low labour costs, skilled labour forces, advantageous exchange rates, and, in Japan’s case, a highly supportive institutional structure between government, banks, and key firms.


pages: 850 words: 254,117

Basic Economics by Thomas Sowell

affirmative action, air freight, airline deregulation, Alan Greenspan, American Legislative Exchange Council, bank run, barriers to entry, big-box store, British Empire, business cycle, clean water, collective bargaining, colonial rule, corporate governance, correlation does not imply causation, cotton gin, cross-subsidies, David Brooks, David Ricardo: comparative advantage, declining real wages, Dissolution of the Soviet Union, diversified portfolio, European colonialism, fixed income, Ford Model T, Fractional reserve banking, full employment, global village, Gunnar Myrdal, Hernando de Soto, hiring and firing, housing crisis, income inequality, income per capita, index fund, informal economy, inventory management, invisible hand, John Maynard Keynes: technological unemployment, joint-stock company, junk bonds, Just-in-time delivery, Kenneth Arrow, knowledge economy, labor-force participation, land reform, late fees, low cost airline, low interest rates, low skilled workers, means of production, Mikhail Gorbachev, minimum wage unemployment, moral hazard, offshore financial centre, oil shale / tar sands, payday loans, Phillips curve, Post-Keynesian economics, price discrimination, price stability, profit motive, quantitative easing, Ralph Nader, rent control, rent stabilization, road to serfdom, Ronald Reagan, San Francisco homelessness, Silicon Valley, surplus humans, The Bell Curve by Richard Herrnstein and Charles Murray, The Chicago School, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, Thomas Kuhn: the structure of scientific revolutions, Thomas Malthus, transcontinental railway, Tyler Cowen, Vanguard fund, War on Poverty, We are all Keynesians now

Moreover, we are concerned about the conditions where people work in a way that we are not concerned about the conditions where machinery is used or where raw materials are processed, except in so far as these conditions affect people. Other issues that arise with labor that do not arise with inanimate factors of production include job security, collective bargaining, occupational licensing and questions about whether labor is “exploited” in any of the various meanings of that word. The statistics that measure what is happening in labor markets also present special problems that are not present when considering statistics about inanimate factors of production.

Tragic events, such as the 2013 collapse of a factory in Bangladesh that killed more than a thousand workers, create international public opinion pressures on multinational corporations to either pay for safer working conditions or to leave countries whose governments do not enforce safety standards.{410} But such pressures are also used to push for higher minimum wage laws and more labor unions, usually without regard to the costs and employment repercussions of such things. Third-party observers face none of the inherent constraints and trade-offs that are inescapable for both employers and employees, and therefore these third parties have nothing to force them to even think in such terms. COLLECTIVE BARGAINING In previous chapters we have been considering labor markets in which both workers and employers are numerous and compete individually and independently, whether with or without government regulation of pay and working conditions. However, these are not the only kinds of markets for labor.

It would obviously not be worth the trouble of organizing employers if they were not able to gain by keeping the salaries they pay lower than they would be in a free market. Much has been said about the fairness or unfairness of the actions of medieval guilds, modern labor unions or other forms of collective bargaining. Here we are studying their economic consequences—and especially their effects on the allocation of scarce resources which have alternative uses. Almost by definition, all these organizations exist to keep the price of labor from being what it would be otherwise in free and open competition in the market.


pages: 326 words: 29,543

The Docks by Bill Sharpsteen

affirmative action, anti-communist, big-box store, collective bargaining, Google Earth, independent contractor, intermodal, inventory management, jitney, junk bonds, Just-in-time delivery, new economy, Panamax, place-making, Port of Oakland, post-Panamax, RAND corporation, refrigerator car, strikebreaker, women in the workforce

This legislation was mostly designed to stimulate the economy, but it also contained new guarantees for trade union rights. Now, by law, workers were allowed to organize and vote in a union to represent them. With that impetus, the ILA was organizing all along the West Coast, trying to establish its own ╯ ╯ ╯ 98â•… /â•… The Union locals with the ability to collectively bargain for higher wages and for work rules that protected the men from the bosses’ capricious behavior. The upheaval was coming. But that kind of overhaul—so extreme the companies fought it as though it threatened their lives—required a leader. And for that, the San Pedro dockworkers would have to look north to San Francisco. ╯ ╯ Harry Bridges Because the shipping companies would have had a hard time defending their treatment of the longshoremen, they took other tacks.

Keynote address to the ILWU Thirty-third International Convention. July 21, 2006. www.ilwu.org/dispatcher/2006/06/spinosa_conventionkeynote.cfm (accessed August 14, 2006). “Strike of 1971.” Pacific Maritime Association. www.pmanet.org/index.cfm?cmd =main.content&id_content=2142586624 (accessed January 11, 2007). Winter, Jennifer Marie. 30 Years of Collective Bargaining: Joseph Paul St. Sure, Management Labor Negotiator, 1902–1966. Chapter 4: “Toward Mechanization: St. Sure and the PMA, 1952–1959.” Pacific Maritime Archives. www.pmanet .org/?cmd=main.content&id_content=2023238683 (accessed December 31, 2004). ╯ ╯ ╯ Referencesâ•… /â•… 297 12. The Women Bates, Forest, et al. vs.


pages: 350 words: 109,379

How to Run a Government: So That Citizens Benefit and Taxpayers Don't Go Crazy by Michael Barber

Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, anti-fragile, Atul Gawande, battle of ideas, Berlin Wall, Black Swan, Checklist Manifesto, collapse of Lehman Brothers, collective bargaining, deep learning, deliberate practice, facts on the ground, failed state, fear of failure, full employment, G4S, illegal immigration, invisible hand, libertarian paternalism, Mark Zuckerberg, Nate Silver, North Sea oil, obamacare, performance metric, Potemkin village, Ronald Reagan, school choice, The Signal and the Noise by Nate Silver, transaction costs, WikiLeaks

The governor had the personal discipline – not evident in all leading politicians – to commit to and stick to the routines he established. Moreover, in contrast to the Blair administration, where the mantra was ‘Investment for Reform’, Daniels pursued reform alongside major cuts in expenditure. In this sense he anticipated the reckoning to come when the financial crisis hit in 2008. He ended collective bargaining on his first day in office. He outsourced swathes of services and there were layoffs too. However, for those who stayed, there were benefits. Daniels introduced significant rewards for performance, including, towards the end of his time in office, giving each state employee an extra $1,000 as a reward for their part in turning a major deficit into a substantial surplus.

The average wait time for a driver’s licence was under nine minutes, down from over forty, for example. The governor’s approval rating was 63 per cent in April 2012, unusually high in a year when politicians around the world, after years of economic gloom, were perceived poorly. Interestingly too, in spite of the cuts and the end of collective bargaining (or perhaps because of them), state employees were better paid and more strongly motivated than they had been. Daniels had not avoided controversy, far from it. In addition to his hard line on state employees, he had also raised taxes in his early days to the chagrin of some of his political allies.


pages: 128 words: 38,187

The New Prophets of Capital by Nicole Aschoff

"World Economic Forum" Davos, 3D printing, affirmative action, Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, Airbnb, American Legislative Exchange Council, Anthropocene, antiwork, basic income, biodiversity loss, Bretton Woods, clean water, collective bargaining, commoditize, crony capitalism, do what you love, feminist movement, follow your passion, food desert, Food sovereignty, glass ceiling, global supply chain, global value chain, helicopter parent, hiring and firing, income inequality, Khan Academy, late capitalism, Lyft, Mark Zuckerberg, mass incarceration, means of production, microapartment, performance metric, post-Fordism, post-work, profit motive, rent-seeking, Ronald Reagan, Rosa Parks, school vouchers, shareholder value, sharing economy, Sheryl Sandberg, Silicon Valley, Slavoj Žižek, structural adjustment programs, Susan Wojcicki, TED Talk, Tim Cook: Apple, urban renewal, women in the workforce, working poor, zero-sum game

If we’re going to improve women’s lives we need to help them organize their workplaces. While it might work for some women (like Sandberg) to focus on individual strategies to get ahead in their jobs, the only way most women are going to get sick days, family leave, health insurance, or a raise is through a collective bargaining agreement organized with other workers, not “trickle-down feminism.”36 Women must lean in to collective projects that unite women in spirit and purpose, projects that channel individual female voices into a deafening roar for true feminism, projects that give women the power to change the world, to make it a better place for all people. ________ 1Sheryl Sandberg, Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead, New York: Alfred A.


pages: 124 words: 39,011

Beyond Outrage: Expanded Edition: What Has Gone Wrong With Our Economy and Our Democracy, and How to Fix It by Robert B. Reich

2013 Report for America's Infrastructure - American Society of Civil Engineers - 19 March 2013, affirmative action, Alan Greenspan, banking crisis, benefit corporation, business cycle, carried interest, collateralized debt obligation, collective bargaining, Cornelius Vanderbilt, Credit Default Swap, credit default swaps / collateralized debt obligations, desegregation, electricity market, Ford Model T, full employment, Glass-Steagall Act, Home mortgage interest deduction, job automation, low interest rates, Mahatma Gandhi, minimum wage unemployment, money market fund, Nelson Mandela, new economy, Occupy movement, offshore financial centre, plutocrats, Ponzi scheme, race to the bottom, Ronald Reagan, Savings and loan crisis, single-payer health, special drawing rights, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, Tim Cook: Apple, too big to fail, trickle-down economics, women in the workforce, working poor, zero-sum game

Unions didn’t cause these crises—state revenues plummeted because of the Great Recession—but regressives view them as opportunities to gut public employee unions, starting with teachers. Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin told a wealthy supporter (who later contributed more than half a million dollars to help him fight off a recall) that his first step for reducing union power was “to deal with collective bargaining for all public employee unions because you divide and conquer.” Soon thereafter, Walker and his GOP majority in the state legislature ended most union rights for public employees. Ohio’s Republican governor, John Kasich, tried to push a similar plan through a Republican-dominated legislature there.


pages: 128 words: 38,847

The Curse of Bigness: Antitrust in the New Gilded Age by Tim Wu

AltaVista, AOL-Time Warner, barriers to entry, Big Tech, collective bargaining, corporate personhood, corporate raider, creative destruction, Donald Trump, Ida Tarbell, income inequality, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, John Perry Barlow, Joseph Schumpeter, Kickstarter, move fast and break things, new economy, open economy, Peter Thiel, Plato's cave, price discrimination, road to serfdom, Robert Bork, Silicon Valley, Snapchat, The Chicago School

Grinnell, condemns “the willful acquisition or maintenance of [monopoly] power as distinguished from growth or development as a consequence of a superior product, business acumen, or historic accident.” *Why would the railroads agree to the plan (which after all, lowered their prices)? Given the collective bargaining power of the major refineries, they may have given them little choice. But the deal also gave them guaranteed volume, and perhaps the opportunity to ward off their own competitors. In later years, Rockefeller would take substantial ownership interests in the railroads, which may have later played a factor.


Worldmaking After Empire: The Rise and Fall of Self-Determination by Adom Getachew

agricultural Revolution, Bretton Woods, British Empire, collective bargaining, colonial exploitation, colonial rule, failed state, financial independence, Gunnar Myrdal, land reform, land tenure, liberal world order, market fundamentalism, means of production, Monroe Doctrine, Mont Pelerin Society, Peace of Westphalia, Ronald Reagan, Scramble for Africa, structural adjustment programs, trade liberalization, transatlantic slave trade, W. E. B. Du Bois

In 1943, he had joined fellow African journalists in demanding that the provisions of the Atlantic Charter be extended to the colonies. Their memorandum on postwar reconstruction called for political and civil rights for colonized subjects and laid out extensive social and economic reforms that included a living wage, an end to forced labor, rights to collective bargaining, the nationalization of mines, and increased investments in education, housing, and health care. These reforms would be instituted alongside a gradual movement toward independence that required a period of “responsible self-­government” before achieving sovereignty.3 Azikiwe argued that the economic and social reforms required democratic self-­government.

See under League of Nations burdened societies, 34, 35, 54, 55 Bureau of African Affairs, 207n23 Burgess, John, 210n63 Burke, Edmund, 10, 40, 42, 43–­44, 47, 81; Conciliation with the Colonies, 43 Burke, Roland, 92 Cabral, Amilcar, 73 Canada, 21, 123, 209n45 Canovan, Margaret, 27 index capital, 24, 31, 32, 49, 82 capitalism: and Azikiwe, 72; and Du Bois, 68; and imperialism, 3, 108; and James, 69; and Lenin, 37, 38; and Myrdal, 160; and socialism, 38 Caribbean, 78, 140; call for reparations in, 181, 221–­22n148; economy of, 111; and New World Group, 152; plantation society in, 152; regional federation in, 114; United States intervention in, 120 Caribbean Community (CARICOM), 213n118 Caribbean Free Trade Association (CARIFTA), 213n118 Caribbean states: colonial plantations of, 24; and global economy, 143; global entanglements of, 24; and slave trade, 24 Cassin, René, 75 Castro, Fidel, 151 Central powers, 38 Césaire, Aimé, 5, 116, 139, 184n16 Chaguaramas base, 120 Chatterjee, Partha, 27 China, 39, 68, 187n37, 217n53 Churchill, Winston, 71, 198–­99n1 citizens: and Biafra, 103, 104; rights of, 95; and state, 104 citizenship, 17, 155–­56; and dependence, 154; and divisions in postcolonial so­ cieties, 102–­3; and Habermas, 27; and human rights, 94; and international hierarchy, 23; and international relations, 23; and Nkrumah, 96; and Nyerere, 96, 155; and postcolonial independence, 94 civilization, 21; and Ethiopia, 64–­65, 66; European claims to superior, 39; and League of Nations, 57; and Smuts, 47; standard of, 19; and World War I, 22; World War I as crisis of white, 42–­43 class, 37–­38, 160 class politics, 12, 145 class war, 160, 167 Cocks, Joan, 27 cocoa, production of, 146–­47 coffee, production of, 147 Cohen, Jean, 33 Cold War, 28, 30, 76, 78, 100, 105, 178, [ 251 ] 200n24; and Congo crisis, 102, 103; end of, 31, 179; international rivalry and competition of, 102 collective bargaining, 72 Collingwood, R. G., 77 colonialism: in Africa, 18, 63, 97; in Amer­ icas, 18–­20; for benefit of colonized subjects, 81–­82; boundaries inherited from, 102, 103, 104; and disposses­sion, 86; and Du Bois, 79–­80; economy of, 54, 111–­12, 157; and Emerson, 105; and equality, 89; and Fifth Pan-­African Congress, 73; and human rights, 93, 94–­95; and international hierarchy, 85, 89, 90; and international law, 18; and international treaties and confer­ ences, 18; and Jamaica, 152–­53, 156; and James, 68; and labor, 54, 81; and labor as disconnected from slavery, 53; labor as forced and compulsory under, 59; and League of Nations, 53; and Lewis, 147; liberal and humanitarian justifications of, 81; and Liberia, 54; and M.


pages: 397 words: 114,841

High Steel: The Daring Men Who Built the World's Greatest Skyline by Jim Rasenberger

AOL-Time Warner, Bear Stearns, collective bargaining, Donald Trump, East Village, Ford Model T, illegal immigration, Lewis Mumford, MITM: man-in-the-middle, scientific management, strikebreaker, Tacoma Narrows Bridge, union organizing, urban planning, vertical integration, young professional

The Davis-Bacon Act of 1931 required contractors on all federally financed construction projects to pay the prevailing wage of the locale where the work occurred. A contractor didn’t have to hire union workers, but he had to pay a union wage to the men he did hire. The Wagner Act, passed by Congress in 1935, guaranteed employees the right to organize into unions and seek collective bargaining with their bosses. For the first time in American history, the law forbade employers from firing an employee simply because he belonged to a labor union. The Wagner Act had an immediate and salubrious impact. U.S. Steel and Bethlehem Steel, the dual Big Steel nemeses that ironworkers had been fighting since the turn of the century, recognized the ironworkers’ union for the first time in 30 years.

., as skyscraper Chicago (cont.) capital, 49–50 (see also New York City) unions in chokers Chrysler, Walter Chrysler Building civil rights clear (center) span climbing columns cloud sketchers cod fishing Cohen, Dr. Bernard Cole, Jim Coliseum Coliseum Bar and Grill collapses, bridge collective bargaining Collins, Glenn Collins, John columns columns, climbing communications industry competition compression computers Conception Bay, See also Newfoundland concrete, steel vs., See also steel Conde B. McCullough Memorial Bridge Condé Nast Building Conklin, Brett connectors K. Brown and M.


Border and Rule: Global Migration, Capitalism, and the Rise of Racist Nationalism by Harsha Walia

anti-communist, antiwork, Berlin Wall, Bernie Sanders, Black Lives Matter, blood diamond, borderless world, Boris Johnson, Brexit referendum, British Empire, California gold rush, clean water, climate change refugee, collective bargaining, colonial rule, contact tracing, coronavirus, COVID-19, crack epidemic, dark matter, decarbonisation, deindustrialization, Donald Trump, drone strike, Elon Musk, European colonialism, eurozone crisis, export processing zone, extractivism, fake news, Fall of the Berlin Wall, Food sovereignty, G4S, gentrification, George Floyd, global pandemic, global supply chain, Global Witness, green new deal, guest worker program, illegal immigration, immigration reform, income inequality, informal economy, Jeff Bezos, Jeremy Corbyn, joint-stock company, land reform, late capitalism, lockdown, mandatory minimum, mass immigration, mass incarceration, means of production, microcredit, military-industrial complex, Monroe Doctrine, moral panic, Naomi Klein, neoliberal agenda, Occupy movement, ocean acidification, oil shale / tar sands, open borders, pension reform, Rana Plaza, Richard Florida, Ronald Reagan, Shoshana Zuboff, social distancing, special economic zone, Steve Bannon, strikebreaker, structural adjustment programs, surveillance capitalism, trade liberalization, transatlantic slave trade, transcontinental railway, union organizing, upwardly mobile, urban planning, W. E. B. Du Bois, wages for housework, Washington Consensus, women in the workforce

But borders do not protect labor; the border is a bundle of relations and mode of governance acting as a spatial fix for capital to segment labor and buffer against the retrenchment of universal social programs. Simply put, borders manufacture divisions within the international working class. Borders are exploited by the class-conscious ruling class through outsourcing and insourcing to weaken collective bargaining rights and working-class resistance to transnational capital and its austerity measures. The social, political, and economic conditions simultaneously cultivated and weaponized by the far right can only be confronted by a radical and unabashed internationalist left. Finally, we cannot allow the state and elites to become the arbiters of migration and, in doing so, to characterize migration as a crisis while hypocritically presenting themselves as the victims of migrants.

Migrant worker networks such as Alianza Americas, International Trade Union Confederation, La Via Campesina, Migrant Forum in Asia, Pan-African Network in Defense of Migrants’ Rights, and Women in Migration Network are mobilizing across borders and demanding the right to permanent residency upon arrival, full access to social services, protection of collective bargaining rights, and living wages for all. CHAPTER 8 The Kafala System in the Gulf States I worked and worked. My boss would slap me and beat me. He said: “If you do not remove your clothes I will cut your neck.” —Adia, quoted in Anna Dubuis, “We Spoke to Domestic Workers Who Were Trapped in the Middle East’s ‘Formal Slave Trade’” The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is the main destination for labor migration in the Global South, making it a key region for an analysis of the dynamics of capital accumulation, labor control, and citizenship regulation in relation to migration.1 Migrant workers in the oil-rich GCC states of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) constitute anywhere from 40 to 90 percent of each country’s population.


Hacking Capitalism by Söderberg, Johan; Söderberg, Johan;

Abraham Maslow, air gap, Alvin Toffler, AOL-Time Warner, barriers to entry, Charles Babbage, collective bargaining, commoditize, computer age, corporate governance, creative destruction, Debian, deindustrialization, delayed gratification, Dennis Ritchie, deskilling, digital capitalism, digital divide, Donald Davies, Eben Moglen, Erik Brynjolfsson, Firefox, Free Software Foundation, frictionless, full employment, Garrett Hardin, Hacker Conference 1984, Hacker Ethic, Herbert Marcuse, Howard Rheingold, IBM and the Holocaust, informal economy, interchangeable parts, invention of radio, invention of the telephone, Jacquard loom, James Watt: steam engine, jimmy wales, John Markoff, John von Neumann, Joseph Schumpeter, Joseph-Marie Jacquard, Ken Thompson, knowledge economy, knowledge worker, labour market flexibility, late capitalism, Lewis Mumford, liberal capitalism, Marshall McLuhan, means of production, Mitch Kapor, mutually assured destruction, new economy, Norbert Wiener, On the Economy of Machinery and Manufactures, packet switching, patent troll, peer-to-peer, peer-to-peer model, planned obsolescence, post scarcity, post-Fordism, post-industrial society, price mechanism, Productivity paradox, profit motive, RFID, Richard Florida, Richard Stallman, Ronald Coase, safety bicycle, Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, SETI@home, Silicon Valley, Slavoj Žižek, software patent, Steven Levy, Stewart Brand, subscription business, tech worker, technological determinism, technoutopianism, the Cathedral and the Bazaar, The Nature of the Firm, the scientific method, The Theory of the Leisure Class by Thorstein Veblen, Thomas Davenport, Thorstein Veblen, tragedy of the anticommons, Tragedy of the Commons, transaction costs, Whole Earth Catalog, Yochai Benkler

A recurring theme in this literature is studies of the mob. Since the poor lacked a foothold in the capitalist production process, their negotiation strength vis-à-vis the ruling class consisted mainly in the threat of violence. Historian Eric Hobsbawm has famously described machine breaking as a kind of ‘collective bargaining by riot’. Such demands were most effectively delivered in big numbers. No less important was that the mob provided some anonymity in confrontations with the enemy. The individuals could not as easily be singled out for retaliation when they acted as a crowd. These historical reflections on anonymity versus identification are actualised once more in the debate about Internet surveillance.

.: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, 1995). 6. Even if machine breaking could not stop industrial capitalism, Eric Hobsbawm estimated that the implementation of labour-saving technologies in local areas was held back due to sabotage. Furthermore, the breaking of machines was part of a more general strategy of ‘collective bargaining by riot’, as he called it, which could also include arsoning the employer’s stock and home. If judged as a method to maintain wage rates and working conditions, it was fairly effective. Eric Hobsbawm, “The Machine Breakers”, Past and Present 1 (February 1952). 7. The joy of writing source code is the lead motive in Linus Torvald’s story about the invention of Linux.


pages: 170 words: 42,196

Don't Make Me Think!: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability by Steve Krug

collective bargaining, Garrett Hardin, iterative process, pets.com, Silicon Valley, Tragedy of the Commons, web application, Whole Earth Catalog

A person of integrity and honor; “a stand-up guy”; someone who does the right thing. Sincerity: that’s the hard part. If you can fake that, the rest is easy. —OLD JOKE ABOUT A HOLLYWOOD AGENT SOME TIME AGO, I WAS BOOKED ON A FLIGHT TO DENVER. AS IT happened, the date of my flight also turned out to be the deadline for collective bargaining between the airline I was booked on and one of its unions. Concerned, I did what anyone would do: (a) Start checking Google News every hour to see if a deal had been reached, and (b) visit the airline’s Web site to see what they were saying about it. I was shocked to discover that not only was there nothing about the impending strike on the airline’s Home page, but there wasn’t a word about it to be found anywhere on the entire site.


pages: 435 words: 120,574

Strangers in Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right by Arlie Russell Hochschild

affirmative action, Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, Bernie Sanders, Black Lives Matter, business cycle, Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty, Cass Sunstein, clean water, collective bargaining, Deep Water Horizon, desegregation, Donald Trump, emotional labour, ending welfare as we know it, equal pay for equal work, Exxon Valdez, feminist movement, full employment, greed is good, guest worker program, invisible hand, knowledge economy, man camp, McMansion, minimum wage unemployment, new economy, obamacare, off-the-grid, oil shock, payday loans, precautionary principle, Richard Florida, Ronald Reagan, school vouchers, Silicon Valley, Solyndra, sovereign wealth fund, The Theory of the Leisure Class by Thorstein Veblen, Thorstein Veblen, urban sprawl, working poor, Yogi Berra

In fact, politics is the single biggest factor determining views on climate change. This split has widened because the right has moved right, not because the left has moved left. Republican presidents Eisenhower, Nixon, and Ford all supported the Equal Rights Amendment. In 1960, the GOP platform embraced “free collective bargaining” between management and labor. Republicans boasted of “extending the minimum wage to several million more workers” and “strengthening the unemployment insurance system and extension of its benefits.” Under Dwight Eisenhower, top earners were taxed at 91 percent; in 2015, it was 40 percent.

See Environmental Protection Agency Equal Rights Amendment, 7 ethane cracker, 238–39, 284n86 ethylene dichloride (EDC), 45–46, 102, 271n31 chemical leak of, 96–97, 122, 129, 184–91 I-10 bridge and, 184–91 evangelical church, 123, 294n123 Evans-Pritchard, Edward Evan, 51–52 exploratory research, 247 Exxon, 282n76 fact-checking, 255–61 Falwell, Jerry, 123 federal employees, 161–62 federal policies, 109–10, 290n109, 291n109 feeling rules, 15–16, 178, 227–28 See also emotion feminist movement, 214 fertility, 188, 300n188, 312n257 Filipino workers, 74, 280n74 financial crisis, 231–32 fish consumption safety, 110–11 kill, in Bayou d’Inde, 31–34 marine mortality and, 277n65 -related jobs, 32, 211, 271n32 Seafood Advisory on, 31–34, 271n31 Fleming, John, 26, 37, 239 flooding, 200 Florida, Richard, 233 focus groups, 247–48 Ford, Henry, 7 foreign policy, 90 forgetting, 49–52, 108, 198–99 formaldehyde, 48 Fox News, 126–28, 295n128 Great Recession, 2008 and, 268n15 fracking, 241–42, 260, 285n90, 286n91 boom, 90–92 economic growth from, 90 foreign policy and, 90 history of, 89–90 industrial pollution relating to, 90–91 jobs in, 74, 90 in Lake Charles, 21 Frank, Thomas, 8, 14, 228, 268n14 Frankland, Peggy, 32–33 free collective bargaining, 7 freedom Honoré on, 62–71 regulation and, 67–69 Freedom of Information Act, 187 Freedom Riders, 209 Freedom Summer, 212–13 free-market, 9–10 class, deep story, and, 148–51 community and, 112 environment and, 201–2 global capitalism and, 236–37 insurance companies and, 201 Jindal on, 112 Trump and, 228 French Catholic Acadians (Cajuns), 41, 56, 269n16 French language, 42, 271n42 funding for education, 95 incentive money, 73–74, 92, 94, 259 under Jindal, 231 for Louisiana, 9, 265n9 in red states, 9–10 Galicia, Sharon, 229, 237 Gallup polls, 249 gender.


pages: 409 words: 125,611

The Great Divide: Unequal Societies and What We Can Do About Them by Joseph E. Stiglitz

"World Economic Forum" Davos, accelerated depreciation, accounting loophole / creative accounting, affirmative action, Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, agricultural Revolution, Alan Greenspan, Asian financial crisis, banking crisis, Bear Stearns, Berlin Wall, Bernie Madoff, Branko Milanovic, Bretton Woods, business cycle, capital controls, Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty, carbon tax, Carmen Reinhart, carried interest, classic study, clean water, collapse of Lehman Brothers, collective bargaining, company town, computer age, corporate governance, credit crunch, Credit Default Swap, deindustrialization, Detroit bankruptcy, discovery of DNA, Doha Development Round, everywhere but in the productivity statistics, Fall of the Berlin Wall, financial deregulation, financial innovation, full employment, gentrification, George Akerlof, ghettoisation, Gini coefficient, glass ceiling, Glass-Steagall Act, global macro, global supply chain, Home mortgage interest deduction, housing crisis, income inequality, income per capita, information asymmetry, job automation, Kenneth Rogoff, Kickstarter, labor-force participation, light touch regulation, Long Term Capital Management, low interest rates, manufacturing employment, market fundamentalism, mass incarceration, moral hazard, mortgage debt, mortgage tax deduction, new economy, obamacare, offshore financial centre, oil shale / tar sands, Paul Samuelson, plutocrats, purchasing power parity, quantitative easing, race to the bottom, rent-seeking, rising living standards, Robert Solow, Ronald Reagan, Savings and loan crisis, school vouchers, secular stagnation, Silicon Valley, Simon Kuznets, subprime mortgage crisis, The Chicago School, the payments system, Tim Cook: Apple, too big to fail, trade liberalization, transaction costs, transfer pricing, trickle-down economics, Turing machine, unpaid internship, upwardly mobile, urban renewal, urban sprawl, very high income, War on Poverty, Washington Consensus, We are the 99%, white flight, winner-take-all economy, working poor, working-age population

The rules of economic globalization are likewise designed to benefit the rich: they encourage competition among countries for business, which drives down taxes on corporations, weakens health and environmental protections, and undermines what used to be viewed as the “core” labor rights, which include the right to collective bargaining. Imagine what the world might look like if the rules were designed instead to encourage competition among countries for workers. Governments would compete in providing economic security, low taxes on ordinary wage earners, good education, and a clean environment—things workers care about. But the top 1 percent don’t need to care.

A high point of the meeting was the speech by Christine Lagarde, the International Monetary Fund’s managing director, who stressed the marked change in her institution, at least at the top: deep concern about women’s rights; renewed emphasis on the link between inequality and instability; and recognition that collective bargaining and minimum wages could play an important role in reducing inequality. If only the IMF programs in Greece and elsewhere fully reflected these sentiments! The Associated Press organized a sobering session on technology and unemployment: Can countries (particularly in the developed world) create new jobs—especially good jobs—in the face of modern technology that has replaced workers with robots and other machines in any task that can be routinized?


pages: 602 words: 120,848

Winner-Take-All Politics: How Washington Made the Rich Richer-And Turned Its Back on the Middle Class by Paul Pierson, Jacob S. Hacker

accounting loophole / creative accounting, active measures, affirmative action, air traffic controllers' union, Alan Greenspan, asset allocation, barriers to entry, Bear Stearns, Bonfire of the Vanities, business climate, business cycle, carried interest, Cass Sunstein, clean water, collective bargaining, corporate governance, Credit Default Swap, David Brooks, desegregation, employer provided health coverage, financial deregulation, financial innovation, financial intermediation, fixed income, full employment, Glass-Steagall Act, Home mortgage interest deduction, Howard Zinn, income inequality, invisible hand, John Bogle, knowledge economy, laissez-faire capitalism, Martin Wolf, medical bankruptcy, moral hazard, Nate Silver, new economy, night-watchman state, offshore financial centre, oil shock, Paul Volcker talking about ATMs, Powell Memorandum, Ralph Nader, Ronald Reagan, Savings and loan crisis, shareholder value, Silicon Valley, Tax Reform Act of 1986, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, three-martini lunch, too big to fail, trickle-down economics, union organizing, very high income, War on Poverty, winner-take-all economy, women in the workforce

For Phillips, it was liberals who had repudiated the New Deal by moving “beyond programs taxing the few for the benefit of the many (the New Deal) to programs taxing the many on behalf of the few (the Great Society).” The main obstacles to Republican inroads among northern blue-collar workers were “[f]ears that a Republican administration would undermine Social Security, Medicare, collective bargaining and aid to education.” If a Nixon administration could “dispel these apprehensions,” it would gain the political loyalties of the white working class.3 The Nixon we remember was the “law and order” president who cultivated working-class cultural anxieties. But Nixon cut a far different figure when it came to most of the essential aspects of domestic governance, especially those related to the economy and social welfare.

., 123, 125, 195, 196, 198, 214, 249–50, 261 Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), 265, 274 Truman, Harry S., 165 UBS, 198, 254 unemployment insurance, 86, 89, 189 unemployment rate, 2, 27, 63, 86, 88, 125, 165, 235, 253, 281, 282, 287, 294–95 Unequal Democracy (Bartels), 151–52, 167 unions, labor: business opposition to, 55, 121–24, 127–32, 135, 219, 303 collective bargaining by, 98 decline of, 5, 56–61, 66, 127–32, 139–43, 164, 235, 248, 278, 303 Democrats supported by, 58, 89, 99, 121–24, 126, 129–32, 141, 164, 172, 178, 248, 278–79 financial resources of, 143 laws for, 44, 58, 78, 80, 125–32, 134, 189, 296 membership of, 57–58, 61, 140, 141–42, 248, 278–79, 318n organization by, 127–28, 204 PACs organized by, 121–22, 128, 172 picketing by, 128–29 political influence of, 89, 99, 121–24, 126, 127–32, 139–43, 144, 145, 146, 154, 204, 218, 275, 278–79, 293 in public sector, 56, 142, 278 Republican opposition to, 58–59, 129–32, 186–87 strikes by, 58–59, 60, 186–87, 191 upper class: income levels of, 3, 12–13, 16–18, 18, 20–25, 32, 39–40, 39, 46, 153–55, 194, 290, 311n political influence of, 72, 78–79, 112–14, 147–51, 157–58 Republicans supported by, 110–11, 147–49 taxation of, 3, 5, 14, 20–24, 34, 47–48, 133, 134, 157, 187, 212–13, 215–17, 243–46, 266, 290 wealth accumulated by, 16–17, 24–25, 31, 32, 43, 49–50, 54–55, 56, 74–77, 100, 101, 225–26, 256, 302–3, 306 upward mobility, 14n, 28–29, 152–53 Urofsky, Melvin, 81 Vanguard Group, 229 Verba, Sidney, 144 vetoes, presidential, 84, 85, 98–99, 126, 128, 213, 241, 298 Vietnam War, 95, 101, 216 Viguerie, Richard, 202 Vogel, David, 116 Volcker, Paul, 46, 256 voters: information for, 108–10, 154–58, 214–15, 236–37, 277, 295 median-voter model of, 77–78 misconceptions of, 151–55, 236–37 mobilization of, 107–10, 138–39, 140, 160, 248, 282 participation by, 77–78, 99, 107, 108–10, 113–14, 137–60, 167–68, 174–75, 252, 268, 287 registration of, 99, 140, 142, 203 swing, 109, 159 targeting of, 147–48, 174–75 “unmoored,” 139, 149–51 Wagner, Robert, 306 Wagner Act (1935), 129, 140 Walker, Charls, 120, 124–26, 133–34, 135 Wall Street, 1, 2, 6, 51, 66–68, 70, 104, 194, 195, 197, 209, 221–30, 232, 247–50, 256, 261, 274, 282, 290–91; see also financial services industry Wall Street Journal, 47, 59, 77, 275 Wal-Mart, 32, 64, 104, 240, 318n Walton family, 218, 240 War on Poverty, 200 Washington, George, 269–70 Watergate scandal, 98, 117 Waxman, Henry, 260 Wealth of Nations, The (Smith), 82 Weber, Vin, 190 Weill, Sanford, 71, 249–50 welfare, 52, 97, 107, 181, 182, 193 What a Party!


pages: 420 words: 124,202

The Most Powerful Idea in the World: A Story of Steam, Industry, and Invention by William Rosen

Albert Einstein, All science is either physics or stamp collecting, barriers to entry, Charles Babbage, collective bargaining, computer age, Copley Medal, creative destruction, David Ricardo: comparative advantage, decarbonisation, delayed gratification, Fellow of the Royal Society, flying shuttle, Flynn Effect, fudge factor, full employment, Higgs boson, independent contractor, invisible hand, Isaac Newton, Islamic Golden Age, iterative process, James Hargreaves, James Watt: steam engine, John Harrison: Longitude, Joseph Schumpeter, Joseph-Marie Jacquard, knowledge economy, language acquisition, Lewis Mumford, moral hazard, Network effects, Panopticon Jeremy Bentham, Paul Samuelson, Peace of Westphalia, Peter Singer: altruism, QWERTY keyboard, Ralph Waldo Emerson, rent-seeking, Robert Solow, Ronald Coase, Simon Kuznets, spinning jenny, tacit knowledge, the scientific method, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, Thomas Malthus, three-masted sailing ship, transaction costs, transcontinental railway, zero-sum game, éminence grise

By 1796, administrators in the Department of the Somme were complaining, it turns out presciently, that the “prejudice against machinery61 has led the commercial classes … to abandon their interest in the cotton industry.” The Luddite version of machine breaking—what the historian E. J. Hobsbawm called “collective bargaining by riot”62—was the product of half a dozen different but related historical threads. One was surely the Napoleonic Wars, which had been under way more or less continuously for more than fifteen years by the time of the first Luddite activity. The war economy had affected the textile industry of the Midlands no less than the shipbuilders of Portsmouth, first with dramatic increases in demand for sailcloth and uniforms, and then—as Napoleon’s so-called “Continental System” restricted British trade with the Americas and Europe—with equally dramatic decreases in exports, which fell by nearly a third from 1810 to 1811.

., Technology in Western Civilization. 55 “as soon as Arkwright’s patent expired” Ibid. 56 In 1551 Parliament passed legislation Mokyr, Lever of Riches. 57 Not only was Richard Hargreaves’s original spinning jenny destroyed Jeff Horn, “Machine-breaking in England and France During the Age of Revolution,” Labour/Travail 55, Spring 2005. 58 Normandy in particular Ibid. 59 “the machines used in cotton-spinning” Ibid. 60 “he had favored machines” Ibid. 61 “prejudice against machinery” Ibid. 62 “collective bargaining by riot” Kevin Binfield, Writings of the Luddites (Baltimore and London: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2004). 63 Handloom weavers had been earning Sale, Rebels Against the Future. 64 “mee-mawing” Ibid. 65 more than half of all the land then in cultivation in England Ibid. 66 The lack of a patent Usher, History of Mechanical Inventions. 67 In the late 1770s, they petitioned Parliament Binfield, Writings of the Luddites. 68 The stockingers began in the town of Arnold Ibid. 69 The attacks continued throughout the spring Horn, “Machine-breaking in England and France During the Age of Revolution.” 70 That November, a commander Ibid. 71 “2000 men, many of them armed” Binfield, Writings of the Luddites. 72 Manchester was further down the path Ibid. 73 Manchester alone had more than three thousand men Sale, Rebels Against the Future. 74 In January, the West Riding of Yorkshire Binfield, Writings of the Luddites. 75 “Whereas by the charter” A.


pages: 400 words: 129,320

The Way We Eat: Why Our Food Choices Matter by Peter Singer, Jim Mason

agricultural Revolution, air freight, biodiversity loss, clean water, collective bargaining, dumpster diving, food miles, Garrett Hardin, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Isaac Newton, means of production, rent control, Tragedy of the Commons, urban sprawl, vertical integration, Whole Earth Review

♦ Forced Labor-there must be no forced labor, which also means no prison labor and no debt bondage (forced labor to repay real or false debts). ♦ Health and Safety-the employer must provide a safe and healthy work environment; including access to bathrooms and safe drinking water. ♦ Freedom of Association and Right to Collective Bargaining-the employer must respect the workers' rights to form and join trade unions and bargain collectively. ♦ Discrimination-there can be no discrimination based on race, caste, origin, religion, disability, gender, sexual orientation, union or political affiliation, or age, and no sexual harassment

Social Responsibility: Workers should have decent wages and working conditions. Minimally decent treatment for employees and suppliers precludes child labor, forced labor, and sexual harassment. Workplaces should be safe, and workers should have the right to form associations and engage in collective bargaining, if they so choose. There must be no discrimination on the basis of race, sex, or disabilities irrelevant to the job. Workers should receive a wage sufficient to cover their basic needs and those of dependent children. 5. Needs: Preserving life and health justifies more than other desires.


pages: 388 words: 125,472

The Establishment: And How They Get Away With It by Owen Jones

anti-communist, Asian financial crisis, autism spectrum disorder, bank run, battle of ideas, Big bang: deregulation of the City of London, bonus culture, Boris Johnson, Bretton Woods, British Empire, call centre, capital controls, Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty, centre right, citizen journalism, collapse of Lehman Brothers, collective bargaining, disinformation, don't be evil, Edward Snowden, Etonian, eurozone crisis, falling living standards, Francis Fukuyama: the end of history, full employment, G4S, glass ceiling, hiring and firing, housing crisis, inflation targeting, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), investor state dispute settlement, James Dyson, Jon Ronson, laissez-faire capitalism, land bank, light touch regulation, low interest rates, market fundamentalism, mass immigration, Monroe Doctrine, Mont Pelerin Society, moral hazard, Neil Kinnock, night-watchman state, Nixon triggered the end of the Bretton Woods system, Northern Rock, Occupy movement, offshore financial centre, old-boy network, open borders, Overton Window, plutocrats, popular capitalism, post-war consensus, profit motive, quantitative easing, race to the bottom, rent control, road to serfdom, Ronald Reagan, shareholder value, short selling, sovereign wealth fund, stakhanovite, statistical model, subprime mortgage crisis, Suez crisis 1956, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, transfer pricing, Tyler Cowen, union organizing, unpaid internship, Washington Consensus, We are all Keynesians now, wealth creators, Winter of Discontent

In the private sector, the story is even bleaker. Only around 14 per cent of workers are organized, and many of those are former public-sector workers who have been privatized or contracted out. On the eve of Thatcherism, more than eight out of ten workers had their wages and conditions set by a collective bargaining agreement; but this figure has collapsed to less than three in ten. ‘I think there was a failure to face up to our diminishing power over that period,’ says Frances O’Grady, ‘partly because the economy was growing and the fact we were getting an ever smaller share of it for the people we represented was disguised in the fact that the cake was growing, so it didn’t hurt as much.’

Whereas one wing of the British Establishment continued to see the European Union as an essential pillar of British trade, another wing increasingly saw it as a threat to Britain’s new ruling ideology. To some on the left and in the labour movement, on the other hand, the EU seemed to offer some protection from the new Establishment. In the late 1980s the European Commission proposed a ‘Community Charter’, which included protections for trade unions and collective bargaining, gender equality, and health and safety standards. Thatcher savaged it as a ‘socialist charter’, and Conservative British governments secured the right of countries to opt out of its successor, the Social Charter. After all, such proposals were direct challenges to Establishment dogma. It was not until 1997, when New Labour came to power, that Britain signed up.


pages: 457 words: 126,996

Hacker, Hoaxer, Whistleblower, Spy: The Story of Anonymous by Gabriella Coleman

1960s counterculture, 4chan, Aaron Swartz, Amazon Web Services, Bay Area Rapid Transit, bitcoin, Chelsea Manning, citizen journalism, cloud computing, collective bargaining, corporate governance, creative destruction, crowdsourcing, data science, David Graeber, Debian, digital rights, disinformation, do-ocracy, East Village, Eben Moglen, Edward Snowden, false flag, feminist movement, Free Software Foundation, Gabriella Coleman, gentrification, George Santayana, Hacker News, hive mind, impulse control, information security, Jacob Appelbaum, jimmy wales, John Perry Barlow, Julian Assange, Laura Poitras, lolcat, low cost airline, mandatory minimum, Mohammed Bouazizi, Network effects, Occupy movement, Oklahoma City bombing, operational security, pirate software, power law, Richard Stallman, SETI@home, side project, Silicon Valley, Skype, SQL injection, Steven Levy, Streisand effect, TED Talk, Twitter Arab Spring, WikiLeaks, zero day

To put this in perspective: in Wisconsin, a thirty-eight-year-old truck driver, Eric Rosol, was fined for running an automated DDoS tool against the Koch Industries website for sixty seconds. (As part of an Anonymous operation, he was protesting the billionaire Koch brothers’ role in supporting the Wisconsin governor’s effort to reduce the power of unions and public employees’ right to engage in collective bargaining.) The actual financial losses were less than $5,000, but he was slapped with a fine of $183,000—even though a far worse physical crime, arson, would earn a fine of only $6400 in the same state.31 The fine represents the cost the Koch brothers spent hiring a consulting firm prior to the attack for advice on mitigating.

Anonymous was in the midst of targeting the notorious Koch brothers, who had donated money to Wisconsin’s Republican governor, Scott Walker. That frigid winter, activists all over the state had marched from the farms and factories into the state’s capitol in protest of Governor Walker, who was pushing for a bill that would strip away state employees’ rights to collective bargaining. This hacker watched as Anonymous DDoSed the Koch-funded free-market advocacy group Americans for Prosperity.1 It was also frigid in Chicago. Whirling around corners, and howling down corridors, the powerful winter spell wind braced gripped the city. This hacker, Jeremy Hammond, had barely been logged on for twenty minutes before losing his Internet connection.


pages: 1,073 words: 314,528

Strategy: A History by Lawrence Freedman

Albert Einstein, anti-communist, Anton Chekhov, Ayatollah Khomeini, barriers to entry, battle of ideas, behavioural economics, Black Swan, Blue Ocean Strategy, British Empire, business process, butterfly effect, centre right, Charles Lindbergh, circulation of elites, cognitive dissonance, coherent worldview, collective bargaining, complexity theory, conceptual framework, Cornelius Vanderbilt, corporate raider, correlation does not imply causation, creative destruction, cuban missile crisis, Daniel Kahneman / Amos Tversky, defense in depth, desegregation, disinformation, Dr. Strangelove, Edward Lorenz: Chaos theory, en.wikipedia.org, endogenous growth, endowment effect, escalation ladder, Ford Model T, Ford paid five dollars a day, framing effect, Frederick Winslow Taylor, Gordon Gekko, greed is good, Herbert Marcuse, Herman Kahn, Ida Tarbell, information retrieval, interchangeable parts, invisible hand, John Nash: game theory, John von Neumann, Kenneth Arrow, lateral thinking, linear programming, loose coupling, loss aversion, Mahatma Gandhi, means of production, mental accounting, Murray Gell-Mann, mutually assured destruction, Nash equilibrium, Nelson Mandela, Norbert Wiener, Norman Mailer, oil shock, Pareto efficiency, performance metric, Philip Mirowski, prisoner's dilemma, profit maximization, race to the bottom, Ralph Nader, RAND corporation, Richard Thaler, road to serfdom, Ronald Reagan, Rosa Parks, scientific management, seminal paper, shareholder value, social contagion, social intelligence, Steven Pinker, strikebreaker, The Chicago School, The Myth of the Rational Market, the scientific method, theory of mind, Thomas Davenport, Thomas Kuhn: the structure of scientific revolutions, Torches of Freedom, Toyota Production System, transaction costs, Twitter Arab Spring, ultimatum game, unemployed young men, Upton Sinclair, urban sprawl, Vilfredo Pareto, W. E. B. Du Bois, War on Poverty, women in the workforce, Yogi Berra, zero-sum game

Lastly, he made the point central to all strategy: “Public predictions of future social developments are frequently not sustained precisely because the prediction has become a new element in the concrete situation, thus tending to change the initial course of developments.” He took the example of Marx’s predictions. The “socialist preaching in the nineteenth century” led to labor organizations which took advantage of collective bargaining, “thus slowing up, if not eliminating, the developments which Marx had predicted.” At the heart of any debate on strategy was the question of cause and effect. Strategic action presumed that desired effects would follow from the choice of appropriate courses of action. In principle, social science should have made strategic choices easier, because causal relationships would be much better understood.

“Similarly, Alinsky’s own argumentation sought to place the objectives of his Industrial Areas Foundation firmly within familiar-sounding American political tradition.”37 In 1946, Alinsky published his first book, Reveille for Radicals, which became a surprising bestseller. The basic idea behind this was that the sort of techniques that had been used so effectively by the labor unions in the factories could be used within urban communities—as he put it, “collective bargaining beyond the present confines of the factory gate.” The radical was described as a militant idealist, someone who “believes what he says,” has the common good as the “greatest personal value,” “genuinely and completely believes in mankind,” takes on every struggle as his own, avoids rationalization and superficiality, and deals in “fundamental causes rather than current manifestations.”

A decoy sit-down was staged in a secondary plant diverting the attention of the company police, making it possible to seize a far more important plant where the engines were made.21 The company obtained an injunction confirming the illegality of the trespass, but the strikers refused to leave. Attempts were made to get negotiations going, but the company baulked at the union’s key demand of sole collective bargaining rights for the United Auto Workers (UAW). Sloan claimed to be prepared to consider this but only after the sit-ins had ended. Lewis had no intention of losing his leverage or agreeing to a compromise. Before the strike, General Motors had been producing some 50,000 vehicles per month; by February, this was down to only 125.


pages: 669 words: 226,737

The True and Only Heaven: Progress and Its Critics by Christopher Lasch

affirmative action, agricultural Revolution, Alvin Toffler, Ayatollah Khomeini, bank run, British Empire, Charles Lindbergh, collective bargaining, colonial exploitation, company town, complexity theory, delayed gratification, desegregation, disinformation, equal pay for equal work, Frederick Winslow Taylor, full employment, Future Shock, gentrification, George Santayana, ghettoisation, Gunnar Myrdal, Herbert Marcuse, informal economy, invisible hand, job satisfaction, Joseph Schumpeter, land reform, Lewis Mumford, liberal capitalism, liberation theology, mass immigration, means of production, military-industrial complex, Norman Mailer, Panopticon Jeremy Bentham, planned obsolescence, post-industrial society, Post-Keynesian economics, profit motive, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Ronald Reagan, Rosa Parks, school vouchers, scientific management, scientific worldview, sexual politics, the market place, the scientific method, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, Thorstein Veblen, urban renewal, Vilfredo Pareto, wage slave, War on Poverty, work culture , young professional

." * The North was industrial, prosperous, and cosmopolitan; the South backward, its agriculture "primitive," its labor system "antiquated" and "paternalistic." Its judicial and penal system, "overripe for fundamental reforms," represented a "tremendous cultural lag in progressive twentieth-century America." Modern reform movements— "woman suffrage and economic equality, collective bargaining, labor legislation, progressive education, child welfare, civil service reform, police and court reform, prison reform"—had left the South untouched. † ____________________ * Myrdal attributed the 1942 riot in Detroit to the large number of white Southern migrants in the city; but "Detroit is almost unique among Northern cities," he noted, "for its large Southern-born population."

The architects of the new right were by no means unanimously committed to free-market economics. Some of them remained New Dealers on economic issues. In 1968, Wallace's American Independent party called for Social Security increases, promised better health care, and reaffirmed the right of collective bargaining. The National Review denounced Wallace's "Country and Western Marxism," and his conservative opponents in Alabama judged him "downright pink." Paul Weyrich, a leading ideologist of the new right, was a man of the people, like Wallace—the product of a blue-collar, German Catholic background in Racine, Wisconsin.

In The Managerial Revolution (1941), James Burnham took the position that although capitalism was declining, socialism was not taking its place. State ownership of the means of production transferred power from the capitalists not to the workers but to a new ruling class of professional managers, who proceeded to abolish collective bargaining, to replace the market with central planning, and to suppress every trace of political freedom. Dissident intellectuals in eastern Europe elaborated this thesis in their impassioned critique of Stalin -510- ism. Books like The New Class, by Milovan Djilas (1957), and The Intellectuals on the Road to Class Power, by George Konrad and Ivan Szelenyi (1979), appealed to ex-Marxists, in the United States as in Europe, who had turned against Stalinism but retained the intellectual habits of Marxism and therefore took it for granted that a new form of society implied the existence of a new ruling class.


pages: 165 words: 45,129

The Economics of Inequality by Thomas Piketty, Arthur Goldhammer

affirmative action, basic income, Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty, collective bargaining, conceptual framework, deindustrialization, endogenous growth, Gini coefficient, income inequality, low skilled workers, means of production, middle-income trap, moral hazard, Pareto efficiency, purchasing power parity, Robert Solow, Simon Kuznets, Tax Reform Act of 1986, The Bell Curve by Richard Herrnstein and Charles Murray, very high income, working-age population

By the same token, there is no denying that the two Western countries in which wage inequalities have increased most since the 1970s, namely, the United States and the United Kingdom, are also the two countries in which the power of unions has decreased most, in significant part due to political opposition. Meanwhile, wage inequalities among employed workers have remained relatively stable in countries such as Germany and France, where the union coverage rate (that is, the percentage of workers covered by collective bargaining agreements) has remained relatively stable, even if the unionization rate (the percentage of workers belonging to unions) has decreased. This is a major reason for the contrasting evolution of wage inequalities in the West since the 1970s: it explains 20 to 40 percent of the observed variance (Card, 1992; Lemieux, 1993).


Magical Urbanism: Latinos Reinvent the US City by Mike Davis

"RICO laws" OR "Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations", affirmative action, Berlin Wall, business cycle, clean water, collective bargaining, company town, deindustrialization, desegregation, digital divide, edge city, illegal immigration, immigration reform, Internet Archive, invisible hand, job automation, longitudinal study, manufacturing employment, market bubble, mass immigration, new economy, occupational segregation, postnationalism / post nation state, Ronald Reagan, Silicon Valley, strikebreaker, The Turner Diaries, union organizing, upwardly mobile, urban renewal, War on Poverty, white flight, white picket fence, women in the workforce, working poor

UPRISING OF THE MILLION Even the Chamber of Commerce is now 149 forced to discuss solu- tions to the caste-Uke poverty that entraps so many tens of thou- sands of hardworking households, as union activists have ham- mered home the message that labor militancy is the only viable moral alternative to poverty-driven explosions of rage and tration like the 1992 Rodney King fully restructured wages They the (if They frus- are arguing, in urban economies, regardless of the effect, that "post-industrial" dismal assessments of so riots. many urban theorists, can be success- through collective bargaining to support living not a return to the lost paradise of postwar "Fordism"). are also wagering that class organization in the most powerful strategy workplace is for ensuring the representation of immigrants' socio-economic as well as cultural and linguistic rights in the will new century ahead.


pages: 165 words: 47,405

Imperial Ambitions: Conversations on the Post-9/11 World by Noam Chomsky, David Barsamian

British Empire, collective bargaining, cuban missile crisis, declining real wages, failed state, feminist movement, Howard Zinn, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), invisible hand, Joseph Schumpeter, launch on warning, liberation theology, Monroe Doctrine, Nelson Mandela, offshore financial centre, public intellectual, Ronald Reagan, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, Thomas L Friedman, Upton Sinclair, uranium enrichment, Westphalian system

In fact, one of the main reasons behind the passionate effort to destroy unions is that they are one of the few mechanisms by which ordinary people can get together and compensate for the concentration of capital and power. That’s why the United States has a very violent labor history, with repeated efforts to destroy unions anytime they make any progress. In fact, Missouri and Indiana have recently abolished the right for public-sector workers to engage in collective bargaining.6 The federal government has done pretty much the same. Part of the Bush administration’s Department of Homeland Security scam was to strip a hundred and eighty thousand government workers of union rights.7 Why? Are they going to work less efficiently if they’re unionized? No. It’s just that you have to eliminate the threat that people might get together and try to achieve things like decent health care, decent wages, or anything that benefits the population and doesn’t benefit the rich.


pages: 170 words: 45,121

Don't Make Me Think, Revisited: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability by Steve Krug

collective bargaining, game design, Garrett Hardin, job satisfaction, Kickstarter, Lean Startup, Mark Zuckerberg, speech recognition, Steve Jobs, Tragedy of the Commons

A person of integrity and honor; “a stand-up guy”; someone who does the right thing. Sincerity: that’s the hard part. If you can fake that, the rest is easy. —OLD JOKE ABOUT A HOLLYWOOD AGENT Some time ago, I was booked on a flight to Denver. As it happened, the date of my flight also turned out to be the deadline for collective bargaining between the airline I was booked on and one of its unions. Concerned, I did what anyone would do: (a) Start checking Google News every hour to see if a deal had been reached, and (b) visit the airline’s Web site to see what they were saying about it. I was shocked to discover that not only was there nothing about the impending strike on the airline’s Home page, but there wasn’t a word about it to be found anywhere on the entire site.


pages: 154 words: 47,880

The System: Who Rigged It, How We Fix It by Robert B. Reich

"World Economic Forum" Davos, Adam Neumann (WeWork), affirmative action, Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, Alan Greenspan, Bernie Madoff, Bernie Sanders, Big Tech, Boeing 737 MAX, business cycle, Carl Icahn, clean water, collective bargaining, Cornelius Vanderbilt, corporate governance, corporate raider, corporate social responsibility, Credit Default Swap, crony capitalism, cryptocurrency, Donald Trump, ending welfare as we know it, financial deregulation, Glass-Steagall Act, Gordon Gekko, green new deal, Greta Thunberg, immigration reform, income inequality, independent contractor, Jeff Bezos, job automation, junk bonds, London Whale, Long Term Capital Management, market fundamentalism, mass incarceration, Michael Milken, mortgage debt, Occupy movement, opioid epidemic / opioid crisis, Paris climate accords, peak TV, Ponzi scheme, race to the bottom, Robert Bork, Ronald Reagan, Savings and loan crisis, shareholder value, Sheryl Sandberg, stock buybacks, too big to fail, trickle-down economics, union organizing, WeWork, women in the workforce, working poor, zero-sum game

Because only 6.4 percent of today’s private-sector workers are unionized, most employers do not have to match union contracts—which puts unionized firms at a competitive disadvantage. As I’ve noted, public policies have enabled and encouraged this systemic change. More states have adopted so-called right-to-work laws. The National Labor Relations Board, understaffed and overburdened, has barely enforced collective bargaining. The result has been a race to the bottom. Given these changes in the system, it’s not surprising that corporate profits have increased as a portion of the total economy while wages have declined. Those whose income derives directly or indirectly from profits—corporate executives, Wall Street traders, and shareholders—have done exceedingly well.


pages: 165 words: 46,133

The Obstacle Is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials Into Triumph by Ryan Holiday

British Empire, collective bargaining, Deng Xiaoping, fear of failure, Lean Startup, minimum viable product, Nelson Mandela, reality distortion field, Silicon Valley, Silicon Valley startup, Steve Jobs

Theodore Roosevelt, after his presidency, spent eight months exploring (and nearly dying in) the unknown jungles of the Amazon, and of the eight books he brought on the journey, two were Marcus Aurelius’s Meditations and Epictetus’s Enchiridion. Beatrice Webb, the English social reformer who invented the concept of collective bargaining, recalled the Meditations fondly in her memoirs as a “manual of devotion.” The Percys, the famous Southern political, writing, and planting dynasty (LeRoy Percy, United States senator; William Alexander Percy, Lanterns on the Levee; and Walker Percy, The Moviegoer) who saved thousands of lives during the flood of 1927, were well-known adherents to the works of the Stoics, because, as one of them wrote, “when all is lost, it stands fast.”


Autonomia: Post-Political Politics 2007 by Sylvere Lotringer, Christian Marazzi

anti-communist, anti-work, antiwork, business cycle, collective bargaining, dematerialisation, disinformation, do-ocracy, feminist movement, full employment, Great Leap Forward, land reform, late capitalism, means of production, social intelligence, wages for housework, women in the workforce

The workers' struggles and forms of organisation in these areas have followed the cycles of the wider class struggle, but the fact that these firms are at the centre of fundamental decisions regarding the so·called "model of development" (eg the question of energy policy) means that the workers' demands tend.to slip out of the traditional channels of collective bargaining and into political debate toul court. The situation is similar as regards the credit institutions. The fact that we are dealing here with workers who are otten regarded as a privileged sector of the workforce because of their relatively high wages, has not prevented their struggle from spreading to the point where it has found precise points of contact with the political form of the autonomy of the mass worker.

Instead, we should once again ask ourselVes whether it is possible to think In terms of "mass Objectives" of the type whlch characterized the anti-authoritarianism of 1968 (the FIAT workers' demand lor "Grade 2 lor all", which led into the egalitarianism of the demands put lorward in the Hot Autumn of 1969). Such a proposal cannot be simply written of! as a step backwards in collective bargaining, that would prepare the ground for a new social contract between the Government and the unions. It would be absurd to reject it out of hand, for the simple reason that such new objectives would carry within them the represen. tative weight of the inlinite political creativity that has emerged in these past few years.


pages: 494 words: 132,975

Keynes Hayek: The Clash That Defined Modern Economics by Nicholas Wapshott

airport security, Alan Greenspan, banking crisis, Bear Stearns, Bretton Woods, British Empire, business cycle, collective bargaining, complexity theory, creative destruction, cuban missile crisis, Francis Fukuyama: the end of history, full employment, Gordon Gekko, greed is good, Gunnar Myrdal, if you build it, they will come, Isaac Newton, Joseph Schumpeter, Kickstarter, liquidationism / Banker’s doctrine / the Treasury view, means of production, military-industrial complex, Mont Pelerin Society, mortgage debt, New Journalism, Nixon triggered the end of the Bretton Woods system, Northern Rock, Paul Samuelson, Philip Mirowski, Phillips curve, price mechanism, public intellectual, pushing on a string, road to serfdom, Robert Bork, Robert Solow, Ronald Reagan, Simon Kuznets, The Chicago School, The Great Moderation, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, Thomas Malthus, trickle-down economics, Tyler Cowen, War on Poverty, We are all Keynesians now, Yom Kippur War

As Harrod explained, Keynes stressed that “it was important for [the committee] to understand that the mechanism on which we had come to place our exclusive reliance could only produce a downward adjustment through severe unemployment leading to cuts in money wages.”45 Keynes declared that savings and investment were out of kilter, and acknowledged that monetary pressures, in the form of high interest rates leading to an increase in the cost of borrowing to businesses, could only put downward pressure on profits and costs, such as wages. The result was unemployment. One problem in Britain in the 1920s, however, was that because of collective bargaining by trade unions, wages were “sticky” and could not be easily cut. In fact, because of a reduction in the length of the working week and the maintenance of wages due to trade union demands, wages had actually increased. Keynes warned the committee that “there has never been in modern or ancient history a community that has been prepared to accept without immense struggle a reduction in the general level of money income.”46 Though he denied to the committee that unemployment benefits had contributed to the “stickiness” in wage rates, likening the suggestion to those who blamed the provision of hospitals for encouraging ill health, in a radio broadcast he conceded that benefits for the unemployed had indeed added to the resistance of workers to countenance a reduction in wages.

., 28 Clark, Kenneth, 95 Clarke, Peter, 279–80 classical economics, 73–74, 79–80, 101, 115, 124, 125–26, 128, 131, 146, 147–49, 150, 152–53, 169, 171, 172–73, 175, 178–79, 192, 197, 210, 232 Clemenceau, Georges, 4–5, 8–9, 11–12, 155 Clinton, Bill, 272–75, 276 coal industry, 9, 12, 18, 38, 259 Cold War, 234, 269, 274 Cole, G. D. H., 24 collective bargaining, 60 collectivism, 29, 144–45, 202, 219–20 Collectivist Economic Planning: Critical Studies on the Possibilities of Socialism (Hayek, ed.), 144–45 “Colloque Walter Lippmann,” 210–11 Columbia University, 28, 160, 216 Commerce Department, U.S., 166 Committee on Economic Information, 123–24 Committee on Economic Outlook, 61–62 Committee on Social Thought, 217–18 commodities, 52 communism, 9, 32, 87, 145, 191, 194, 196–97, 213, 221, 267, 287 Companion of Honour, 288 competition, 2, 34–35, 69, 179–81, 193, 268 composite rates of interest, 120–21 concentration camps, 151, 223 “Conditions of Equilibrium between the Production of Consumers’ Goods and the Production of Producers’ Goods, The” (Hayek), 75–76 Congress, U.S., 158, 165, 189, 221, 228–29, 235, 236, 237, 238, 239, 245, 271, 272–74, 275, 278, 279, 280, 281, 283 Congressional Budget Office (CBO), 274, 276 Connally, John, 242–43, 335n Conscience of a Conservative, The (Goldwater), 251–52 conscientious objectors, 8 conservatism, xiii–xiv, 17, 36–37, 94, 124–25, 135, 162, 203–6, 216, 220–21, 232, 233, 238, 242, 251–61, 268, 272, 274–75, 278, 281, 288, 292, 293, 296, 333n Conservative Party (Tories), 12, 33, 38, 40, 58, 83, 86, 123, 140, 203, 258–61, 295 Constitution, U.S., 204, 230, 292–93 Constitution of Liberty, The (Hayek), 218–23, 290 consumer credits, 77 consumer prices, 41, 49–50, 54–55, 76–77, 81, 117–18, 143–44, 184–87, 189, 191, 224, 229–30, 267–68 consumption, 81–82, 119–20, 127, 131, 143–44, 184–87, 191 contractions, monetary, 217, 248–49 “Contract with America,” 272–74, 278, 293 corporations, 145, 233, 262, 264, 267–68, 275, 293 corporatist states, 145, 293 corruption, 159, 250, 277, 278 Council of Economic Advisers, 229, 231–32, 236, 242, 244, 278 “creative destruction,” 294 Credit-Ansalt Bank, 83 credit derivatives, 275 credit policies, 25, 43, 55, 79, 84–85, 100, 117–18, 136–37, 142, 160, 188, 279, 280–81 Crimean War, 11 Cromwell, Oliver, 140 Croome, H.


pages: 473 words: 132,344

The Downfall of Money: Germany's Hyperinflation and the Destruction of the Middle Class by Frederick Taylor

Albert Einstein, anti-communist, banking crisis, Berlin Wall, British Empire, central bank independence, centre right, collective bargaining, falling living standards, fiat currency, fixed income, full employment, German hyperinflation, housing crisis, Internet Archive, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, mittelstand, offshore financial centre, plutocrats, quantitative easing, rent control, risk/return, strikebreaker, trade route, zero-sum game

In effect, any deal.2 As a leading representative of the steel industry’s employers had said on 14 November: ‘It is not a question of money now . . . right now we must see that we survive the chaos.’3 Thus it was that some of Germany’s most diehard captains of industry affixed their names to the historic treaty between organised labour and capital in Germany that became known as the ‘Stinnes-Legien Agreement’. The agreement gave workers an eight-hour working day with no reduction in pay – a long-standing demand of organised labour – compulsory union recognition, mandatory collective bargaining and wage contracts, and the right to be represented in companies with more than fifty employees through ‘workers’ committees’. It also guaranteed that industry would re-employ every one of the millions of German men who would soon be demobilised. To ensure that these improvements would work in practice, trade union and employer representatives set up a ‘Central Working Group of Industrial and Commercial Employer and Employee Organisations of Germany’.

Government records show that, on 15 November, the administrative committee of the Rentenbank paid a visit to the Chancellor. The official reason was the inauguration of the Rentenmark. However, actually, it seems, the committee’s members used the occasion to deliver a collective tirade calling for the abolition of the eight-hour day, the end of compulsory collective bargaining, reform of the unemployment relief system and a host of other pro-business reforms. The Rentenbank could threaten to – and frequently actually did – withhold credit from the government, and from any organisations it considered, from its highly conservative point of view, unworthy. The realisation of this led the Social Democratic deputy, Otto Wels, to declare in an angry speech to the Reichstag that the budgetary power of that body had seemingly been transferred to the Agrarian League and the Reich Association of German industry.


pages: 572 words: 134,335

The Making of an Atlantic Ruling Class by Kees Van der Pijl

anti-communist, banking crisis, Berlin Wall, book value, Boycotts of Israel, Bretton Woods, British Empire, business cycle, capital controls, collective bargaining, colonial rule, cuban missile crisis, deindustrialization, deskilling, diversified portfolio, European colonialism, floating exchange rates, full employment, imperial preference, Joseph Schumpeter, liberal capitalism, mass immigration, means of production, military-industrial complex, North Sea oil, plutocrats, profit maximization, RAND corporation, scientific management, strikebreaker, Suez crisis 1956, trade liberalization, trade route, union organizing, uranium enrichment, urban renewal, War on Poverty

However, Roosevelt’s appointment of a woman, Frances Perkins, over the opposition of the AFL, signalled a new approach to the mass of unorganized workers. Arguing that ‘unorganized as well as organized labour should be represented’54, the Administration inserted NRA’s famous section 7a, which recognized labour’s right to organize within the company and to engage in collective bargaining at the industry level. This everywhere encouraged the unorganized to organize, and trade unions to press new demands. However, strikers who turned to Washington for help in the face of employer victimization (which was extensive everywhere in the first years of the New Deal) quickly discovered that NRA chief Hugh Johnson and Secretary Perkins were more interested in the success of the integrative mechanisms of the NRA, and its impact on the macro-economy, than in any particular rights or struggles of the working class as such.55 Although the Supreme Court — a last bastion of economic liberalism — ruled the NRA unconstitutional in 1936, its assumptions still guided the Roosevelt Administration’s search for a corporatist format of industrial relations.

When an expansive policy was tried again by the new Chancellor of the Exchequer, Maudling, in 1962, it led to a new balance of payments crisis, forcing the Wilson government to make a deflationary turn again soon after its assumption of power in 1964.48 The Dutch Liberals, finally, had already entered the government in 1959, but the De Quay cabinet was of a marked conservative and narrowly Europeanist orientation except for the Atlanticist Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Still in 1960 and 1961, the government resorted to credit restrictions to put a brake on industrial expansion; the corporatist mechanisms of collective bargaining were abandoned from 1959 on. In the Defence Ministry, which was held by the Liberal Party VVD, the two tendencies, Atlantic and European, confronted one another, and following a serious conflict the Europeanist sphere-of-interest line triumphed. The initial minister, Unilever director Sydney van den Bergh, in the struggle over the choice of a new fighter plane then in progress seemed willing to contemplate the Northrop Freedom Fighter on the basis of a direct transaction with the Americans.


pages: 934 words: 135,736

The Divided Nation: A History of Germany, 1918-1990 by Mary Fulbrook

Albert Einstein, banking crisis, Berlin Wall, bread and circuses, centre right, classic study, coherent worldview, collective bargaining, death from overwork, deindustrialization, Fall of the Berlin Wall, feminist movement, first-past-the-post, fixed income, full employment, it's over 9,000, joint-stock company, land reform, means of production, Mikhail Gorbachev, open borders, Peace of Westphalia, Sinatra Doctrine, union organizing, unorthodox policies

What is quite clear is that, far from achieving a social revolution, the effects of Nazi economic policies on society represented in large measure a continuation and perhaps exacerbation of previous socio-economic trends. Realities under Nazi rule by no means corresponded with pre-1933 election promises. While the return to full employment did mean jobs and a steady income for many, the associated withdrawal of trade union rights and collective bargaining, as well as the very variable rates of pay and conditions, rendered the experience at best an ambiguous one. Despite attempts by the All-German Federation of Trade Unions (ADGB) to reach a compromise with the new regime in April 1933, autonomous trade unions had been unequivocally smashed; and although many workers were prepared somewhat cynically to enjoy any holidays or outings Page 86 offered to them by organizations such as Strength through Joy, few really swallowed much of the propaganda about the 'harmonious factory community' and the like.

But the continuity and development of alternative, potentially subversive youth subcultures indicated the failure to achieve a uniform impact Page 355 on youth in all social positions in Nazi Germany. Similarly, the destruction of trade unions and the co-ordination of workers under the DAF did prevent a whole generation of young workers from gaining experience of trade unionism. The loss of collective bargaining and the introduction of individual pay negotiations and rewards for merit and achievement also induced a greater degree of individualism among some German workers, whittling away at previous notions of collectivism and sentiments of solidarity. But, as in the area of youth organizations, these effects were not universal: many workers quite cynically took advantage of essentially paternalistic schemes, such as the holidays and outings offered by the KDF, without swallowing much of the ideological baggage that went along with such policies.


pages: 689 words: 134,457

When McKinsey Comes to Town: The Hidden Influence of the World's Most Powerful Consulting Firm by Walt Bogdanich, Michael Forsythe

"RICO laws" OR "Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations", "World Economic Forum" Davos, activist fund / activist shareholder / activist investor, Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, Alistair Cooke, Amazon Web Services, An Inconvenient Truth, asset light, asset-backed security, Atul Gawande, Bear Stearns, Boris Johnson, British Empire, call centre, Cambridge Analytica, carbon footprint, Citizen Lab, cognitive dissonance, collective bargaining, compensation consultant, coronavirus, corporate governance, corporate social responsibility, Corrections Corporation of America, COVID-19, creative destruction, Credit Default Swap, crony capitalism, data science, David Attenborough, decarbonisation, deindustrialization, disinformation, disruptive innovation, do well by doing good, don't be evil, Donald Trump, double entry bookkeeping, facts on the ground, failed state, financial engineering, full employment, future of work, George Floyd, Gini coefficient, Glass-Steagall Act, global pandemic, illegal immigration, income inequality, information security, interchangeable parts, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), invisible hand, job satisfaction, job-hopping, junk bonds, Kenneth Arrow, Kickstarter, load shedding, Mark Zuckerberg, megaproject, Moneyball by Michael Lewis explains big data, mortgage debt, Multics, Nelson Mandela, obamacare, offshore financial centre, old-boy network, opioid epidemic / opioid crisis, profit maximization, public intellectual, RAND corporation, Rutger Bregman, scientific management, sentiment analysis, shareholder value, Sheryl Sandberg, Silicon Valley, smart cities, smart meter, South China Sea, sovereign wealth fund, tech worker, The future is already here, The Nature of the Firm, too big to fail, urban planning, WikiLeaks, working poor, Yogi Berra, zero-sum game

He cited restricted stock options as the best way for executives to build an estate while increasing company profits. Patton’s studies were not designed to benefit factory workers or service employees. McKinsey was, after all, a management consultant, not a labor consultant. Two years after the Wagner Act of 1935 gave most workers the right to join unions and to collectively bargain with their employers, McKinsey started an industrial relations practice that, according to the firm’s internal history, “was no doubt an attempt to capitalize on the sweeping success of labor unions in organizing the shop floors.” The firm’s indifference toward workers made news when its founder, James O.

Health System Reform, 64 Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), 70–71 Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), 3 Cerberus Project, 118–19 Chambers, Susan, 44 Channel 4 News (Britain), 251, 261 Chase Manhattan Bank, 171, 174, 176–80 Chaskalson, Matthew, 229, 241–42 Chavez, Cesar, 82 Chen Fenjian, 91–92 Chengdu McKinsey Management Consulting, 99 Chen Guang, 103, 108 Chernobyl (TV miniseries), 2 Cheung, Louis, 97 Chevron, 163–64 Chewning, Eric, 93 Chicago Cubs, 216 Chicago office, 55, 150, 231 Chicago White Sox, 205, 215 Chief Strategist Roundtable Dinner, 267 children and teenagers ICE family separation and, 75, 83 immunization and, 45 Missouri Medicaid and, 60 opioids and, 132, 142 vaping and, 123–29 Childress, Trey, 55 China, 45–46, 91–109, 152, 165–66, 189, 196, 233, 257, 279 China Communications Construction Company, 91–93, 100–102 China Construction Bank, 108 China Economic Weekly, 99 China Merchants Group, 103, 108 China Mobile, 99 China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), 166 China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), 166 China Smart City Expo (2019), 104 China Telecom, 99, 108 Chinese Commerce Ministry, 99 Chinese Communist Party, 92, 94, 96, 98, 100–101, 103, 105, 107–8 Chinese National Development and Reform Commission, 99 Chinese Navy, 92n, 93 Chinese State–Owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC), 107–8 Chopra, Manish, 28–29 Chrysler, 32 Chui, Michael, 127, 150 Churchill, Winston, 258 cigarettes, 73, 110–18 Cirque du Soleil, 267 Cisco, 40 Citibank, 171, 174–77, 180 Citizen Lab, 253 Claims Core Process Redesign System, 194, 199 Clee, Gilbert, 23 Cleveland Indians, 216–18 Clevinger, Mike, 217 Climate Accountability Institute, 163 “Climate Breaking Points” panel, 150 climate change, 17, 20, 150–60, 163, 166–68 Clinton, Bill, 94, 96, 100, 244, 265 CNBC, 8, 255–57 CNN, 84 coal, 28, 99, 156–62, 164–68, 224, 226 “Coal Processing Optimization” report, 165 Cole, Bob, 133 collective bargaining, 34 Colossus system, 194, 202–3 Columbia (Disneyland riverboat) accident, 12 Communications Workers of America (CWA), 48–49 compensation consultants, 33–35, 42 Congressional Budget Office, 63 Conservative Party (Britain), 262–75 Consumer Federation of America, 198, 203 Continental Illinois Bank, 175, 177–80, 186, 207 CoreCivic (formerly Corrections Corporation of America), 80–81 Cornell University, 21 corruption, 25–26, 30, 225–41, 250.


pages: 165 words: 48,594

Democracy at Work: A Cure for Capitalism by Richard D. Wolff

asset-backed security, Bear Stearns, Bernie Madoff, business cycle, collective bargaining, Credit Default Swap, declining real wages, feminist movement, financial intermediation, Glass-Steagall Act, green new deal, Howard Zinn, income inequality, John Maynard Keynes: technological unemployment, laissez-faire capitalism, means of production, military-industrial complex, moral hazard, mortgage debt, Occupy movement, Ponzi scheme, profit maximization, quantitative easing, race to the bottom, Ronald Reagan, too big to fail, trickle-down economics, wage slave, women in the workforce, Works Progress Administration

The CIO organized millions of industrial workers into unions for the first time, bringing about the greatest unionization wave in US history. Members and leaders agreed that unions were working people’s best weapons against the ravages of a severely depressed capitalism. They confronted employers (with job actions, strikes, and collective bargaining) and politicians (by mobilizing union members and their money for both electoral and non-electoral campaigns). The CIO’s demands for jobs and for direct government help to the average American changed political conditions in the 1930s. The CIO undermined the conservative or centrist Democratic program of the time (what today would be called “austerity”).


pages: 165 words: 50,798

Intertwingled: Information Changes Everything by Peter Morville

A Pattern Language, Airbnb, Albert Einstein, Arthur Eddington, augmented reality, Bernie Madoff, bike sharing, Black Swan, business process, Cass Sunstein, cognitive dissonance, collective bargaining, Computer Lib, disinformation, disruptive innovation, folksonomy, holacracy, index card, information retrieval, Internet of things, Isaac Newton, iterative process, Jane Jacobs, Jeff Hawkins, John Markoff, Kanban, Lean Startup, Lyft, messenger bag, minimum viable product, Mother of all demos, Nelson Mandela, Paul Graham, peer-to-peer, Project Xanadu, quantum entanglement, RFID, Richard Thaler, ride hailing / ride sharing, Schrödinger's Cat, self-driving car, semantic web, sharing economy, Silicon Valley, Silicon Valley startup, single source of truth, source of truth, Steve Jobs, Stewart Brand, systems thinking, Ted Nelson, the Cathedral and the Bazaar, The Death and Life of Great American Cities, the scientific method, The Wisdom of Crowds, theory of mind, uber lyft, urban planning, urban sprawl, Vannevar Bush, vertical integration, zero-sum game

In Systemantics, a witty, irreverent book published in 1975, Gall uses the example of garbage collection to explain that when we create a system to accomplish a goal, a new entity comes into being: the system itself. After setting up a garbage-collection system, we find ourselves faced with a new universe of problems. These include questions of collective bargaining with the garbage collectors’ union, rates and hours, collection on very cold or rainy days, purchase and maintenance of garbage trucks, millage and bond issues, voter apathy, regulations regarding the separation of garbage from trash…if the collectors bargain for more restrictive definitions of garbage, refusing to pick up twigs, trash, old lamps, and even leaving behind properly wrapped garbage if it is not placed within a regulation can, so that taxpayers resort to clandestine dumping along the highway, this exemplifies the Principle of Le Chatelier: the system tends to oppose its own proper function.vii This is why we need disruptive innovation within our society.


pages: 161 words: 51,919

What's Your Future Worth?: Using Present Value to Make Better Decisions by Peter Neuwirth

backtesting, big-box store, Black Swan, collective bargaining, discounted cash flows, en.wikipedia.org, financial engineering, Long Term Capital Management, Rubik’s Cube, Skype, the scientific method

While I am sure that OPERS and their actuaries did a great deal of thinking about the discount rate to be used to determine the Present Value of benefits that were published in its report each year, I am not as sure that they thought enough about the discount rate and time horizon to use when considering the design decisions that led to the 8% guarantee on money-match accounts. This decision was made by individuals whose time horizon might or might not have extended beyond the next election or the next collective bargaining contract. In fact, I would state this principle more strongly. As a general rule: Decisions about long-term promises, like pension benefits (as well as many others affecting large groups of people), require a time horizon and a discount rate that reflects the interests of the organization or the community itself and not just the aggregation of the personal rates of discounts of all the parties involved in making the decision.


pages: 162 words: 51,473

The Accidental Theorist: And Other Dispatches From the Dismal Science by Paul Krugman

"World Economic Forum" Davos, Alan Greenspan, Bonfire of the Vanities, Bretton Woods, business cycle, carbon tax, clean water, collective bargaining, computerized trading, corporate raider, declining real wages, floating exchange rates, full employment, George Akerlof, George Gilder, Home mortgage interest deduction, income inequality, indoor plumbing, informal economy, invisible hand, It's morning again in America, Kenneth Arrow, knowledge economy, life extension, new economy, Nick Leeson, paradox of thrift, Paul Samuelson, plutocrats, price stability, rent control, Robert Solow, Ronald Reagan, Silicon Valley, trade route, very high income, working poor, zero-sum game

When it started to run persistently higher rates in the 1970s and 1980s, many economists attributed the differential to a more generous unemployment insurance system. But even as that system has become less generous, the unemployment gap has continued to widen—Canada’s current rate is 10 percent. Why? The Canadian economist Pierre Fortin points out that from 1992 to 1994 a startling 47 percent of his country’s collective bargaining agreements involved wage freezes—that is, precisely zero nominal wage change. Most economists would agree that high-unemployment economies like Canada suffer from inadequate real wage flexibility; Fortin’s evidence suggests, however, that the cause of that inflexibility lies not in structual, microeconomic problems but in the Bank of Canada’s excessive anti-inflationary zeal.


pages: 193 words: 48,066

The European Union by John Pinder, Simon Usherwood

Berlin Wall, BRICs, central bank independence, centre right, collective bargaining, Doha Development Round, eurozone crisis, failed state, illegal immigration, labour market flexibility, mass immigration, Neil Kinnock, Nelson Mandela, new economy, non-tariff barriers, open borders, price stability, trade liberalization, zero-sum game

But unemployment has remained particularly high among young people; and the economy became gradually less successful. So President Nicolas Sarkozy began to lighten the regulatory burden. It is often forgotten that the British, for more than three decades after World War Two, had an economy that was highly regulated by both collective bargaining and government intervention. It was in reaction against this that the reforms of the Thatcher period moved Britain sharply towards the Anglo-Saxon model. While the intention of Blair’s ‘third way’ was to prevent such oscillation by occupying a centre ground in between, much of the emphasis on economic flexibility and his government’s enterprise-friendly orientation derived from his predecessors’ reforms, as well as from an older British tradition of economic liberalism.


The Rise and Fall of the British Nation: A Twentieth-Century History by David Edgerton

active measures, Arthur Marwick, Berlin Wall, Big bang: deregulation of the City of London, blue-collar work, British Empire, business cycle, call centre, centre right, collective bargaining, colonial exploitation, company town, Corn Laws, corporate governance, deglobalization, deindustrialization, dematerialisation, deskilling, Donald Davies, double helix, Dr. Strangelove, endogenous growth, Etonian, European colonialism, feminist movement, first-past-the-post, full employment, gentrification, imperial preference, James Dyson, knowledge economy, labour mobility, land reform, land value tax, low interest rates, manufacturing employment, means of production, Mikhail Gorbachev, military-industrial complex, Neil Kinnock, new economy, non-tariff barriers, North Sea oil, offshore financial centre, old-boy network, packet switching, Philip Mirowski, Piper Alpha, plutocrats, post-Fordism, post-industrial society, post-truth, post-war consensus, public intellectual, rising living standards, road to serfdom, Ronald Reagan, scientific management, Suez canal 1869, Suez crisis 1956, technological determinism, The inhabitant of London could order by telephone, sipping his morning tea in bed, the various products of the whole earth, trade liberalization, union organizing, very high income, wages for housework, wealth creators, Winter of Discontent, women in the workforce, working poor

They also heroically held out (though they lost) in the great engineering lockout of 1922.23 But many unions were, like the cotton unions, in practice regionally specific. The Miners’ Federation was just that: a federation of unions based in particular coalfields, such as the South Wales or Durham Miners’ Federation. There was undoubtedly a trend towards national organization of trade unions, engaged in national collective bargaining with employers’ organizations. Furthermore, unions were coming together. The Miners’ Federation of Great Britain, which loosely organized the regional miners’ federations, was greatly strengthened by the adherence of the Durham Miners in 1908. In 1910 a Federation of Transport Workers, made up of two general dockers’ unions (one southern, one northern) and the sailors’ union (its leader was a Liberal MP), was formed.

The main aim of trade unions was to negotiate with employers over wages, hours and conditions. Unions might negotiate with an individual employer or with an employers’ federation, and thus negotiate conditions over a whole industry. These were all private initiatives and agreements, and the state stayed out of them. This was ‘free collective bargaining’. The whole basis of the legal structure of trade union activity was a negative one – the granting of ‘immunities’ from contract law so that strikes were not illegal. These had been established in the late nineteenth century. But the doctrine was overturned in 1901, when the Taff Vale Railway (which carried coal to Cardiff docks) sued a railway workers union for the costs imposed by a strike.

The largest unions were national unions, operating in every part of the country. Furthermore, they entered into national agreements with groupings of employers, employers’ federations, to set wages and conditions at national levels, or at least setting national minima. In the economy nationally organized ‘free collective bargaining’ became the norm, not because it had not existed before, but because the unions were now in a much stronger position than between the wars. Wages were set by national processes and, at least in part, at national levels. A good example would be the large national strikes in shipbuilding and engineering in 1957.


pages: 172 words: 54,066

The End of Loser Liberalism: Making Markets Progressive by Dean Baker

Alan Greenspan, Asian financial crisis, banking crisis, Bear Stearns, Bernie Sanders, business cycle, collateralized debt obligation, collective bargaining, corporate governance, currency manipulation / currency intervention, Doha Development Round, financial innovation, full employment, Glass-Steagall Act, Home mortgage interest deduction, income inequality, inflation targeting, invisible hand, low interest rates, manufacturing employment, market clearing, market fundamentalism, medical residency, patent troll, pets.com, pirate software, price stability, public intellectual, quantitative easing, regulatory arbitrage, rent-seeking, Robert Shiller, Silicon Valley, too big to fail, transaction costs

German employers have been supportive of the country’s short-work policy in large part because they recognize the advantage of having workers on their payrolls whose hours can be increased quickly when demand grows, as opposed to the disadvantage of spending time and money hiring new workers. However, there are other features of Germany’s labor market, which do not exist in the United States, that make short work relatively more attractive there. First and foremost, Germany has a far higher union coverage rate, with approximately 43 percent of its workers covered by collective bargaining agreements compared to about 13 percent in the United States.[62] This means that German employers are more likely to have to negotiate layoffs with a union rather than unilaterally lay off workers. Second, firms with more than 250 employees are required to have a works council, which would play a role in any layoff decisions.


pages: 208 words: 51,277

Chicken: The Dangerous Transformation of America's Favorite Food by Steve Striffler

clean water, collective bargaining, company town, corporate raider, illegal immigration, immigration reform, independent contractor, longitudinal study, market design, place-making, Ronald Reagan, Upton Sinclair, upwardly mobile, vertical integration

The company will help growers adopt more environmentally sound practices and employ technologies that reduce the environmental impact of processing plants. High labor standards. All workers associated with the production and processing of chickens must be paid a living wage, receive adequate health insurance and retirement benefits, and maintain the right to collective bargaining. Workers should also be given an ownership stake in the company. Food safety. Slower line speeds and happier workers are needed to ensure quality control, and new technologies and more exacting inspections are required to ensure food safety. In particular, “airchilling”should replace the current industry practice of water chilling (whereby chickens are cooled in communal baths in which microbes spread from one bird to the next).


pages: 196 words: 54,339

Team Human by Douglas Rushkoff

1960s counterculture, Abraham Maslow, Adam Curtis, autonomous vehicles, basic income, Berlin Wall, big-box store, bitcoin, blockchain, Burning Man, carbon footprint, circular economy, clean water, clockwork universe, cloud computing, collective bargaining, Computing Machinery and Intelligence, corporate personhood, digital capitalism, disintermediation, Donald Trump, drone strike, European colonialism, fake news, Filter Bubble, full employment, future of work, game design, gamification, gig economy, Google bus, Gödel, Escher, Bach, hockey-stick growth, Internet of things, invention of the printing press, invention of writing, invisible hand, iterative process, John Perry Barlow, Kevin Kelly, Kevin Roose, knowledge economy, Larry Ellison, Lewis Mumford, life extension, lifelogging, Mark Zuckerberg, Marshall McLuhan, means of production, mirror neurons, multilevel marketing, new economy, patient HM, pattern recognition, peer-to-peer, Peter Thiel, planned obsolescence, power law, prosperity theology / prosperity gospel / gospel of success, Ray Kurzweil, recommendation engine, ride hailing / ride sharing, Ronald Reagan, Ronald Reagan: Tear down this wall, shareholder value, sharing economy, Silicon Valley, Silicon Valley billionaire, social intelligence, sovereign wealth fund, Steve Jobs, Steven Pinker, Stewart Brand, tech billionaire, technoutopianism, TED Talk, theory of mind, trade route, Travis Kalanick, Turing test, universal basic income, Vannevar Bush, We are as Gods, winner-take-all economy, zero-sum game

The bribe is a bond based in shame, and the bond is broken only when the victim finds others in whom to confide—often people who have experienced the same abuse. The real power comes when they’re ready to say it out loud, as a movement of people opposing such abuse. Likewise, the power of unions isn’t just collective bargaining, but the collective sensibility that unionizing engenders. The crosstalk between workers breaks management’s efforts to make them compete with one another over scraps. That’s why taxi apps and internet errand platforms don’t have features that allow the workers to converse with one another about their experiences.


pages: 173 words: 55,328

Last Best Hope: America in Crisis and Renewal by George Packer

affirmative action, Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, Alan Greenspan, anti-bias training, anti-communist, Berlin Wall, Bernie Sanders, Big Tech, BIPOC, Black Lives Matter, blue-collar work, Branko Milanovic, British Empire, business cycle, Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty, collective bargaining, coronavirus, COVID-19, crony capitalism, defund the police, deindustrialization, desegregation, disinformation, Donald Trump, failed state, fake news, Fall of the Berlin Wall, Ferguson, Missouri, fulfillment center, full employment, George Floyd, ghettoisation, gig economy, glass ceiling, informal economy, Jeff Bezos, knowledge economy, liberal capitalism, lockdown, Lyft, Mark Zuckerberg, mass immigration, meritocracy, minimum wage unemployment, new economy, Norman Mailer, obamacare, off-the-grid, postindustrial economy, prosperity theology / prosperity gospel / gospel of success, QAnon, ride hailing / ride sharing, road to serfdom, Ronald Reagan, school vouchers, self-driving car, Silicon Valley, social distancing, Social Justice Warrior, Steve Bannon, too big to fail, Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, Uber and Lyft, uber lyft, Upton Sinclair, white flight, working poor, young professional

Another is to direct large-scale government investments into key national sectors—clean energy, manufacturing, education, and caregiving—to create jobs, stimulate innovation, and raise the pay and status of workers. And a third is to form new institutions for worker power that are better suited to a postindustrial economy, as Michael Lind argues in The New Class War: labor representation on corporate boards, collective bargaining by sector rather than company, and wage boards that set minimum terms for low-wage industries like fast food. The oppression of the American working class is a largely untapped subject for this generation of activists. Why didn’t millions of young people go into the streets in the summer of 2020 to protest against Hospital Corporation of America and Tyson Foods on behalf of nurses’ aides and meat processors?


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Angrynomics by Eric Lonergan, Mark Blyth

AlphaGo, Amazon Mechanical Turk, anti-communist, Asian financial crisis, basic income, Ben Bernanke: helicopter money, Berlin Wall, Bernie Sanders, Big Tech, bitcoin, blockchain, Branko Milanovic, Brexit referendum, business cycle, Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty, central bank independence, collective bargaining, COVID-19, credit crunch, cryptocurrency, decarbonisation, deindustrialization, diversified portfolio, Donald Trump, Erik Brynjolfsson, Extinction Rebellion, fake news, full employment, gig economy, green new deal, Greta Thunberg, hiring and firing, Hyman Minsky, income inequality, income per capita, Jeremy Corbyn, job automation, labour market flexibility, liberal capitalism, lockdown, low interest rates, market clearing, Martin Wolf, Modern Monetary Theory, precariat, price stability, quantitative easing, Ronald Reagan, secular stagnation, self-driving car, Skype, smart grid, sovereign wealth fund, spectrum auction, The Future of Employment, The Great Moderation, The Spirit Level, universal basic income

Finance that sought to short currencies and speculate on bonds was banned. Banks were kept in restrictive silos that limited what they could do – in the US and the UK – or they were legally mandated to be heavily capitalized thereby limiting their leverage – in continental Europe. Labour was legally recognized as not being a commodity just like any other, and collective bargaining between unions and employers became the norm. This gave both sides political leverage, which meant that productivity gains were (more) evenly split between capital and labour. This, in turn, meant that if capital wanted to increase profits and full employment was the target, they would have to increase productivity to do so, which stimulated further investment.


India's Long Road by Vijay Joshi

Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, barriers to entry, Basel III, basic income, blue-collar work, book value, Bretton Woods, business climate, capital controls, carbon tax, central bank independence, clean water, collapse of Lehman Brothers, collective bargaining, colonial rule, congestion charging, Cornelius Vanderbilt, corporate governance, creative destruction, crony capitalism, decarbonisation, deindustrialization, demographic dividend, demographic transition, Doha Development Round, eurozone crisis, facts on the ground, failed state, financial intermediation, financial repression, first-past-the-post, floating exchange rates, foreign exchange controls, full employment, germ theory of disease, Gini coefficient, global supply chain, global value chain, hiring and firing, income inequality, Indoor air pollution, Induced demand, inflation targeting, invisible hand, land reform, low interest rates, Mahatma Gandhi, manufacturing employment, Martin Wolf, means of production, microcredit, moral hazard, obamacare, Pareto efficiency, price elasticity of demand, price mechanism, price stability, principal–agent problem, profit maximization, profit motive, purchasing power parity, quantitative easing, race to the bottom, randomized controlled trial, rent-seeking, reserve currency, rising living standards, school choice, school vouchers, secular stagnation, Silicon Valley, smart cities, South China Sea, special drawing rights, The Future of Employment, The Market for Lemons, too big to fail, total factor productivity, trade liberalization, Tragedy of the Commons, transaction costs, universal basic income, urban sprawl, vertical integration, working-age population

The rigidities created by labour regulations are accentuated by the parts of IDA that govern the settlement of industrial disputes. While the Act mandates ‘conciliation’ between employers and workers as the first response to a ‘dispute’, it places much greater emphasis on adjudication by labour tribunals and courts than on collective bargaining. Cooperation between workers and employers is additionally hampered by the tendency, encouraged by the Trade Union Act, to have a multiplicity of unions, with no provision for recognizing any one of them as ‘representative’ of workers. In consequence, the employer-​worker relationship is excessively litigious, and in the overloaded labour courts, there are hundreds of thousands of pending cases, which linger for years.

Secondly, the CLA needs to be recast to reduce the scope for administrative discretion by clarifying the circumstances in which contract labour can be used.43 Thirdly, the massive overload of labour laws should be streamlined and the inspections process made much more transparent.44 Fourthly, the involvement of the state in industrial disputes should be curtailed and the role of collective bargaining increased. The above reform agenda would obviously face political obstacles. Individual states would probably be able to make quicker progress, and a demonstration effect may lead others to follow suit. Article 254 of the Constitution permits states to pass laws (on subjects in the Concurrent List) that override central laws, provided they are permitted to do so by the President of India (who, in practice does whatever the central cabinet G r o w t h a n d t h e Em p l oy m e n t P r o b l e m  [ 81 ] 82 decides).


Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide by Henry Jenkins

barriers to entry, Bear Stearns, Cass Sunstein, citizen journalism, collective bargaining, Columbine, content marketing, deskilling, digital divide, disinformation, Donald Trump, game design, George Gilder, global village, Howard Rheingold, informal economy, means of production, military-industrial complex, moral panic, new economy, no-fly zone, profit motive, Robert Metcalfe, Saturday Night Live, search costs, SimCity, slashdot, Steven Pinker, tacit knowledge, technological determinism, the long tail, the market place, Y Combinator

M y o w n v i e w is that this emerging discourse of affective economics has both positive and negative implications: allowing advertisers to tap the power of collective intelligence and direct it toward their o w n ends, but at the same time allowing consumers to form their o w n k i n d of collective bargaining structure that they can use to challenge corporate decisions. I w i l l return to this issue of consumer power i n the concluding chapter of this book. E v e n if y o u Skenovano pro studijni ucely 63 64 Buying into American Idol want to criticize the way American capitalism works, y o u need to recognize that the models of marketing depicted i n classic accounts, such as Vance Packard's Hidden Persuaders (1957), no longer adequately describe the w a y the media industries are operating.

The debate keeps getting framed as if the only true alternative were to opt out of media altogether and live i n Skenovâno pro studijni ucely Conclusion the woods, eating acorns and lizards and reading only books published on recycled paper by small alternative presses. But what w o u l d it mean to tap media power for our o w n purposes? Is ideological and aesthetic purity really more valuable than transforming our culture? A politics of participation starts from the assumption that we may have greater collective bargaining power if we form consumption communities. Consider the example of the Sequential Tarts. Started i n 1997, www.sequentialtart.com serves as an advocacy group for female consumers frustrated by their historic neglect or patronizing treatment by the comics industry. Marcia Alias, the current editor of Sequential Tart, explained: "In the early days we wanted to change the apparent perception of the female reader of comics. . . .


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The Forgotten Man by Amity Shlaes

Alan Greenspan, anti-communist, bank run, banking crisis, Charles Lindbergh, collective bargaining, currency manipulation / currency intervention, electricity market, Ford Model T, Frederick Winslow Taylor, Glass-Steagall Act, Ida Tarbell, invisible hand, jobless men, Lewis Mumford, low interest rates, Mahatma Gandhi, plutocrats, short selling, Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, Upton Sinclair, wage slave, Works Progress Administration

The suggestion was that employers who did not interpret the new law generously could expect to pay for that with strife—violence—and might even be subject to such violence as a result of pre–Wagner Act refusals. Again, Lilienthal acted with alacrity: he began readying a statement noting that 17,000 TVA workers were entitled to rights and collective bargaining under the new Wagner Act. The Wagner Act contained news enough for a year. But there was also the Social Security Act, Perkins’s and Douglas’s plan to provide pensions for senior citizens. Here lawmakers had given Perkins, in particular, a hard time. Senator Thomas Gore of Oklahoma—a Democrat, though no relation to the Gores of Tennessee—had been blind since childhood.

The head of the program for New York City—the theater center—was to be Elmer Rice, a well-known and left-leaning playwright. The signal was clear: WPA product in the coming year would not necessarily be all pro-Roosevelt, but it certainly would be anti-Republican. By November, the new CIO had opened an office in Washington. Its goal was “to foster recognition and acceptance of collective bargaining” in mass production industries. Lewis named John Brophy to head the office. The dreamer who had placed the last question to Stalin in Moscow had completed his transformation: he was now a lobbyist on K Street. At the Supreme Court, the justices began to contemplate what they would do when the Wagner Act came before them, or if Roosevelt won a second term.


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Civilization: The West and the Rest by Niall Ferguson

Admiral Zheng, agricultural Revolution, Albert Einstein, Andrei Shleifer, Atahualpa, Ayatollah Khomeini, Berlin Wall, BRICs, British Empire, business cycle, clean water, collective bargaining, colonial rule, conceptual framework, Copley Medal, corporate governance, creative destruction, credit crunch, David Ricardo: comparative advantage, Dean Kamen, delayed gratification, Deng Xiaoping, discovery of the americas, Dissolution of the Soviet Union, Easter island, European colonialism, Fall of the Berlin Wall, financial engineering, Francisco Pizarro, full employment, Great Leap Forward, Gregor Mendel, guns versus butter model, Hans Lippershey, haute couture, Hernando de Soto, income inequality, invention of movable type, invisible hand, Isaac Newton, James Hargreaves, James Watt: steam engine, John Harrison: Longitude, joint-stock company, Joseph Schumpeter, Kickstarter, Kitchen Debate, land reform, land tenure, liberal capitalism, Louis Pasteur, Mahatma Gandhi, market bubble, Martin Wolf, mass immigration, means of production, megacity, Mikhail Gorbachev, new economy, Pearl River Delta, Pierre-Simon Laplace, power law, probability theory / Blaise Pascal / Pierre de Fermat, profit maximization, purchasing power parity, quantitative easing, rent-seeking, reserve currency, retail therapy, road to serfdom, Ronald Reagan, savings glut, Scramble for Africa, Silicon Valley, South China Sea, sovereign wealth fund, special economic zone, spice trade, spinning jenny, Steve Jobs, Steven Pinker, subprime mortgage crisis, Suez canal 1869, Suez crisis 1956, The Great Moderation, the market place, the scientific method, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, Thomas Kuhn: the structure of scientific revolutions, Thomas Malthus, Thorstein Veblen, total factor productivity, trade route, transaction costs, transatlantic slave trade, undersea cable, upwardly mobile, uranium enrichment, wage slave, Washington Consensus, women in the workforce, work culture , World Values Survey

The bouleversements of 1830 and 1848 were the results of short-run spikes in food prices and financial crises more than of social polarization.33 As agricultural productivity improved in Europe, as industrial employment increased and as the amplitude of the business cycle diminished, the risk of revolution declined. Instead of coalescing into an impoverished mass, the proletariat subdivided into ‘labour aristocracies’ with skills and a lumpenproletariat with vices. The former favoured strikes and collective bargaining over revolution and thereby secured higher real wages. The latter favoured gin. The respectable working class had their trade unions and working men’s clubs.34 The ruffians – ‘keelies’ in Glasgow – had the music hall and street fights. The prescriptions of the Communist Manifesto were in any case singularly unappealing to the industrial workers they were aimed at.

Western Europe, its post-war recovery underwritten by American aid, rapidly regained the growth path of the pre-Depression years (though the biggest recipients of the programme named after George Marshall did not in fact grow fastest). The fascist years had weakened trade unions in much of Europe; labour relations were accordingly less fractious than before the war. Strikes were shorter (though they had higher participation). Only in Britain, France and Italy did industrial action increase in frequency. Corporatist collective bargaining, economic planning, Keynesian demand management and welfare states: the West Europeans took multiple vaccinations against the communist threat, adding cross-border economic integration with the signing of the Treaty of Rome in 1957. In fact the menace from Moscow had largely receded by that date.


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Behemoth: A History of the Factory and the Making of the Modern World by Joshua B. Freeman

anti-communist, British Empire, Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty, Charles Babbage, classic study, clean water, collective bargaining, company town, Corn Laws, corporate raider, cotton gin, deindustrialization, Deng Xiaoping, disruptive innovation, driverless car, en.wikipedia.org, factory automation, flying shuttle, Ford Model T, Ford paid five dollars a day, Frederick Winslow Taylor, global supply chain, Great Leap Forward, Herbert Marcuse, high-speed rail, household responsibility system, indoor plumbing, interchangeable parts, invisible hand, James Hargreaves, joint-stock company, knowledge worker, mass immigration, means of production, mittelstand, Naomi Klein, new economy, On the Economy of Machinery and Manufactures, Panopticon Jeremy Bentham, Pearl River Delta, post-industrial society, Ralph Waldo Emerson, rising living standards, Ronald Reagan, scientific management, Shenzhen special economic zone , Silicon Valley, special economic zone, spinning jenny, Steve Jobs, strikebreaker, techno-determinism, technoutopianism, the built environment, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, Thorstein Veblen, Tim Cook: Apple, transaction costs, union organizing, Upton Sinclair, urban planning, Vanguard fund, vertical integration, women in the workforce, working poor, Works Progress Administration, zero-sum game

Only the attacks on power looms occurred on the terrain of the factory behemoth. Luddites generally were more concerned with particular grievances against particular employers than with abstract opposition to technology. Some machine wrecking was part of a tradition of what Eric Hobsbawm called “collective bargaining by riot,” using the destruction of property to pressure employers to raise wages and make other concessions. Many of the Luddites themselves operated machinery, albeit hand-powered, and most depended on factory-produced yarn for their livelihoods.91 Rather than as an expression of opposition to machinery or the mill system, Luddism is better understood as one of many forms of protest against the miseries workers—in factories, competing with them, and not engaged with them at all—experienced during the helter-skelter industrialization of the first half of the nineteenth century.

., A Companion to Post-1945 America (Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2002); Ruth Milkman, Farewell to the Factory: Auto Workers in the Late Twentieth Century (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1997); Charles Corwin in New York Daily Worker, Feb. 4, 1949, quoted in Karen Lucic, Charles Sheeler and the Cult of the Machine (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1991), 114; Jack Metzgar, Striking Steel: Solidarity Remembered (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2000), 30–45 (quote on 39). 11.Daniel Nelson, American Rubber Workers and Organized Labor, 1900–1941 (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1988), 82–83, 234–45, 257–64, 271, 307–09, 315–17; Charles A. Jeszeck, “Plant Dispersion and Collective Bargaining in the Rubber Tire Industry,” Ph.D. dissertation, University of California, Berkeley, 1982, 31, 47–54, 106–08. 12.The Bloomington plant swelled to more than eight thousand employees after RCA began producing televisions there, but the company eventually shifted much of the production first to Memphis and then Ciudad Juárez, Mexico.


The-General-Theory-of-Employment-Interest-and-Money by John Maynard Keynes

bank run, behavioural economics, business cycle, collective bargaining, declining real wages, delayed gratification, full employment, invisible hand, laissez-faire capitalism, low interest rates, marginal employment, means of production, moral hazard, Paul Samuelson, price stability, profit motive, quantitative easing, secular stagnation, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, We are all Keynesians now, working-age population

For a realistic interpretation of it legitimately allows for various inexactnesses of adjustment which stand in the way of continuous full employment: for example, unemployment due to a temporary want of balance between the relative quantities of specialised resources as a result of miscalculation or intermittent demand; or to time-lags consequent on unforeseen changes; or to the fact that the change-over from one employment to another cannot be effected without a certain delay, so that there will always exist in a non-static society a proportion of resources unemployed ‘between jobs’. In addition to ‘frictional’ unemployment, the postulate is also compatible with ‘voluntary’ unemployment due to the refusal or inability of a unit of labour, as a result of legislation or social practices or of combination for collective bargaining or of slow response to change or of mere human obstinacy, to accept a reward corresponding to the value of the product attributable to its marginal productivity. But these two categories of ‘frictional’ unemployment and ‘voluntary’ unemployment are comprehensive. The classical postulates do not admit of the possibility of the third category, which I shall define below as ‘involuntary’ unemployment.

For, admittedly, more labour would, as a rule, be forthcoming at the existing money-wage if it were demanded.4 The classical school reconcile this phenomenon with their second postulate by arguing that, while the demand for labour at the existing money-wage may be satisfied before everyone willing to work at this wage is employed, this situation is due to an open or tacit agreement amongst workers not to work for less, and that if labour as a whole would agree to a reduction of money-wages more employment would be forthcoming. If this is the case, such unemployment, though apparently involuntary, is not strictly so, and ought to be included under the above category of ‘voluntary’ unemployment due to the effects of collective bargaining, etc. This calls for two observations, the first of which relates to the actual attitude of workers towards real wages and money-wages respectively and is not theoretically fundamental, but the second of which is fundamental. Prof. Pigou’s Theory of Unemployment is examined in more detail in the Appendix to Chapter 19 below. 4 Cf. the quotation from Prof.


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The Great Railroad Revolution by Christian Wolmar

"Hurricane Katrina" Superdome, 1919 Motor Transport Corps convoy, accounting loophole / creative accounting, banking crisis, Bay Area Rapid Transit, big-box store, California high-speed rail, Charles Lindbergh, collective bargaining, company town, Cornelius Vanderbilt, cross-subsidies, Ford Model T, high-speed rail, intermodal, James Watt: steam engine, junk bonds, Kickstarter, Ponzi scheme, quantitative easing, railway mania, Ralph Waldo Emerson, refrigerator car, Silicon Valley, streetcar suburb, strikebreaker, Suez canal 1869, too big to fail, trade route, transcontinental railway, traveling salesman, union organizing, urban sprawl, vertical integration

The managers were faced with uniquely powerful opponents who were further strengthened by their sheer numbers. It is hardly surprising that the railroads were fertile territory for union organization and, indeed, would become “the seedbed of the American labour movement.”21 The brotherhoods’ industrial and political strength meant that they could pioneer methods of collective bargaining, union organization, and grievance procedures that later would become universal across the labor movement. Railroad workers were able to exploit their skills by moving to rival railroads, often in the expectation of bettering themselves, even if by only a few cents an hour. This practice became so prevalent that those who drifted from job to job in this way became known as “boomers.”

Johnson, who was so eager to inform the nation that he rushed to CBS’s studios in a motorcade rather than wait for the cameras to come to the White House: “This settlement ends four and a half years of controversy. I tell you quite frankly there are few events that give me more faith in my country and more pride in the free collective bargaining process.”5 The fact that this statement came from a president from Texas shows the extent to which it is not only the role of the railroads that has changed in the intervening half century, as one could hardly imagine that more recent Texas president, George W. Bush, sorting out either the railroads or the unions.


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More: The 10,000-Year Rise of the World Economy by Philip Coggan

accounting loophole / creative accounting, Ada Lovelace, agricultural Revolution, Airbnb, airline deregulation, Alan Greenspan, Andrei Shleifer, anti-communist, Apollo 11, assortative mating, autonomous vehicles, bank run, banking crisis, banks create money, basic income, Bear Stearns, Berlin Wall, Black Monday: stock market crash in 1987, Bletchley Park, Bob Noyce, Boeing 747, bond market vigilante , Branko Milanovic, Bretton Woods, Brexit referendum, British Empire, business cycle, call centre, capital controls, carbon footprint, carbon tax, Carl Icahn, Carmen Reinhart, Celtic Tiger, central bank independence, Charles Babbage, Charles Lindbergh, clean water, collective bargaining, Columbian Exchange, Columbine, Corn Laws, cotton gin, credit crunch, Credit Default Swap, crony capitalism, cross-border payments, currency peg, currency risk, debt deflation, DeepMind, Deng Xiaoping, discovery of the americas, Donald Trump, driverless car, Easter island, Erik Brynjolfsson, European colonialism, eurozone crisis, Fairchild Semiconductor, falling living standards, financial engineering, financial innovation, financial intermediation, floating exchange rates, flying shuttle, Ford Model T, Fractional reserve banking, Frederick Winslow Taylor, full employment, general purpose technology, germ theory of disease, German hyperinflation, gig economy, Gini coefficient, Glass-Steagall Act, global supply chain, global value chain, Gordon Gekko, Great Leap Forward, greed is good, Greenspan put, guns versus butter model, Haber-Bosch Process, Hans Rosling, Hernando de Soto, hydraulic fracturing, hydroponic farming, Ignaz Semmelweis: hand washing, income inequality, income per capita, independent contractor, indoor plumbing, industrial robot, inflation targeting, Isaac Newton, James Watt: steam engine, job automation, John Snow's cholera map, joint-stock company, joint-stock limited liability company, Jon Ronson, Kenneth Arrow, Kula ring, labour market flexibility, land reform, land tenure, Lao Tzu, large denomination, Les Trente Glorieuses, liquidity trap, Long Term Capital Management, Louis Blériot, low cost airline, low interest rates, low skilled workers, lump of labour, M-Pesa, Malcom McLean invented shipping containers, manufacturing employment, Marc Andreessen, Mark Zuckerberg, Martin Wolf, McJob, means of production, Mikhail Gorbachev, mittelstand, Modern Monetary Theory, moral hazard, Murano, Venice glass, Myron Scholes, Nelson Mandela, Network effects, Northern Rock, oil shale / tar sands, oil shock, Paul Samuelson, Paul Volcker talking about ATMs, Phillips curve, popular capitalism, popular electronics, price stability, principal–agent problem, profit maximization, purchasing power parity, quantitative easing, railway mania, Ralph Nader, regulatory arbitrage, road to serfdom, Robert Gordon, Robert Shiller, Robert Solow, Ronald Coase, Ronald Reagan, savings glut, scientific management, Scramble for Africa, Second Machine Age, secular stagnation, Silicon Valley, Simon Kuznets, South China Sea, South Sea Bubble, special drawing rights, spice trade, spinning jenny, Steven Pinker, Suez canal 1869, TaskRabbit, techlash, Thales and the olive presses, Thales of Miletus, The Great Moderation, The inhabitant of London could order by telephone, sipping his morning tea in bed, the various products of the whole earth, The Rise and Fall of American Growth, The Theory of the Leisure Class by Thorstein Veblen, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, The Wisdom of Crowds, Thomas Malthus, Thorstein Veblen, trade route, Tragedy of the Commons, transaction costs, transatlantic slave trade, transcontinental railway, Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, universal basic income, Unsafe at Any Speed, Upton Sinclair, V2 rocket, Veblen good, War on Poverty, Washington Consensus, Watson beat the top human players on Jeopardy!, women in the workforce, world market for maybe five computers, Yom Kippur War, you are the product, zero-sum game

The records of one English mill in 1786 showed that, out of 780 apprentices, 199 ran away, 65 died and 96 were sent back to parents or overseers.10 Adult workers demanded higher pay and better conditions, and started to organise. The British government passed the Combination Acts of 1799 and 1800 to prohibit trade unions and collective bargaining. Between 1811 and 1816, the Luddite movement burned mills and smashed machinery in protest at the decline in their living standards. The Luddite rebellions were countered with trials and military action, and with laws to prohibit the smashing of machinery. Despite worker protests, more people were drawn into the industry.

Another factor is “assortative mating” – well-educated people are increasingly likely to marry each other. In 1960, 25% of men with university degrees married women with the same level of education; in 2005, 48% did.47 And another element has been the decline in trade union membership and the loss of collective bargaining power. On average, only 17% of workers in OECD countries were unionised in 2013.48 The decline of the big factories clearly had an impact. Workers in the service sector are more dispersed and harder to organise. One shift from 100 years ago is that wealth tends to be earned rather than inherited.


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Coffeeland: One Man's Dark Empire and the Making of Our Favorite Drug by Augustine Sedgewick

affirmative action, Alfred Russel Wallace, British Empire, business cycle, California gold rush, classic study, collective bargaining, Day of the Dead, European colonialism, export processing zone, family office, Fellow of the Royal Society, Food sovereignty, Frederick Winslow Taylor, Honoré de Balzac, imperial preference, Joan Didion, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, land reform, land tenure, Louis Pasteur, mass immigration, Monroe Doctrine, Philip Mirowski, race to the bottom, refrigerator car, scientific management, the scientific method, The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere, trade route, vertical integration, wage slave, women in the workforce, working poor, zero-sum game

California had fifteen times as many.49 Tracking the geography of economic recovery, supermarkets both drew on the proceeds of the New Deal and helped to transform its core constituency, especially European immigrant families like the fictional Muzaks, from an ethnic industrial working class into a white American mass-consumer middle class loyal to the Democratic Party. Left behind, in the process, were many African, Asian, and Hispanic Americans who worked in agriculture, domestic service industries, and other sectors of the U.S. economy excluded from the core benefits of the new American welfare state: Social Security, collective bargaining, and the minimum wage.50 At the same time, New Deal programs supporting electrification, consumer credit, and home ownership and improvement also transformed American kitchens in the 1930s in ways that favored the larger purchases characteristic of supermarket shopping.51 In 1930, only 8 percent of American households owned an electric refrigerator.

“Sustainability Analysis of the Coffee Industry in El Salvador.” Case #706, INCAE Business School, Alajuela, Costa Rica, July 1997. http://www.incae.edu/EN/clacds/publicaciones/pdf/cen706filcorr.pdf. Hart, Albert Bushnell. The Monroe Doctrine: An Interpretation. Boston: Little, Brown, 1916. Hartman, Paul T. Collective Bargaining and Productivity: The Longshore Mechanization Agreement. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1969. Harvey, David. “Revolutionary and Counter-Revolutionary Theory in Geography and the Problem of Ghetto Formation.” In Harvey, The Ways of the World, 10–36. New York: Oxford University Press, 2016.


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Not Working: Where Have All the Good Jobs Gone? by David G. Blanchflower

90 percent rule, active measures, affirmative action, Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, Albert Einstein, bank run, banking crisis, basic income, Bear Stearns, behavioural economics, Berlin Wall, Bernie Madoff, Bernie Sanders, Black Lives Matter, Black Swan, Boris Johnson, Brexit referendum, business cycle, Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty, Carmen Reinhart, Clapham omnibus, collective bargaining, correlation does not imply causation, credit crunch, declining real wages, deindustrialization, Donald Trump, driverless car, estate planning, fake news, Fall of the Berlin Wall, full employment, George Akerlof, gig economy, Gini coefficient, Growth in a Time of Debt, high-speed rail, illegal immigration, income inequality, independent contractor, indoor plumbing, inflation targeting, Jeremy Corbyn, job satisfaction, John Bercow, Kenneth Rogoff, labor-force participation, liquidationism / Banker’s doctrine / the Treasury view, longitudinal study, low interest rates, low skilled workers, manufacturing employment, Mark Zuckerberg, market clearing, Martin Wolf, mass incarceration, meta-analysis, moral hazard, Nate Silver, negative equity, new economy, Northern Rock, obamacare, oil shock, open borders, opioid epidemic / opioid crisis, Own Your Own Home, p-value, Panamax, pension reform, Phillips curve, plutocrats, post-materialism, price stability, prisoner's dilemma, quantitative easing, rent control, Richard Thaler, Robert Shiller, Ronald Coase, selection bias, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), Silicon Valley, South Sea Bubble, The Theory of the Leisure Class by Thorstein Veblen, Thorstein Veblen, trade liberalization, universal basic income, University of East Anglia, urban planning, working poor, working-age population, yield curve

According to the Federal Statistical Office DESTATIS, the change in gross hourly earnings for industry and services for 2017 in Germany was only 2.2 percent, down slightly from 2.3 percent in 2016. Earnings in 2017 Q4 were up 1.9 percent while labor costs were up 1.5 percent compared with the same quarter a year earlier. In part this seems to be because of the Hartz labor reforms that made the labor market more competitive and also because of changes in collective bargaining. Rinne and Zimmermann claim that a “substantial part of the country’s success story during the Great Recession is its recent reform efforts that have helped put Europe’s “ ‘sick man’ back on track” (2012). In a subsequent article the same authors argue that “the German success story is mainly due to a combination of structural labor market reforms and the absence of fiscal austerity” (2013, 724).

“Involuntary Part-time Employment: Perspectives from Two European Labor Markets.” Improve Discussion Paper 15/2, January. Vespa, J. 2017. “The Changing Economics and Demographics of Young Adulthood: 1975–2016.” Population Characteristics Current Population Reports, April. Visser, J. 2016. “What Happened to Collective Bargaining during the Great Recession?” IZA Journal of Labor Policy 5 (9): 1–35. Voss, M., L. Nylén, B. Floderus, F. Diderichsen, and P. D. Terry. 2004. “Unemployment and Early CauseSpecific Mortality: A Study Based on the Swedish Twin Registry.” American Journal of Public Health 94 (12): 2155–61. Wadsworth, J., S.


pages: 661 words: 156,009

Your Computer Is on Fire by Thomas S. Mullaney, Benjamin Peters, Mar Hicks, Kavita Philip

"Susan Fowler" uber, 2013 Report for America's Infrastructure - American Society of Civil Engineers - 19 March 2013, A Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace, affirmative action, Airbnb, algorithmic bias, AlphaGo, AltaVista, Amazon Mechanical Turk, Amazon Web Services, American Society of Civil Engineers: Report Card, An Inconvenient Truth, Asilomar, autonomous vehicles, Big Tech, bitcoin, Bletchley Park, blockchain, Boeing 737 MAX, book value, British Empire, business cycle, business process, Californian Ideology, call centre, Cambridge Analytica, carbon footprint, Charles Babbage, cloud computing, collective bargaining, computer age, computer vision, connected car, corporate governance, corporate social responsibility, COVID-19, creative destruction, cryptocurrency, dark matter, data science, Dennis Ritchie, deskilling, digital divide, digital map, don't be evil, Donald Davies, Donald Trump, Edward Snowden, en.wikipedia.org, European colonialism, fake news, financial innovation, Ford Model T, fulfillment center, game design, gentrification, George Floyd, glass ceiling, global pandemic, global supply chain, Grace Hopper, hiring and firing, IBM and the Holocaust, industrial robot, informal economy, Internet Archive, Internet of things, Jeff Bezos, job automation, John Perry Barlow, Julian Assange, Ken Thompson, Kevin Kelly, Kickstarter, knowledge economy, Landlord’s Game, Lewis Mumford, low-wage service sector, M-Pesa, Mark Zuckerberg, mass incarceration, Menlo Park, meta-analysis, mobile money, moral panic, move fast and break things, Multics, mutually assured destruction, natural language processing, Neal Stephenson, new economy, Norbert Wiener, off-the-grid, old-boy network, On the Economy of Machinery and Manufactures, One Laptop per Child (OLPC), packet switching, pattern recognition, Paul Graham, pink-collar, pneumatic tube, postindustrial economy, profit motive, public intellectual, QWERTY keyboard, Ray Kurzweil, Reflections on Trusting Trust, Report Card for America’s Infrastructure, Salesforce, sentiment analysis, Sheryl Sandberg, Silicon Valley, Silicon Valley ideology, smart cities, Snapchat, speech recognition, SQL injection, statistical model, Steve Jobs, Stewart Brand, tacit knowledge, tech worker, techlash, technoutopianism, telepresence, the built environment, the map is not the territory, Thomas L Friedman, TikTok, Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, undersea cable, union organizing, vertical integration, warehouse robotics, WikiLeaks, wikimedia commons, women in the workforce, Y2K

An international union organization drive like the one forming in the gaming industry will have to accommodate different labor traditions and legislations. For example, in the United States, unions typically engage in plant-level collective bargaining of wage levels and work conditions such as seniority rights and grievance procedures. By contrast, in Germany, collective bargaining occurs between employer associations and labor union representatives in a given industry at the state level, and larger companies have works councils and labor directors with a say in decisions concerning labor, such as the introduction of new work processes and technologies.


pages: 598 words: 150,801

Snakes and Ladders: The Great British Social Mobility Myth by Selina Todd

assortative mating, Bletchley Park, Boris Johnson, collective bargaining, conceptual framework, coronavirus, COVID-19, deindustrialization, deskilling, DIY culture, emotional labour, Etonian, fear of failure, feminist movement, financial independence, full employment, Gini coefficient, greed is good, housing crisis, income inequality, Jeremy Corbyn, Kickstarter, Mahatma Gandhi, manufacturing employment, meritocracy, Nick Leeson, offshore financial centre, old-boy network, profit motive, rent control, Right to Buy, school choice, social distancing, statistical model, The Home Computer Revolution, The Spirit Level, traveling salesman, unpaid internship, upwardly mobile, urban sprawl, women in the workforce, Yom Kippur War, young professional

They had, he wrote, ‘little respect for authority … They thought of themselves as smart, modern men … They walked with a slight swagger … They were born and brought up in the city that produced the Beatles and had always known near-full employment … They … respected tradition but seemed to be less bound by it.’69 They didn’t want promotion to management, but rather greater industrial democracy. In 1968, Harold Wilson initiated the Donovan Commission to examine trade union practices, with an eye to curbing workers’ militancy. Donovan in fact discouraged legal constraints on union organisation and recommended extending collective bargaining and workers’ representation on management boards. Wilson chose to ignore these recommendations, instead pressing ahead with plans to regulate the trade unions and curb their power (policies eventually passed by Edward Heath’s Conservative government in the early 1970s). Among young trade unionists and students, disillusion with the Labour Party fuelled support for the International Socialists, the International Marxist Group and the Communist Party, organisations that believed in revolutionary, extra-parliamentary change.

As Thatcher’s children and the millennials embarked on adult life, many of them believed that only by being upwardly mobile could they be successful. Politicians encouraged this. Older strategies for collectively improving people’s lives were weakened or destroyed. Blair retained Thatcher’s anti-trade union laws. Most workers had little recourse to collective bargaining and so, just as in the 1930s, many of them experienced a worsening in their working conditions and income. The policy focus on social mobility intensified after the global financial crash of 2007–08. Instead of reshaping the economy to allow a collective uplift, Gordon Brown’s Labour government redoubled efforts to increase social mobility for the talented few.


pages: 827 words: 239,762

The Golden Passport: Harvard Business School, the Limits of Capitalism, and the Moral Failure of the MBA Elite by Duff McDonald

"Friedman doctrine" OR "shareholder theory", "World Economic Forum" Davos, activist fund / activist shareholder / activist investor, Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, Albert Einstein, Apollo 13, barriers to entry, Bayesian statistics, Bear Stearns, Bernie Madoff, Bob Noyce, Bonfire of the Vanities, business cycle, business process, butterfly effect, capital asset pricing model, Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty, Carl Icahn, Clayton Christensen, cloud computing, collateralized debt obligation, collective bargaining, commoditize, compensation consultant, corporate governance, corporate raider, corporate social responsibility, creative destruction, deskilling, discounted cash flows, disintermediation, disruptive innovation, Donald Trump, eat what you kill, Fairchild Semiconductor, family office, financial engineering, financial innovation, Frederick Winslow Taylor, full employment, George Gilder, glass ceiling, Glass-Steagall Act, global pandemic, Gordon Gekko, hiring and firing, Ida Tarbell, impact investing, income inequality, invisible hand, Jeff Bezos, job-hopping, John von Neumann, Joseph Schumpeter, junk bonds, Kenneth Arrow, Kickstarter, Kōnosuke Matsushita, London Whale, Long Term Capital Management, market fundamentalism, Menlo Park, Michael Milken, new economy, obamacare, oil shock, pattern recognition, performance metric, Pershing Square Capital Management, Peter Thiel, planned obsolescence, plutocrats, profit maximization, profit motive, pushing on a string, Ralph Nader, Ralph Waldo Emerson, RAND corporation, random walk, rent-seeking, Ronald Coase, Ronald Reagan, Sam Altman, Sand Hill Road, Saturday Night Live, scientific management, shareholder value, Sheryl Sandberg, Silicon Valley, Skype, Social Responsibility of Business Is to Increase Its Profits, Steve Jobs, Steve Jurvetson, survivorship bias, TED Talk, The Nature of the Firm, the scientific method, Thorstein Veblen, Tragedy of the Commons, union organizing, urban renewal, vertical integration, Vilfredo Pareto, War on Poverty, William Shockley: the traitorous eight, women in the workforce, Y Combinator

To Mayo, worker unrest was analogous to war neurosis—psychopathological in origin, not the result of poor wages or working conditions. While those mental wounds were the fault of society, to Mayo their manifestation was at least partly self-inflicted, the result of stepping on the land mines of workplace democracy (that is, unions, collective bargaining) in an imaginary war between capital and labor. The real war, Mayo argued, was between each man and himself, a battle against “anomie” and “the hidden fires of mental uncontrol.” In that case, the needed correction wasn’t to alter working environments, but to alter the workers themselves, to cure the sickness in their minds.

Well, we’ve got the guy who used to run the largest air conditioner company in the country on our payroll. We think you’ll be interested in what he has to say.”) A young HBS grad with practically zero business experience had no place in that model. But that didn’t mean Bower wasn’t milking the HBS network for all it was worth. Shortly after the 1935 Wagner Act mandated collective bargaining with unions, Bower attended a conference at HBS where he noted the “complete bewilderment of most managements” in the area. “The solution,” Bower concluded, imbibing heavily from the human relations school of thinking then prevalent at HBS, “must go beyond increasing wages and improving working conditions, since these methods . . . are temporary expedients only and offer no permanent solution.”

On the margins were smaller groups, usually centered around a senior professor, such as Business History (Alfred Chandler), Retailing (Walter Salmon), and Transportation (John Meyer). Its weaknesses were what they had always been. The faculty’s strength in industrial relations—including work satisfaction, labor relations, and collective bargaining—was paltry to nonexistent. In human resources, it had a gaping hole when it came to personnel administration.6 Fewer than two hundred HBS graduates worked in the two fields combined. But was it such a surprise? Industrial relations was for people who could—or even wanted to—talk to the little people.


pages: 846 words: 250,145

The Cold War: A World History by Odd Arne Westad

Able Archer 83, Albert Einstein, American ideology, anti-communist, Ayatollah Khomeini, Berlin Wall, Bolshevik threat, Bretton Woods, British Empire, capital controls, collective bargaining, colonial rule, continuous integration, cuban missile crisis, Deng Xiaoping, disinformation, Dissolution of the Soviet Union, energy security, European colonialism, facts on the ground, failed state, Fall of the Berlin Wall, financial deregulation, full employment, Great Leap Forward, household responsibility system, imperial preference, Internet Archive, land reform, Les Trente Glorieuses, liberal capitalism, long peace, means of production, Mikhail Gorbachev, military-industrial complex, mutually assured destruction, Nelson Mandela, new economy, Nixon shock, Nixon triggered the end of the Bretton Woods system, oil shock, out of africa, post-industrial society, Ronald Reagan, Ronald Reagan: Tear down this wall, South China Sea, special economic zone, Strategic Defense Initiative, Suez crisis 1956, union organizing, urban planning, War on Poverty, women in the workforce, Yom Kippur War, young professional, zero-sum game

Quite a few had expected capitalism itself to collapse as a result of the chaos created by the financial traumas of the early 1890s. When this did not happen, and—at least in some regions—the economy was again on the up in the latter part of the decade, mainstream Social Democrats were pushed further toward trade union organizing and processes of collective bargaining. They could draw on the lessons workers had learned from the crisis: that only an effective union could resist casual dismissals and worsening working conditions when an economic downturn struck. Union membership skyrocketed in Germany, France, Italy, and Britain. In Denmark the central board of trade unions in 1899 agreed to a system of annual negotiations over wages and working conditions with the employers’ union.

With full employment came a significant role for the trade unions, but in most cases (Britain being a partial exception) it was a less militant role than that of the interwar period. Negotiating from positions of strength, and with overall living standards for their members on the rise, most unions were happy to be integrated into mechanisms of collective bargaining within the capitalist system, rather than challenge that system from the outside. In this transformation they were much helped by the social welfare states that European political elites were building. Much of the impetus for the makeover in the role of the state came from the experience of wars and depression.

See Central Intelligence Agency Civic Forum, 595 civil rights movement, 311 civil war Afghanistan, 550 Angola, 482–483 Central American, 570–571 China, 141–143, 164–165, 172–173, 185, 235, 430 Greek, 75–76, 91 Guatemala, 347 Nigeria, 418 Palestine, 154 Russia, 27–28, 33–34 class enemies class-struggle, 10–11 Clay, Lucius D., 108, 119 Clayton, William, 93–94 Clinton, Bill, 617–618 CoCom (Coordinating Committee for Multilateral Export Controls), 528 collective bargaining, 13, 371 collectivization, 186–187, 241, 480 colonialism decline post-WWII, 55–56 Middle East, 449–450, 452 in post-WWII Asia, 129–130 US opinion on, 130, 132 ComEcon, 546 Cominform, 97 Comintern, 31–33, 37, 41, 80, 97, 130, 162, 278, 279 Committee on the Present Danger (CPD), 486–487 Common Agricultural Policy, 384 Commonwealth of Independent States, 615 Communism as alternative to capitalism, 183 Eurocommunism, 373, 503 internationalism, 10–11, 36–37 See also Communists Communist Information Bureau, 97 Communist International organization, 31–33, 97 Communist Manifesto (Marx), 10 Communist parties in eastern Europe, 79 Marshall Plan as combating local parties, 113 in post-WWII Asia, 129–131 resistance to Nazi rule, 74 rise in interwar years, 31–33 in western Europe, 96–98 Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), 527, 534–535, 538, 550, 579, 582, 600–601, 604, 608, 613 Communist states collectivization, 186–187 idolization of supreme leader, 191 imposition of Communist rule by military power, 183 industrialization, 187 militarization of society, 190 planned economy, 187–188 private ownership abolished in, 187 resistance in, 192 urbanization, 188–189 women’s position in, 190 Communist University of the Toilers of the East, 278 Communists created as antithesis of capital ideology, 4 Hitler’s attempts to exterminate, 46 Soviet Union training of, 278 Truman’s view of, 58 Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE), 389–391, 574 Congo, 267, 282–283, 293, 325–326, 435 Congress for Cultural Freedom, 221–222 Congress of People’s Deputies, 550, 582, 602 Congress Party, 423, 425, 440–441 consumer revolution, in western Europe, 211, 221–222 consumerism, outside the United States, 525–526 containment, 69, 345 Contras, 499, 533, 570–571 Coogan, Charles, 531 Coordinating Committee for Multilateral Export Controls (CoCom), 528 Corvalán, Luis, 514 Council for Mutual Economic Assistance, 197 counterrevolutionaries, in China, 144, 239, 251, 253–254 Crimean War, 16 Croatia, 607–608 Crocker, Chester, 568 Cronkite, Walter, 307, 334 Cuba, 21, 297–309 access to credit, 526 Angola and, 483–484, 532, 566–569 Bay of Pigs invasion, 301–303 Bolivia and, 352–353 Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and, 300–302, 305 Communists in, 299, 348 Ethiopia, support for, 488 nationalization of property in, 300 Nicaragua and, 498–499 purges, 299 Soviet Union and, 300, 302, 304–310, 348 US embargo on trade with, 300 US invasion in 1898, 340 Cuban missile crisis, 290, 304–310, 484 Cuban revolution, 297–300, 304, 306, 340, 348 Cuito Cuanavale, 567–568 Cultural Revolution, 235, 241, 250–259, 379, 404–405, 407, 409, 557 Czechoslovakia Communists in, 79, 95–96, 125, 373–375 coup (1948), 96, 114–115 demonstrations of 1984, 595 dissidents in 1970s, 513–514, 574 Dubcek and, 373–376 end of Communism, 594–596 German occupation, 95 Havel presidency, 595–596 Hitler’s expansion into, 39 killings under Communist rule, 185 living standards in Brezhnev era, 370 post-WWII period in, 85 Prague Spring, 374–375 Soviet invasion of, 376, 381, 389, 439 Soviets as liberators, 54, 77 velvet revolution, 595 weapons to Guatemala, 346–347 Dalai Lama, 430–431, 439 De Gasperi, Alcide, 113 de Gaulle, Charles Algeria and, 276–278 on Berlin, 297 cooperation with eastern Europe and Soviet Union, 382–383 decolonization, 266 Eisenhower and, 229–230 de Gaulle, Charles on France fading away, 222 French Communists and, 372 on Japan, 401 Korea and, 176–177 NATO and, 297, 337 resignation, 115, 383, 384 on Vietnam, 336 youth protests in 1968, 379 debt crisis of 1980s, 571–573 Declaration on Liberated Europe, 51 decolonization, 261–286 Britain, 264–270, 277 collapse of Soviet Union, 622 economy influence on, 264–265 France, 264–267, 274–278 human rights and, 432–433 Middle East, 153, 271–274 Nehru and, 428, 432–433, 435 pace after Suez crisis, 274 reasons for, 263–267 United States role in, 265–267 Delhi Declaration, 564–565 democracy Gorbachev and democratization, 579, 582–583, 600–601, 603–604, 611, 614–615 Social Democratic parties, 11 socialism and, 10 Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, 165 Democratic Republic of Vietnam.


pages: 226 words: 58,341

The New Snobbery by David Skelton

assortative mating, banking crisis, Black Lives Matter, Boris Johnson, Brexit referendum, British Empire, call centre, centre right, collective bargaining, coronavirus, corporate governance, corporate social responsibility, COVID-19, critical race theory, David Brooks, defund the police, deindustrialization, Etonian, Extinction Rebellion, financial deregulation, gender pay gap, glass ceiling, housing crisis, income inequality, Jeremy Corbyn, job automation, knowledge economy, lockdown, low skilled workers, market fundamentalism, meritocracy, microaggression, new economy, Northern Rock, open borders, postindustrial economy, race to the bottom, rent-seeking, Richard Florida, Right to Buy, rising living standards, shareholder value, social distancing, Social Justice Warrior, TED Talk, TikTok, wealth creators, women in the workforce

The counterpoint to booming cities, and particularly a booming south-east, has been many towns becoming reliant on low-productivity, low-skilled employment that provides workers with little in the way of dignity, security or respect. This failure has seen the shift from a culture that had reverence for working-class occupations to one that sees ‘achievement’ merely through attaining professional work. It saw many people in working-class areas move from having economic power, often through mechanisms such as collective bargaining, to becoming economically powerless, and workers moved from having a central to a peripheral part in the social contract. The winner-takes-all approach has created an economy in which the majority are working harder for less, with work tending to be more insecure and having less dignity. This divide has only been magnified with the Covid-19 pandemic, which meant that the lower-paid faced greater danger and greater hardship.


pages: 258 words: 63,367

Making the Future: The Unipolar Imperial Moment by Noam Chomsky

Alan Greenspan, Albert Einstein, Berlin Wall, Bretton Woods, British Empire, capital controls, collective bargaining, corporate governance, corporate personhood, creative destruction, deindustrialization, energy security, failed state, Fall of the Berlin Wall, financial deregulation, Frank Gehry, full employment, Glass-Steagall Act, Howard Zinn, Joseph Schumpeter, kremlinology, liberation theology, Long Term Capital Management, market fundamentalism, Mikhail Gorbachev, Nelson Mandela, no-fly zone, Occupy movement, oil shale / tar sands, precariat, public intellectual, RAND corporation, Robert Solow, Ronald Reagan, Seymour Hersh, structural adjustment programs, The Great Moderation, too big to fail, uranium enrichment, Washington Consensus, WikiLeaks, working poor

By that time, even in Europe there was mounting concern about what labor historian Ronaldo Munck, citing Ulrich Beck, calls the “Brazilianization of the West . . . the spread of temporary and insecure employment, discontinuity and loose informality into Western societies that have hitherto been the bastions of full employment.” By now, an insult to Brazil, which is seeking to address such problems, not exacerbate them. The state-corporate war against unions has recently extended to the public sector, with legislation to ban collective bargaining and other elementary rights. Even in pro-labor Massachusetts, the House of Representatives voted right before May Day to sharply restrict the rights of police officers, teachers and other municipal employees to bargain over health care—essential matters in the United States, with its dysfunctional and highly inefficient privatized health care system.


pages: 586 words: 160,321

The Euro and the Battle of Ideas by Markus K. Brunnermeier, Harold James, Jean-Pierre Landau

"there is no alternative" (TINA), Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, Alan Greenspan, asset-backed security, bank run, banking crisis, battle of ideas, Bear Stearns, Ben Bernanke: helicopter money, Berlin Wall, Bretton Woods, Brexit referendum, business cycle, capital controls, Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty, Celtic Tiger, central bank independence, centre right, collapse of Lehman Brothers, collective bargaining, credit crunch, Credit Default Swap, cross-border payments, currency peg, currency risk, debt deflation, Deng Xiaoping, different worldview, diversification, Donald Trump, Edward Snowden, en.wikipedia.org, Fall of the Berlin Wall, financial deregulation, financial repression, fixed income, Flash crash, floating exchange rates, full employment, Future Shock, German hyperinflation, global reserve currency, income inequality, inflation targeting, information asymmetry, Irish property bubble, Jean Tirole, Kenneth Rogoff, Les Trente Glorieuses, low interest rates, Martin Wolf, mittelstand, Money creation, money market fund, Mont Pelerin Society, moral hazard, negative equity, Neil Kinnock, new economy, Northern Rock, obamacare, offshore financial centre, open economy, paradox of thrift, pension reform, Phillips curve, Post-Keynesian economics, price stability, principal–agent problem, quantitative easing, race to the bottom, random walk, regulatory arbitrage, rent-seeking, reserve currency, risk free rate, road to serfdom, secular stagnation, short selling, Silicon Valley, South China Sea, special drawing rights, tail risk, the payments system, too big to fail, Tyler Cowen, union organizing, unorthodox policies, Washington Consensus, WikiLeaks, yield curve

A feature of the bad political economy of Germany’s interwar democracy was the existence of multiple trade unions that competed with each other and used bargaining strategies aimed at maximizing returns for their members. The case is a perfect example of the logic of collective action as explained by Mancur Olson: each collective bargaining unit looks for gains for its members at the expense of the overall community.13 The outcome is costly for society as a whole. The best solution is to simplify the organizational structure so that there are fewer actors who are more aligned with the general interest. That organizational simplification occurred in West Germany after World War II.

A good example of the constraining role of the ECB in relation to government actions came with the two letters addressed to the Italian and Spanish governments in August 2011, with the signatures of both the president of the ECB, Jean-Claude Trichet, and the national central bank governors, Mario Draghi (who would be Trichet’s successor) and Miguel Ángel Fernández Ordóñez. (See chapter 15 for details.) The letters included not only fiscal demands but precise conditions on pension reform, the liberalization of services, a loosening of collective bargaining, and the implementation of an unemployment insurance scheme. Italy started to implement the reforms, but most were left to Silvio Berlusconi’s successors as prime minister, Mario Monti, Enrique Letta, and Matteo Renzi. Similarly, in Spain, Prime Minister Zapatero did not act, but the letter provided a basis for the policy agenda of the government of Mariano Rajoy.


pages: 581 words: 162,518

We the Corporations: How American Businesses Won Their Civil Rights by Adam Winkler

"Friedman doctrine" OR "shareholder theory", 1960s counterculture, affirmative action, Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, anti-communist, Bernie Sanders, British Empire, Cass Sunstein, clean water, collective bargaining, company town, Cornelius Vanderbilt, corporate governance, corporate personhood, corporate social responsibility, desegregation, Donald Trump, financial innovation, Ford Model T, glass ceiling, income inequality, invisible hand, joint-stock company, laissez-faire capitalism, land reform, obamacare, offshore financial centre, plutocrats, Powell Memorandum, profit maximization, profit motive, race to the bottom, Ralph Nader, Ralph Waldo Emerson, refrigerator car, Robert Bork, Ronald Reagan, Rosa Parks, shareholder value, Social Responsibility of Business Is to Increase Its Profits, South Sea Bubble, the scientific method, too big to fail, trade route, transcontinental railway, Unsafe at Any Speed, Upton Sinclair, vertical integration, yellow journalism

Between 1868, when the amendment was ratified, and 1912, when a scholar set out to identify every Fourteenth Amendment case heard by the Supreme Court, the justices decided 28 cases dealing with the rights of African Americans—and an astonishing 312 cases dealing with the rights of corporations. At the same time the court was upholding Jim Crow laws in infamous cases like Plessy v. Ferguson (1896), the justices were invalidating minimum-wage laws, curtailing collective bargaining efforts, voiding manufacturing restrictions, and even overturning a law regulating the weight of commercial loaves of bread. The Fourteenth Amendment, adopted to shield the former slaves from discrimination, had been transformed into a sword used by corporations to strike at unwanted regulation

Federal Election Commission, xvi, xvii, xviii, xx, xxi, xxii, 5, 36, 37, 62, 68, 172, 190, 192, 200, 219, 222, 225, 226, 228, 234, 255, 300, 309, 323–29, 328, 336–38, 337, 340–43, 342, 346–51, 353–56, 358–62, 363, 364–77, 371, 379–85, 390, 395, 403 City of London, 45 civil disobedience, 36, 41, 119 civil liberties, 231, 238, 252–53, 256 Civil Rights Act (1875), 129 Civil Rights Act (1965), 129, 327 civil rights movement, xv, xvi, xvii, xviii, xxi, xxii, xxiii, xxiv, 41, 63–64, 68, 73, 108–10, 117, 119, 129, 132, 135, 151, 158–59, 231, 246, 256–78, 266, 281, 284, 289, 327, 340–41, 358, 359, 395 “Civil Rights of Corporations,” 118–19, 118, 120 civil service reform, 197–98, 219 Civil War, US, xiii, xxiii, 14, 106, 109, 110, 113, 117, 121, 123, 125–26, 132, 134, 141, 197, 223 Clark, Robert Charles, 51 class action lawsuits, 322 Clay, Henry, 36 Clean Air Act (1963), 280 Clean Water Act (1972), 280 Cleopatra (film), 330 Cleveland, Grover, 217 climate change, 45 Clinton, Bill, 327, 343, 346 Clinton, Hillary, 327–29, 334, 337–38, 341–43, 342, 351–54, 355, 362, 370, 373–74 coffee, 29 collective bargaining, xv, 330 Collier’s, 205, 206 Collins, Charles Wallace, 157–59, 160 Colorado, 320–21, 375 Columbia University, 232–33, 238 Commentaries on the Law of England (Blackstone), 46–52, 56, 63, 78, 164, 188, 245 Commercial Club, 211–12, 214, 217 commercial interests, 40, 69, 90 “commercial speech,” 292–93, 298–300, 359, 393–94, 402 Common Cause, 375 common seals, 50 Communists, 286, 330 company towns, 268–72, 402 Compromise of 1850, 109 Concept of the Corporation (Drucker), 270 “conclusive presumption,” 314–15 Conestoga Wood Specialties, 379–81 Confederacy, 124, 131 conflicts of interest, 142, 193–94, 197, 346–47 Congress, US: amendments passed by, xiii, 123–25, 158 banking regulation by, 38, 40 campaign finance reform in, 219, 333–34, 354–55, 361, 369, 370–71, 375–76 constitutional limitations on, 244 corporate regulation by, 39, 43, 64, 68, 69, 70, 92–93, 210, 217–19, 261, 276, 290, 306, 332, 350, 362, 368–69, 383–84 members of, 59, 331 representation in, 131 taxation measures of, 223 see also House of Representatives, US; Senate, US congressional districts, 308–10 Congressional Globe, 135 Congressional Leadership Fund, 372 Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO), 330–31, 332 Political Action Committee of (CIO-PAC), 332 Conkling, Roscoe, xii, xiii–xv, xvi, xvii, xxiii, 113–15, 116, 117, 118, 119–24, 128, 129–36, 131, 142–44, 147, 156, 160, 267, 339, 392, 400–401 Connecticut, 19, 24, 28, 124, 266 Connecticut General Life Insurance Company v.


pages: 580 words: 168,476

The Price of Inequality: How Today's Divided Society Endangers Our Future by Joseph E. Stiglitz

affirmative action, Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, airline deregulation, Alan Greenspan, Andrei Shleifer, banking crisis, barriers to entry, Basel III, battle of ideas, Bear Stearns, behavioural economics, Berlin Wall, business cycle, capital controls, Carmen Reinhart, Cass Sunstein, central bank independence, collapse of Lehman Brothers, collective bargaining, colonial rule, corporate governance, Credit Default Swap, Daniel Kahneman / Amos Tversky, Dava Sobel, declining real wages, deskilling, electricity market, Exxon Valdez, Fall of the Berlin Wall, financial deregulation, financial innovation, Flash crash, framing effect, full employment, George Akerlof, Gini coefficient, Glass-Steagall Act, Great Leap Forward, income inequality, income per capita, indoor plumbing, inflation targeting, information asymmetry, invisible hand, jobless men, John Bogle, John Harrison: Longitude, John Markoff, John Maynard Keynes: Economic Possibilities for our Grandchildren, Kenneth Arrow, Kenneth Rogoff, London Interbank Offered Rate, lone genius, low interest rates, low skilled workers, Marc Andreessen, Mark Zuckerberg, market bubble, market fundamentalism, mass incarceration, medical bankruptcy, microcredit, moral hazard, mortgage tax deduction, negative equity, obamacare, offshore financial centre, paper trading, Pareto efficiency, patent troll, Paul Samuelson, Paul Volcker talking about ATMs, payday loans, Phillips curve, price stability, profit maximization, profit motive, public intellectual, purchasing power parity, race to the bottom, rent-seeking, reserve currency, Richard Thaler, Robert Shiller, Robert Solow, Ronald Coase, Ronald Reagan, Savings and loan crisis, search costs, shareholder value, short selling, Silicon Valley, Simon Kuznets, spectrum auction, Steve Jobs, stock buybacks, subprime mortgage crisis, technology bubble, The Chicago School, The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid, The Myth of the Rational Market, The Spirit Level, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, too big to fail, trade liberalization, Tragedy of the Commons, transaction costs, trickle-down economics, ultimatum game, uranium enrichment, very high income, We are the 99%, wealth creators, women in the workforce, zero-sum game

Indeed, they have become the champions of the rights of capital—over the rights of workers or even political rights.19 Rights simply specify what various economic players are entitled to: the rights workers have sought include, for instance, the right to band together, to unionize, to engage in collective bargaining, and to strike. Many nondemocratic governments severely restrict these rights, but even democratic governments circumscribe them. So too, the owners of capital may have rights. The most fundamental right of the owners of capital is that they not be deprived of their property. But again, even in a democratic society, these rights are restricted; under the right of eminent domain, the state can take away somebody’s property for public purpose, but there must be “due process” and appropriate compensation.

But finance ministries often use the IMF to enforce their perspectives, to adopt the institutional arrangements and the regulatory and macroeconomic frameworks that are in the interests of the 1 percent. Even Greece, to secure its 2011 bailout by the European Union, was forced to pass laws affecting not only the budget but also the health sector, the rights of unions in collective bargaining, and the minimum wage. Even when globalization doesn’t circumscribe democracy through global agreements or as part of an international “rescue,” it circumscribes democracy through competition. One of the reasons, we were told, that we had to have weak financial regulations was that if we didn’t, financial firms would move overseas.


pages: 239 words: 69,496

The Wisdom of Finance: Discovering Humanity in the World of Risk and Return by Mihir Desai

activist fund / activist shareholder / activist investor, Albert Einstein, Andrei Shleifer, AOL-Time Warner, assortative mating, Benoit Mandelbrot, book value, Brownian motion, capital asset pricing model, Carl Icahn, carried interest, Charles Lindbergh, collective bargaining, corporate governance, corporate raider, discounted cash flows, diversified portfolio, Eugene Fama: efficient market hypothesis, financial engineering, financial innovation, follow your passion, George Akerlof, Gordon Gekko, greed is good, housing crisis, income inequality, information asymmetry, Isaac Newton, Jony Ive, Kenneth Rogoff, longitudinal study, Louis Bachelier, low interest rates, Monty Hall problem, moral hazard, Myron Scholes, new economy, out of africa, Paul Samuelson, Pierre-Simon Laplace, principal–agent problem, Ralph Waldo Emerson, random walk, risk/return, Robert Shiller, Ronald Coase, short squeeze, Silicon Valley, Steve Jobs, Thales and the olive presses, Thales of Miletus, The Market for Lemons, The Nature of the Firm, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, Tim Cook: Apple, tontine, transaction costs, vertical integration, zero-sum game

As Horton made clear, the untenable nature of their position was actually “their cost position relative to their competitors,” a gap reflecting labor contracts and pension obligations. Bankruptcy would allow them to renegotiate those contracts and put unions under increased pressure to agree to concessions. One of the first steps they took was to nullify several parts of their collective bargaining agreements with labor, something that was inconceivable without the protection of the bankruptcy code. Arpey reflected, “I believe it’s important to the character of the company and its ultimate long-term success to do your very best to honor those commitments. It is not good thinking—either at the corporate level or at the personal level—to believe you can simply walk away from your circumstances.”


pages: 257 words: 68,143

Waiting for Superman: How We Can Save America's Failing Public Schools by Participant Media, Karl Weber

An Inconvenient Truth, antiwork, collective bargaining, feminist movement, hiring and firing, index card, knowledge economy, Menlo Park, Robert Gordon, school choice, Silicon Valley, Upton Sinclair

She has advocated a number of flexible, proactive approaches to improve teaching and learning, including a new template for teacher development and evaluation; a fresh approach to due process for misconduct cases; ensuring teachers have the tools, time, and trust to succeed; and forging collaborative labor-management relationships. More than fifty AFT local unions and their district partners have begun work on new systems to develop and evaluate teachers based on the AFT model. Since becoming AFT president, Weingarten has been personally involved in helping several AFT affiliates achieve innovative, reform-minded collective bargaining agreements. She also initiated the AFT Innovation Fund, supported by AFT member dues and substantial grants from private philanthropic organizations, to help AFT affiliates develop innovative, bottom-up reform projects with their district partners. I respect what Davis Guggenheim and his team set out to do in their film Waiting for “Superman”—to show how far we are from the great American ideal of providing every child with the excellent education they need and deserve.


pages: 257 words: 71,686

Swimming With Sharks: My Journey into the World of the Bankers by Joris Luyendijk

activist fund / activist shareholder / activist investor, bank run, barriers to entry, Bonfire of the Vanities, bonus culture, collapse of Lehman Brothers, collective bargaining, corporate raider, credit crunch, Credit Default Swap, Emanuel Derman, financial deregulation, financial independence, Flash crash, glass ceiling, Gordon Gekko, high net worth, hiring and firing, information asymmetry, inventory management, job-hopping, Large Hadron Collider, light touch regulation, London Whale, Money creation, Nick Leeson, offshore financial centre, regulatory arbitrage, Satyajit Das, selection bias, shareholder value, sovereign wealth fund, the payments system, too big to fail

Only three in 100 can be that ‘excellent performer’, he added, while everybody knows that the bottom few per cent get ‘chopped off’. Stories and anecdotes like this sometimes made me conscious of how far Britain had travelled in the past 30 years. As a product of a typical north-west European country, I had been brought up to believe in the welfare state, job protections, safety nets and collective bargaining. These are now unfashionable notions in London’s financial centre. My discomfort only grew when I heard the way investment bankers in the front office spoke of sudden dismissals. A round of redundancies was a ‘reduction of headcount’ or a ‘clean-up’ of ‘bodies’ or ‘bums on seats’. A senior investment banker said that in his department colleagues who had suddenly disappeared were always referred to as having resigned.


pages: 219 words: 67,173

Grand Central: How a Train Station Transformed America by Sam Roberts

accounting loophole / creative accounting, Bear Stearns, City Beautiful movement, clean water, collective bargaining, Cornelius Vanderbilt, Donald Trump, Jane Jacobs, Joan Didion, Lewis Mumford, Marshall McLuhan, megaproject, New Urbanism, the High Line, transcontinental railway, transit-oriented development, urban planning, urban renewal, Y2K

“Randolph’s pre-eminent credential was that he could not be picked off by the Pullman Company.” The porters were in a fighting mood by then, and their motto, “Fight or Be Slaves,” bore no hint of Stepin Fetchit servility. Totten was fired by Pullman and became the brotherhood’s secretary-treasurer. Benefiting from New Deal labor legislation, the porters finally signed their first collective bargaining agreement with the Pullman Company in 1935 and won a charter from the American Federation of Labor that same year—the first black union to do so. The union’s agenda wasn’t limited to wages, though, or only to its members. In 1941, Randolph threatened a march of 100,000 blacks on Washington unless the government banned discrimination by defense contractors.


pages: 317 words: 71,776

Inequality and the 1% by Danny Dorling

Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, banking crisis, battle of ideas, Bear Stearns, Bernie Madoff, Big bang: deregulation of the City of London, Boris Johnson, Branko Milanovic, buy and hold, call centre, Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty, centre right, collective bargaining, conceptual framework, corporate governance, credit crunch, David Attenborough, David Graeber, delayed gratification, Dominic Cummings, double helix, Downton Abbey, en.wikipedia.org, Etonian, family office, financial deregulation, full employment, gentrification, Gini coefficient, high net worth, housing crisis, income inequality, land value tax, Leo Hollis, Londongrad, longitudinal study, low skilled workers, lump of labour, mega-rich, Monkeys Reject Unequal Pay, Mont Pelerin Society, mortgage debt, negative equity, Neil Kinnock, Occupy movement, offshore financial centre, plutocrats, precariat, quantitative easing, race to the bottom, Robert Shiller, Russell Brand, TaskRabbit, TED Talk, The Spirit Level, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, trickle-down economics, unpaid internship, very high income, We are the 99%, wealth creators, working poor

A majority of young adults simply cannot afford to save the deposit needed to start to buy their home, and their families are not wealthy enough to lend or give them even small amounts of money. Some of the world’s leading economists place rising inheritance as the third-most-important factor driving up income inequality, after lower taxes on the rich and the recent lowering of the collective bargaining power of unions.79 The Earl of Derby did not give up his riches happily. He was forced to by the collaboration of many in the elite fearful that revolution, or at the very least frequent riots, might be sparked by the impoverishment of the masses. Today, the elite again fears a growing social and political unrest resulting from escalating wealth and income inequality.


pages: 247 words: 68,918

The End of the Free Market: Who Wins the War Between States and Corporations? by Ian Bremmer

"World Economic Forum" Davos, affirmative action, Asian financial crisis, banking crisis, Berlin Wall, BRICs, British Empire, centre right, collective bargaining, corporate governance, creative destruction, credit crunch, Credit Default Swap, cuban missile crisis, Deng Xiaoping, diversified portfolio, Doha Development Round, Exxon Valdez, failed state, Fall of the Berlin Wall, Francis Fukuyama: the end of history, Glass-Steagall Act, global reserve currency, global supply chain, household responsibility system, invisible hand, joint-stock company, Joseph Schumpeter, Kickstarter, laissez-faire capitalism, low skilled workers, mass immigration, means of production, megacity, Mikhail Gorbachev, military-industrial complex, mutually assured destruction, Naomi Klein, Nelson Mandela, new economy, offshore financial centre, open economy, race to the bottom, reserve currency, risk tolerance, Savings and loan crisis, shareholder value, Shenzhen special economic zone , South Sea Bubble, sovereign wealth fund, special economic zone, spice trade, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, too big to fail, trade liberalization, trade route, tulip mania, uranium enrichment, Washington Consensus, Yom Kippur War, zero-sum game

In the nineteenth century, economic development created opportunities for the growth of ideologically delineated political parties and movements for social reform that fought to abolish slavery, mandate standards for working conditions, establish child-labor laws, and create universal primary education and mass sanitation. In the twentieth century, economic opportunities spurred demand for political rights for women, labor representation and collective bargaining, and an end to various forms of discrimination. Over time, political scientists, economists, and sociologists discovered a trend in the European and American heartlands of modern capitalism. Free markets, they argued, produced greater prosperity; prosperity created middle classes; middle classes demanded better government.


pages: 232 words: 70,361

The Triumph of Injustice: How the Rich Dodge Taxes and How to Make Them Pay by Emmanuel Saez, Gabriel Zucman

activist fund / activist shareholder / activist investor, Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, behavioural economics, Berlin Wall, book value, business cycle, carbon tax, Cass Sunstein, classic study, collective bargaining, Cornelius Vanderbilt, corporate governance, cross-border payments, Donald Trump, financial deregulation, government statistician, income inequality, income per capita, independent contractor, informal economy, intangible asset, Jeff Bezos, labor-force participation, Lyft, Mark Zuckerberg, market fundamentalism, Mont Pelerin Society, mortgage debt, mortgage tax deduction, new economy, offshore financial centre, oil shock, patent troll, profit maximization, purchasing power parity, race to the bottom, rent-seeking, ride hailing / ride sharing, Ronald Reagan, shareholder value, Silicon Valley, single-payer health, Skype, Steve Jobs, Tax Reform Act of 1986, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, transfer pricing, trickle-down economics, uber lyft, very high income, We are the 99%

Available at online at http://fortune.com/2012/05/06/how-top-executives-live-fortune-1955/. Okner, Benjamin A., and Joseph A. Pechman. “Who Paid the Taxes in 1966?” American Economic Review 64, no. 2 (1974): 168–174. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). “Board-Level Employee Representation.” Collective Bargaining. Paris: OECD Press, 2017. ———. Automatic Exchange Portal. Country-Specific Information on Country-by-Country Reporting Implementation. Paris: OECD Press, 2018. Available at www.oecd.org/tax/automatic-exchange/country-specific-information-on-country-by-country-reporting-implementation.htm. ———.


pages: 260 words: 67,823

Always Day One: How the Tech Titans Plan to Stay on Top Forever by Alex Kantrowitz

accounting loophole / creative accounting, Albert Einstein, AltaVista, Amazon Robotics, Amazon Web Services, Andy Rubin, anti-bias training, augmented reality, Automated Insights, autonomous vehicles, Bernie Sanders, Big Tech, Cambridge Analytica, Clayton Christensen, cloud computing, collective bargaining, computer vision, Donald Trump, drone strike, Elon Musk, fake news, Firefox, fulfillment center, gigafactory, Google Chrome, growth hacking, hive mind, income inequality, Infrastructure as a Service, inventory management, iterative process, Jeff Bezos, job automation, Jony Ive, Kiva Systems, knowledge economy, Lyft, Mark Zuckerberg, Menlo Park, new economy, Nick Bostrom, off-the-grid, Peter Thiel, QR code, ride hailing / ride sharing, robotic process automation, Salesforce, self-driving car, Sheryl Sandberg, Silicon Valley, Skype, Snapchat, SoftBank, Steve Ballmer, Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, super pumped, tech worker, Tim Cook: Apple, uber lyft, warehouse robotics, wealth creators, work culture , zero-sum game

And from a window seat on the bus, I watched a blur of oranges, yellows, and browns go by as we made the five-hour journey north. Cornell’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations—known as the ILR School—was founded in 1945, on the heels of the New Deal, which protected unionization and collective bargaining. When Congress passed this legislation, workers and management gained a sweeping new set of rights, and both needed people to help them engage the other side. With financial assistance from New York State, Cornell established the ILR School to meet that need. It built the school so hastily that ILR inhabited long, cramped huts for years before moving into Ives Hall, a square, ivy-lined structure in the middle of campus.


pages: 247 words: 69,593

The Creative Curve: How to Develop the Right Idea, at the Right Time by Allen Gannett

Alfred Russel Wallace, collective bargaining, content marketing, data science, David Brooks, deliberate practice, Desert Island Discs, Elon Musk, en.wikipedia.org, gentrification, glass ceiling, iterative process, lone genius, longitudinal study, Lyft, Mark Zuckerberg, McMansion, pattern recognition, profit motive, randomized controlled trial, recommendation engine, Richard Florida, ride hailing / ride sharing, Salesforce, Saturday Night Live, sentiment analysis, Silicon Valley, Silicon Valley startup, Skype, Snapchat, South of Market, San Francisco, Steve Jobs, TED Talk, too big to fail, uber lyft, work culture

A rising class of merchants was eager to spend their wealth and live like kings, rich noblemen still wanted to decorate their palaces, and churches continued to want awe-inspiring frescos and sculptures. This increased hunger for art resulted in two significant changes in the Western art world. First, the interest in their work gave artists a small taste of power. Emboldened, they began engaging in collective bargaining. They joined guilds, an early form of unions, which mandated working conditions, tools, costs, and even techniques. These guilds elevated the artist to a higher place in the social pecking order. However, according to Deborah Haynes, as individual artists began to prosper they began to split off from the guilds and work directly for the new patronage class.


One Billion Americans: The Case for Thinking Bigger by Matthew Yglesias

Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, airport security, assortative mating, Big Tech, Boeing 737 MAX, Boris Johnson, British Empire, business logic, carbon footprint, carbon tax, classic study, collective bargaining, Colonization of Mars, congestion charging, congestion pricing, coronavirus, COVID-19, cross-subsidies, deindustrialization, demographic transition, Diane Coyle, Donald Trump, drive until you qualify, Edward Glaeser, Elon Musk, gentrification, global pandemic, Greta Thunberg, high-speed rail, housing crisis, illegal immigration, immigration reform, income inequality, Induced demand, industrial cluster, Kowloon Walled City, low interest rates, mandatory minimum, mass immigration, Mercator projection, minimum wage unemployment, moral panic, New Urbanism, open borders, open immigration, plutocrats, purchasing power parity, race to the bottom, secular stagnation, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), self-driving car, Silicon Valley, social distancing, superstar cities, tech worker, the built environment, Thomas Malthus, transit-oriented development, white flight, working-age population, Yogi Berra

Switching to year-round schooling from the status quo would be easier said than done. Many school buildings are not equipped with appropriate climate control for the hot summer months. You couldn’t just ask teachers and other school staff to significantly extend their annual working hours without also offering them higher salaries—to say nothing of dealing with the myriad collective bargaining agreements that would need to be changed. And because the whole existing teacher workforce is composed of people who deliberately bought in to teachers’ unusual work schedules and have built lives around them, even that trade-off wouldn’t necessarily be straightforward. Because American schools are administered in a very decentralized way, there’s no real prospect for a uniform national change anyway.


The Man Behind the Microchip: Robert Noyce and the Invention of Silicon Valley by Leslie Berlin

Apple II, Bob Noyce, book value, business cycle, California energy crisis, Charles Babbage, collective bargaining, computer age, data science, Fairchild Semiconductor, George Gilder, Henry Singleton, informal economy, John Markoff, Kickstarter, laissez-faire capitalism, low skilled workers, means of production, Menlo Park, military-industrial complex, Murray Gell-Mann, open economy, prudent man rule, Richard Feynman, rolling blackouts, ROLM, Ronald Reagan, Sand Hill Road, seminal paper, Silicon Valley, Silicon Valley startup, Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, tech worker, Teledyne, Tragedy of the Commons, union organizing, vertical integration, War on Poverty, women in the workforce, Yom Kippur War

An hour spent chatting and sharing coffee with your boss’s boss humanized the white-collar workers and blurred the traditionally sharp line between “labor” and “management.” When in 1962 a union attempted to organize Fairchild production workers, it was voted down. The result must have pleased Noyce. The strikes he witnessed when he worked at Philco had left a bad taste in his mouth, and he also thought that collective bargaining by definition undermined individual striving. He believed that it was far better to let a person rise on the basis of talent rather than due to seniority or some other bureaucratic requirement. Noyce asked human resources chief Yelverton and a young man named Jerry Levine whom Noyce had hired to handle “special assignments,” to codify some of the ideas they had been discussing in a policy and procedures book.

The timing of Intel’s misstep coincided with a spike in union-organizing activity throughout Silicon Valley. In 1974, the United Electrical Workers (UE) created an organizing committee specifically to target the Silicon Valley labor force. Many in the labor movement thought that workers might be more open to collective bargaining after the massive 1974 layoffs, especially if someone pointed out to them that with every passing year, more semiconductor production jobs moved offshore. A worker’s sense of insecurity may have been heightened by the increasingly austere and antiseptic nature of semiconductor production work.


Basic Income: A Radical Proposal for a Free Society and a Sane Economy by Philippe van Parijs, Yannick Vanderborght

Airbnb, Albert Einstein, basic income, Berlin Wall, Bertrand Russell: In Praise of Idleness, carbon tax, centre right, collective bargaining, cryptocurrency, David Graeber, declining real wages, degrowth, diversified portfolio, Edward Snowden, eurozone crisis, Fall of the Berlin Wall, feminist movement, full employment, future of work, George Akerlof, Herbert Marcuse, illegal immigration, income per capita, informal economy, Jeremy Corbyn, job automation, John Maynard Keynes: Economic Possibilities for our Grandchildren, John Maynard Keynes: technological unemployment, Kickstarter, Marshall McLuhan, means of production, minimum wage unemployment, Money creation, open borders, Paul Samuelson, pension reform, Post-Keynesian economics, precariat, price mechanism, profit motive, purchasing power parity, quantitative easing, race to the bottom, road to serfdom, Robert Solow, Rutger Bregman, Second Machine Age, secular stagnation, selection bias, sharing economy, sovereign wealth fund, systematic bias, The Spirit Level, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, Thomas Malthus, Tobin tax, universal basic income, urban planning, urban renewal, War on Poverty, working poor

If a parade of �people of increasing heights is used to represent the distribution of earnings, the �giants at the end get taller from de�cade to de� cade, the walkers of average height come �later and �later in the pro�cession, and �there are more and more dwarfs whose earnings do not reach the level of what is regarded as a decent income, or are at risk of falling �under it.4 Such a polarization of earning power can be expected to manifest itself in dif�fer�ent ways, depending on the institutional context. Where the level of remuneration is and remains firmly protected by minimum-�wage legislation, collective bargaining, and generous unemployment insurance, the result tends to be massive losses of jobs. Where such protections are or become weaker, the results tend to be dramatic increases in the numbers of �people having to scrape by, �doing precarious jobs that pay miserable wages. 5 Such trends are 5 BASIC INCOME already vis�i�ble, but if the predicted effects of the new wave of automation materialize, they �will get much worse.

In other words, contrary to what is predicted by standard “Walrasian” models (with productivity unresponsive to the pay level), involuntary unemployment can be expected to persist at equilibrium. Even in the most perfectly competitive circumstances—Â�full information, costless entry and exit, no wage legislation or collective bargaining, and so forth—it thus appears that Â�people endowed with exactly the same personal and impersonal assets Â�will receive very unequal gifts, in the form of employment rents systematically generated by the Â�labor market. 29. For further discussion of the deÂ�penÂ�dency of this stylized picture of the world on the pervasiveness of the market, see especially Sturn and Dujmovits 2000 and Van Parijs 2001: sections 3–4. 30.


pages: 612 words: 179,328

Buffett by Roger Lowenstein

Alan Greenspan, asset allocation, Bear Stearns, book value, Bretton Woods, buy and hold, Carl Icahn, cashless society, collective bargaining, computerized trading, corporate raider, credit crunch, cuban missile crisis, Eugene Fama: efficient market hypothesis, index card, index fund, interest rate derivative, invisible hand, Jeffrey Epstein, John Meriwether, junk bonds, Long Term Capital Management, Michael Milken, moral hazard, Paul Samuelson, random walk, risk tolerance, Robert Shiller, Ronald Reagan, Savings and loan crisis, selection bias, Teledyne, The Predators' Ball, traveling salesman, Works Progress Administration, Yogi Berra, young professional, zero-coupon bond

“Warren Buffett: Reluctant Billionaire,” WNET/Thirteen, Adam Smith’s Money World, broadcast June 20, 1988. 57. Buffett, “Benjamin Graham.” Chapter 11. PRESS LORD 1. Courier-Express v. Evening News, Civil Action No. 77–582, U.S. District Court, Western District of New York, Deposition of Graham, pp. 54–57; Deposition of Vincent Manno, pp. 161–63. 2. Guild collective bargaining manual, February 1, 1977. 3. Courier-Express v. Evening News, Affidavit of Richard C. Lyons, Jr., pp. 4–5. 4. Deposition of Graham, p. 61. 5. Deposition of Manno, pp. 98, 235. 6. Albert Mugel. 7. Deposition of Graham, pp. 64–73. 8. Deposition of Manno, p. 165. 9. 601 Federal Reporter, 2d series, p. 50, Courier-Express v.

Audit Bureau of Circulation figures as of March 1982. 45. As of year-end 1982. Blue Chip Stamps 1982 Annual Report (as reprinted in Berkshire Hathaway Inc., 1982 Annual Report, 53). 46. Blue Chip Stamps, 1981 Annual Report (as reprinted in Berkshire Hathaway Inc., 1981 Annual Report, 46). 47. Stan Lipsey. 48. Guild collective bargaining manual, April 1, 1991. 49. Berkshire Hathaway Inc., 1984 Annual Report, 8. 50. Ibid., 7. 51. Audit Bureau of Circulation. 52. In 1981, the Courier-Express’s last full year, the combined weekday circulation of the two papers was 396,000. A decade later, in 1991, weekday circulation at the News alone was 306,000, a decline of 23 percent.


pages: 593 words: 183,240

An Economic History of the Twentieth Century by J. Bradford Delong

affirmative action, Alan Greenspan, Andrei Shleifer, ASML, asset-backed security, Ayatollah Khomeini, banking crisis, Bear Stearns, Bretton Woods, British Empire, business cycle, buy and hold, Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty, Carmen Reinhart, centre right, collapse of Lehman Brothers, collective bargaining, colonial rule, coronavirus, cotton gin, COVID-19, creative destruction, crowdsourcing, cryptocurrency, cuban missile crisis, deindustrialization, demographic transition, Deng Xiaoping, Donald Trump, en.wikipedia.org, ending welfare as we know it, endogenous growth, Fairchild Semiconductor, fake news, financial deregulation, financial engineering, financial repression, flying shuttle, Ford Model T, Ford paid five dollars a day, Francis Fukuyama: the end of history, full employment, general purpose technology, George Gilder, German hyperinflation, global value chain, Great Leap Forward, Gunnar Myrdal, Haber-Bosch Process, Hans Rosling, hedonic treadmill, Henry Ford's grandson gave labor union leader Walter Reuther a tour of the company’s new, automated factory…, housing crisis, Hyman Minsky, income inequality, income per capita, industrial research laboratory, interchangeable parts, Internet Archive, invention of agriculture, invention of the steam engine, It's morning again in America, John Maynard Keynes: Economic Possibilities for our Grandchildren, John Maynard Keynes: technological unemployment, Joseph Schumpeter, Kenneth Rogoff, labor-force participation, land reform, late capitalism, Les Trente Glorieuses, liberal capitalism, liquidity trap, Long Term Capital Management, low interest rates, manufacturing employment, market bubble, means of production, megacity, Menlo Park, Mikhail Gorbachev, mortgage debt, mutually assured destruction, Neal Stephenson, occupational segregation, oil shock, open borders, open economy, Paul Samuelson, Pearl River Delta, Phillips curve, plutocrats, price stability, Productivity paradox, profit maximization, public intellectual, quantitative easing, Ralph Waldo Emerson, restrictive zoning, rising living standards, road to serfdom, Robert Gordon, Robert Solow, rolodex, Ronald Coase, Ronald Reagan, savings glut, secular stagnation, Silicon Valley, Simon Kuznets, social intelligence, Stanislav Petrov, strikebreaker, structural adjustment programs, Suez canal 1869, surveillance capitalism, The Bell Curve by Richard Herrnstein and Charles Murray, The Chicago School, The Great Moderation, The Nature of the Firm, The Rise and Fall of American Growth, too big to fail, transaction costs, transatlantic slave trade, transcontinental railway, TSMC, union organizing, vertical integration, W. E. B. Du Bois, Wayback Machine, Yom Kippur War

From 1933 to 1937, organizing unions became easier—in spite of high unemployment—because of the solid swing of the political system in favor of the increasingly liberal Democrats. The federal government was no longer an anti-, but a pro-union force. The Wagner Act gave workers the right to engage in collective bargaining. A National Labor Relations Board monitored and greatly limited the ability of anti-union employers to punish union organizers and members. Employers in large mass-production industries learned to value the mediation between bosses and employees that unions could provide. And workers learned to value the above-market wages that unions could negotiate.

All factions within the newly constituted administration won something in the legislation: Businesses won the ability to collude—to draft “codes of conduct” that would make it easy to maintain relatively high prices, and to “plan” to match capacity to demand. Socialist-leaning planners won the requirement that the government—through the National Recovery Administration (NRA)—approve the industry-drafted plans. Labor won the right to collective bargaining and the right to have minimum wages and maximum hours incorporated into the industry-level plans. Spenders won some $3.3 billion in public works. And so the First New Deal entailed a strong “corporatist” program of joint government-industry planning, collusive regulation, and cooperation; strong regulation of commodity prices for the farm sector and other permanent federal benefits; a program of building and operating utilities; huge amounts of other public works spending; meaningful federal regulation of financial markets; insurance for small depositors’ bank deposits along with mortgage relief and unemployment relief; a commitment to lowering working hours and raising wages (resulting in the National Labor Relations Act of 1935, or Wagner Act); and a promise to lower tariffs (fulfilled in the Reciprocal Tariff Act of 1935).


pages: 498 words: 184,761

The Riders Come Out at Night: Brutality, Corruption, and Cover-Up in Oakland by Ali Winston, Darwin Bondgraham

affirmative action, anti-communist, Bay Area Rapid Transit, Bear Stearns, Black Lives Matter, Broken windows theory, Chelsea Manning, cognitive dissonance, collective bargaining, COVID-19, crack epidemic, defund the police, deindustrialization, desegregation, Donald Trump, Edward Snowden, Ferguson, Missouri, friendly fire, full employment, gentrification, George Floyd, global pandemic, Golden Gate Park, mass incarceration, Nelson Mandela, Occupy movement, Oklahoma City bombing, old-boy network, Port of Oakland, power law, Ronald Reagan, San Francisco homelessness, Silicon Valley, sovereign wealth fund, transcontinental railway, urban renewal, W. E. B. Du Bois, War on Poverty, white flight, WikiLeaks, Yogi Berra

The union, represented by Rockne Lucia, a partner in the same law firm with Riders defendant Clarence Mabanag’s attorney, Michael Rains, feared it would be used to punish officers rather than change OPD management. The Officers’ Association also feared it was the camel’s nose under the tent of its collective bargaining agreement, but the union managed to safeguard its labor agreement with Oakland under the terms of the settlement agreement. The police officers’ union had one other major objection, one shared by some police brass, as well as some of the city’s civilian leaders. It strongly opposed appointing anyone other than a former police chief as the independent monitor of the department.

Undeterred, the march looped through downtown as the sun set, gaining numbers and returning to Fourteenth and Broadway, where the now-empty plaza sat behind a row of metal barriers. In the crowd was Scott Olsen, a twenty-four-year-old Marine Corps veteran who’d moved to the Bay Area that summer. Olsen was relatively new to activism, having taken part in the state capitol occupation in his native Wisconsin the previous year when labor unions tried to save workers’ collective bargaining rights. He hooked up with Iraq Veterans Against the War in Northern California and took part in Anonymous-led protests in support of WikiLeaks source Chelsea Manning.44 When the Occupy San Francisco encampment appeared, Olsen joined and became a fixture outside the Federal Reserve, sleeping overnight and returning to his apartment only to shower.


pages: 294 words: 77,356

Automating Inequality by Virginia Eubanks

autonomous vehicles, basic income, Black Lives Matter, business process, call centre, cognitive dissonance, collective bargaining, correlation does not imply causation, data science, deindustrialization, digital divide, disruptive innovation, Donald Trump, driverless car, Elon Musk, ending welfare as we know it, experimental subject, fake news, gentrification, housing crisis, Housing First, IBM and the Holocaust, income inequality, job automation, mandatory minimum, Mark Zuckerberg, mass incarceration, minimum wage unemployment, mortgage tax deduction, new economy, New Urbanism, payday loans, performance metric, Ronald Reagan, San Francisco homelessness, self-driving car, sparse data, statistical model, strikebreaker, underbanked, universal basic income, urban renewal, W. E. B. Du Bois, War on Poverty, warehouse automation, working poor, Works Progress Administration, young professional, zero-sum game

Most importantly, in response to threats that southern states would not support the Social Security Act, both agricultural and domestic workers were explicitly excluded from its employment protections. The “southern compromise” left the great majority of African American workers—and a not-insignificant number of poor white tenant farmers, sharecroppers, and domestics—with no minimum wage, unemployment protection, old-age insurance, or right to collective bargaining. New Deal programs also enshrined the male breadwinner as the primary vehicle for economic support of women and families. Federal protections were tied to wages, union membership, unemployment insurance, and pensions. But by incentivizing long-term wage-earning and full-time, year-round work, the protections privileged men’s employment patterns over women’s.


pages: 256 words: 79,075

Hired: Six Months Undercover in Low-Wage Britain by James Bloodworth

Airbnb, algorithmic management, Berlin Wall, call centre, clockwatching, collective bargaining, congestion charging, credit crunch, deindustrialization, Fall of the Berlin Wall, fulfillment center, gentrification, gig economy, Greyball, independent contractor, Jeff Bezos, low skilled workers, Network effects, new economy, North Sea oil, Panopticon Jeremy Bentham, payday loans, post-truth, post-work, profit motive, race to the bottom, reshoring, scientific management, Silicon Valley, Travis Kalanick, Uber for X, working poor, working-age population

‘Stop acid attacks, bike theft, motorcycle crime.’34 There has been a huge rise in acid attacks in London over recent years,35 with some of those falling victim delivery drivers whose mopeds have been targeted by vicious thieves. Some of the most important work in the ‘gig’ economy is being done by the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain and – for drivers – by United Private Hire Drivers, a branch of the IWGB. The IWGB was, at the time of writing, fighting, inter alia, for Deliveroo to recognise the first collective bargaining agreement in the ‘gig’ economy. It was the General Secretary of the IWGB, Jason Moyer-Lee, who said something that would stick with me when I asked him why customers ought to worry about the terms and conditions of Uber drivers and the people who delivered their takeaway meals. ‘The point is if we don’t nip this type of stuff in the bud, because this type of work is spreading ... tomorrow we’re all going to wake up and we’re not going to have any employment rights.’


pages: 242 words: 73,728

Give People Money by Annie Lowrey

Abraham Maslow, affirmative action, Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, agricultural Revolution, Airbnb, airport security, autonomous vehicles, barriers to entry, basic income, Bernie Sanders, bitcoin, Black Lives Matter, carbon tax, clean water, collective bargaining, computer age, crowdsourcing, cryptocurrency, deindustrialization, desegregation, Donald Trump, driverless car, Edward Glaeser, Elon Musk, ending welfare as we know it, everywhere but in the productivity statistics, full employment, gender pay gap, gentrification, gig economy, Google Earth, Home mortgage interest deduction, income inequality, indoor plumbing, information asymmetry, Jaron Lanier, jitney, job automation, John Maynard Keynes: Economic Possibilities for our Grandchildren, John Maynard Keynes: technological unemployment, Kickstarter, Kodak vs Instagram, labor-force participation, late capitalism, Lyft, M-Pesa, Mahatma Gandhi, Mark Zuckerberg, mass incarceration, McMansion, Menlo Park, mobile money, Modern Monetary Theory, mortgage tax deduction, multilevel marketing, new economy, obamacare, opioid epidemic / opioid crisis, Overton Window, Peter Thiel, post scarcity, post-work, Potemkin village, precariat, public intellectual, randomized controlled trial, ride hailing / ride sharing, Robert Bork, Robert Solow, Ronald Reagan, Rutger Bregman, Sam Altman, self-driving car, Silicon Valley, single-payer health, Steve Jobs, TaskRabbit, tech billionaire, The future is already here, The Future of Employment, theory of mind, total factor productivity, Turing test, two tier labour market, Uber and Lyft, uber lyft, universal basic income, uranium enrichment, War on Poverty, warehouse robotics, Watson beat the top human players on Jeopardy!, We wanted flying cars, instead we got 140 characters, women in the workforce, working poor, World Values Survey, Y Combinator

Universal Income from Universal Assets,” TripleCrisis (blog), Nov. 7, 2016, http://triplecrisis.com/​200-a-month-for-everyone/. “Certainly there will be taxes that relate to automation”: Kevin J. Delaney, “The Robot That Takes Your Job Should Pay Taxes, Says Bill Gates,” Quartz, Feb. 17, 2017. a kind of productivity dividend: Paul T. Hartman, Collective Bargaining and Productivity: The Longshore Mechanization Agreement (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1969). cost about $200 billion a year: Jessica Wiederspan, Elizabeth Rhodes, and H. Luke Shaefer, “Expanding the Discourse on Antipoverty Policy: Reconsidering a Negative Income Tax,” Journal of Poverty 19, no. 2 (2015): 218–38.


pages: 229 words: 72,431

Shadow Work: The Unpaid, Unseen Jobs That Fill Your Day by Craig Lambert

airline deregulation, Asperger Syndrome, banking crisis, Barry Marshall: ulcers, big-box store, business cycle, carbon footprint, cashless society, Clayton Christensen, cognitive dissonance, collective bargaining, Community Supported Agriculture, corporate governance, crowdsourcing, data science, disintermediation, disruptive innovation, emotional labour, fake it until you make it, financial independence, Galaxy Zoo, ghettoisation, gig economy, global village, helicopter parent, IKEA effect, industrial robot, informal economy, Jeff Bezos, job automation, John Maynard Keynes: Economic Possibilities for our Grandchildren, Mark Zuckerberg, new economy, off-the-grid, pattern recognition, plutocrats, pneumatic tube, recommendation engine, Schrödinger's Cat, Silicon Valley, single-payer health, statistical model, the strength of weak ties, The Theory of the Leisure Class by Thorstein Veblen, Thorstein Veblen, Turing test, unpaid internship, Vanguard fund, Vilfredo Pareto, you are the product, zero-sum game, Zipcar

These figures, of course, do not include shadow work, which goes unrecorded. We can only speculate about how much extra labor it contributes. One thing that’s clear is that paid employees, from janitors to professional athletes, can organize to protect their common interests and negotiate collective bargaining agreements that limit and govern the amount and kind of work they do. White-collar workers are less often unionized but do operate within a set of established standards that are often set down by trade and professional associations. Shadow workers have no such protections. They are a politically and socially unorganized throng of people who do not know each other, do not associate together, and lack any vehicle for coordinated action.


pages: 243 words: 76,686

How to Do Nothing by Jenny Odell

Airbnb, Anthropocene, augmented reality, back-to-the-land, Big Tech, Burning Man, collective bargaining, congestion pricing, context collapse, death from overwork, Donald Trump, Filter Bubble, full employment, gentrification, gig economy, Google Earth, Ian Bogost, Internet Archive, James Bridle, Jane Jacobs, Jaron Lanier, Kickstarter, late capitalism, Mark Zuckerberg, market fundamentalism, means of production, Minecraft, Patri Friedman, peer-to-peer, Peter Thiel, Plato's cave, Port of Oakland, Results Only Work Environment, Rosa Parks, Salesforce, Sand Hill Road, Silicon Valley, Silicon Valley startup, Skinner box, Snapchat, source of truth, Steve Jobs, strikebreaker, techno-determinism, technoutopianism, union organizing, white flight, Works Progress Administration

Self-described “rank-and-file journalist” Mike Quin writes that “it merely said what every longshoreman had long known to be a fact, and put into frank language the resentment that was smoldering in every dock worker’s heart.”33 A scrappy publication, it was soon circulating a few thousand copies. Then, in 1933, the National Industrial Recovery Act guaranteed the right to join a trade union and engage in collective bargaining, and many of the longshoremen left their largely useless company-run unions to join the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA). They began organizing a new political body consisting of actual dockworkers instead of salaried union officials. Leading up to the strike, the longshoremen organized a convention in San Francisco where the delegates—all of whom worked on the docks—represented fourteen thousand longshoremen up and down the coast.


pages: 247 words: 78,961

The Return of Marco Polo's World: War, Strategy, and American Interests in the Twenty-First Century by Robert D. Kaplan

"World Economic Forum" Davos, Admiral Zheng, always be closing, California gold rush, collective bargaining, Deng Xiaoping, Donald Trump, Dr. Strangelove, failed state, Francis Fukuyama: the end of history, friendly fire, Great Leap Forward, Haight Ashbury, high-speed rail, kremlinology, load shedding, mass immigration, megacity, military-industrial complex, no-fly zone, oil-for-food scandal, one-China policy, Parag Khanna, Pax Mongolica, Ronald Reagan, South China Sea, sovereign wealth fund, the long tail, trade route, Westphalian system, Yom Kippur War

“We were all liberals, and Franklin Roosevelt was God,” Huntington told me. “I couldn’t imagine that anyone thought differently.” Psychologically, Huntington’s world at this time bore the imprint of the New Deal. Still, Harvard manifested an occasional irregularity. “There was one student who vigorously opposed collective bargaining, the minimum wage—all the conventional wisdom, in fact. It was quite a shock for all of us.” This student, William Rehnquist, eventually left for Stanford Law School. Two towering intellectual figures then ruled Harvard’s Department of Government: Carl Friedrich and William Yandell Elliott.


pages: 373 words: 80,248

Empire of Illusion: The End of Literacy and the Triumph of Spectacle by Chris Hedges

Albert Einstein, AOL-Time Warner, Ayatollah Khomeini, Bear Stearns, Cal Newport, clean water, collective bargaining, corporate governance, creative destruction, Credit Default Swap, Glass-Steagall Act, haute couture, Herbert Marcuse, Honoré de Balzac, Howard Zinn, illegal immigration, income inequality, Joseph Schumpeter, Naomi Klein, offshore financial centre, Plato's cave, power law, Ralph Nader, Ronald Reagan, scientific management, Seymour Hersh, single-payer health, social intelligence, statistical model, uranium enrichment

While some conservative followers focused solely on “productivity and efficiency,” liberal “business leaders, bankers, politicians, trade-union leaders, and academic social scientists” during the 1920s “tried to forge a viable corporate order.”27 They sought to establish a stable corporate state by implementing worker “uplift” programs, such as collective bargaining, profit-sharing, company magazines, insurance, pension plans, safety reform, workmen’s compensation, restricted work hours and the “living wage.” The idea that “better living and working conditions would render him [the worker] more cooperative, loyal, content, and, thus, more efficient and ‘level-headed’ . . . also carried over into such aspects of the industrial-betterment movement as gardens, restaurants, clubs, recreational facilities, bands, and medical departments.”28 “Since at least a century ago, a number of engineers, businessmen, and scientists realized that technology was no longer the limiting factor of production; now, it was man that could be engineered, and made still more efficient, given the right motivation,” González wrote, quoting from historian David Noble’s book America by Design.29 “However there are two aspects of today’s industrial relations that are genuinely new: first, the specific psychological techniques used to motivate workers; and, second, the increased number of companies willing to experiment with these techniques.”30 Toyota pioneered the new approach.


pages: 333 words: 76,990

The Long Good Buy: Analysing Cycles in Markets by Peter Oppenheimer

Alan Greenspan, asset allocation, banking crisis, banks create money, barriers to entry, behavioural economics, benefit corporation, Berlin Wall, Big bang: deregulation of the City of London, Black Monday: stock market crash in 1987, book value, Bretton Woods, business cycle, buy and hold, Cass Sunstein, central bank independence, collective bargaining, computer age, credit crunch, data science, debt deflation, decarbonisation, diversification, dividend-yielding stocks, equity premium, equity risk premium, Fall of the Berlin Wall, financial engineering, financial innovation, fixed income, Flash crash, foreign exchange controls, forward guidance, Francis Fukuyama: the end of history, general purpose technology, gentrification, geopolitical risk, George Akerlof, Glass-Steagall Act, household responsibility system, housing crisis, index fund, invention of the printing press, inverted yield curve, Isaac Newton, James Watt: steam engine, Japanese asset price bubble, joint-stock company, Joseph Schumpeter, Kickstarter, Kondratiev cycle, liberal capitalism, light touch regulation, liquidity trap, Live Aid, low interest rates, market bubble, Mikhail Gorbachev, mortgage debt, negative equity, Network effects, new economy, Nikolai Kondratiev, Nixon shock, Nixon triggered the end of the Bretton Woods system, oil shock, open economy, Phillips curve, price stability, private sector deleveraging, Productivity paradox, quantitative easing, railway mania, random walk, Richard Thaler, risk free rate, risk tolerance, risk-adjusted returns, Robert Shiller, Robert Solow, Ronald Reagan, Savings and loan crisis, savings glut, secular stagnation, Shenzhen special economic zone , Simon Kuznets, South Sea Bubble, special economic zone, stocks for the long run, tail risk, Tax Reform Act of 1986, technology bubble, The Great Moderation, too big to fail, total factor productivity, trade route, tulip mania, yield curve

As exhibit 9.10 shows, at the time of writing US employment has grown for more months without a contraction than ever before. There may be many explanations for this – weaker welfare states and lower taxes have made employment more attractive for many individuals, and there has also been a significant increase in female labour participation.13 Less union power and collective bargaining may have also triggered a rise in new entrants to the labour market, and ageing populations are also often given as a reason. Perhaps what is most surprising is that this post-crisis rise in employment has coincided with dramatic changes in technology amid concerns about robots and technology taking away jobs.


pages: 211 words: 78,547

How Elites Ate the Social Justice Movement by Fredrik Deboer

2021 United States Capitol attack, Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, anti-communist, Bernie Sanders, BIPOC, Black Lives Matter, Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty, centre right, collective bargaining, coronavirus, COVID-19, data science, David Brooks, defund the police, deindustrialization, delayed gratification, Donald Trump, Edward Snowden, effective altruism, false flag, Ferguson, Missouri, George Floyd, global pandemic, helicopter parent, income inequality, lockdown, obamacare, Occupy movement, open immigration, post-materialism, profit motive, QAnon, Silicon Valley, single-payer health, social distancing, TikTok, upwardly mobile, W. E. B. Du Bois, We are the 99%, working poor, zero-sum game

The American labor movement has been declining for longer than I’ve been alive, but it’s essential to remember that in the first half of the twentieth century, labor unions and workers’ parties won victory after victory: the weekend, the eight-hour workday and the forty-hour workweek, workplace health and safety protections, and robust collective bargaining rights. These victories were achieved not in spite of but because of the active participation and leadership of common workingmen. The movement had leaders, as all successful social movements must—the denial of leadership is a pathology of some left spaces that we will attend to in this book—but they were usually people like Eugene Debs, who was a great socialist intellectual but who had also worked on the railroads as a young man and thus had credibility among other workers.


pages: 236 words: 77,546

The Cult of Smart: How Our Broken Education System Perpetuates Social Injustice by Fredrik Deboer

accounting loophole / creative accounting, Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, anti-communist, assortative mating, basic income, Bernie Sanders, collective bargaining, deindustrialization, desegregation, Donald Trump, fiat currency, Flynn Effect, full employment, gentrification, Great Leap Forward, helicopter parent, income inequality, knowledge economy, labor-force participation, liberal capitalism, longitudinal study, meta-analysis, new economy, New Urbanism, obamacare, Own Your Own Home, phenotype, positional goods, profit motive, RAND corporation, randomized controlled trial, Richard Florida, school choice, Scientific racism, selection bias, Silicon Valley, single-payer health, Steven Pinker, survivorship bias, trade route, twin studies, universal basic income, upwardly mobile, winner-take-all economy, young professional, zero-sum game

Armies of non-college-educated men took jobs at factories and mills, helping to build the new durable goods that technological progress had created and that newly enriched American families could afford. A robust labor movement ensured that many workers enjoyed both the security of union jobs and a direct lever to increase their wages, thanks to the power of collective bargaining. Again, we must not romanticize this era; racial bigotry was enshrined in law and women were excluded from a vast number of jobs by culture and by policy. But for the people lucky enough to be part of the basic Eisenhower-era bargain—high wages and labor power for workers along with overall economic growth driving increased revenues for business—life without a college education was mostly fine.


pages: 716 words: 192,143

The Enlightened Capitalists by James O'Toole

"Friedman doctrine" OR "shareholder theory", "World Economic Forum" Davos, Abraham Maslow, activist fund / activist shareholder / activist investor, anti-communist, Ayatollah Khomeini, benefit corporation, Bernie Madoff, Bletchley Park, book value, British Empire, business cycle, business logic, business process, California gold rush, carbon footprint, City Beautiful movement, collective bargaining, company town, compensation consultant, Cornelius Vanderbilt, corporate governance, corporate social responsibility, Credit Default Swap, crowdsourcing, cryptocurrency, desegregation, do well by doing good, Donald Trump, double entry bookkeeping, end world poverty, equal pay for equal work, Frederick Winslow Taylor, full employment, garden city movement, germ theory of disease, glass ceiling, God and Mammon, greed is good, high-speed rail, hiring and firing, income inequality, indoor plumbing, inventory management, invisible hand, James Hargreaves, job satisfaction, joint-stock company, Kickstarter, knowledge worker, Lao Tzu, Larry Ellison, longitudinal study, Louis Pasteur, Lyft, Marc Benioff, means of production, Menlo Park, North Sea oil, passive investing, Ponzi scheme, profit maximization, profit motive, Ralph Waldo Emerson, rolodex, Ronald Reagan, Salesforce, scientific management, shareholder value, Silicon Valley, Social Responsibility of Business Is to Increase Its Profits, Socratic dialogue, sovereign wealth fund, spinning jenny, Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, stock buybacks, stocks for the long run, stocks for the long term, The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, Tim Cook: Apple, traveling salesman, Uber and Lyft, uber lyft, union organizing, Vanguard fund, white flight, women in the workforce, young professional

For example, they sought to discover if Lewis partners were better off than comparably employed unionized workers. The issue was pertinent because the 1960s was a time of considerable labor unrest in Britain, and trade unionists were adamant that workers’ interests could be protected only through collective bargaining. Offering similar criticisms to the ones American union leaders raised in opposition to Lincoln Electric’s practices, British trade unionists argued that “industrial democracy” in the form offered by the Lewis Partnership was a sham, nothing more than a clever form of paternalism designed to make employees work harder.

He called labor unions out for such unproductive practices as working-to-rule, featherbedding, and limiting the number of apprentices to produce artificial scarcities of skilled labor. He chastised union bosses for engaging in violence against their own members who dared speak in opposition to their dictates. At the same time, he recognized the rights of working people to organize, and of trade unions to represent them in collective bargaining, acknowledging that millions of Americans were laboring for less than a living wage. In the tradition of the best political economists, he offered an economic analysis of why so many workers were unfairly paid, and why they needed a decent income. In the same vein as Theodore Roosevelt’s famous 1910 “New Nationalism” speech, Johnson argued that millions of potentially productive but currently underemployed, undereducated workers were a drag on the American economy.


pages: 288 words: 83,690

How to Kill a City: The Real Story of Gentrification by Peter Moskowitz

"Hurricane Katrina" Superdome, affirmative action, Airbnb, back-to-the-city movement, Bay Area Rapid Transit, Big Tech, Black Lives Matter, Blue Bottle Coffee, British Empire, clean water, collective bargaining, company town, David Brooks, deindustrialization, Detroit bankruptcy, do well by doing good, drive until you qualify, East Village, Edward Glaeser, fixed-gear, gentrification, Golden Gate Park, housing crisis, housing justice, income inequality, Jane Jacobs, Kickstarter, Kitchen Debate, land bank, late capitalism, messenger bag, mortgage tax deduction, Naomi Klein, new economy, New Urbanism, off-the-grid, private military company, profit motive, public intellectual, Quicken Loans, RAND corporation, rent control, rent gap, rent stabilization, restrictive zoning, Richard Florida, Ronald Reagan, school choice, Silicon Valley, starchitect, subprime mortgage crisis, tech worker, The Death and Life of Great American Cities, the High Line, trickle-down economics, urban planning, urban renewal, white flight, working poor, Works Progress Administration, young professional

But when the state took over New Orleans’s schools, all 7,500 were fired and had to reapply in the new state-run district. “It is about breaking unions,” the head of the United Teachers of New Orleans, Brenda Mitchell, said at the time. “It is about breaking the spirit of working-class people. It is about denying them their rights.” Those who were hired back were stripped of their collective bargaining rights, in many cases were threatened with dismissal if they discussed their salaries, and were given “at-will” contracts, meaning their employment could be terminated at any time. And it’s unclear how many of those 7,500 teachers were in fact hired in the new district. One clue as to how many weren’t rehired comes from a Tulane study that looked at the years of experience teachers in New Orleans had pre- and post-Katrina.


pages: 318 words: 85,824

A Brief History of Neoliberalism by David Harvey

"World Economic Forum" Davos, affirmative action, air traffic controllers' union, Asian financial crisis, Berlin Wall, Bretton Woods, business climate, business cycle, California energy crisis, capital controls, centre right, collective bargaining, creative destruction, crony capitalism, debt deflation, declining real wages, deglobalization, deindustrialization, Deng Xiaoping, Fall of the Berlin Wall, financial deregulation, financial intermediation, financial repression, full employment, gentrification, George Gilder, Gini coefficient, global reserve currency, Great Leap Forward, illegal immigration, income inequality, informal economy, labour market flexibility, land tenure, late capitalism, Long Term Capital Management, low interest rates, low-wage service sector, manufacturing employment, market fundamentalism, mass immigration, means of production, megaproject, Mexican peso crisis / tequila crisis, military-industrial complex, Mont Pelerin Society, mortgage tax deduction, neoliberal agenda, new economy, Pearl River Delta, phenotype, Ponzi scheme, price mechanism, race to the bottom, rent-seeking, reserve currency, Ronald Reagan, Savings and loan crisis, Silicon Valley, special economic zone, structural adjustment programs, Suez crisis 1956, the built environment, The Chicago School, Tragedy of the Commons, transaction costs, union organizing, urban renewal, urban sprawl, Washington Consensus, We are all Keynesians now, Winter of Discontent

For much of the Third World, particularly Africa, embedded liberalism remained a pipe dream. The subsequent drive towards neoliberalization after 1980 entailed little material change in their impoverished condition. In the advanced capitalist countries, redistributive politics (including some degree of political integration of working-class trade union power and support for collective bargaining), controls over the free mobility of capital (some degree of financial repression through capital controls in particular), expanded public expenditures and welfare state-building, active state interventions in the economy, and some degree of planning of development went hand in hand with relatively high rates of growth.


pages: 258 words: 83,303

Why Your World Is About to Get a Whole Lot Smaller: Oil and the End of Globalization by Jeff Rubin

addicted to oil, air freight, banking crisis, Bear Stearns, big-box store, BRICs, business cycle, carbon footprint, carbon tax, collateralized debt obligation, collective bargaining, creative destruction, credit crunch, David Ricardo: comparative advantage, decarbonisation, energy security, food miles, Ford Model T, hydrogen economy, illegal immigration, immigration reform, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), invisible hand, James Watt: steam engine, Jevons paradox, Just-in-time delivery, low interest rates, market clearing, megacity, megaproject, North Sea oil, oil shale / tar sands, oil shock, peak oil, profit maximization, reserve currency, South Sea Bubble, subprime mortgage crisis, the market place, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, trade liberalization, work culture , zero-sum game

Now all those trade barriers have been removed and firms are footloose and fancy free to move to wherever they can make the most money. As more and more of the world’s factories were uprooted from North America and Europe and sent overseas to cheap Asian labor markets, unions back home lost their bargaining power. When jobs crossed the ocean, wage concessions quickly replaced wage gains in new collective bargaining agreements in once highly protected and highly paying industries like autos and steel. With labor costs typically accounting for as much as two-thirds of the cost of a typical manufactured good, containing wages meant controlling prices. That’s ultimately why the US supported globalization and agreed to give up all those jobs to China.


pages: 286 words: 87,870

The Pirates of Somalia: Inside Their Hidden World by Jay Bahadur

collective bargaining, failed state, independent contractor, private military company, trickle-down economics, UNCLOS, UNCLOS, urban planning

Later generations of pirates owed their extravagant multimillion-dollar ransoms to the negotiating abilities of the pioneers. Indeed, the triumvirate of Afweyne, Boyah, and Garaad Mohammed could be compared to the hard-nosed leaders of a newly formed labour union—though in their struggle for higher wages they admittedly employed stronger-arm tactics than typically seen in collective bargaining. The lucrative ransoms for which they fought predictably attracted a new influx of independent groups to the industry—what I refer to as the “third wave” of piracy in Puntland. Many of these pirates were opportunists without histories in fishing, often disaffected inland youth. Yet their recent entry into the field did not stop them from telling any apologist reporter who would listen that persecution by foreign fishing fleets had driven them to their desperate course


pages: 252 words: 78,780

Lab Rats: How Silicon Valley Made Work Miserable for the Rest of Us by Dan Lyons

"Friedman doctrine" OR "shareholder theory", "Susan Fowler" uber, "World Economic Forum" Davos, Airbnb, Amazon Robotics, Amazon Web Services, antiwork, Apple II, augmented reality, autonomous vehicles, basic income, Big Tech, bitcoin, blockchain, Blue Ocean Strategy, business process, call centre, Cambridge Analytica, Clayton Christensen, clean water, collective bargaining, corporate governance, corporate social responsibility, creative destruction, cryptocurrency, data science, David Heinemeier Hansson, digital rights, Donald Trump, Elon Musk, Ethereum, ethereum blockchain, fake news, full employment, future of work, gig economy, Gordon Gekko, greed is good, Hacker News, hiring and firing, holacracy, housing crisis, impact investing, income inequality, informal economy, initial coin offering, Jeff Bezos, job automation, job satisfaction, job-hopping, John Gruber, John Perry Barlow, Joseph Schumpeter, junk bonds, Kanban, Kevin Kelly, knowledge worker, Larry Ellison, Lean Startup, loose coupling, Lyft, Marc Andreessen, Mark Zuckerberg, McMansion, Menlo Park, Milgram experiment, minimum viable product, Mitch Kapor, move fast and break things, new economy, Panopticon Jeremy Bentham, Parker Conrad, Paul Graham, paypal mafia, Peter Thiel, plutocrats, precariat, prosperity theology / prosperity gospel / gospel of success, public intellectual, RAND corporation, remote working, RFID, ride hailing / ride sharing, Ronald Reagan, Rubik’s Cube, Ruby on Rails, Sam Altman, San Francisco homelessness, Sand Hill Road, scientific management, self-driving car, shareholder value, Sheryl Sandberg, Silicon Valley, Silicon Valley startup, six sigma, Skinner box, Skype, Social Responsibility of Business Is to Increase Its Profits, SoftBank, software is eating the world, Stanford prison experiment, stem cell, Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, Stewart Brand, stock buybacks, super pumped, TaskRabbit, tech bro, tech worker, TechCrunch disrupt, TED Talk, telemarketer, Tesla Model S, Thomas Davenport, Tony Hsieh, Toyota Production System, traveling salesman, Travis Kalanick, tulip mania, Uber and Lyft, Uber for X, uber lyft, universal basic income, web application, WeWork, Whole Earth Catalog, work culture , workplace surveillance , Y Combinator, young professional, Zenefits

White-Collar Sweatshop: The Deterioration of Work and Its Rewards in Corporate America. New York: W. W. Norton and Company, 2001. Fromm, Erich. The Sane Society. New York: Open Road Integrated Media, 2013. Hogler, Raymond L. The End of American Labor Unions: The Right-to-Work Movement and the Erosion of Collective Bargaining. Westport, CT: Praeger, 2015. Hughes, Chris. Fair Shot: Rethinking Inequality and How We Earn. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2018. Iacocca, Lee, and William Novak. Iacocca: An Autobiography. New York: Bantam, 2007. Karlgaard, Rich. The Soft Edge: Where Great Companies Find Lasting Success.


pages: 316 words: 87,486

Listen, Liberal: Or, What Ever Happened to the Party of the People? by Thomas Frank

Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, Airbnb, Alan Greenspan, Amazon Mechanical Turk, American ideology, antiwork, barriers to entry, Berlin Wall, Bernie Sanders, Black Lives Matter, blue-collar work, Burning Man, centre right, circulation of elites, Clayton Christensen, collective bargaining, Credit Default Swap, David Brooks, deindustrialization, disruptive innovation, Donald Trump, driverless car, Edward Snowden, Evgeny Morozov, Fall of the Berlin Wall, financial engineering, financial innovation, Frank Gehry, fulfillment center, full employment, George Gilder, gig economy, Gini coefficient, Glass-Steagall Act, high-speed rail, income inequality, independent contractor, Jaron Lanier, Jeff Bezos, knowledge economy, knowledge worker, Lean Startup, mandatory minimum, Marc Andreessen, Mark Zuckerberg, market bubble, mass immigration, mass incarceration, McMansion, microcredit, mobile money, moral panic, mortgage debt, Nelson Mandela, new economy, obamacare, payday loans, Peter Thiel, plutocrats, Ponzi scheme, post-industrial society, postindustrial economy, pre–internet, profit maximization, profit motive, race to the bottom, Republic of Letters, Richard Florida, ride hailing / ride sharing, Ronald Reagan, Savings and loan crisis, sharing economy, Silicon Valley, Steve Jobs, Steven Levy, TaskRabbit, tech worker, TED Talk, Thorstein Veblen, too big to fail, Travis Kalanick, Uber for X, union organizing, urban decay, WeWork, women in the workforce, Works Progress Administration, young professional

When the Massachusetts legislature raised the minimum wage in 2014, it was only after a huge grassroots campaign made it clear that the issue would soon pass as a ballot initiative anyway. In 2012, the legislature enacted a three-strikes mandatory sentencing law a full twenty years after violent crime peaked in America. And when the legislature limited collective bargaining rights for public employees in 2011, causing columnists across the country to compare Massachusetts to Scott Walker’s Wisconsin, Governor Deval Patrick eventually signed on. It was something the state had to do in order to cut costs, people said. Innovation liberalism is “a liberalism of the rich,” to use the straightforward phrase of local labor leader Harris Gruman.


pages: 285 words: 86,174

Twilight of the Elites: America After Meritocracy by Chris Hayes

"Hurricane Katrina" Superdome, "World Economic Forum" Davos, affirmative action, Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, Alan Greenspan, asset-backed security, barriers to entry, Bear Stearns, Berlin Wall, Bernie Madoff, carried interest, circulation of elites, Climategate, Climatic Research Unit, collapse of Lehman Brothers, collective bargaining, creative destruction, Credit Default Swap, dark matter, David Brooks, David Graeber, deindustrialization, Fall of the Berlin Wall, financial deregulation, fixed income, full employment, George Akerlof, Gunnar Myrdal, hiring and firing, income inequality, Jane Jacobs, jimmy wales, Julian Assange, Kenneth Arrow, Mark Zuckerberg, mass affluent, mass incarceration, means of production, meritocracy, meta-analysis, military-industrial complex, money market fund, moral hazard, Naomi Klein, Nate Silver, peak oil, plutocrats, Ponzi scheme, post-truth, radical decentralization, Ralph Waldo Emerson, rolodex, Savings and loan crisis, The Spirit Level, too big to fail, University of East Anglia, Vilfredo Pareto, We are the 99%, WikiLeaks, women in the workforce

Then a respected labor representative for the United Steelworkers, Miller was chosen by a player search committee that was casting around for an effective leader with experience in contracts and pension plans. He immediately went to work impressing upon his players the rudiments of union consciousness—solidarity—and putting it into practice with a series of strikes. By 1968, Miller had negotiated baseball’s first collective bargaining agreement, raising baseball’s minimum salary for the first time in twenty years. Four years later the players struck for the first time. It would be the first of many. In each strike the union held, the owners conceded, and the players walked away with concrete and valuable contract improvements.


pages: 261 words: 86,905

How to Speak Money: What the Money People Say--And What It Really Means by John Lanchester

"Friedman doctrine" OR "shareholder theory", "World Economic Forum" Davos, asset allocation, Basel III, behavioural economics, Bernie Madoff, Big bang: deregulation of the City of London, bitcoin, Black Swan, blood diamond, Bretton Woods, BRICs, business cycle, Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty, Celtic Tiger, central bank independence, collapse of Lehman Brothers, collective bargaining, commoditize, creative destruction, credit crunch, Credit Default Swap, crony capitalism, Dava Sobel, David Graeber, disintermediation, double entry bookkeeping, en.wikipedia.org, estate planning, fear index, financial engineering, financial innovation, Flash crash, forward guidance, Garrett Hardin, Gini coefficient, Glass-Steagall Act, global reserve currency, high net worth, High speed trading, hindsight bias, hype cycle, income inequality, inflation targeting, interest rate swap, inverted yield curve, Isaac Newton, Jaron Lanier, John Perry Barlow, joint-stock company, joint-stock limited liability company, junk bonds, Kodak vs Instagram, Kondratiev cycle, Large Hadron Collider, liquidity trap, London Interbank Offered Rate, London Whale, loss aversion, low interest rates, margin call, McJob, means of production, microcredit, money: store of value / unit of account / medium of exchange, moral hazard, Myron Scholes, negative equity, neoliberal agenda, New Urbanism, Nick Leeson, Nikolai Kondratiev, Nixon shock, Nixon triggered the end of the Bretton Woods system, Northern Rock, offshore financial centre, oil shock, open economy, paradox of thrift, plutocrats, Ponzi scheme, precautionary principle, proprietary trading, purchasing power parity, pushing on a string, quantitative easing, random walk, rent-seeking, reserve currency, Richard Feynman, Right to Buy, road to serfdom, Ronald Reagan, Satoshi Nakamoto, security theater, shareholder value, Silicon Valley, six sigma, Social Responsibility of Business Is to Increase Its Profits, South Sea Bubble, sovereign wealth fund, Steve Jobs, survivorship bias, The Chicago School, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, The Wisdom of Crowds, Tragedy of the Commons, trickle-down economics, two and twenty, Two Sigma, Tyler Cowen, Washington Consensus, wealth creators, working poor, yield curve

It involves policies that are designed to favor business, entrepreneurship, and the individual; to reduce the role of the state; to cut public spending; to increase the individual’s possibilities and responsibilities, both for success and for failure; to promote free trade, and accordingly to eliminate protectionist barriers and tariffs; to reduce the roles of unions and collective bargaining; to minimize taxes; to pursue policies that encourage wealth creators and to trust in the process whereby that wealth trickles down to other sectors of the economy; to move enterprises from public to private ownership. In the background of these specific policies are philosophical positions that are concerned, in the final analysis, with the role and importance of the individual.


pages: 262 words: 83,548

The End of Growth by Jeff Rubin

Alan Greenspan, Anthropocene, Ayatollah Khomeini, Bakken shale, banking crisis, Bear Stearns, Berlin Wall, British Empire, business cycle, call centre, carbon credits, carbon footprint, carbon tax, collateralized debt obligation, collective bargaining, Credit Default Swap, credit default swaps / collateralized debt obligations, deal flow, decarbonisation, deglobalization, Easter island, energy security, eurozone crisis, Exxon Valdez, Eyjafjallajökull, Fall of the Berlin Wall, fiat currency, flex fuel, Ford Model T, full employment, ghettoisation, Glass-Steagall Act, global supply chain, Hans Island, happiness index / gross national happiness, housing crisis, hydraulic fracturing, illegal immigration, income per capita, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Jane Jacobs, Jevons paradox, Kickstarter, low interest rates, McMansion, megaproject, Monroe Doctrine, moral hazard, new economy, Occupy movement, oil shale / tar sands, oil shock, peak oil, Ponzi scheme, proprietary trading, quantitative easing, race to the bottom, reserve currency, rolling blackouts, Ronald Reagan, South China Sea, sovereign wealth fund, subprime mortgage crisis, The Chicago School, The Death and Life of Great American Cities, Thomas Malthus, Thorstein Veblen, too big to fail, traumatic brain injury, uranium enrichment, urban planning, urban sprawl, women in the workforce, working poor, Yom Kippur War, zero-sum game

The pending battle to pare down America’s huge budget deficits won’t be limited to showdowns in Congress, like the ones over the debt ceiling that rocked markets during the summer of 2011 and again at the end of 2012. It’s likely to spill over into the streets, just as it has in Europe. In Wisconsin, that has already happened, after the Republican governor rescinded the collective bargaining rights of state employees, claiming the state’s fiscal crisis was so severe that taxpayers could no longer afford to give state workers the right to strike. Demonstrations by disenfranchised workers on the steps of the Capitol building in Madison looked eerily similar to protests on the other side of the Atlantic.


pages: 304 words: 80,143

The Autonomous Revolution: Reclaiming the Future We’ve Sold to Machines by William Davidow, Michael Malone

2013 Report for America's Infrastructure - American Society of Civil Engineers - 19 March 2013, agricultural Revolution, Airbnb, AlphaGo, American Society of Civil Engineers: Report Card, Automated Insights, autonomous vehicles, basic income, benefit corporation, bitcoin, blockchain, blue-collar work, Bob Noyce, business process, call centre, Cambridge Analytica, cashless society, citizen journalism, Clayton Christensen, collaborative consumption, collaborative economy, collective bargaining, creative destruction, crowdsourcing, cryptocurrency, deep learning, DeepMind, disintermediation, disruptive innovation, distributed ledger, en.wikipedia.org, Erik Brynjolfsson, fake news, Filter Bubble, Ford Model T, Francis Fukuyama: the end of history, general purpose technology, Geoffrey West, Santa Fe Institute, gig economy, Gini coefficient, high-speed rail, holacracy, Hyperloop, income inequality, industrial robot, Internet of things, invention of agriculture, invention of movable type, invention of the printing press, invisible hand, Jane Jacobs, job automation, John Maynard Keynes: Economic Possibilities for our Grandchildren, John Maynard Keynes: technological unemployment, Joseph Schumpeter, license plate recognition, low interest rates, Lyft, Mark Zuckerberg, mass immigration, Network effects, new economy, peer-to-peer lending, QWERTY keyboard, ransomware, Richard Florida, Robert Gordon, robo advisor, Ronald Reagan, Second Machine Age, self-driving car, sharing economy, Shoshana Zuboff, Silicon Valley, Simon Kuznets, Skinner box, Snapchat, speech recognition, streetcar suburb, Stuxnet, surveillance capitalism, synthetic biology, TaskRabbit, The Death and Life of Great American Cities, The Rise and Fall of American Growth, the scientific method, trade route, Turing test, two and twenty, Uber and Lyft, uber lyft, universal basic income, uranium enrichment, urban planning, vertical integration, warehouse automation, zero day, zero-sum game, Zipcar

By 1900, about 55 percent of the labor force had jobs, a percentage that rose to 85 percent by 1960.32 When people use the term “good job” today, they are usually referring to one that pays a good salary, is secure, and comes with health insurance and retirement benefits.33 Those jobs are hard to find today, and they were rare before the 1950s.34 But much of the second half of the last century was a golden age of good jobs that were powered by the rise of labor unions. In 1935, when Congress passed the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) to protect workers’ rights to collective bargaining, there were about 3 million union members in the United States.35 By 1940, union membership had grown to around 14 million, topping out at around 22 million in 1980.36 At one point, unions represented more than 30 percent of the nation’s wage and salary workers.37 During their heyday, unions pushed hard for health care and retirement benefits, establishing the benefit patterns that spread throughout industry.


pages: 274 words: 81,008

The New Tycoons: Inside the Trillion Dollar Private Equity Industry That Owns Everything by Jason Kelly

"World Economic Forum" Davos, activist fund / activist shareholder / activist investor, antiwork, barriers to entry, Bear Stearns, Berlin Wall, call centre, Carl Icahn, carried interest, collective bargaining, company town, corporate governance, corporate raider, Credit Default Swap, diversification, eat what you kill, Fall of the Berlin Wall, family office, financial engineering, fixed income, Goldman Sachs: Vampire Squid, Gordon Gekko, housing crisis, income inequality, junk bonds, Kevin Roose, late capitalism, margin call, Menlo Park, Michael Milken, military-industrial complex, Occupy movement, place-making, proprietary trading, Rod Stewart played at Stephen Schwarzman birthday party, rolodex, Ronald Reagan, Rubik’s Cube, San Francisco homelessness, Sand Hill Road, Savings and loan crisis, shareholder value, side project, Silicon Valley, sovereign wealth fund, two and twenty

His clear-eyed view of private equity echoed a sentiment of Stern’s: Ultimately the private-equity guys are not ideologically in favor of or opposed to unions. “They’re in to get their carry and get out,” Leary said. “If workers can position themselves so their cause is at least not counterproductive to PE managers’ goals, it’s possible they can find an opportunity to win collective bargaining rights that might not have been otherwise possible.” Also like Stern, he put the onus on the pensions to affect real change in private equity: “It’s a little bit like saying, ‘Are bosses good or bad?’ It’s here, we’re not going to stuff the genie back in the bottle,” Leary said. “The question is, How do we create some rules that allow these guys to do what they do without wreaking havoc and devastation?”


pages: 627 words: 89,295

The Politics Industry: How Political Innovation Can Break Partisan Gridlock and Save Our Democracy by Katherine M. Gehl, Michael E. Porter

Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, barriers to entry, business cycle, capital controls, carbon footprint, collective bargaining, coronavirus, COVID-19, David Brooks, deindustrialization, disintermediation, Donald Trump, first-past-the-post, future of work, guest worker program, hiring and firing, Ida Tarbell, illegal immigration, immigration reform, Joseph Schumpeter, Kickstarter, labor-force participation, Menlo Park, military-industrial complex, Multics, new economy, obamacare, pension reform, Ronald Reagan, Silicon Valley, stem cell, Steve Jobs, Upton Sinclair, zero-sum game

With no policies in place to moderate the business cycle, wildly oscillating economic conditions ensued.46 Farmers struggled to stay afloat as crop prices plummeted and costs soared, with no real agricultural policies to address the economic difficulties.47 In the 1880s alone, businesses and their workers clashed in thousands of often-bloody strikes, with no collective bargaining rules or government mediators.48 Public schools failed to equip students with the skills needed for the new economy.49 Crime-ridden cities lacked basic services and infrastructure. Streets were lined with unlivable tenements and unsafe factories.50 Racial progress after the Civil War was largely undone.


pages: 328 words: 84,682

The Business of Platforms: Strategy in the Age of Digital Competition, Innovation, and Power by Michael A. Cusumano, Annabelle Gawer, David B. Yoffie

activist fund / activist shareholder / activist investor, Airbnb, AltaVista, Amazon Web Services, AOL-Time Warner, asset light, augmented reality, autonomous vehicles, barriers to entry, bitcoin, blockchain, business logic, Cambridge Analytica, Chuck Templeton: OpenTable:, cloud computing, collective bargaining, commoditize, CRISPR, crowdsourcing, cryptocurrency, deep learning, Didi Chuxing, distributed ledger, Donald Trump, driverless car, en.wikipedia.org, fake news, Firefox, general purpose technology, gig economy, Google Chrome, GPS: selective availability, Greyball, independent contractor, Internet of things, Jeff Bezos, Jeff Hawkins, John Zimmer (Lyft cofounder), Kevin Roose, Lean Startup, Lyft, machine translation, Mark Zuckerberg, market fundamentalism, Metcalfe’s law, move fast and break things, multi-sided market, Network effects, pattern recognition, platform as a service, Ponzi scheme, recommendation engine, Richard Feynman, ride hailing / ride sharing, Robert Metcalfe, Salesforce, self-driving car, sharing economy, Silicon Valley, Skype, Snapchat, SoftBank, software as a service, sovereign wealth fund, speech recognition, stealth mode startup, Steve Ballmer, Steve Jobs, Steven Levy, subscription business, Susan Wojcicki, TaskRabbit, too big to fail, transaction costs, transport as a service, Travis Kalanick, two-sided market, Uber and Lyft, Uber for X, uber lyft, vertical integration, Vision Fund, web application, zero-sum game

As self-employed contractors, Deliveroo couriers were not entitled to the rights available to regular workers, including sick pay and the national living wage.42 The Independent Workers Union of Great Britain (IWGB) brought a test case in 2017 to fight for the right of union recognition at Deliveroo in Camden and Kentish Town, London. The hearing took place in front of the U.K. Central Arbitration Committee (CAC), an independent body that adjudicates on statutory recognition and de-recognition of trade unions in relation to collective bargaining. The CAC agreed with Deliveroo’s argument that its riders were self-employed contractors, rather than workers. The CAC decision rested on a specific practice called “unfettered right of substitutions,” accepted by Deliveroo for their riders in Camden and Kentish Town. Deliveroo riders could nominate any individuals to perform deliveries in their place.


Emotional Labor: The Invisible Work Shaping Our Lives and How to Claim Our Power by Rose Hackman

Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, basic income, behavioural economics, Black Lives Matter, cognitive load, collective bargaining, coronavirus, COVID-19, dark triade / dark tetrad, David Graeber, demand response, do what you love, Donald Trump, Downton Abbey, emotional labour, equal pay for equal work, European colonialism, Ferguson, Missouri, financial independence, game design, glass ceiling, immigration reform, invisible hand, job automation, lockdown, mass incarceration, medical bankruptcy, meta-analysis, Nelson Mandela, performance metric, Sheryl Sandberg, Silicon Valley, Snapchat, social distancing, TED Talk, The Great Resignation, TikTok, transatlantic slave trade, universal basic income, W. E. B. Du Bois, wages for housework, women in the workforce, working poor, zero-sum game

Only sixty years after slavery was abolished, denying Black workers the same labor rights as other workers was done in large part to appease white Southern lawmakers. But such a decision benefited the pocketbooks of many white and middle-class families beyond the South and set many Black families up with an added generational economic burden. Congress justified it by explaining that organizing and collective bargaining did not fit the intimate relationship between a householder and a domestic employee. The domestic worker, aided by sexist and racist essentializing stereotypes around women’s work, was perceived by Congress as outside the scope of legislation addressing industrial strife.12 While “Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests” is a basic human right13 included the next decade in the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, this basic labor exclusion holds true to this day.14 In 2018, while white women earned an average of 81.5 percent of what white men earned, Black women earned only 65 percent of it, and Hispanic women 61 percent.15 Understanding this pay gap doesn’t involve just looking at very real discriminations happening within fields where men and women of different races work side by side but also looking at the kinds of fields different groups of women go into and the typical pay and labor conditions within these


pages: 1,335 words: 336,772

The House of Morgan: An American Banking Dynasty and the Rise of Modern Finance by Ron Chernow

Alan Greenspan, always be closing, bank run, banking crisis, Bear Stearns, Big bang: deregulation of the City of London, Black Monday: stock market crash in 1987, Bolshevik threat, book value, Boycotts of Israel, Bretton Woods, British Empire, buy and hold, California gold rush, capital controls, Carl Icahn, Charles Lindbergh, collective bargaining, Cornelius Vanderbilt, corporate raider, death from overwork, Dutch auction, Etonian, financial deregulation, financial engineering, fixed income, German hyperinflation, Glass-Steagall Act, index arbitrage, interest rate swap, junk bonds, low interest rates, margin call, Michael Milken, military-industrial complex, money market fund, Monroe Doctrine, North Sea oil, oil shale / tar sands, old-boy network, paper trading, plutocrats, Robert Gordon, Ronald Reagan, short selling, stock buybacks, strikebreaker, Suez canal 1869, Suez crisis 1956, the market place, the payments system, too big to fail, transcontinental railway, undersea cable, Yom Kippur War, young professional

In 1936, he enunciated his business creed this way: “Do your work; be honest; keep your word; help when you can; be fair.”1 Another favorite saying was “Keep your mouth shut and your eyes and ears open.”2 His philosophy showed no scuff marks of the time, only a somber faith that with sufficient patience and fortitude traditional values would prevail. Jack didn’t travel in circles likely to challenge his views. He told U.S. Steel chairman Myron Taylor that he knew nobody in favor of the 1935 Wagner Act, which sanctioned collective bargaining; and he probably didn’t. Never attempting to broaden his outlook, he came to typify the New Deal stereotype of the “economic royalist.” In 1935, for the first time, he instituted personal economies. He trimmed living expenses to $60,000 annually and halved his contributions to Saint John’s of Lattingtown, the millionaire’s church whose burial ground was so liberally graced with Morgan partners.

With his broad, open face, big grin, and Indiana twang, Willkie was folksy and sophisticated and uniquely able to advance Wall Street’s cause without seeming like an ambassador for the rich. Fortune called him a “clever bumpkin,” and Harold Ickes memorably mocked him as “a simple barefoot Wall Street lawyer.”55 The verdict was too harsh, for Willkie wanted to retain many New Deal innovations—collective bargaining, minimum wages, and maximum hours—that were anathema to Wall Street bankers. Though Willkie declared his candidacy only seven weeks before the Republican National Convention in June 1940, his dark-horse candidacy galloped fast. He had to soft-pedal his Morgan support so as not to alarm the small-town, anti-Wall Street wing of the party.

Most trust managers were sober men with iron-gray hair who put money into government bonds and they weren’t notable for their imagination. When the Morgan Trust Department made its first common-stock purchase, in 1949, it was thought so audacious that Hinton had to telephone Russell Leffing-well, on vacation in Lake George, New York, to clear the purchase. After 1950, changes in tax laws and collective bargaining prompted an explosion in pension funds, and much of this money gravitated to commercial banks. After General Motors designated Morgans as one of its pension-fund managers and allowed investment of up to 50 percent in stocks, the business boomed. “What made us was the General Motors fund,” said Hinton.


pages: 366 words: 94,209

Throwing Rocks at the Google Bus: How Growth Became the Enemy of Prosperity by Douglas Rushkoff

activist fund / activist shareholder / activist investor, Airbnb, Alan Greenspan, algorithmic trading, Amazon Mechanical Turk, Andrew Keen, bank run, banking crisis, barriers to entry, benefit corporation, bitcoin, blockchain, Burning Man, business process, buy and hold, buy low sell high, California gold rush, Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty, carbon footprint, centralized clearinghouse, citizen journalism, clean water, cloud computing, collaborative economy, collective bargaining, colonial exploitation, Community Supported Agriculture, corporate personhood, corporate raider, creative destruction, crowdsourcing, cryptocurrency, data science, deep learning, disintermediation, diversified portfolio, Dutch auction, Elon Musk, Erik Brynjolfsson, Ethereum, ethereum blockchain, fiat currency, Firefox, Flash crash, full employment, future of work, gamification, Garrett Hardin, gentrification, gig economy, Gini coefficient, global supply chain, global village, Google bus, Howard Rheingold, IBM and the Holocaust, impulse control, income inequality, independent contractor, index fund, iterative process, Jaron Lanier, Jeff Bezos, jimmy wales, job automation, Joseph Schumpeter, Kickstarter, Large Hadron Collider, loss aversion, low interest rates, Lyft, Marc Andreessen, Mark Zuckerberg, market bubble, market fundamentalism, Marshall McLuhan, means of production, medical bankruptcy, minimum viable product, Mitch Kapor, Naomi Klein, Network effects, new economy, Norbert Wiener, Oculus Rift, passive investing, payday loans, peer-to-peer lending, Peter Thiel, post-industrial society, power law, profit motive, quantitative easing, race to the bottom, recommendation engine, reserve currency, RFID, Richard Stallman, ride hailing / ride sharing, Ronald Reagan, Russell Brand, Satoshi Nakamoto, Second Machine Age, shareholder value, sharing economy, Silicon Valley, Snapchat, social graph, software patent, Steve Jobs, stock buybacks, TaskRabbit, the Cathedral and the Bazaar, The Future of Employment, the long tail, trade route, Tragedy of the Commons, transportation-network company, Turing test, Uber and Lyft, Uber for X, uber lyft, unpaid internship, Vitalik Buterin, warehouse robotics, Wayback Machine, Y Combinator, young professional, zero-sum game, Zipcar

These “alliances” will last an average of eighteen months, during which a new product or division might be launched, a financial problem rectified, or a creative challenge solved. The project itself becomes part of the worker’s portfolio, and the worker is engaged less as an employee than as a partner in the project. The devil is always in the details: Isn’t this a recipe for exploitation? When everyone’s essentially a work for hire, what happens to the collective bargaining power once offered by labor unions? Would COBRA cover people’s health insurance between engagements that might be years apart? What about pensions? Again, imagination and flexibility are required. New forms of organized labor—like the Freelancers Union—will emerge, and older, preindustrial ones like guilds will likely be retrieved.


pages: 291 words: 91,783

Griftopia: Bubble Machines, Vampire Squids, and the Long Con That Is Breaking America by Matt Taibbi

addicted to oil, affirmative action, Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, Alan Greenspan, Bear Stearns, Bernie Sanders, Bretton Woods, buy and hold, carried interest, classic study, clean water, collateralized debt obligation, collective bargaining, computerized trading, creative destruction, Credit Default Swap, credit default swaps / collateralized debt obligations, crony capitalism, David Brooks, desegregation, diversification, diversified portfolio, Donald Trump, financial innovation, Glass-Steagall Act, Goldman Sachs: Vampire Squid, Gordon Gekko, greed is good, Greenspan put, illegal immigration, interest rate swap, laissez-faire capitalism, London Interbank Offered Rate, Long Term Capital Management, margin call, market bubble, medical malpractice, military-industrial complex, money market fund, moral hazard, mortgage debt, Nixon triggered the end of the Bretton Woods system, obamacare, passive investing, Ponzi scheme, prediction markets, proprietary trading, prudent man rule, quantitative easing, reserve currency, Ronald Reagan, Savings and loan crisis, Sergey Aleynikov, short selling, sovereign wealth fund, too big to fail, trickle-down economics, Y2K, Yom Kippur War

His campaign take on taxing “Cadillac” health plans (a major McCain campaign idea) was just as eloquent; candidate Obama was one of the few politicians to grasp that a lot of these so-called Cadillac plans were union benefits that had been negotiated up in exchange for concessions on salary in collective bargaining. “John McCain calls these plans ‘Cadillac plans,’ ” Obama said in October 2008. “Now in some cases, it may be that a corporate CEO is getting too good a deal. But what if you’re a line worker making a good American car like the Cadillac? What if you’re one of the steelworkers … and you’ve given up wage increases in exchange for better health care?”


pages: 355 words: 92,571

Capitalism: Money, Morals and Markets by John Plender

activist fund / activist shareholder / activist investor, Alan Greenspan, Andrei Shleifer, asset-backed security, bank run, Berlin Wall, Big bang: deregulation of the City of London, Black Monday: stock market crash in 1987, Black Swan, bond market vigilante , bonus culture, Bretton Woods, business climate, business cycle, Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty, central bank independence, collapse of Lehman Brothers, collective bargaining, computer age, Corn Laws, Cornelius Vanderbilt, corporate governance, creative destruction, credit crunch, Credit Default Swap, David Ricardo: comparative advantage, deindustrialization, Deng Xiaoping, discovery of the americas, diversification, Eugene Fama: efficient market hypothesis, eurozone crisis, failed state, Fall of the Berlin Wall, fiat currency, financial engineering, financial innovation, financial intermediation, Fractional reserve banking, full employment, Glass-Steagall Act, God and Mammon, Golden arches theory, Gordon Gekko, greed is good, Hyman Minsky, income inequality, industrial research laboratory, inflation targeting, information asymmetry, invention of the wheel, invisible hand, Isaac Newton, James Carville said: "I would like to be reincarnated as the bond market. You can intimidate everybody.", James Watt: steam engine, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, John Maynard Keynes: Economic Possibilities for our Grandchildren, John Meriwether, joint-stock company, Joseph Schumpeter, labour market flexibility, liberal capitalism, light touch regulation, London Interbank Offered Rate, London Whale, Long Term Capital Management, manufacturing employment, Mark Zuckerberg, market bubble, market fundamentalism, mass immigration, means of production, Menlo Park, money market fund, moral hazard, moveable type in China, Myron Scholes, Nick Leeson, Northern Rock, Occupy movement, offshore financial centre, paradox of thrift, Paul Samuelson, plutocrats, price stability, principal–agent problem, profit motive, proprietary trading, quantitative easing, railway mania, regulatory arbitrage, Richard Thaler, rising living standards, risk-adjusted returns, Robert Gordon, Robert Shiller, Ronald Reagan, savings glut, shareholder value, short selling, Silicon Valley, South Sea Bubble, spice trade, Steve Jobs, technology bubble, The Chicago School, The Great Moderation, the map is not the territory, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, Thorstein Veblen, time value of money, too big to fail, tulip mania, Upton Sinclair, Veblen good, We are the 99%, Wolfgang Streeck, zero-sum game

Where previously tax had been regarded chiefly as a means of financing wars, it now provided the wherewithal for health care, education, pensions and infrastructure, as well as defence. This was a cornerstone of the post-war settlement between labour and capital, which included increased welfare and free collective bargaining for workers, together with a political guarantee of full employment underpinned by Keynesian demand management. The post-war social contract implicitly recognised that the utilitarian ethical basis of capitalism – that is, its ability to deliver the greatest good of the greatest number through the self-interested actions of individuals – involved potential conflicts with social justice.


pages: 324 words: 92,805

The Impulse Society: America in the Age of Instant Gratification by Paul Roberts

"Friedman doctrine" OR "shareholder theory", 2013 Report for America's Infrastructure - American Society of Civil Engineers - 19 March 2013, 3D printing, Abraham Maslow, accounting loophole / creative accounting, activist fund / activist shareholder / activist investor, Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, Alan Greenspan, American Society of Civil Engineers: Report Card, AOL-Time Warner, asset allocation, business cycle, business process, carbon tax, Carl Icahn, Cass Sunstein, centre right, choice architecture, classic study, collateralized debt obligation, collective bargaining, computerized trading, corporate governance, corporate raider, corporate social responsibility, creative destruction, crony capitalism, David Brooks, delayed gratification, disruptive innovation, double helix, Evgeny Morozov, factory automation, financial deregulation, financial engineering, financial innovation, fixed income, Ford Model T, full employment, game design, Glass-Steagall Act, greed is good, If something cannot go on forever, it will stop - Herbert Stein's Law, impulse control, income inequality, inflation targeting, insecure affluence, invisible hand, It's morning again in America, job automation, John Markoff, Joseph Schumpeter, junk bonds, knowledge worker, late fees, Long Term Capital Management, loss aversion, low interest rates, low skilled workers, mass immigration, Michael Shellenberger, new economy, Nicholas Carr, obamacare, Occupy movement, oil shale / tar sands, performance metric, postindustrial economy, profit maximization, Report Card for America’s Infrastructure, reshoring, Richard Thaler, rising living standards, Robert Shiller, Rodney Brooks, Ronald Reagan, shareholder value, Silicon Valley, speech recognition, Steve Jobs, stock buybacks, technological determinism, technological solutionism, technoutopianism, Ted Nordhaus, the built environment, the long tail, The Predators' Ball, the scientific method, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, Thorstein Veblen, too big to fail, total factor productivity, Tyler Cowen, Tyler Cowen: Great Stagnation, value engineering, Walter Mischel, winner-take-all economy

Even before the crash of 1929, reformers such as Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson had sought to use government’s vast scale and power to reorder a marketplace too focused on short-term gratification, both corporate and individual. Monopolies such as Standard Oil and the railroad trusts were broken up and regulated. Workers were slowly empowered by a minimum wage and laws protecting collective bargaining (which gradually forced corporations to make peace with their unions). Consumers were shielded with regulations from unsafe products, tainted food, and predatory lenders, and from the volatility of shortsighted speculators. Government also countered the underinvestment in public goods by spending heavily on education, research, and especially infrastructure (everything from roads and bridges to irrigation and reclamation projects), which then encouraged private industry to step up its own investments.


Undoing the Demos: Neoliberalism's Stealth Revolution by Wendy Brown

Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, bitcoin, Branko Milanovic, Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty, collective bargaining, corporate governance, credit crunch, crowdsourcing, David Brooks, Food sovereignty, haute couture, Herbert Marcuse, immigration reform, income inequality, invisible hand, labor-force participation, late capitalism, means of production, new economy, obamacare, occupational segregation, Philip Mirowski, public intellectual, Ronald Reagan, sexual politics, shareholder value, sharing economy, subprime mortgage crisis, TED Talk, The Chicago School, the long tail, the market place, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, Thomas Malthus, too big to fail, trickle-down economics, Washington Consensus, Wolfgang Streeck, young professional, zero-sum game

Since the decision, lower court judges have cited the law more than one hundred times to turn back class-action lawsuits, vindicating Vanderbilt University law professor Brian Fitzpatrick’s claim that it was not merely favorable to business but “a game-changer.”5 In June 2011, following a series of state and federal legislative actions limiting the powers of organized labor, the Wisconsin Supreme Court upheld a state law gutting the collective-bargaining power of public unions. (Wages may still be negotiated, but work conditions 152 u n d o in g t h e d e m o s and benefits may not.) 6 The state supreme court decision, upheld in federal appeals court in 2013, is a death blow to organized labor in the public sector.7 Also in June 2011, in Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v.


pages: 291 words: 90,200

Networks of Outrage and Hope: Social Movements in the Internet Age by Manuel Castells

"World Economic Forum" Davos, access to a mobile phone, banking crisis, call centre, centre right, citizen journalism, cognitive dissonance, collective bargaining, conceptual framework, crowdsourcing, currency manipulation / currency intervention, disintermediation, en.wikipedia.org, Glass-Steagall Act, housing crisis, income inequality, microcredit, military-industrial complex, Mohammed Bouazizi, Occupy movement, offshore financial centre, Port of Oakland, social software, statistical model, Twitter Arab Spring, We are the 99%, web application, WikiLeaks, World Values Survey, young professional, zero-sum game

The list of most frequently mentioned demands debated in various occupations hints at the extraordinary diversity of the movement’s targets: controlling financial speculation, particularly high frequency trading; auditing the Federal Reserve; addressing the housing crisis; regulating overdraft fees; controlling currency manipulation; opposing the outsourcing of jobs; defending collective bargaining and union rights; reducing income inequality; reforming tax law; reforming political campaign finance; reversing the Supreme Court’s decision allowing unlimited campaign contributions from corporations; banning bailouts of companies; controlling the military-industrial complex; improving the care of veterans; limiting terms for elected politicians; defending freedom on the Internet; assuring privacy on the Internet and in the media; combating economic exploitation; reforming the prison system; reforming health care; combating racism, sexism, and xenophobia; improving student loans; opposing the Keystone pipeline and other environmentally predatory projects; enacting policies against global warming; fining and controlling BP and similar oil spillers; enforcing animal rights; supporting alternative energy sources; critiquing personal leadership and vertical authority, beginning with a new democratic culture in the camps; and watching out for co-optation in the political system (as happened with the Tea Party).


pages: 345 words: 92,849

Equal Is Unfair: America's Misguided Fight Against Income Inequality by Don Watkins, Yaron Brook

3D printing, Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, Apple II, barriers to entry, Berlin Wall, Bernie Madoff, blue-collar work, business process, Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty, Cass Sunstein, collective bargaining, colonial exploitation, Cornelius Vanderbilt, corporate governance, correlation does not imply causation, creative destruction, Credit Default Swap, crony capitalism, David Brooks, deskilling, Edward Glaeser, Elon Musk, en.wikipedia.org, financial deregulation, immigration reform, income inequality, indoor plumbing, inventory management, invisible hand, Isaac Newton, Jeff Bezos, Jony Ive, laissez-faire capitalism, Louis Pasteur, low skilled workers, means of production, minimum wage unemployment, Naomi Klein, new economy, obamacare, Peter Singer: altruism, Peter Thiel, profit motive, rent control, Ronald Reagan, Silicon Valley, Skype, Solyndra, statistical model, Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, The Spirit Level, too big to fail, trickle-down economics, Uber for X, urban renewal, War on Poverty, wealth creators, women in the workforce, working poor, zero-sum game

Unions First of all, it’s important to distinguish between unions, which can be valuable organizations, and pro-union legislation, which gives unions coercive power at the expense of employers and non-unionized workers. Employees who freely choose to join a union (which their employer freely chooses to deal with) can benefit from collective bargaining. But, economist Henry Hazlitt warns, “it is easy, as experience has proved, for unions, particularly with the help of one-sided labor legislation which puts compulsions solely on employers, to go beyond their legitimate functions, to act irresponsibly, and to embrace shortsighted and antisocial policies.”18 Unfortunately, that is precisely what happened during the mid-twentieth century.


pages: 330 words: 91,805

Peers Inc: How People and Platforms Are Inventing the Collaborative Economy and Reinventing Capitalism by Robin Chase

Airbnb, Amazon Web Services, Andy Kessler, Anthropocene, Apollo 13, banking crisis, barriers to entry, basic income, Benevolent Dictator For Life (BDFL), bike sharing, bitcoin, blockchain, Burning Man, business climate, call centre, car-free, carbon tax, circular economy, cloud computing, collaborative consumption, collaborative economy, collective bargaining, commoditize, congestion charging, creative destruction, crowdsourcing, cryptocurrency, data science, deal flow, decarbonisation, different worldview, do-ocracy, don't be evil, Donald Shoup, Elon Musk, en.wikipedia.org, Ethereum, ethereum blockchain, Eyjafjallajökull, Ferguson, Missouri, Firefox, Free Software Foundation, frictionless, Gini coefficient, GPS: selective availability, high-speed rail, hive mind, income inequality, independent contractor, index fund, informal economy, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Internet of things, Jane Jacobs, Jeff Bezos, jimmy wales, job satisfaction, Kickstarter, Kinder Surprise, language acquisition, Larry Ellison, Lean Startup, low interest rates, Lyft, machine readable, means of production, megacity, Minecraft, minimum viable product, Network effects, new economy, Oculus Rift, off-the-grid, openstreetmap, optical character recognition, pattern recognition, peer-to-peer, peer-to-peer lending, peer-to-peer model, Post-Keynesian economics, Richard Stallman, ride hailing / ride sharing, Ronald Coase, Ronald Reagan, Salesforce, Satoshi Nakamoto, Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, self-driving car, shareholder value, sharing economy, Silicon Valley, six sigma, Skype, smart cities, smart grid, Snapchat, sovereign wealth fund, Steve Crocker, Steve Jobs, Steven Levy, TaskRabbit, The Death and Life of Great American Cities, The Future of Employment, the long tail, The Nature of the Firm, Tragedy of the Commons, transaction costs, Turing test, turn-by-turn navigation, Uber and Lyft, uber lyft, vertical integration, Zipcar

His take on what Peers Inc might look like from the perspective of the low-skilled marginalized worker was not so rosy. Carlos saw wages falling to the lowest possible levels, as a nearly infinite supply of freelance labor meant there would always be someone willing to work at a lower rate. He saw freelancers as workers without collective bargaining power, benefits, or safety nets. He saw that platforms can easily become monopolies. Consumers would have no choices. Peers would do the work, while the platform owners got all the money and retained all the control—same as it ever was, but perhaps even worse, since more people will find themselves in tenuous unprotected jobs, outsourced from their full-time-with-benefits ones.


pages: 346 words: 90,371

Rethinking the Economics of Land and Housing by Josh Ryan-Collins, Toby Lloyd, Laurie Macfarlane

agricultural Revolution, asset-backed security, balance sheet recession, bank run, banking crisis, barriers to entry, basic income, book value, Bretton Woods, business cycle, Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty, collective bargaining, Corn Laws, correlation does not imply causation, creative destruction, credit crunch, debt deflation, deindustrialization, falling living standards, financial deregulation, financial innovation, Financial Instability Hypothesis, financial intermediation, foreign exchange controls, full employment, garden city movement, George Akerlof, ghettoisation, Gini coefficient, Hernando de Soto, housing crisis, Hyman Minsky, income inequality, information asymmetry, knowledge worker, labour market flexibility, labour mobility, land bank, land reform, land tenure, land value tax, Landlord’s Game, low interest rates, low skilled workers, market bubble, market clearing, Martin Wolf, means of production, Minsky moment, Money creation, money market fund, mortgage debt, negative equity, Network effects, new economy, New Urbanism, Northern Rock, offshore financial centre, Pareto efficiency, place-making, Post-Keynesian economics, price stability, profit maximization, quantitative easing, rent control, rent-seeking, Richard Florida, Right to Buy, rising living standards, risk tolerance, Robert Solow, Second Machine Age, secular stagnation, shareholder value, subprime mortgage crisis, the built environment, The Great Moderation, The Market for Lemons, The Spirit Level, The Theory of the Leisure Class by Thorstein Veblen, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, Thomas Malthus, transaction costs, universal basic income, urban planning, urban sprawl, working poor, working-age population

The reasons behind the fall in the wage share are still subject to ongoing debate; however the principal factors in the literature focus on the effects of technological change, globalisation and financialisation. While all of these are likely to play some role, evidence also suggests that the decline in labour market institutions such as trade unions and collective bargaining has been a major factor. In the UK this is illustrated by the fall in trade union membership and the abandonment of the Fair Wage Resolution wage councils in the 1980s and the 1990s (New Economics Foundation, 2014). 6.4 The role of land and economic rent in increasing inequality All the above factors have, to varying degrees, contributed to the pattern of increasing economic inequality across advanced economies.


Pirates and Emperors, Old and New by Noam Chomsky

American ideology, anti-communist, Berlin Wall, collective bargaining, conceptual framework, cuban missile crisis, disinformation, drone strike, Fall of the Berlin Wall, Korean Air Lines Flight 007, land reform, liberation theology, Mikhail Gorbachev, Nelson Mandela, RAND corporation, Ronald Reagan, Seymour Hersh, union organizing, urban planning

., where manufacturers develop excess capacity abroad that can be used to break strikes, and threaten “transfer” to Mexico to disrupt union organizing, a significant consequence of NAFTA that has probably impressed Israeli manufacturers.50 Poor Israeli workers in “development towns” and the Arab sector would be particularly affected, as has already happened. During the neoliberal onslaught of the 1990s, Israeli port workers struggled against privatization of the ports and dismantling of collective-bargaining agreements endorsing rights they had won. Employer associations tried to break strikes by diverting cargo ships to Egypt and Cyprus, but that carries heavy transportation costs. A port in Gaza would be ideal. With the collaboration of local authorities in the standard neocolonial fashion, port operations could be transferred there, strikes broken, and Israeli ports transferred to unaccountable private hands.51 It is not surprising that Israel is coming to resemble the U.S., with very high inequality and levels of poverty, stagnating wages and deteriorating working conditions, and erosion of its formerly well-functioning social systems.


pages: 340 words: 91,387

Stealth of Nations by Robert Neuwirth

accounting loophole / creative accounting, big-box store, British Empire, call centre, collective bargaining, corporate governance, digital divide, full employment, Hernando de Soto, illegal immigration, income inequality, independent contractor, informal economy, invisible hand, Jane Jacobs, jitney, Johannes Kepler, joint-stock company, Joseph Schumpeter, megacity, microcredit, New Urbanism, off-the-grid, Pepto Bismol, pirate software, planned obsolescence, profit motive, Shenzhen special economic zone , Shenzhen was a fishing village, Simon Kuznets, special economic zone, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, thinkpad, upwardly mobile, Vilfredo Pareto, yellow journalism

For the first time, their workweek will be limited to, at most, six days; they will have the right to higher wages if they work more than forty hours in any week; and they can qualify for an extremely short paid-vacation time (three days of vacation after twelve months of work, as guaranteed by the law, is skimpy by almost any standard). The Bill of Rights even applies to people who work off the books. Sadly, however, the legislature rejected a broader set of proposals that would have guaranteed domestic workers two weeks’ notice before they could be dismissed, severance pay, and the right to join a union and engage in collective bargaining. Alfonso Morales, the planning professor at the University of Wisconsin who financed his graduate degree by selling cut-price hardware at Chicago’s Maxwell Street Market, offers another in-between proposal that would enable governments to recapture some off-the-books cash without preventing people from surviving in difficult times.


pages: 326 words: 91,559

Everything for Everyone: The Radical Tradition That Is Shaping the Next Economy by Nathan Schneider

1960s counterculture, Aaron Swartz, Adam Curtis, Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, Airbnb, altcoin, Amazon Mechanical Turk, antiwork, back-to-the-land, basic income, Berlin Wall, Bernie Sanders, bitcoin, Black Lives Matter, blockchain, Brewster Kahle, Burning Man, Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty, carbon footprint, carbon tax, Clayton Christensen, collaborative economy, collective bargaining, commons-based peer production, Community Supported Agriculture, corporate governance, creative destruction, crowdsourcing, cryptocurrency, Debian, degrowth, disruptive innovation, do-ocracy, Donald Knuth, Donald Trump, Edward Snowden, Elon Musk, emotional labour, Ethereum, ethereum blockchain, Evgeny Morozov, Fairphone, Food sovereignty, four colour theorem, future of work, Gabriella Coleman, gentrification, gig economy, Google bus, holacracy, hydraulic fracturing, initial coin offering, intentional community, Internet Archive, Jeff Bezos, Jeremy Corbyn, jimmy wales, John Perry Barlow, joint-stock company, Joseph Schumpeter, Julian Assange, Kevin Roose, Kickstarter, low interest rates, Lyft, M-Pesa, Marc Andreessen, Mark Zuckerberg, Marshall McLuhan, mass immigration, means of production, Money creation, multi-sided market, Murray Bookchin, new economy, offshore financial centre, old-boy network, Peter H. Diamandis: Planetary Resources, Pier Paolo Pasolini, post-work, precariat, premature optimization, pre–internet, profit motive, race to the bottom, Richard Florida, Richard Stallman, ride hailing / ride sharing, Rutger Bregman, Salesforce, Sam Altman, Satoshi Nakamoto, self-driving car, shareholder value, sharing economy, Silicon Valley, Slavoj Žižek, smart contracts, Steve Bannon, Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, Stewart Brand, surveillance capitalism, tech worker, TED Talk, transaction costs, Turing test, Uber and Lyft, uber lyft, underbanked, undersea cable, universal basic income, Upton Sinclair, Vanguard fund, Vitalik Buterin, W. E. B. Du Bois, white flight, Whole Earth Catalog, WikiLeaks, women in the workforce, working poor, workplace surveillance , Y Combinator, Y2K, Zipcar

(“We do not intend to do it,” confirms one executive.) And this is one of the real co-ops—a dues-paying, upstanding Legacoop member. There are also tens of thousands of “false” co-ops in the country, firms that permit no oversight from the big associations and whose sole purpose may be to enable erstwhile employers to bypass workers’ collective-bargaining rights. Even the storied social co-ops can play this kind of role; as critics feared, their rise has coincided with a long process of privatizing public services, enabling local governments to deliver services without paying government-level wages. “Cooperatives have transformed into institutional loopholes,” contends Lisa Dorigatti, a young researcher at the University of Milan who has studied co-op labor markets.


pages: 422 words: 89,770

Death of the Liberal Class by Chris Hedges

1960s counterculture, Alan Greenspan, Albert Einstein, Berlin Wall, call centre, clean water, collective bargaining, Columbine, corporate governance, deindustrialization, desegregation, disinformation, Donald Trump, Fall of the Berlin Wall, food desert, Henry Ford's grandson gave labor union leader Walter Reuther a tour of the company’s new, automated factory…, hive mind, housing crisis, Howard Zinn, Ida Tarbell, illegal immigration, independent contractor, Jane Jacobs, Jaron Lanier, Lao Tzu, Lewis Mumford, military-industrial complex, Murray Bookchin, Pearl River Delta, Plato's cave, post scarcity, power law, profit motive, public intellectual, Ralph Nader, Ronald Reagan, strikebreaker, the long tail, the scientific method, The Wisdom of Crowds, Tobin tax, union organizing, Unsafe at Any Speed, Upton Sinclair, W. E. B. Du Bois, WikiLeaks, working poor, Works Progress Administration

Faith in human institutions was at the core of the Social Gospel, a Christian movement articulated at the turn of the century in books such as Christianity and the Social Crisis, published in 1907, and Theology for the Social Gospel, published a decade later, both of them written by the leading proponent of the movement, Walter Rauschenbusch. The Social Gospel replaced a preoccupation with damnation and sin with a belief in human progress. It spawned the Chautauqua movement, which had hundreds of chapters across the country. Chautauquan communities supported labor unions, collective bargaining, social services for the poor, hygiene programs, and universal education, although the movement was not free from many of the prejudices of its age and excluded Roman Catholics and African Americans. Organizations such as the Labor Temple in New York City, the University Settlement House in Chicago, and Washington Gladden’s crusades to better the working conditions in Columbus, Ohio, were part of this intoxicating fusion of religion and reform, the Christian churches’ version of the liberal class belief in the power of reform and human progress through good government.


pages: 408 words: 94,311

The Great Depression: A Diary by Benjamin Roth, James Ledbetter, Daniel B. Roth

bank run, banking crisis, book value, business cycle, buy and hold, California gold rush, classic study, collective bargaining, currency manipulation / currency intervention, deindustrialization, financial independence, Joseph Schumpeter, low interest rates, market fundamentalism, military-industrial complex, moral hazard, short selling, statistical model, strikebreaker, union organizing, urban renewal, Works Progress Administration

By unionizing and striking at an important subsidiary of a large corporation the A.F. of L. is able to tie up the whole industry because it can’t operate without the products of that subsidiary. The period of early recovery in every depression of the past has been marked by big strikes. Labor wants to guarantee itself a proper share of the increased profits. The situation this time is complicated by the NRA which guarantees labor the right to collective bargaining. APRIL 2, 1934 The auto strike has been settled by appointing an arbitration board. Steel industry raises wages 10%. Rumblings of small strikes are heard all over the country but there is nothing serious in sight. The retail merchants have just had the best Easter season in five years.


pages: 279 words: 90,888

The Lost Decade: 2010–2020, and What Lies Ahead for Britain by Polly Toynbee, David Walker

banking crisis, battle of ideas, bike sharing, Boris Johnson, Brexit referendum, Bullingdon Club, call centre, car-free, centre right, collective bargaining, congestion charging, corporate governance, crony capitalism, Crossrail, David Attenborough, Dominic Cummings, Donald Trump, Downton Abbey, energy transition, Etonian, financial engineering, first-past-the-post, G4S, gender pay gap, gig economy, Gini coefficient, global village, green new deal, Greta Thunberg, high net worth, housing crisis, income inequality, industrial robot, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), James Dyson, Jeremy Corbyn, Large Hadron Collider, low interest rates, manufacturing employment, mass immigration, moral panic, mortgage debt, North Sea oil, offshore financial centre, opioid epidemic / opioid crisis, payday loans, pension reform, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, quantitative easing, Right to Buy, Saturday Night Live, selection bias, smart meter, Uber for X, ultra-processed food, urban renewal, working-age population

He had applied for fifty positions, to no avail. Staff at the Department for Work and Pensions commented on the CV he had been sending out: ‘They told him to take off the fact he was a union rep and a Labour councillor – and he got the next job he applied for.’ His pay dropped by £15,000 a year. So, jobs growth, but no collective bargaining, thank you. Young people were less likely to have spent time out of work than those of the same age ten years previously, but – here’s the rub – they were more likely to have spent their early careers in low-paying jobs. Two-thirds of the growth in employment was in precarious work: part-time, self-employed, on zero-hours contracts or at the beck and call of agencies working in health and social services.


pages: 345 words: 92,063

Power, for All: How It Really Works and Why It's Everyone's Business by Julie Battilana, Tiziana Casciaro

"Friedman doctrine" OR "shareholder theory", "World Economic Forum" Davos, Abraham Maslow, affirmative action, agricultural Revolution, Albert Einstein, algorithmic bias, Andy Rubin, Asperger Syndrome, benefit corporation, Big Tech, BIPOC, Black Lives Matter, blood diamond, Boris Johnson, British Empire, call centre, Cass Sunstein, classic study, clean water, cognitive dissonance, collective bargaining, conceptual framework, coronavirus, COVID-19, CRISPR, deep learning, different worldview, digital rights, disinformation, Elon Musk, Erik Brynjolfsson, fake news, feminist movement, fundamental attribution error, future of work, George Floyd, gig economy, Greta Thunberg, hiring and firing, impact investing, income inequality, informal economy, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), invention of movable type, Jeff Bezos, job satisfaction, Joshua Gans and Andrew Leigh, Mahatma Gandhi, means of production, mega-rich, meritocracy, meta-analysis, Milgram experiment, moral hazard, Naomi Klein, Nelson Mandela, Occupy movement, Panopticon Jeremy Bentham, principal–agent problem, profit maximization, Ralph Waldo Emerson, ride hailing / ride sharing, Salesforce, School Strike for Climate, Second Machine Age, shareholder value, sharing economy, Sheryl Sandberg, Shoshana Zuboff, Silicon Valley, social distancing, Social Justice Warrior, Social Responsibility of Business Is to Increase Its Profits, Steven Pinker, surveillance capitalism, tacit knowledge, tech worker, the scientific method, The Wisdom of Crowds, TikTok, Tim Cook: Apple, transatlantic slave trade, union organizing, zero-sum game

Stephan, Why Civil Resistance Works: The Strategic Logic of Nonviolent Conflict (New York: Columbia University Press, 2011). 22 Chenoweth and Stephan, Why Civil Resistance Works. 23 “Google Trends Interest in ‘Climate Change’ and ‘Climate Crisis’ 2004–2020,” Google Trends, 2020; Barclay, “How Big Was the Global Climate Strike?” 24 Hahrie Han, How Organizations Develop Activists: Civic Associations and Leadership in the 21st Century (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014); Engler and Engler, This Is an Uprising; Jane McAlevey, A Collective Bargain: Unions, Organizing, and the Fight for Democracy (New York: HarperCollins, 2020). 25 Julie Battilana et al., “Problem, Person, and Pathway: A Framework for Social Innovators,” in Handbook of Inclusive Innovation, ed. Gerard George et al. (Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2019), 61–74. 26 Cynthia Rayner and François Bonnici, The Systems Work of Social Change (forthcoming); Christian Seelos and Johanna Mair, Innovation and Scaling for Impact: How Effective Social Enterprises Do It (Palo Alto, CA: Stanford University Press, 2017). 27 Steve Lydenberg, Jean Rogers, and David Wood, “From Transparency to Performance: Industry-Based Sustainability Reporting on Key Issues,” Initiative for Responsible Investment, Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations, Harvard University, 2010. 28 Julie Battilana and Michael Norris, “The Sustainability Accounting Standards Board,” Harvard Business School Case 414-078, 2015. 29 Jean Rogers in discussion with the authors, December 2018, December 2020, and January 2021. 30 María Rachid, in discussion with the authors, August 2020. 31 Hector Tobar and Chris Kraul, “Millions of Bank Accounts Are Frozen in Beleaguered Argentina,” Los Angeles Times, January 11, 2002, https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-jan-11-mn-21962-story.html. 32 For more on political opportunity, see William A.


pages: 297 words: 88,890

Can't Even: How Millennials Became the Burnout Generation by Anne Helen Petersen

Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, Airbnb, Amazon Mechanical Turk, American ideology, big-box store, Cal Newport, call centre, cognitive load, collective bargaining, COVID-19, David Brooks, death from overwork, delayed gratification, do what you love, Donald Trump, financial independence, future of work, gamification, gig economy, Gordon Gekko, helicopter parent, imposter syndrome, Inbox Zero, independent contractor, Jeff Bezos, job satisfaction, karōshi / gwarosa / guolaosi, knowledge economy, knowledge worker, late capitalism, longitudinal study, Lyft, Mark Zuckerberg, McMansion, Minecraft, move fast and break things, precariat, remote working, ride hailing / ride sharing, Ronald Reagan, school choice, sharing economy, side hustle, Silicon Valley, Silicon Valley ideology, Skype, Snapchat, Steve Jobs, TaskRabbit, TikTok, uber lyft, unpaid internship, upwardly mobile, urban planning, Vanguard fund, work culture , working poor, workplace surveillance

Roosevelt was the National Labor Relations Act of 1935, which granted legal protections to many employees in the private sector if and when they attempted to organize or join a union. The Labor Relations Act also gave that union “teeth”: from that point forward, business owners were legally required to participate in collective bargaining, in which union representatives negotiate with business owners to establish a pay and benefits structure that applies to all union members. If an agreement could not be reached, union members could go on strike—and be legally protected from losing their jobs—until one was. With considerable risk, you could organize or join a union before 1935.


pages: 314 words: 88,524

American Marxism by Mark R. Levin

"RICO laws" OR "Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations", 2021 United States Capitol attack, affirmative action, American ideology, belling the cat, Bernie Sanders, Big Tech, BIPOC, Black Lives Matter, British Empire, carbon tax, centre right, clean water, collective bargaining, colonial exploitation, conceptual framework, coronavirus, COVID-19, creative destruction, critical race theory, crony capitalism, data science, defund the police, degrowth, deindustrialization, deplatforming, disinformation, Donald Trump, energy security, Food sovereignty, George Floyd, green new deal, Herbert Marcuse, high-speed rail, illegal immigration, income inequality, liberal capitalism, lockdown, Mark Zuckerberg, means of production, Michael Shellenberger, microaggression, New Journalism, open borders, Parler "social media", planned obsolescence, rolling blackouts, Ronald Reagan, school choice, school vouchers, single-payer health, tech billionaire, the market place, urban sprawl, yellow journalism

It states, in part: Whereas climate change, pollution, and environmental destruction have exacerbated systemic racial, regional, social, environmental, and economic injustices (referred to in this preamble as “systemic injustices”) by disproportionately affecting indigenous communities, communities of color, migrant communities, deindustrialized communities, depopulated rural communities, the poor, low-income workers, women, the elderly, the unhoused, people with disabilities, and youth (referred to in this preamble as “frontline and vulnerable communities”); …Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives that— (1) it is the duty of the Federal Government to create a Green New Deal— (A) to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions through a fair and just transition for all communities and workers; (B) to create millions of good, high-wage jobs and ensure prosperity and economic security for all people of the United States; (C) to invest in the infrastructure and industry of the United States to sustainably meet the challenges of the 21st century; (D) to secure for all people of the United States for generations to come— (i) clean air and water; (ii) climate and community resiliency; (iii) healthy food; (iv) access to nature; and (v) a sustainable environment; and (E) to promote justice and equity by stopping current, preventing future, and repairing historic oppression of indigenous communities, communities of color, migrant communities, deindustrialized communities, depopulated rural communities, the poor, low-income workers, women, the elderly, the unhoused, people with disabilities, and youth (referred to in this resolution as “frontline and vulnerable communities”); (2) the goals described in subparagraphs of paragraph (1) above (referred to in this resolution as the “Green New Deal goals”) should be accomplished through a 10-year national mobilization (referred to in this resolution as the “Green New Deal mobilization”) that will require the following goals and projects— (A) building resiliency against climate change-related disasters, such as extreme weather, including by leveraging funding and providing investments for community-defined projects and strategies; (B) repairing and upgrading the infrastructure in the United States, including— (i) by eliminating pollution and greenhouse gas emissions as much as technologically feasible; (ii) by guaranteeing universal access to clean water; (iii) by reducing the risks posed by flooding and other climate impacts; and (iv) by ensuring that any infrastructure bill considered by Congress addresses climate change; (C) meeting 100 percent of the power demand in the United States through clean, renewable, and zero-emission energy sources, including— (i) by dramatically expanding and upgrading existing renewable power sources; and (ii) by deploying new capacity; (D) building or upgrading to energy-efficient, distributed, and “smart” power grids, and working to ensure affordable access to electricity; (E) upgrading all existing buildings in the United States and building new buildings to achieve maximal energy efficiency, water efficiency, safety, affordability, comfort, and durability, including through electrification; (F) spurring massive growth in clean manufacturing in the United States and removing pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from manufacturing and industry as much as is technologically feasible, including by expanding renewable energy manufacturing and investing in existing manufacturing and industry; (G) working collaboratively with farmers and ranchers in the United States to eliminate pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from the agricultural sector as much as is technologically feasible, including— (i) by supporting family farming; (ii) by investing in sustainable farming and land use practices that increase soil health; and (iii) by building a more sustainable food system that ensures universal access to healthy food; (H) overhauling transportation systems in the United States to eliminate pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector as much as is technologically feasible, including through investment in— (i) zero-emission vehicle infrastructure and manufacturing; (ii) clean, affordable, and accessible public transportation; and (iii) high-speed rail; (I) mitigating and managing the long-term adverse health, economic, and other effects of pollution and climate change, including by providing funding for community-defined projects and strategies; (J) removing greenhouse gases from the atmosphere and reducing pollution, including by restoring natural ecosystems through proven low-tech solutions that increase soil carbon storage, such as preservation and afforestation; (K) restoring and protecting threatened, endangered, and fragile ecosystems through locally appropriate and science-based projects that enhance biodiversity and support climate resiliency; (L) cleaning up existing hazardous waste and abandoned sites to promote economic development and sustainability; (M) identifying other emission and pollution sources and creating solutions to eliminate them; and (N) promoting the international exchange of technology, expertise, products, funding, and services, with the aim of making the United States the international leader on climate action, and to help other countries achieve a Green New Deal; (3) a Green New Deal must be developed through transparent and inclusive consultation, collaboration, and partnership with frontline and vulnerable communities, labor unions, worker cooperatives, civil society groups, academia, and businesses; and (4) to achieve the Green New Deal goals and mobilization, a Green New Deal will require the following goals and projects— (A) providing and leveraging, in a way that ensures that the public receives appropriate ownership stakes and returns on investment, adequate capital (including through community grants, public banks, and other public financing), technical expertise, supporting policies, and other forms of assistance to communities, organizations, Federal, State, and local government agencies, and businesses working on the Green New Deal mobilization; (B) ensuring that the Federal Government takes into account the complete environmental and social costs and impacts of emissions through— (i) existing laws; (ii) new policies and programs; and (iii) ensuring that frontline and vulnerable communities shall not be adversely affected; (C) providing resources, training, and high-quality education, including higher education, to all people of the United States, with a focus on frontline and vulnerable communities, so those communities may be full and equal participants in the Green New Deal mobilization; (D) making public investments in the research and development of new clean and renewable energy technologies and industries; (E) directing investments to spur economic development, deepen and diversify industry in local and regional economies, and build wealth and community ownership, while prioritizing high-quality job creation and economic, social, and environmental benefits in frontline and vulnerable communities that may otherwise struggle with the transition away from greenhouse gas intensive industries; (F) ensuring the use of democratic and participatory processes that are inclusive of and led by frontline and vulnerable communities and workers to plan, implement, and administer the Green New Deal mobilization at the local level; (G) ensuring that the Green New Deal mobilization creates high-quality union jobs that pay prevailing wages, hires local workers, offers training and advancement opportunities, and guarantees wage and benefit parity for workers affected by the transition; (H) guaranteeing a job with a family-sustaining wage, adequate family and medical leave, paid vacations, and retirement security to all people of the United States; (I) strengthening and protecting the right of all workers to organize, unionize, and collectively bargain free of coercion, intimidation, and harassment; (J) strengthening and enforcing labor, workplace health and safety, antidiscrimination, and wage and hour standards across all employers, industries, and sectors; (K) enacting and enforcing trade rules, procurement standards, and border adjustments with strong labor and environmental protections— (i) to stop the transfer of jobs and pollution overseas; and (ii) to grow domestic manufacturing in the United States; (L) ensuring that public lands, waters, and oceans are protected and that eminent domain is not abused; (M) obtaining the free, prior, and informed consent of indigenous people for all decisions that affect indigenous people and their traditional territories, honoring all treaties and agreements with indigenous people, and protecting and enforcing the sovereignty and land rights of indigenous people; (N) ensuring a commercial environment where every businessperson is free from unfair competition and domination by domestic or international monopolies; and (O) providing all people of the United States with— (i) high-quality health care; (ii) affordable, safe, and adequate housing; (iii) economic security; and (iv) access to clean water, clean air, healthy and affordable food, and nature.66 Milton Ezrati at Forbes rounded up some of the cost estimates for this proposal.


pages: 1,213 words: 376,284

Empire of Things: How We Became a World of Consumers, From the Fifteenth Century to the Twenty-First by Frank Trentmann

Abraham Maslow, Airbnb, Alan Greenspan, Anton Chekhov, Ayatollah Khomeini, behavioural economics, Berlin Wall, Big bang: deregulation of the City of London, bread and circuses, British Empire, Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty, car-free, carbon footprint, Cass Sunstein, choice architecture, classic study, clean water, collaborative consumption, collective bargaining, colonial exploitation, colonial rule, Community Supported Agriculture, company town, critique of consumerism, cross-subsidies, Daniel Kahneman / Amos Tversky, David Ricardo: comparative advantage, deindustrialization, dematerialisation, Deng Xiaoping, deskilling, equity premium, Fall of the Berlin Wall, Fellow of the Royal Society, financial exclusion, fixed income, food miles, Ford Model T, full employment, gentrification, germ theory of disease, global village, Great Leap Forward, haute cuisine, Herbert Marcuse, high net worth, income inequality, index card, informal economy, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Internet of things, it's over 9,000, James Watt: steam engine, John Maynard Keynes: Economic Possibilities for our Grandchildren, Joseph Schumpeter, Kitchen Debate, knowledge economy, labour mobility, Les Trente Glorieuses, libertarian paternalism, Livingstone, I presume, longitudinal study, mass immigration, McMansion, mega-rich, Michael Shellenberger, moral panic, mortgage debt, Murano, Venice glass, Naomi Klein, New Urbanism, Paradox of Choice, Pier Paolo Pasolini, planned obsolescence, pneumatic tube, post-industrial society, Post-Keynesian economics, post-materialism, postnationalism / post nation state, profit motive, prosperity theology / prosperity gospel / gospel of success, public intellectual, purchasing power parity, Ralph Nader, rent control, retail therapy, Richard Thaler, Right to Buy, Ronald Reagan, school vouchers, scientific management, Scientific racism, Scramble for Africa, seminal paper, sharing economy, Silicon Valley, Skype, stakhanovite, Ted Nordhaus, the built environment, the market place, The Spirit Level, The Theory of the Leisure Class by Thorstein Veblen, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, Thomas L Friedman, Thomas Malthus, Thorstein Veblen, trade liberalization, trade route, transatlantic slave trade, union organizing, upwardly mobile, urban planning, urban sprawl, Washington Consensus, women in the workforce, working poor, young professional, zero-sum game

Buyers’ leagues provided the ethical shopper with a checklist: start your Christmas shopping early, stop buying after 8 p.m. and pay small traders immediately, in cash. The leagues campaigned for Sunday closing; those in America and Switzerland also pressed for the minimum wage and the right to collective bargaining.94 Some of this was little more than a charitable hobby for the local elite. The president of the German league, founded in 1907, was the wife of Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg, the Prussian minister of the interior and future German chancellor. Who could disagree with women exercising their duty as caring mothers and housewives?

Hardly any manual labourer shared friends or leisure pursuits with the middle classes. At the same time, union membership and support for the Labour Party remained high. While blue-collar workers were shedding their traditional collectivism for a new individualism, white-collar workers were moving from their inherited individualism towards a pragmatic support for collective bargaining. What they shared was an orientation towards money and possessions. Otherwise, they kept their distance. The effects of affluence, then, were limited. If material aspirations were converging, social hierarchies remained intact. Looking back on these debates half a century later, it is difficult not to be struck by the way in which the discussion of consumption was framed by an overarching concern about the future of the Labour Party.

Stewart (department store) 192 AT&T 287 Atatürk, Mustafa Kemal 619 Atlanta, water consumption 177, 187, 188 Atlantic empire 92 Atlantic trade see transatlantic consumption and trade auctions 69, 71, 145, 656 audience research 319 audiotapes 619 Augustine of Hippo 8 Augustus the Strong 88 Austen, Jane 196 austerity 12, 106, 273, 289, 338–9, 390, 539, 610, 612, 675 see also thrift; instant gratification in the midst of 607; and socialism 331, 337 Australia 429, 481, 543, 669, 670; aborigines 450; mortgages 423, 522; outsourcing environmental burden to 669; Productivity Commission 481 Austria 363, 409, 441, 478, 513, 542, 548, 644, 668 authenticity 132, 158–9, 223, 227, 235; the authentic self 96, 100, 235; consumption and inauthenticity 135, 138; in local food 580, 581, 583; post-material search for authentic experiences 384, 685–6; religious 601 authoritarianism 374, 386, 394, 397, 535 see also totalitarianism; antiauthoritarian politics and consumer culture 322; ‘social authoritarianism’ of the radio 266 automobiles see cars avarice 8, 156, 285, 386, 405, 449 Aznavour, Charles 352 Aztecs 78–9, 84 Baader, Andreas 322 baboos 143 Bacon, Francis 84–5 Bainbridge drapers, Newcastle 192 Bakker, Jim 611 Bandello, Matteo 30 Bangladesh 367 bankruptcy 418, 431–3 banks 239, 426; bancarisation of the people 423; Bank of Japan 363; Banque de France 533; children’s 363, 417; Dutch National Bank 563; Federal Reserve bankers 414; German 416; Indian 367; inequality and location of bank branches 432; lawsuit by ADICAE against Spanish banks 558; and private credit 414, 415, 416; savings banks 243, 362, 417, 418, 419; sponsoring of company services 536; World Bank see World Bank Barbedienne, Ferdinand, foundry 225–6 Barbon, Nicholas 98, 100 Barlaeus, Caspar 96 Baroda 380 barter 46, 117, 130, 277, 328, 335 see also haggling Bastiat, Frédéric 117, 151 Bat’a, Tomáš 525 bathing 189–90 bathrooms 178, 179, 189, 221, 238, 242, 248, 307 baths 176, 184, 186, 189, 244, 247; swimming baths 190 Baudrillard, Jean 324 Bauer, Edgar 115 Bauer, Samuel 88 Bauer, Yevgeni 199 Bauman, Zygmunt 520 Bayle, Pierre 102 Bayly, Christopher 138 bazaars 192, 209 BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) 266 beads 25, 77, 104, 124–5, 574 Beatles 352 Becker, Gary 74, 427 bedding 31, 55, 56, 60, 62, 63, 678 bedroom furniture 30, 31 Beecher, Catherine 247 Beecher, Henry Ward 610 beer 10, 27, 58, 80, 88, 166, 252, 318, 331, 358, 359, 371, 475, 508, 509, 535, 546, 559; 1830 Beer Act, England 476; bottles 636, 647, 661; German 358, 559 Beijing 44, 46, 47, 72, 72, 93, 190–91, 357, 395, 493, 494; Tianqiao market 190, 191, 685 Belgium 120, 148, 534, 547; elderly people 508; fair trade 570; homes 243, 245; household savings rate 420, 421; recycling 644; Sunday restrictions 478 Belize (British Honduras) 170–71, 581–2, 626 Bellamy, Edward 269–70 Belmondo, Jean-Paul 322 Benjamin, Walter 191, 197–8 Bentham, Jeremy 152 Bentley, Thomas 69 Benzoni, Girolamo 78 Berg, Alban 267 beriberi 543 Berlin 155, 156, 168, 179, 187, 189, 207, 295, 307, 328, 477, 479, 549–50, 627, 635–6; elderly people 507–8; Gloria-Palast 211; Horseshoe Estate 222, 223; Kommune 1 (first political commune) 322, 323; Mann family home 251; Tietz 193; Wall 301, 333, 646; water consumption 186, 187; Wertheim 199–200 Bern 156, 470 betel nut 47, 150, 168 Bethmann-Hollweg, Martha von 156 Better Homes and Gardens 377 Betts, Tristram 574 Beverwijk, Anna Nannige 55 Bianciardi, Luciano 350 Bibelot, Le 227 Biermann, Wolf 334–5 Biles, Judith 511 Billington-Greig, Teresa 157 Binèt, René 192 biodiversity decline 604 bird fights 137 biribissi 30 Birmingham 141, 243, 559 Black Death 58 black market 65, 330 see also smuggling Blackpool 210, 220 Blackstone, William 103–4 Blair, Tony 5, 548 Blair government 549 ‘Blondie’ comic strip 378 body: the ageing body 514–15 see also elderly people; bodily humours 84, 85; clothes as an extension of the body 296; hygiene see hygiene; man’s two general wants of body and mind (Barbon) 98; mind–body/matter duality 95, 230–31; smearing 126; union/balance between mind and 101, 246, 397 Boeing 529–30, 532 Bolsheviks 276–7 Bon Marché 191, 192, 193, 194, 199, 204 books 30, 31, 32, 44, 45, 47, 51, 53, 55, 56, 616, 658 see also libraries boot sales 654 Bootle 506 Bormann, Heinz 328 Boston 86, 177, 179, 187; tea party 111 bottle banks 639 Boucicant, Aristide 204 Boulton, Matthew 53 Bourdieu, Pierre 344–6 bourgeoisie 86, 87, 94, 117, 118, 165, 181, 215, 227, 292–3, 311, 345, 374; aspiration 227; Bildungsbürgertum 416; the bourgeois home 250, 251, 345; childhood seen as invention of bourgeois modernity 486; culture of restraint 117, 118, 311; ‘embourgeoisement’ thesis of British working class 342–4; in Paris 225–6, 250, 374; and Soviet material culture 292–5 Bournville 171, 172, 528 Bovril adverts 171 Bow, Clara 281 bowls (game) 506, 529 boycotts 2, 111, 128, 296, 385, 393, 561, 571, 681; anti-slavery 128, 156, 184, 559, 571–2; and apartheid 577; of British goods 268, 297, 299; Chinese consumer boycotts 298–9; consumer jihads 618–19; in Egypt 299; and ethical consumerism 576–7; of gas companies 183; and national products 297–300; of sweat shops/sweated goods 155, 156 Boyle, Robert 97 Bradenton Kiwanis Club 498–9 Bradford 601; Kirkgate Market 207 Brahmins 142, 144, 381 Bramwell, Sir Frederick 185, 188 branding 2, 68–9, 173, 439 see also advertising; labelling; rebranding; American in-school branded give-aways 485; children’s recognition of brands 485; fair-trade 565–6, 570; trademarks 47, 486 brandy 86, 106, 107, 143, 161, 166, 170 Brassens, Georges 180, 351, 352 Braudel, Fernand 9, 22 Bravo 312 Brazil 11, 122, 161, 163, 165, 166, 352, 372, 515, 566, 569; Fordlandia 527, 528; middle class 373; Pentecostalism 613–14; waste management 651 Brazzaville (Congo) 347, 471–2 Bread for the World 577 Brezhnev, Leonid Ilyich 11, 330, 545 bridewealth 370 Brignole family, Genoa 29 Brilliant Earth 567 Britain and the United Kingdom see also England; Scotland; Wales: abolition of, and battle against slavery 121, 122, 123–4, 125, 572; affluence and social transformation 548; artisans 74; bankruptcy 433; and the ‘birth’ of the consumer society 10, 22, 73; British textiles bought in India 139–40; charity shops 654; chocolate drinks 165; church attendance 306, 475, 479, 607; cinemas 212; ‘Citizen Charter’ of Major Government 389; clothes shopping by British women 674; clothing items in 2013 1; coffee consumption 91, 566; Conservatives 308, 549, 554–5, 556, 640; consumer co-operatives 206; consumer complaints 558, 559; and consumer freedom 419–20; Consumers’ Association 551; cotton industry 66, 77, 170; council housing 243, 553–5; credit 409, 410, 412, 414, 415, 416, 423, 424, 426, 429, 430, 431; defence spending 542; demand for British goods 126, 140, 170–71; dematerialization 668; domestic energy consumption 672, 674; domestic interior at centre stage 108; elderly people 506, 507, 509–11, 512; ‘embourgeoisement’ thesis of British working class 342–4; fair trade 562, 564, 565, 566, 577–8; food banks 338–9; foreign boycotts of British goods 268, 297, 299; free time activities of men and women aged 20 to 74 (1998–2002) 458–9; and free trade 91, 120–21, 136, 140, 141, 163–4, 572; GDP 12, 423, 668; health support groups 555; as high-wage economy 99; home-equity loans 429; home ownership 236, 245; home size 675; household cultural spending 548; household debt 409, 425, 426–7; household goods spending 554; household waste 1980–2005 643; household wealth 426; imports from West Indies 161; income share of the rich 436, 437; increase in possessions during 17th and 18th centuries 23; Insolvency Act (1986) 431; Keep Britain Tidy Group 639; Labour Party see Labour Party, UK; leading place in post-war consumer culture 475; leisure hours 451; liberalism and home decoration 226; luxury debate 99–100; marketing boards 319; material flow 668–9; middle class and the state 548; middling sort 65, 73; mobile phones 464; mortgages 242, 420; municipal waste 622; National Consumer Council 551, 560; New Labour 548, 549; NHS see National Health Service; Ombudsmen 557; online shopping 482; outsourcing environmental burden 669; over-indebtedness 431; people outside world of finance 432; and politeness 109; post office savings 418; public services and choice 561; rag trade 628–9; reading habits 354, 461; recycling 639, 640, 645; sabbatarianism 476; salvage 637–8; savings 418–19, 420, 421, 430; servants 58–9; silk export 67; social spending 537, 539; socializing 461; solo living 654; state help for industry 65–6, 77; sugar consumption 91, 165–6; supermarkets 349; and tea 60, 61, 65, 75, 79, 81, 90, 91–2, 162, 165; teenage market 495; Tenant’s Charter 555; Thatcher government 640; Total Material Requirement 668; trust in food system 584; as unequal society 73; urban density 93; Victorian Britain see Victorians; wages 71–2, 75, 99, 115, 146–7, 281; waste generation lowering 640; waste incinerators 632; water meters 188; Women’s Co-operative Guild 157; working class spending power 281; working hours 449; youth spending power 281, 485 British empire 11, 91, 162, 307; and American trade 164–5; and anti-colonialism 296–8, 299, 379–80; ‘Buy Empire Goods’ campaign 300, 572–3; by-laws 141; and coffee 79, 91; colonial tea plantations 79; Egypt under British occupation 300; Empire shopping weeks 300, 572; flow of goods and slaves (1770) 82–3; Imperial Postal Order Service 590; India and the Raj 137–46, 296–8; Indian legacy 379; industrial superiority 120; and investment 160; as liberal free-trade empire 120–21, 140, 141, 163–4; naval power 120; and remittances 590; taxation 121, 139, 141, 161–2; unease with the African consumer 136; Western goods and colonial identity 131, 132 British Honduras (Belize) 170–71, 581–2, 626 British Museum 477 Broadway 212 Brook, Timothy 96 Brown, Gordon 428 Brussels 192, 648 Buarque, Chico 352 Budapest 193, 275, 630 Buddha 612 Buddhism 385, 390, 472, 607, 613, 615–16 budget studies 147–50, 283 Buenos Aires 80, 181, 193 Bulgaria 327, 672 Burckhardt, Jacob: The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy 30 Burgundy 69 burials 51 see also funerals Burkina Faso 591, 592 Butler, Richard 133 Buxton, Thomas Fowell 127 buyers’ leagues see consumers’/buyers’ leagues BVB Dortmund 563 C&A 479 Cabanagem Rebellion 163 Cadbury 128, 167, 171–2, 528, 563, 568 caffeine 80, 88, 166 see also coffee Cairo 23, 80, 174, 202; Au Petit Louvre 204; bourgeois homes 251; Fire (1952) 300, 322; University 299 Calabria 302, 586, 598 Calcutta 137, 143, 144–5, 602 calico 65, 77, 124 Calvelli-Adorno, Maria 267 Calvinists 57, 58, 614 Cameroon, French 132–3 Campbell, Colin 290 Canada 247, 253, 420, 425, 431, 540, 572–3, 681; Sunday trading and deregulation 476, 478 candy stores 217, 219 canning industry 638–9 cantautore 352 Canton 89 capitalism 3, 4, 22, 27–8, 95, 157, 160, 174, 444, 649; and animism 385–6; Chinese state capitalism 680; consumerism and democracy as one package with 273; consumption as capitalist subliminal weapon of domination 321; credit and consumer capitalism 409; department stores as children of 191; finance capitalism 119; inter-war crisis of 279; Marxist critique 112–13, 385; private versus state 288; welfare capitalism 523, 525, 529 Cappello, Domenico 29 Capron, Illinois 661 Caracas 80 carbon emissions 2, 15, 538, 647, 666, 667, 675; embedded carbon and ecological footprint 15, 675, 686, 687, 689 Caribbean 79, 123 Carlos, Roberto 352 Carlyle, Thomas 455 carpets 55, 57, 117, 138, 145, 146, 194, 205, 224, 225, 226, 330; Turkish 23, 30, 96 Carrefour 349, 371 cars 14, 217, 247, 248, 302–3, 315, 322, 324–5, 326, 426, 442; American sales 279, 281, 428; boot sales 654; car-sharing 654, 656, 687–8; with catalytic converters 653; in China 355; democratization of the car 301; dependence on the car 340; in East Germany 330, 331, 332, 335, 336; and emotions 686; free time spent in 460; in India 366, 382; and Italian culture 324; life expectancy 658; motoring cult in America 544; and platinum 653; repairing 659; second-hand market 658; Trabant 331, 335, 337 Carson, Rachel 639 cartels 278 Carter, Jimmy 325 Caruso, Enrico 263 Cary, John 99 caste 143–4, 298, 315, 381–2 Casteldurante 30 Castellani, Francesco di Matteo 34 Castellani, Lena 34 Catalonia 75–6 Cavill, Frederick 167 celebrity culture 435 Celentano, Adriano 311 cement making 667 censorship 312 Central America 80, 334 central heating 15, 244, 244, 302, 339, 673, 687 ceramics see pottery/ceramics Certeau, Michel de 5–6, 324 Cetelem 411 Ceylon see Sri Lanka/Ceylon Chagga tribe 135 Champagne 169 chandeliers 117, 146 Chang, Eileen 359 Chanukah 615 charity 541; Christian charities 656; shops 574, 624, 654, 657; transition from charity to trade justice 574–5 Charlottenburg 631 charter flights 301, 533 Chase, Stuart 287 Chaves, Lorenzo 193 Chekhov, Anton 204 Chen village 595, 596 Chen Yao 47 Chengdu 398 Chèques Vacances 533, 536 Cheyne, George 106 Chicago 177, 194, 215, 239, 505, 526, 602; Golden Age Club 503; World Fair (1893) 249 Chicago Defender 488 Chicault, Denise 496 chicory 81, 86–7, 166 Chifuren 393 Child, Lydia 405 child benefits 538 children: adult control and regulation 492; American Children’s Charter (1929) 487; anxieties over loss of childhood 490, 492; brand recognition 485; and candy stores 217; child-rearing 487; childcare 259, 331, 448, 453, 454, 456, 469, 521, 543, 612; childhood seen as invention of bourgeois modernity 486; children’s banks 363; Chinese 368–9, 493–4; and choice 488, 491–2; clothes 486–7; cognitive development and toys 231; commercial power 312, 485, 491–2; commercialization of childhood 484–94; as consumers 216–17, 484–94; corruption of innocent girls 199; and credit 485, 491; debt to peers 491; family time spent with 461; fashion 485, 486–7; in Germany 491, 493; groomed for profit 485; juvenile protection laws 311; and leisure 451; market research roles 485; pocket money 370, 383, 488, 493; poor children 490–91; rights of 487, 488; selling of 408; spending power 312, 485, 491, 493; stalked for profit 485; and the street 217; summer playground programmes for 219; targeted by marketing and advertising 485, 487, 489–90; teenage see youth and teenagers; television 489; toys see toys; working 133, 156, 287, 485, 490 Chile 80, 170 Chin, Elizabeth 491 China: and the Americas 23, 128, 299; artisans 44, 47; attitude to things 95–6; authoritarian regime’s use of consumption 386–7, 394, 397; beer market 371; Buddhist revival 607; building boom 376; children 368–9, 493–4; chinaware production and shipping 88; Chinese labourers in Hawaii 149; clothes 359, 360, 368; collectives 369, 376; Communist Party 372, 374, 376, 386–7, 394, 398; Confucian revival in Communist Party 386–7; consumer activism and politics 298–9, 394–8; Consumer Association (Zhongguo Xiaofeizhe Xiehui) 396, 397; consumer protection/rights 387, 394–7; consumption 51, 355, 359–60, 368–70, 371, 372–3, 394–8, 681; cosmetic revolution 360; cotton 44, 46; Cultural Revolution 377; disposable income 368, 374; domestic appliances 368; education 372; electronic waste 653; Europe’s race ahead of 122; farmers 44, 47, 73; fashion 21–2, 44, 46, 47, 49, 69; and the First World War 299; GDP 24, 357; Grand Canal 44; Great Leap Forward 376; home decorating 376–7; industrialization 376; inequalities 368, 371, 374, 438; investment driving economy 372; Japanese trade with 23, 47; leisure 472; luxury brands 439; Maoist see Maoism; merchants 24–5, 44, 47, 48, 49, 51, 52–3; middle class 373, 374; Ming see Ming dynasty; National Products movement 299; nationalism 298–9; non-wage benefits 535; opium 110; outsourcing environmental burden to 670; peasants 46, 47, 49, 73, 359–60; personal debt 372; pollution 355; privatization 375–6; Qing 48, 49, 52, 110; rapid growth 11; remittances 595; revolution of 1911 190; running water 179; savings 426, 438, 681; selling off state housing 375–6; shopping 190–91, 371; and silver 25–6, 46, 90; standard of living in Lower Yangzi 71; state capitalism 680; storage 660; and sugar 91; tea-drinking 80; television 368, 374, 472; thrift 368; trade 23, 24–6, 44–7, 88, 92; urban density 93, 174; urbanization 607; welfare 681; Western dress and goods 359–60; Western picture in late 19th century of 43; women 52, 369–70; WTO entry 396 china 60, 61, 88–9, 90, 108, 195, 356, 383; merchants 109; porcelain see porcelain; shops 93 chintzes 64–5, 67, 74, 124, 145, 252 chocolate 4, 77, 78, 80, 84, 85, 163, 165, 166, 167, 172, 292 see also cocoa/cacao; advertising 172; drinks 165; Ferrero Rocher 611; ‘military’ 167; parties 78; and the Soviets 293; from vending machines 278, 370 choice 5, 226, 303, 308, 488, 548–61; and the ‘68ers’ 323; and affluence 12, 303, 403, 548–61; in American culture 5, 288–9, 553, 556–7; architecture 688; and children 488, 491–2; and company leisure activities 528; constrained by slavery 132 see also slavery/slaves; and consumer/social change 5–6, 688–90; consumer choice that also stands up for the poor 390; and consumption 9, 216, 273, 289, 372, 390, 403, 522, 688–90; consumption as neo-liberal story of markets and 273, 403, 522; and creativity 503–4; and credit 413; Dewey’s blend of democracy, pragmatism and 288–9, 504; and empowerment 288, 557, 559, 560, 567; England in 18th century as model of 10; and fair trade 563, 566–70; framing of 6; in healthcare 556–7; in inter-war years 288–9; of Japanese consumers 372; marketplace choice creating stronger citizens 289; neo-liberal diktat of 273, 403, 522; political/moral defence of 5; and public services 548–61; and responsibility 560; and a shift in values 289; and social welfare 391; and the supermarket 348, 350, 522; trust and ambivalence about consumer choice 216; and the vote 156–7; as way to rebuild post-war family and nation 308; women’s right to choose 309 cholera 177, 178, 633 Chorley, Alexander 88 Christian Aid 576, 577 Christian Broadcasting Network 611 Christian Democrats 308, 316 Christian religion and Church: affluence, consumer culture and 606–15; Calvinists 57, 58, 614; Catholic Church 308 see also Jesuits; missionaries: Catholic; Christian charities 656; Christian trade unionists 275; Christian youth 574–6, 613; Church as consumer 174; church attendance 306, 475, 477, 479, 606, 607, 608; Church of England 612; Church of Scotland 308; churches offering social and community services 612; commercial culture used by 607–13; cultural elites replacing position of the Church 284; and debt 405; decline of organized Christianity 306–7; Dominicans 84; England as missionary nation 126; and ethical consumerism 573–6; evangelical see evangelicalism; immanentism 609; Jesuits 80, 84; lust and original sin 8; and luxury 36, 118, 610–11, 614–15; materialism as threat to Christian civilization 306, 609; mega-churches 610, 611–12, 614; Mennonites 574; Methodists/Wesleyans 133, 612; missionaries see missionaries; non-churchgoing people defining themselves as Christian 612; Orthodox Church revival 607; Pentecostalism 607, 613–14, 615; and possessions 36, 57, 306, 609; Presbyterians 384; prosperity gospel 610–11, 615; Protestant revival in China 607; Puritanism see Puritanism; Quakers 128; Redeemed Christian Church of God 614, 615; Reformation 1; science, evolution and faith crisis 609; secularization and loss of faith 607; and social control 42–3; spiritual rebirth and material changes 126; and Sunday see Sundays; and syncretism 613; televangelism 610–11 Christian Social Union 155 Christmas 134, 280, 489, 576; bonuses 523, 526; cake competitions 300; Empire Christmas pudding competition 161; presents 432, 491; shopping 156, 477, 529, 574 Chrysler 635 Church see Christian religion and Church Church Missionary Society 126 Church of England 612 Church of Scotland 308 Ciao amici 312 Cicero 35, 36 cigarettes 135–6, 278, 291, 311, 334, 361, 381, 494, 509 Ciné-Journal 214 cinema 211–15, 217, 221, 281–3, 378, 467, 685 see also film; air-conditioning 341, 348; Americanization through 282–3; Bat’a’s 525; black movie theatre 215; and class 211, 214; corruption through 216; dioramas 213; in East Germany 328; feeding aspiration 282–3, 301–2; Hollywood 211, 348, 351; in Iran 616, 617; kinetoscopes 212; magic lanterns 213; panoramas 213; in shopping centres 215; Soviet 292–3; travelling cinemas 212, 296, 365 cisterns 178, 180 Citibank 423 cities and urban life see also specific cities: African cities, social identities and consumption 347; and anonymity 94; British ideas of urban living imported to India 141; budget city-breaks 689; capitalism powered by cities 174; change in Asian cities 359; cinemas see cinema; cities as billboards for consumer goods 481; cities as providers of public consumption 183; and consumption 93–4, 174–221, 347; department stores see department stores; entertaining spaces 210–21; European ambivalence towards 210–11; and flâneurs 194, 310, 441; gas supply and consumption 176, 180–83; gated communities 392; global modernization 249; and impact of broadening consumption on harmony between things and humans 197; impact of urbanization on religion 196; impact on relationships between individuals and social groups 197; in India 141, 392; market halls 207–8, 209; and privacy 94; promotion of higher standard of living 688–9; with radio clubs 264; sewage disposal 178, 179, 180; shopping 190–210 see also shopping; suburbs see suburbanization/suburbs; transformation 1850–1920 174–80; urban density 93, 174; urbanization 23, 29, 174, 196, 356, 368, 517, 607; utility networks 175–6, 180, 181, 183, 188–9, 220, 248; water consumer movement 183, 184–5; water supply and consumption 176, 177–80, 182, 183–5, 187, 187; women’s growing visibility 196; work leading to creation of 97 citizenship, consumer 184, 287–8, 356, 389, 680, 690; choice in the marketplace creating stronger citizens 289; the citizen-consumer 3, 154–5, 157, 160, 356, 628, 690; ‘Citizen Charter’ of Major Government 389; and civic consumerism/progressive individualism 237–8; climate change and the consumer as citizen 560; and complaints 558–9; consumer activism and the relationship between state and citizen 557–9; and credit 411, 412–13; eco-citizens 639; the European ‘market citizen’ 559; and protection see consumer protection; protection of ‘service to the citizens’ 389; and rights see consumer rights; and social citizenship 157, 278, 682 citizenship, post-war cultivation of 496 citizenship, rights and duties of 356 Cittaslow 442, 470 civic humanism 33, 96, 99 civil rights activism 324–5 civil servants 416 civil society 87, 101, 109, 356–7, 390, 393, 648 class see also aristocrats/gentry; bourgeoisie; elite; middle classes; upper classes; working classes: and affluence 303, 316, 339–48; approach to money and goods 342; bias and prejudice 415, 416; Bourdieu’s nexus of culture and 344–6; caste 143–4, 298, 315, 381–2; and the cinema 211, 214; classless cabins 291; and coaches 40; and credit 423–4; and cultural poaching 347; department stores and class relations 197; diets, eating and 587–8, 604–5; and domestic technologies 259; and dress codes 40; and drinking habits 164, 340; fears 313; and food 165; hierarchies 5, 40, 305, 313; and leisure 455, 466, 468–9; loosening of class hierarchies amongst the young 313; and mass culture 315; and place in production system 381; and the polarization of time 450–51, 468–9; the poor as the new leisure class 449; the rich as the new working class 449; Second World War and the destabalizing of hierarchies 305; and shopping 350; snobbery 415; in the Soviet Union 294–5; and taste 79, 108–9, 226, 304, 344–6, 436–8, 548; and television 346; war 313 cleanliness 4, 177–8, 226, 245, 527 see also hygiene; cleaning and looking after the home see housework; and domestic technologies 252–3 see also vacuum cleaners; washing machines Cleveland 217, 218 climate change 560, 666 Clinton, Bill 395 Clive, Robert (Clive of India) 137 clocks 26, 49, 56, 60, 61, 62, 62, 129, 222, 359; cuckoo 193; prayer 618 clothes 4, 10, 34, 41–2, 56, 378 see also fashion; adoption of European clothes by Africans 4, 129, 130, 132, 136; adoption of Western clothes by affluent Indians 143; age-specific 486–7, 494–5; American menswear 315; and anti-colonialism 296–8, 299, 347; of Bengali women 142–3; Britons prohibited from wearing Indian dress 143; children’s 486–7; Chinese 359, 360, 368; clothing revolution, 18th century 67, 68, 73–4; codes of dress 40; cotton see cotton; counter-cultural 323; Egyptian 299–300; and emancipation 132; and emotions 686; evening dress hire 682; as extension of the body 296; fair standard of clothing requirements, Philadelphia 150; falling cost in era of high imperialism 146; freedom of dress 111; fur-lined 37; Gandhi and Indian clothes 296–8; home-made 24, 332; hybrid 64, 143, 299; and identity 94, 296–8; Indian cottons 4, 10, 23, 24; and individuality 315; items of clothing in UK (2013) 1; Japanese 358, 359; jeans see jeans; Karo desire for Western clothes 142; legislation 39–42; leisure 201; mass-produced 59; and the meeting of the private and public spheres 296; menswear 200–201, 315; Muslim dress 130, 617, 618, 619, 620; national dress 297–8, 299–300; and national identity 296–8; paper dresses 636; Persian 146; post-baptismal 126; practical 345; Punjabi peasant 361; ready-made 94, 203, 487; school 497; second-hand 68, 71, 190, 312, 629, 652, 656–7, 658–9; and self-alienation 100; sensitivity of clothing as article of consumption 67; serfs’ 203; servants’ 21, 22, 67, 68, 73–4; shoes see shoes; shopping by British women 674; silks 23, 31, 36, 39, 41, 42, 47, 48, 51, 58, 140, 293, 294, 299; skirts 21; sleeves 21, 37, 43, 69; and social positioning/status 13, 39, 41, 94; sportswear 201, 320; stockings see stockings; students’ 495; Venetian 37; waste 622; woollen see wool; working-class 68; young people’s 312, 494–5, 498 Club of Rome 325; Limits to Growth 324, 639 Clunas, Craig 50 co-operative movement 155, 156, 275, 277, 285, 308; co-op shops 205–7; co-operative finance 206; and fair trade 578, 579; International Co-operative Alliance 207; International Trading Agency 573; Russian co-operatives 277; women on co-operative boards 579; Women’s Co-operative Guild 157 coaches, horse-drawn 40 coal 59, 71, 94, 122, 147, 153, 182, 629, 666, 683; ash 624, 628 Coca-Cola 307, 582, 618; bottles 637 cocktails 462 cocoa/cacao 24, 78–9, 80, 81, 84, 131, 163, 168, 678 see also chocolate; advertising 167, 171–2; butter extraction 167; evolution into mass-produced national commodity 167; fair-trade 568; and health 167; Javanese 164 coffee 4, 10, 27, 78, 79, 80, 81, 84–5, 86–8, 90–92, 163, 167, 168, 566–7; advertising 172–3; America and 92, 165, 173, 566; and the armed forces 166–7; breaks 166; British consumption 91, 566; chains 562–3, 579; cups 87, 88, 125; Dutch consumption 79, 87, 164, 164; English consumption in 1724 81; fair-trade 562–3, 566, 575, 576–7, 579; and the French 79, 165, 166; Germany and 166, 172; global expansion of ‘Italian’ coffee 173; houses 79, 86; and industrialization 166; Japanese consumption 165; Kenyan 573; picking 579; premier league of drinkers, eve of First World War 164, 164; and the slave trade 91; substitute 81, 166; sugar in 90; taxes 86, 91–2 Cohen, Lizabeth 5 Cold War 272, 273, 546, 573; and the battleground of leisure 329; and geopolitics 300–301; and the ideological battle over affluence 300–337; and social spending 542 collars, removable 21 collecting 50, 52, 96, 137, 138, 145, 227, 231–2, 270 Collection for Improvement of Agriculture and Trade 98 collective bargaining 156, 343 collectivism/collectivization 245, 277, 331–2, 343, 369, 376 Collegiate Special Advertising Agency 494 Cologne 208, 219, 319 Colombia 163, 170, 651 colonialism 4, 61, 90, 132–3 see also imperialism; anti-colonialism see anti-colonialism; British Raj 137–46, 296–8; colonial customs zone 162; colonial elite 80; colonial food chain 128; colonial nationalists 274, 296–8; colonial tea plantations 79; consumption control for subjects 121; decolonization 596; and dislike of natives 173; domestication of colonial space 171; empire writing out the colonial producer 173; and imperial tug of war 120; and inequality 161; setting up home in the colony 144–6; and slavery see slavery/slaves; Spanish 64; and Third World visibility 576; and tropical production 78–9, 80, 90, 91, 162–3; and waste disposal 633; Western goods and colonial identity 131 Columbia Phonograph Company 263 comfort 4, 21, 110, 270–71, 281, 677; and credit 412; culture of 68, 108, 246–7; and decency 228, 246; domestic see domestic comforts; and emotions 270; functionalist 249–50; goods 455; and the heart 226; Hoover on 237–8; house architecture and the culture of 246–7; ‘innocent’ and ‘modest’ comforts 363; mass comfort 227; material comfort 237, 290, 309, 334, 369, 484, 520, 596, 615; and the nurturing of character 238; and politeness 30; and the public good 32–3; and safety 226; and selfalienation 100; and trade-offs 61; Western comforts as obstacles to salvation 125–6 comités d’entreprise (CEs) 532–3, 534 commerce see also company services, and corporate-led consumption; retail trade; trade: American corporations styled as mini-democracies 287; children’s commercial power 312, 485, 491–2; clash with custom 38; commercial culture used by religion 607–13; commercial leisure see leisure; commercial waste 642; commercialization of childhood 484–94; and the convergence of consumption and citizenship 287; countryside commercialization 49; Dutch 26; e-commerce 481–2, 654, 658; effect of rise of commerce on consumption 24; expansion, and ‘tasteful objectivity’ 96; global commerce and the ethic of care 573, 584; identity crisis with rise of industry and 269; Ming China’s commercialization 44–8, 49; production see production; rise of 24; self-expression as bridge between arts and 315; shift towards Atlantic world, late 17th century 26–7; shopping see shopping; silver as lubricant of 25–6; spread of customer service into 558; wealth of commercial society 103; widening channels of 24 commodification 28, 266 Commonwealth Steel 527 communes 182, 321, 322, 323, 537 communication 94, 301, 471, 685 see also mobile phones; radio; social networking; television; EU government expenditure on 538; ICT see information and communication technology; speed 442 communism 7, 16, 245, 246, 274, 289, 292–6, 327–37, 396–7 see also Bolsheviks; Maoism; Marxism; Soviet Union; Stalinism; co-operation with the consumer in China 397–8; communist elite 294–5; Communist Party of China 372, 374, 376, 386–7, 394, 398; French 307; and waste 331, 644–6 community-supported agriculture (CSA) 580, 588 commuting/commuters 14, 200, 340, 454, 457, 685, 686 Compagnie Parisienne de l’Air Comprimé 183 company leisure activities 525–36; mobility and the firm’s loss of control over 528–9; and recreational facilities/finance 525, 526–31, 535–6; sport 456, 523, 525, 526, 527, 531, 533, 534; and ‘wellness’ strategies 513, 530–31 company services, and corporate-led consumption 523–36; collective consumption in company towns 524–8; food 524–5, 531–2; health and welfare 513, 523, 525, 529, 530–31; housing 457, 523, 526, 528, 534; Japanese perks 534; and leisure see company leisure activities; mutation with Second World War 529; pension funds/plans 500, 523, 528; and privatization in Eastern Europe 535; sponsors of company teams 536; stores 524–5, 528 company towns 524–8, 534 complaining 558–9 computers 2, 465, 467, 674, 686; used 652, 653, 658, 660, 662, 663, 664 conceptual artists 636 condominiums 674 Condulmer, Elisabetta 32 Coney Island 219, 220 conformism 226, 314, 315 Confucianism 48, 51, 386–7; neo-Confucianism 386–7 Congo (Brazzaville) 347, 471–2 connoisseurship 52 conservatives 112, 159, 196, 240, 245, 301; 1950s as a conservative restoration 309–10; and affluence 307–8; British Tories 308, 549, 554–5, 556, 640; and choice 308; Christian 306; embracing consumer sovereignty 314; family-oriented consumerism 324; working-class conservatism 344 conspicuous consumption 13, 15, 227–9, 438–9, 677; in Asia 139, 383, 384–5; checked by authoritarianism 374; conspicuous underconsumption 303; family-oriented 383; as moral threat 380; and the Rajput 362; and TV evangelists 610–11; and waste 15, 144 consumer activism 157, 159–60, 571, 681 see also consumer movements; of the ‘68ers’ 321–3; in the 1930s 274; in Asia 393, 394, 395–8; boycotts see boycotts; fair-trade 567, 570–71; before First World War 274–5; in healthcare 555–7; and leagues see consumers’/buyers’ leagues; and litigation 395–6; and the relationship between state and citizen 557–9; and scarcity 393; and transition from charity to trade justice 573–7; water consumer movement 183, 184–5 consumer boom, post-war see consumption: boom of 1950s and ’60s consumer centres 394 consumer citizenship see citizenship, consumer consumer clubs, in Indian schools 390 consumer co-operatives see co-operative movement consumer culture 21–77 see also material culture; and the ‘68ers’ 321–4, 327; and the abolitionists 128; of affluence see affluence; Africa and empire 124–36; ambivalence towards 104, 121–2, 216, 307; and the American dream 237–8, 283, 340; Americanized see Americanization; and anti-authoritarian politics 322 see also anticolonialism; Asian 357–99; assumptions about traditional versus modern consumers 360; of austerity see austerity; and boycotts see boycotts; Britain’s post-war lead in 475; and Cartesian duality 231; celebrity culture 435; the child consumer 216–17, 217, 484–94 see also children; and choice see choice; Christian see Christian religion and Church; and the city see cities and urban life; civic consumerism/progressive individualism 237–8; of comfort see comfort; consumer as king see consumer sovereignty; consumers considering themselves as a mass 198; contemplative 52; of credit see credit; cult of antiquity 4, 50, 53, 227; and cultural capital 50, 52, 466, 470; democratic advance from elite to bourgeois to mass consumption 136; ‘depression phobia’ 342; and desire see desire for things; discovery of the consumer 129, 146–60; and disenchantment see disenchantment; of domestic comfort see domestic comforts; domestic consumer revolution 222–71; of domestic hygiene and cleanliness 252–3 see also cleanliness; hygiene; Dutch 53–8, 56; in early 1970s 324; early modern north-west Europe 53–63, 65–6, 70–77; energized by the home 375; and the Englightement 95–110, 231; English 58–63, 61, 62, 65–6, 71–2, 76–7; ethical consumerism 128, 155–7, 565–80 see also fair trade; European fears of invasion of American 305–6; and exotic drug foods 78–93 see also cocoa/cacao; coffee; tea; tobacco; First World War and consumer identity 275–6; and generations see generations; hybrids 11, 138, 143, 246, 312, 349, 358, 482; and identity in India 380–81; of improvement 105–10; India and the Raj 137–46, 296–8; inequalities see inequalities; of instant gratification see instant gratification; and Islam 616–21; Japanese 358, 383–4, 386; Latin American 170; leisure see leisure; as lightning rod for anxieties 305; luxuryorientated 28–38; male craft-consumer and home-centred culture 261, 262; and the middle class 340; Ming China 43–53, 57 see also Ming dynasty; and modernity see modernity; Mughal empire 137, 138; nationalism and consumerist modernity 298; nationalism and mass consumer culture 167; organized consumers’ contribution to nationalism 297–300; patriotic consumers 238; pursuit of novelty 4, 49, 51, 53, 330, 405, 496, 623, 661 see also novelty; and radical culture 322–3; and the relationship between generations 520–21; and religious experience 612–21; Renaissance Italy 28–38; revolution and reaction 111–18; and romantic revolution in China 369–70; selfish see selfishness; shaped by the way people use things 681; socialist 326–37; society of abundance see abundance, society of; Soviet warnings about 324; of style over substance 47; the teenage consumer 494–8 see also youth and teenagers; of thrift see thrift; the traditional but modern consumer 362, 373–87; urban see cities and urban life; Victorian 161; and waste see waste; the West’s embrace of the consumer 173; ‘wholesome consumer lifestyle’ 363; women as civilizing consumers 110; women’s centrality in familial consumerism 308; ‘work–spend cycle’ 444 consumer detriment 549 consumer durables 246, 253, 260, 336, 412, 419; changing family life in Asia 383; consumer ambivalence in attitudes to durability 657–8; and the elderly 510; electric labour-saving appliances see domestic appliances and technologies; furniture see furniture; for home entertainment see gramophones; radio: sets/receivers; television: sets; for ICT see computers; mobile phones; and social spending 542; Soviet 327; and status 260; and tax credits 309; vehicles see cars; mopeds; and women’s enslavement 254 consumer education 393–4 consumer groups 390–91, 392, 393, 551; forums 389 Consumer Guidance Society of India 390 consumer guides 66 consumer magazines 70–71, 200, 253, 305, 310, 312, 377 see also women’s magazines consumer movements 16, 552, 553, 555, 559, 680 see also consumer activism; in Asia 392–3, 394–8, 552; water consumer movement 183, 184–5 consumer politics see also citizenship, consumer: activist see consumer activism; consumer movements; and the adaptability of consumption 680–81; anti-authoritarian politics and consumer culture 322; Asian 393–8; consumer leagues see consumers’/buyers’ leagues; consumer protection and rights see consumer protection; consumer rights; and the Depression 278–88; exotic fashion and antiestablishment politics 323; during First World War 275–6, 363; geopolitics see geopolitics; German 275–6; and the ideological battle over affluence 274–326; and markets 9, 680; and movements see consumer movements; and public services 391; Russian/Soviet 276–7, 294–5; social bargains between states and consumers 278; and socialism 276–7; water consumer movement 183, 184–5; and water rates 183–4, 188 consumer power 356, 388, 567, 572, 584 consumer protection 152, 155, 286, 387, 388, 389, 390–91, 393–7, 550–53, 558–9, 567, 586 see also consumer rights; and Ombudsmen 557–8, 559; Portuguese Association for Consumer Protection 558; and protection of their services 389; Single European Act 559; UN Guidelines (1985) 552 consumer rights 155, 184–5, 387, 388, 389–90, 394–5, 550–51, 552, 553, 680 see also consumer protection; and complaining 558–9; in healthcare 555–7; World Consumer Rights Day 550 consumer society see also consumer culture: 1968 attitudes to 321; of affluence see affluence; America as model of 10, 273, 307; Asian transitions to modern consumer societies 355–99; Baudrillard’s critique of 324; ‘birth’ of 10, 22, 73; conservative restoration in 1950s 309–10; empowerment of the consumer 6, 203, 260, 287, 288, 295, 557, 559, 560, 567; German 307; label 679–80; releasing the individual 325; and security 307; theories of zero-sum relationship between leisure and work 449; as way of life 302, 305–6, 680–81 consumer sovereignty 152, 285, 288, 314 Consumer Unity and Trust Society (CUTS) 390–91 consumer welfare see welfare ‘consumerism’: and anti-advertising 315; civic consumerism/progressive individualism 237–8; ‘consumer revolution’ 22; consumer society see consumer society; ‘consumerization’ of public services 548; consumers as 1930s’ point of reference 285; consuming as spiritual 386–7; critiques of 5, 7, 109, 227, 304, 677; culture of see consumer culture; debt and reckless/excessive ‘consumerism’ 406–7, 428, 431; domestic technologies and the escalator of 258; ethical 128, 155–7, 565–80 see also fair trade; fair-trade products as ‘mere consumerism’ 565; family-oriented consumerism adopted by conservatives 324; Gandhi’s anti-consumerism 296–8; hollowing effect of 109; inbuilt obsolescence as engine of 258; and instant gratification see instant gratification; John Paul II’s attack on 606; as a life stage 281; and the Nazis 290–92; and obsession with economic growth 677; as one package with democracy and capitalism 273; Red 294; as totalitarianism 5, 7; transatlantic debate over destructive effects of 302; working class culture, Labour party and private consumerism 343–4 consumers’/buyers’ leagues 155, 156, 183, 184, 185, 287, 559; shoppers’ leagues 275, 549–50 Consumers’ League, New York 156 Consumer’s Research (CR) 287 Consumers Union 276 consumption: and acquisition 4; adaptability of 680–81; African consumption and empire 124–36; as agent of change 9; aggression abroad and underconsumption at home 158; alienation through 230; Asian rise in 355–99; authoritarian use of consumption in China 386–7, 394, 397; boom of 1950s and ’60s 10, 12, 317, 325, 338, 344, 359, 411, 415–16, 435, 540, 541, 554, 603, 659; as capitalist subliminal weapon of domination 321; the child consumer 216, 217, 484–94 see also children; Chinese 51, 355, 359–60, 368–70, 371, 372–3, 394–8, 681; and choice 9, 216, 273, 289, 372, 390, 522, 688–90; and Christianity see Christian religion and Church; and the city 93–4, 174–221 see also cities and urban life; as a civic project 278, 300; and civil society 87, 109, 356–7, 390, 393; coffee, annual consumption 81, 91; collective consumption in company towns 524–8; as a collective endeavour 278; conscientious 552; conspicuous see conspicuous consumption; control for colonial subjects 121; corporate-led see company services, and corporate-led consumption; as creator of value 3, 151, 233; on credit see credit; cultural consumption with public support 546–7; culture of see consumer culture; current levels of household consumption 687; and debt see debt; defended as source of wealth 54; as a defining feature of our lives 1; and desire for things 96–7, 98, 99, 100–101, 102, 154, 285, 340 see also desire for things; discovery of the consumer 129, 146–60; domestic consumer revolution and home as place of 222–71; domestic technologies and the escalator of 258; eating see eating; economists’ approach to 119, 147–54; effect of rise of commerce on 24; and efficiency 672–5 see also efficiency; the elderly consumer 429–30, 498–519 see also elderly people; of energy 325, 672–3, 674; and the Enlightement 95–110; equality and emulative consumption 438; in era of high imperialism (1870s–1890s) 146–7; ethics see ethics; familyoriented consumerism and 260, 324, 340–41, 382–3; framing of 11–12; and freedom 289, 325, 419–20; gas 176, 180–82; generational see generations; geopolitical approach to global consumption and the imperium of things 119–73; as the glue between generations 520–21; and habit 234; ‘hidden’ 539; and ICT 686, 687; and identity see identity; ideologies and the harnessing of 273–337; and inauthenticity 135, 138; Indian 355, 357, 365–7, 379–82, 390; as indicator of national power 153; and individualism 9 see also individualism/individualization; inequality and over-consumption 434–5; as integral part of social system 324; inter-war 273–4, 278–300; interplay of flow of goods, imperial power and 120; Japanese 355, 359, 362–3, 364–5, 371, 372, 383–4; and the joy of longing 290; and leisure 228, 456–73; liberal champions of 5, 102, 117; and man’s enslavement of woman (Veblen) 228; markets see markets; Marxist critique 112–13; mass see mass consumption; Mill on 151; missionaries and the demotion of the consumer 134; monopolized by husbands 43; and multi-tasking 471, 689; and national/historical economics 116, 153, 154; as nationalist piston of growth 364; under the Nazis 11, 289–92; as neo-liberal story of choice and markets 273, 403, 522; OECD domestic material consumption in 2010 683; outside the marketplace 522–61; overeating 106–7, 339; as part of labour exchange 59–60; pendulum of 78–118, 678; pleasures of see pleasures of consumption; and politeness 30, 107–8; politics of see consumer politics; private 13, 177, 253, 326, 331, 372, 429, 456, 538–42, 544, 548, 681; private affluence helped by public consumption 373; progressive/social democrat critics of 5; public see public consumption; as public policy 121; and religion see religion; reproductive/technical 153; responsible 442, 682 see also sustainability; and the retail trade see department stores; retail trade; shopkeepers; shopping; shops; supermarkets; rising levels of 1, 13, 14, 105, 146–7; rival bourgeois and youth culture styles of 311; Roscher on 116; save and spend model 362–4; seesaw effect of imperialism 135; and selfishness 102, 156, 397, 403; sensitivity of clothing as article of 67; separation from production 246; shaped by and shaping the nation 116; shift in meaning of word 54; in slave-holding societies 123; Smith on 3, 54, 100, 102–3, 151; social benefits of 102–3, 106–10, 118, 155–6; as a social cement 347–8; and social identities in African cities 347; and social motivation for feeling superior 13; and socialism 276–7, 295, 326–37; and the society of abundance 153–4; sociologists’ approach to 119; as ‘sole end of production’ 3, 54, 100, 151; and solidarity 155–6; specialization fuelling 24, 46; spread of consumer goods from 1950s to 1980s in Europe and USSR 301; and the stain of empire 357; state as promoter and shaper of 12, 13, 286–96, 371, 536–48 see also social spending; state response to consumers 548–61; and status 13–14 see also status and social positioning; studies 16; as subject of public debate 4–5; subordination to production 11, 41; sugar, annual consumption 91; sumptuary laws see sumptuary laws; and Sundays see Sundays; and sustainability see sustainability; taxes see taxation; tea, annual consumption 81; technologies 248 see also domestic appliances and technologies; the teenage consumer 312, 494–8 see also youth and teenagers; as a term 2–3; threat to wealth and well-being 403; and time poverty 403, 443, 460; and totalitarianism 11, 289–96; and trade 23–8 see also trade; transatlantic see transatlantic consumption and trade; transformation of home into ‘consumption junction’ 180, 674; under-consumption 158, 286, 303; united with production in the home 269, 270; variables in 91; vicarious 228; ‘virtuous’ 363; water 176, 177–80, 184, 185–9, 187; as a women’s role 81, 110 contraband goods see smuggling convenience 4, 15, 73, 97, 115–16, 118, 126, 186, 262, 295, 334, 527, 687; and American homes 240; of credit see credit; culture of 636; of domestic appliances see domestic appliances and technologies; food 357, 493, 531, 544, 588, 622; the home as generator of 375; ‘innocent’ conveniencies 363; ‘little conveniences’ 102; and ‘rational’ consumption 362; Schaffendes Volk exhibition of modern conveniences 291–2; of the supermarket see supermarkets; vending machines 278, 370, 528 cookers 235, 302; electric 240, 248, 249, 253, 364–5, 554; gas 178, 248, 554, 589; microwave 14, 260, 588; pressure 365; rice 364–5 cooking 4, 94, 119, 250, 259, 269, 601; demonstrations 275; with gas 176, 248, 527 see also cookers: gas; and gender 257, 332, 375, 448, 481; in Japan 257; lessons 206, 255, 457, 527; local food 588; meat 252; and migrant food cultures 596–7, 599, 601; skills 650; time spent on 375, 448, 463, 472 Coolidge, Calvin 287 Copenhagen 219, 580 copper 161, 203, 664, 669; utensils 88, 596; waste 623, 635, 652, 653 corn 27 Corneille, Pierre: La Galerie du palais 192 Cornwall 61, 590 corporate-led consumption see company services, and corporate-led consumption Corrigan, Michael 608 corruption 35–6, 51, 97, 100; through commercial leisure 216; corrupting lust for luxury 677; of innocent girls 199 Corvin’s, Budapest 193 Cosimo III de’ Medici 84 cosmetics 360, 684; perfume see perfume Costa Rica 579 cotton 26, 44, 45, 64–7, 68, 70, 678; British cotton industry 66, 77, 170; calico 65, 77, 124; Chinese 44, 46; chintzes 64–5, 67, 74, 124, 145, 252; fair-trade 563; as first global mass consumer good 64; Indian 4, 10, 23, 24, 60, 64–7; muslin 65, 67, 139, 193, 195; printed 23, 24, 64–5, 66, 68; printing techniques 66; raw 140 couchsurfing 682 council/public housing 243, 553–5, 681 counter-culture 314–15, 323, 577 courtesy literature, Renaissance 108 courts 28, 40, 43, 68, 69, 79, 84, 86, 139, 174 Cowan, Ruth Schwartz 258–9 Cowperthwaite & Sons 410 Crakanthorp, John 407 creativity 235, 469; and advertising 315; and choice 503–4; in complaining 558–9; creative arts 465, 496 see also music; creative play 456, 473; creative spirit 326; and the elderly 514, 515; and ‘experience’ goods 321; and leisure 456, 472, 507; and pleasure 321; versus popular music 266; spontaneity, irony and 321; versus standarization 225; and Yugioh 492 credit 2, 12, 405–33, 439–40 see also debt; in America 302, 409, 410–12, 414, 415, 423–4, 426, 428–9, 430, 433; and bancarisation of the people 423; bingeing 406, 424, 434; in Britain 409, 410, 412, 414, 415, 416, 423, 424, 426, 429, 430, 431; in Canada 540; cards 9, 325, 371, 423–4, 428, 429, 485, 522, 679–80; ‘cashing out’ on the home 427–8; and children 485, 491; and choice 413; and citizenship 411, 412–13; and consumer capitalism 409; and the cult of novelty and luxury 405; cultures 410; democracy of debt and 409–17, 424, 432; in Denmark 425; departments, and customer control 317; differences within societies 430; East Germany and Western credits 335; in France 414, 416; in Germany 409, 410, 414, 415–16, 433, 679–80; and global imbalance 426; going for broke 428–33 see also bankruptcy; holidays on 414; home-equity loans 427, 428–9; imbalances behind world recession 426; instalment credit/hire purchase 114, 302, 308, 328, 342, 406, 409, 410–11, 413, 414, 415, 431, 440; interest rates 432; in Italy 409, 414, 424; in Japan 371–2, 424; liberalization 419–20; low income with high credit rates 432; and mail order 416–17; mass credit 412; and morality 405–7; mortgages see mortgages; in the Netherlands 424, 425; networks 410, 416; normality before the credit card 407; orienting consumers to ownership 440; poverty and credit failure 432; ratings 410; rationing 416, 423–4; and recession 426; repayments 412, 430, 433; revolving 423–4, 427; saving, spending and 417–28; schemes 411; sharks 361, 367, 412, 440; social loans 433; and social reformers 411–12; stamp money 408; and students 407, 429; and tax rebates 371; unsecured consumer credit 409, 420, 425, 429–30; use in stores 201; wants fuelled by easy credit 362; and women 201, 406, 407–8 Crédit Lyonnais 416 Creoles 130 crime 305 see also riots; arson 300, 321–2 Crimean War 638 Croatia 644 Croos, N.


pages: 315 words: 99,065

The Virgin Way: Everything I Know About Leadership by Richard Branson

barriers to entry, Boeing 747, call centre, carbon footprint, Celtic Tiger, clean water, collective bargaining, Costa Concordia, do what you love, Donald Trump, Elon Musk, flag carrier, friendly fire, glass ceiling, illegal immigration, index card, inflight wifi, Lao Tzu, legacy carrier, low cost airline, M-Pesa, Mahatma Gandhi, Mark Zuckerberg, Nelson Mandela, Northern Rock, profit motive, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Ronald Reagan, shareholder value, Sheryl Sandberg, Silicon Valley, stem cell, Steve Jobs, Tesla Model S, Tony Fadell, trade route, vertical integration, Virgin Galactic, work culture , zero-sum game

The kind of a calamity of an organisation we inherited from British Rail is illustrated by the story of how their train drivers once threatened to go on strike over management demands that they improve their abysmal on-time performance – and maybe even have a train leave on time once in a while! The union representing the drivers argued there was nothing in their collective bargaining agreement that specified their members had to own watches and so inferred that as a result they could not be held responsible for on-time departures. I think it was Timex that was the beneficiary of a very large order for ‘Property of BR’ inscribed watches. Hard to believe, I know, but that was the prevalent kind of employee ‘no can do’ attitude that we inherited.


Rogue State: A Guide to the World's Only Superpower by William Blum

anti-communist, AOL-Time Warner, Ayatollah Khomeini, Berlin Wall, British Empire, collective bargaining, Columbine, disinformation, experimental subject, Fall of the Berlin Wall, it's over 9,000, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Joseph Schumpeter, land reform, military-industrial complex, Monroe Doctrine, Nelson Mandela, Oklahoma City bombing, profit motive, Ronald Reagan, Seymour Hersh, Timothy McVeigh, union organizing

In a multitude of ways, NED meddles in the internal affairs of foreign countries by supplying funds, technical know-how, training, educational materials, computers, fax machines, copiers, automobiles and so on, to selected political groups, civic organizations, labor unions, dissident movements, student groups, book publishers, newspapers, other media, etc. NED programs generally impart the basic philosophy that working people and other citizens are best served under a system of free enterprise, class cooperation, collective bargaining, minimal government intervention in the economy and opposition to socialism in any shape or form. A free-market economy is equated with democracy, reform and growth, and the merits of foreign investment are emphasized. From 1994 to 1996, NED awarded 15 grants, totaling more than $2,500,000, to the American Institute for Free Labor Development, an organization used by the CIA for decades to subvert progressive labor unions.2 AIFLD's work within Third World unions typically involved a considerable educational effort very similar to the basic NED philosophy described above.


pages: 357 words: 94,852

No Is Not Enough: Resisting Trump’s Shock Politics and Winning the World We Need by Naomi Klein

"Hurricane Katrina" Superdome, "World Economic Forum" Davos, Airbnb, antiwork, basic income, battle of ideas, Berlin Wall, Bernie Sanders, Black Lives Matter, Brewster Kahle, carbon tax, Carl Icahn, Celebration, Florida, clean water, collective bargaining, Corrections Corporation of America, data science, desegregation, Donald Trump, drone strike, Edward Snowden, Elon Musk, end-to-end encryption, energy transition, extractivism, fake news, financial deregulation, gentrification, Global Witness, greed is good, green transition, high net worth, high-speed rail, Howard Zinn, illegal immigration, impact investing, income inequality, Internet Archive, Kickstarter, late capitalism, Mark Zuckerberg, market bubble, market fundamentalism, mass incarceration, megaproject, Mikhail Gorbachev, military-industrial complex, moral panic, Naomi Klein, Nate Silver, new economy, Occupy movement, ocean acidification, offshore financial centre, oil shale / tar sands, open borders, Paris climate accords, Patri Friedman, Peter Thiel, plutocrats, private military company, profit motive, race to the bottom, Ralph Nader, Ronald Reagan, Saturday Night Live, sexual politics, sharing economy, Silicon Valley, Steve Bannon, subprime mortgage crisis, tech billionaire, too big to fail, trade liberalization, transatlantic slave trade, Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, trickle-down economics, Upton Sinclair, urban decay, W. E. B. Du Bois, women in the workforce, working poor

In the midst of a moment being sold to the public as economic Armageddon, Betsy DeVos might even have a shot at realizing her dream of replacing public schools with a system based on vouchers and charters. Trump’s gang has a long wish list of policies that do not lend themselves to normal times. In the early days of the new administration, for instance, Mike Pence met with Wisconsin governor Scott Walker to hear how the governor had managed to strip public sector unions of their right to collective bargaining in 2011. (Hint: he used the cover of the state’s fiscal crisis, prompting New York Times columnist Paul Krugman to declare that in Wisconsin “the shock doctrine is on full display.”) The picture is clear. We will very likely not see this administration’s full economic barbarism in the first year.


Rogue States by Noam Chomsky

"there is no alternative" (TINA), Alan Greenspan, anti-communist, Asian financial crisis, Berlin Wall, Branko Milanovic, Bretton Woods, business cycle, capital controls, classic study, collective bargaining, colonial rule, creative destruction, cuban missile crisis, declining real wages, deskilling, digital capitalism, Edward Snowden, experimental subject, Fall of the Berlin Wall, floating exchange rates, land reform, liberation theology, Mahbub ul Haq, Mikhail Gorbachev, Monroe Doctrine, new economy, Nixon triggered the end of the Bretton Woods system, no-fly zone, oil shock, precautionary principle, public intellectual, RAND corporation, Silicon Valley, strikebreaker, structural adjustment programs, Tobin tax, union organizing, Washington Consensus

By the time the Reaganites had completed their work, the US was far enough off the spectrum so that the International Labor Organization, which rarely criticizes the powerful, issued a recommendation that the US conform to international standards, in response to an AFL-CIO complaint about strikebreaking by resort to “permanent replacement workers.”46 Apart from South Africa, no other industrial country tolerated these methods to ensure that Article 23 remains empty words; and with subsequent developments in South Africa, the US may stand in splendid isolation in this particular respect, though it has yet to achieve British standards, such as allowing employers to use selective pay increases to induce workers to reject union and collective bargaining rights.47 Reviewing some of the mechanisms used to render Article 23 inoperative, Business Week reported that from the early Reagan years, “US industry has conducted one of the most successful anti-union wars ever, illegally firing thousands of workers for exercising their rights to organize.”


pages: 389 words: 98,487

The Undercover Economist: Exposing Why the Rich Are Rich, the Poor Are Poor, and Why You Can Never Buy a Decent Used Car by Tim Harford

Alan Greenspan, Albert Einstein, barriers to entry, Berlin Wall, business cycle, collective bargaining, congestion charging, Corn Laws, David Ricardo: comparative advantage, decarbonisation, Deng Xiaoping, Fall of the Berlin Wall, George Akerlof, Great Leap Forward, household responsibility system, information asymmetry, invention of movable type, John Nash: game theory, John von Neumann, Kenneth Arrow, Kickstarter, market design, Martin Wolf, moral hazard, new economy, Pearl River Delta, price discrimination, Productivity paradox, race to the bottom, random walk, rent-seeking, Robert Gordon, Robert Shiller, Ronald Reagan, sealed-bid auction, second-price auction, second-price sealed-bid, Shenzhen special economic zone , Shenzhen was a fishing village, special economic zone, spectrum auction, The Market for Lemons, Thomas Malthus, trade liberalization, Vickrey auction

See also competition Bruges, Belgium, 201 in China, 252 Bulow, Jeremy, 167 impact on free markets, 135 bureaucracy, 188 medical savings accounts, 132–33 and prices, 63, 64, 70 cabs, 179 and responsibility, 131–32 Cafédirect, 33 “revealed preference,” 94 Camelback houses, 96 and scarcity, 17 Cameroon Christies, 164 climate, 190 civil service, 194–95 corruption, 178, 182–86, 186–89, climate change, 220 189–93 Coca-Cola, 117 described, 177–79 cocktail bars, 52 • 264 • I N D E X coffee in China, 233 and commuters, 5–8 impact on development, 197–200 fair trade coffee, 33, 42, 229, 254n. and institutions, 189, 190–93 and free markets, 228–29 and taxation, 185, 187–88 prices, 6–8, 12–13, 31–35, 38, 39– Cosi, 6, 7, 13 40 Costa Coffee, 31–34, 39, 42 and rents, 8–11, 12–13, 31–35 coupons, 36 and scarcity, 31–35 Crescent, 171 collective bargaining, 25 crime, 23–25 collectives, 236 Cuba, 226 collusion, 16, 160–65 Cultural Revolution, 232, 239 command economies, 235 currency exchange, 207 Common Agricultural Policy, 217, 218 cynicism, 155 compact discs (CDs), 53 Czech Republic, 121 comparative advantage, 201–11, 225, 236 dams, 193–97 competition deductibles, 119, 124 among professionals, 26–27 demand, 26 avoiding, 160 democracy, 199, 226 and comparative advantage, 201– Deng Xiaoping, 235, 237, 240, 242 11, 225, 236 development entry into marketplaces, 21 capital investments, 237–41 and free markets, 78 in China, 180–81, 231–32, 233, international, 26, 203 237–41, 249–52 preventing, 23–25 and foreign direct investment, and prices, 68 212–13, 214, 215–16, 246, 247 and production choices, 66 impact of corruption, 197–200 and profitability, 24 and institutions, 189 and rents, 15, 21–23 irrigation projects, 193–97 and starting positions, 73 and poverty, 193–97, 197–200, sustainable competitive advantage, 228–30 19 dictatorships, 182–86, 187 UK spectrum auction, 169 digital media, 53 complexity of economic systems, 2, diminishing returns, 180 10, 14, 65, 66 discounts, 36, 56 computer industry, 51–52, 80 disease, 53–54, 58, 251.


pages: 537 words: 99,778

Dreaming in Public: Building the Occupy Movement by Amy Lang, Daniel Lang/levitsky

activist lawyer, Bay Area Rapid Transit, bonus culture, British Empire, capitalist realism, clean water, cognitive dissonance, collective bargaining, corporate governance, corporate personhood, crowdsourcing, David Graeber, deindustrialization, different worldview, facts on the ground, gentrification, glass ceiling, housing crisis, housing justice, Kibera, late capitalism, lolcat, mass incarceration, military-industrial complex, Naomi Klein, Nelson Mandela, Occupy movement, oil shale / tar sands, out of africa, plutocrats, Port of Oakland, Rosa Parks, Saturday Night Live, Slavoj Žižek, social contagion, structural adjustment programs, the medium is the message, too big to fail, trade liberalization, union organizing, upwardly mobile, urban renewal, War on Poverty, We are Anonymous. We are Legion, We are the 99%, white flight, working poor

Encampments and occupations are common in Mexico and comrades joke about the lack of space to put up more encampments. But this isn’t by chance and was won through struggle. One recent example: in 2006, in the state of Oaxaca, the local teachers’ union set up an encampment in the center of Oaxaca City during their annual collective bargaining. One morning, on 14 June, the state police tried to take down the camp of the teachers and the city rose up, they not only retook the plaza but kicked the police out of the city. The Commune of Oaxaca was born on this day and the following six months transformed Oaxaca and the participants in the uprising.


pages: 296 words: 98,018

Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World by Anand Giridharadas

"Friedman doctrine" OR "shareholder theory", "World Economic Forum" Davos, activist lawyer, affirmative action, Airbnb, benefit corporation, Bernie Sanders, bitcoin, Black Lives Matter, Boeing 747, Brexit referendum, Burning Man, Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty, carried interest, cognitive dissonance, collective bargaining, corporate raider, corporate social responsibility, critical race theory, crowdsourcing, David Brooks, David Heinemeier Hansson, deindustrialization, disintermediation, do well by doing good, Donald Trump, Edward Snowden, Elon Musk, fake it until you make it, fake news, food desert, friendly fire, gentrification, global pandemic, high net worth, hiring and firing, housing crisis, Hyperloop, impact investing, income inequality, independent contractor, invisible hand, Jeff Bezos, Kevin Roose, Kibera, Kickstarter, land reform, Larry Ellison, Lyft, Marc Andreessen, Mark Zuckerberg, microaggression, new economy, Occupy movement, offshore financial centre, opioid epidemic / opioid crisis, Panopticon Jeremy Bentham, Parag Khanna, Paul Graham, Peter Thiel, plutocrats, profit maximization, public intellectual, risk tolerance, rolodex, Ronald Reagan, shareholder value, sharing economy, Sheryl Sandberg, side hustle, side project, Silicon Valley, Silicon Valley billionaire, Silicon Valley startup, Skype, social distancing, Social Responsibility of Business Is to Increase Its Profits, Steven Pinker, systems thinking, tech baron, TechCrunch disrupt, technoutopianism, TED Talk, The Chicago School, The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid, the High Line, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, Thomas L Friedman, too big to fail, Travis Kalanick, trickle-down economics, Two Sigma, Uber and Lyft, uber lyft, Upton Sinclair, Vilfredo Pareto, Virgin Galactic, work culture , working poor, zero-sum game

Pursuing workarounds of our troubled democracy makes democracy even more troubled. We must ask ourselves why we have so easily lost faith in the engines of progress that got us where we are today—in the democratic efforts to outlaw slavery, end child labor, limit the workday, keep drugs safe, protect collective bargaining, create public schools, battle the Great Depression, electrify rural America, weave a nation together by road, pursue a Great Society free of poverty, extend civil and political rights to women and African Americans and other minorities, and give our fellow citizens health, security, and dignity in old age.


pages: 371 words: 101,792

Skygods: The Fall of Pan Am by Robert Gandt

airline deregulation, Ayatollah Khomeini, Berlin Wall, Boeing 747, Carl Icahn, Charles Lindbergh, collective bargaining, flag carrier, hiring and firing, invisible hand, Maui Hawaii, RAND corporation, revenue passenger mile, Tenerife airport disaster, yield management, Yogi Berra, Yom Kippur War

There were no gut-burning, Bastille-storming, banner-waving issues at stake. The pilots were on strike because they were union members and that’s what the union had declared. The check pilots were flying because they worked for management and that’s what management had declared. Both sides were doing their jobs in the collective bargaining process. But it was more complicated than that. A note appeared in Rob Martinside’s mailbox: I presume that by now you have seen the light and resigned your check pilot position. If not, consider our friendship ended. It was signed by a friend from his new-hire class. Another friend called up to say he thought Martinside was a gutless traitor.


pages: 241 words: 90,538

Unequal Britain: Equalities in Britain Since 1945 by Pat Thane

Ayatollah Khomeini, British Empire, call centre, collective bargaining, equal pay for equal work, full employment, gender pay gap, longitudinal study, mass immigration, moral panic, Neil Kinnock, old-boy network, pensions crisis, Russell Brand, sexual politics, Stephen Fry, Stephen Hawking, unpaid internship, women in the workforce

A ruling in 1983 judged unlawful the exemption from the Equal Treatment Directive of employees in private households, businesses with fewer than five employees and partnerships with fewer than five partners. This resulted in a new Sex Discrimination Act in 1986, which outlawed discrimination in collective bargaining agreements and extended anti-discrimination law to small businesses.41 The appointment in 1989 of Valerie Amos, a Black woman, as chief executive (until 1994) helped to boost the EOC’s credibility on race issues and also to cement stronger links with the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE).


pages: 309 words: 100,573

Cockpit Confidential: Everything You Need to Know About Air Travel: Questions, Answers, and Reflections by Patrick Smith

Airbus A320, airline deregulation, airport security, Atul Gawande, Boeing 747, call centre, Captain Sullenberger Hudson, collective bargaining, crew resource management, D. B. Cooper, high-speed rail, inflight wifi, Korean Air Lines Flight 007, legacy carrier, low cost airline, Maui Hawaii, Mercator projection, military-industrial complex, Neil Armstrong, New Urbanism, pattern recognition, race to the bottom, Skype, Tenerife airport disaster, US Airways Flight 1549, zero-sum game

That’s a tough one to answer, and it sets up a trap. Does a baseball player deserve $10 million a year? Or, turning it around, does a teacher or a social worker deserve $24,000? That’s making a moral judgment on a market-determined product. Pilots aren’t paid what they’re worth; they’re paid what they can get, through negotiation and collective bargaining. But, just for fun, pretend you’re traveling from New York to San Francisco on an airline whose pilots are compensated by voluntary passenger donations. A cup is passed around at the conclusion of each flight. How much is safe transport across the continent worth to you? How much would you put in the cup?


pages: 357 words: 99,684

Why It's Still Kicking Off Everywhere: The New Global Revolutions by Paul Mason

anti-globalists, back-to-the-land, balance sheet recession, bank run, banking crisis, Berlin Wall, business cycle, capital controls, capitalist realism, centre right, Chekhov's gun, citizen journalism, collapse of Lehman Brothers, collective bargaining, creative destruction, credit crunch, Credit Default Swap, currency manipulation / currency intervention, currency peg, disinformation, do-ocracy, eurozone crisis, Fall of the Berlin Wall, floating exchange rates, foreign exchange controls, Francis Fukuyama: the end of history, full employment, ghettoisation, illegal immigration, informal economy, land tenure, Leo Hollis, low skilled workers, mass immigration, means of production, megacity, Mohammed Bouazizi, Naomi Klein, Network effects, New Journalism, Occupy movement, price stability, quantitative easing, race to the bottom, rising living standards, short selling, Slavoj Žižek, Stewart Brand, strikebreaker, union organizing, We are the 99%, Whole Earth Catalog, WikiLeaks, Winter of Discontent, women in the workforce, working poor, working-age population, young professional

The danger is not that civil conflict breaks out because of one egregious rant by Glenn Beck or Al Sharpton—but that at a certain point the apparatus of government becomes paralyzed, as it was in August 2011, and the mechanisms for resolving conflict break down. Tahrir comes to America It is in this context that we have to consider the Madison, Wisconsin revolt, which began on 14 February 2011. Madison was sparked when Republican Governor Scott Walker attacked public sector workers’ collective bargaining rights and pensions. As tens of thousands of teachers, firefighters and students protested outside the state capitol, four days after the fall of Mubarak, Lin Weeks (@weeks89) tweeted: ‘Weirdly high number of signs ref’ing egypt. And now chanting: “From Egypt/ to Wisconsin/ power to the people”.’10 The demonstrations continued on successive days, swelling from 30,000 to 75,000 protesters in the first week and becoming a national media spectacle.


Corbyn by Richard Seymour

anti-communist, banking crisis, battle of ideas, Bernie Sanders, Boris Johnson, Brexit referendum, British Empire, call centre, capital controls, capitalist realism, centre right, collective bargaining, credit crunch, Donald Trump, eurozone crisis, fake news, first-past-the-post, full employment, gender pay gap, gentrification, housing crisis, income inequality, Jeremy Corbyn, knowledge economy, land value tax, liberal world order, mass immigration, means of production, moral panic, Naomi Klein, negative equity, Neil Kinnock, new economy, non-tariff barriers, Northern Rock, Occupy movement, offshore financial centre, pension reform, Philip Mirowski, post-war consensus, precariat, quantitative easing, race to the bottom, rent control, Snapchat, stakhanovite, systematic bias, Washington Consensus, wealth creators, Winter of Discontent, Wolfgang Streeck, working-age population, éminence grise

This shift in statecraft was driven, in part, by the more far-sighted elements of the civil service, who placed liberal reformers in key state apparatuses.27 The scarcity of labour during the war had raised the political power and bargaining leverage of organised labour, and encouraged the government to use collective bargaining to manage ongoing struggles over wages.28 In addition, the precarious state of British capitalism, like that of many of its European competitors, was such that a radical government had a unique window of opportunity to reform the system before the usual business opponents of such reforms had a chance to become sufficiently organised.


pages: 350 words: 110,764

The Problem With Work: Feminism, Marxism, Antiwork Politics, and Postwork Imaginaries by Kathi Weeks

antiwork, basic income, call centre, cognitive dissonance, collective bargaining, conceptual framework, deskilling, feminist movement, financial independence, Ford paid five dollars a day, Francis Fukuyama: the end of history, glass ceiling, Kim Stanley Robinson, late capitalism, low-wage service sector, means of production, Meghnad Desai, moral panic, new economy, New Urbanism, occupational segregation, pink-collar, post-Fordism, post-work, postindustrial economy, profit maximization, Shoshana Zuboff, social intelligence, two tier labour market, union organizing, universal basic income, W. E. B. Du Bois, wages for housework, women in the workforce, work culture , zero-sum game

In the absence of a worker’s party, and with the fickle and sometimes conflicting class alignments within and between the two major parties, electoral politics has rarely served as an adequate vehicle for work-centered activism. The power of union-based politics has also been curtailed by the sharp decline of union membership in the period since the Second World War. Many activists today seem to assume that, besides party-line voting and institutionalized collective bargaining, our best chance for exerting collective power lies in our purchasing power. Ethical buying and the consumer boycott as ways to effect corporate decision making thus rise to the forefront of the political-economic imaginary. Of course, the logic that informs these models of consumer politics is the same one that enables corporations to make the case that low prices for ever more worthy consumer goods is an adequate trade-off for low wages, outsourcing, union busting, and government make-work programs.


pages: 378 words: 110,518

Postcapitalism: A Guide to Our Future by Paul Mason

air traffic controllers' union, Alan Greenspan, Alfred Russel Wallace, bank run, banking crisis, banks create money, Basel III, basic income, Bernie Madoff, Bill Gates: Altair 8800, bitcoin, Bletchley Park, Branko Milanovic, Bretton Woods, BRICs, British Empire, business cycle, business process, butterfly effect, call centre, capital controls, carbon tax, Cesare Marchetti: Marchetti’s constant, Claude Shannon: information theory, collaborative economy, collective bargaining, commons-based peer production, Corn Laws, corporate social responsibility, creative destruction, credit crunch, currency manipulation / currency intervention, currency peg, David Graeber, deglobalization, deindustrialization, deskilling, discovery of the americas, disinformation, Downton Abbey, drone strike, en.wikipedia.org, energy security, eurozone crisis, factory automation, false flag, financial engineering, financial repression, Firefox, Fractional reserve banking, Frederick Winslow Taylor, fulfillment center, full employment, future of work, game design, Glass-Steagall Act, green new deal, guns versus butter model, Herbert Marcuse, income inequality, inflation targeting, informal economy, information asymmetry, intangible asset, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Internet of things, job automation, John Maynard Keynes: Economic Possibilities for our Grandchildren, John Perry Barlow, Joseph Schumpeter, Kenneth Arrow, Kevin Kelly, Kickstarter, knowledge economy, knowledge worker, late capitalism, low interest rates, low skilled workers, market clearing, means of production, Metcalfe's law, microservices, middle-income trap, Money creation, money: store of value / unit of account / medium of exchange, mortgage debt, Network effects, new economy, Nixon triggered the end of the Bretton Woods system, Norbert Wiener, Occupy movement, oil shale / tar sands, oil shock, Paul Samuelson, payday loans, Pearl River Delta, post-industrial society, power law, precariat, precautionary principle, price mechanism, profit motive, quantitative easing, race to the bottom, RAND corporation, rent-seeking, reserve currency, RFID, Richard Stallman, Robert Gordon, Robert Metcalfe, scientific management, secular stagnation, sharing economy, Stewart Brand, structural adjustment programs, supply-chain management, technological determinism, The Future of Employment, the scientific method, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, Transnistria, Twitter Arab Spring, union organizing, universal basic income, urban decay, urban planning, vertical integration, Vilfredo Pareto, wages for housework, WikiLeaks, women in the workforce, Yochai Benkler

Neoliberalism was designed and implemented by visionary politicians: Pinochet in Chile; Thatcher and her ultra-conservative circle in Britain; Reagan and the Cold Warriors who brought him to power. They’d faced massive resistance from organized labour and they’d had enough. In response, these pioneers of neoliberalism drew a conclusion that has shaped our age: that a modern economy cannot coexist with an organized working class. Consequently, they resolved to smash labour’s collective bargaining power, traditions and social cohesion completely. Unions had come under attack before – but always from paternalist politicians who had proffered the lesser of two evils: in place of militancy, they’d encouraged a ‘good’ workforce, defined by moderate socialism, unions run by agents of the state.


pages: 267 words: 106,340

Europe old and new: transnationalism, belonging, xenophobia by Ray Taras

affirmative action, anti-communist, Ayatollah Khomeini, Berlin Wall, British Empire, carbon footprint, centre right, collective bargaining, Danilo Kiš, energy security, full employment, Gunnar Myrdal, illegal immigration, immigration reform, Kickstarter, low skilled workers, mass immigration, Mikhail Gorbachev, military-industrial complex, Naomi Klein, North Sea oil, open economy, postnationalism / post nation state, Potemkin village, public intellectual, Ronald Reagan, World Values Survey

Such legal action begins in member states’ courts but goes to the ECJ if a point of law needs clarification With the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty, the Charter of Fundamental Rights referred to by the Nice agreement acquires a legal quality. In theory, any European law contrary to the values and objectives identified by the charter can now be declared null and void by the European Court of Justice. For example, the Court may force a rewriting of national laws regarding social and economic policy such as strikes, collective bargaining, and working hours. The Lisbon agreement added new social objectives to the charter, including full employment, eradication of poverty, and rights preventing social exclusion and discrimination. Two countries refused to sign the Charter of Fundamental Rights. Britain cited concerns over its ability to control social and economic policy and Poland was suspicious that its Catholicinspired moral and family policies would be open to challenge.


pages: 375 words: 109,675

Railways & the Raj: How the Age of Steam Transformed India by Christian Wolmar

Beeching cuts, British Empire, collective bargaining, colonial rule, James Dyson, John Snow's cholera map, joint-stock company, Khyber Pass, Kickstarter, low cost airline, Mahatma Gandhi, Meghnad Desai, Ponzi scheme, railway mania, strikebreaker, Suez canal 1869, trade route, women in the workforce

The railways retained many petty rules and regulations, which frequently led to arbitrary fines being imposed, and there were numerous other disciplinary measures that demeaned the Indian workforce. The unions were strongest in the 145 major workshops dotted across India, but firemen, who were virtually all Indian, were also well-organized. Collective bargaining, almost unknown before the war, began to be the norm and in 1929 the government reluctantly recognized the All India Railwaymen’s Federation, setting up regular meetings with the union representatives. There was the added radicalizing effect of the nationalist movement, which stimulated further discontent.


pages: 351 words: 108,068

The Man Who Was Saturday by Patrick Bishop

airport security, Alistair Cooke, anti-communist, British Empire, collective bargaining, Etonian, pre–internet, Suez crisis 1956, Winter of Discontent

The central political drama was the struggle by the Heath government to reach a working relationship with the trade unions, who imposed themselves economically, politically and psychologically on the nation in a way they can only dream of doing now. By 1973, the Heath government had reversed the policy on which it had come to power three years before of setting wage levels through free collective bargaining. After the notorious ‘U-turn’ of 1972, it was now committed to a prices and incomes policy, backed by legislation, which sought to impose order on wage demands in return for slaying the dragon that menaced almost everyone’s life: inflation. Heath sought to achieve stability by inviting the trade unions to participate in shaping government policy.


pages: 440 words: 108,137

The Meritocracy Myth by Stephen J. McNamee

Abraham Maslow, affirmative action, Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, American ideology, antiwork, Bernie Madoff, British Empire, business cycle, classic study, collective bargaining, computer age, conceptual framework, corporate governance, deindustrialization, delayed gratification, demographic transition, desegregation, deskilling, Dr. Strangelove, equal pay for equal work, estate planning, failed state, fixed income, food desert, Gary Kildall, gender pay gap, Gini coefficient, glass ceiling, helicopter parent, income inequality, informal economy, invisible hand, job automation, joint-stock company, junk bonds, labor-force participation, longitudinal study, low-wage service sector, marginal employment, Mark Zuckerberg, meritocracy, Michael Milken, mortgage debt, mortgage tax deduction, new economy, New Urbanism, obamacare, occupational segregation, old-boy network, pink-collar, plutocrats, Ponzi scheme, post-industrial society, prediction markets, profit motive, race to the bottom, random walk, Savings and loan crisis, school choice, Scientific racism, Steve Jobs, The Bell Curve by Richard Herrnstein and Charles Murray, The Spirit Level, the strength of weak ties, The Theory of the Leisure Class by Thorstein Veblen, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, too big to fail, trickle-down economics, upwardly mobile, We are the 99%, white flight, young professional

More recently, unions have increased representation in arenas of the labor force not traditionally highly unionized, such as public workers and service workers. Public-sector workers, for instance, now have a rate of union membership (35.9 percent) more than five times higher than that of private-sector workers (6.6 percent) (Greenhouse 2013). However, it is illegal for most public workers to strike, and the right of public unions even to collectively bargain has been challenged and is an especially contentious issue. Reversing the decline of unions and restoring more balance to management–labor negotiations could potentially help to make the system more equal and more equitable than it is. Another version of strengthening the relative power of workers is to establish more worker owned and controlled businesses.


pages: 519 words: 104,396

Priceless: The Myth of Fair Value (And How to Take Advantage of It) by William Poundstone

availability heuristic, behavioural economics, book value, Cass Sunstein, collective bargaining, Daniel Kahneman / Amos Tversky, delayed gratification, Donald Trump, Dr. Strangelove, East Village, en.wikipedia.org, endowment effect, equal pay for equal work, experimental economics, experimental subject, feminist movement, game design, German hyperinflation, Henri Poincaré, high net worth, index card, invisible hand, John von Neumann, Kenneth Arrow, laissez-faire capitalism, Landlord’s Game, Linda problem, loss aversion, market bubble, McDonald's hot coffee lawsuit, mental accounting, meta-analysis, Nash equilibrium, new economy, no-fly zone, Paul Samuelson, payday loans, Philip Mirowski, Potemkin village, power law, price anchoring, price discrimination, psychological pricing, Ralph Waldo Emerson, RAND corporation, random walk, RFID, Richard Thaler, risk tolerance, Robert Shiller, rolodex, social intelligence, starchitect, Steve Jobs, The Chicago School, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, three-martini lunch, ultimatum game, working poor

The network brass must have hoped that everyone would appreciate that Seinfeld was a special case and that a blue-sky $5 million offer did not set a precedent. Actors at all levels of the TV food chain thought otherwise. Over the next few years, star—and sidekick—salary demands escalated as never before. In 2002, the leads of Friends collectively bargained their way to $1 million per episode. That was $1 million each for the six “friends.” Ray Romano was making $800,000 an episode for Everybody Loves Raymond, and Frasier’s Kelsey Grammer was the leader with $1.6 million an episode. James Gandolfini shut down The Sopranos after he found out he was only making as much money as the housekeeper on Frasier.


pages: 354 words: 26,550

High-Frequency Trading: A Practical Guide to Algorithmic Strategies and Trading Systems by Irene Aldridge

algorithmic trading, asset allocation, asset-backed security, automated trading system, backtesting, Black Swan, Brownian motion, business cycle, business process, buy and hold, capital asset pricing model, centralized clearinghouse, collapse of Lehman Brothers, collateralized debt obligation, collective bargaining, computerized trading, diversification, equity premium, fault tolerance, financial engineering, financial intermediation, fixed income, global macro, high net worth, implied volatility, index arbitrage, information asymmetry, interest rate swap, inventory management, Jim Simons, law of one price, Long Term Capital Management, Louis Bachelier, machine readable, margin call, market friction, market microstructure, martingale, Myron Scholes, New Journalism, p-value, paper trading, performance metric, Performance of Mutual Funds in the Period, pneumatic tube, profit motive, proprietary trading, purchasing power parity, quantitative trading / quantitative finance, random walk, Renaissance Technologies, risk free rate, risk tolerance, risk-adjusted returns, risk/return, Sharpe ratio, short selling, Small Order Execution System, statistical arbitrage, statistical model, stochastic process, stochastic volatility, systematic trading, tail risk, trade route, transaction costs, value at risk, yield curve, zero-sum game

The process repeats until most market participants agree on a range of acceptable prices; the equilibrium price band can then be considered achieved. The process of tâtonnement, therefore, not only incorporates information into prices but also shapes beliefs of market participants through a form of collective bargaining process. The discipline that studies the price formation process is known as market microstructure. Trading on market microstructure is the holy grail R 127 128 HIGH-FREQUENCY TRADING Time (GMT) 7:00:01 6:00:01 5:00:01 4:00:01 3:00:01 1.094 1.0935 1.093 1.0925 1.092 1.0915 1.091 1.0905 1.09 1.0895 1.089 2:00:01 USD/CHF Price Level Price Adjustment Period News release time News Release Time 06:42:20:491 06:38:42:450 06:35:48:931 06:31:40:095 06:27:16:752 06:22:56:927 06:17:57:625 06:14:39:905 06:11:22:955 06:08:00:711 06:05:30:391 05:58:53:276 05:51:56:382 05:45:29:923 05:35:09:464 05:28:12:164 05:14:09:406 05:00:22:013 04:51:44:015 04:44:41:972 04:31:40:802 Bid Ask 04:19:53:737 USD/CHF Price Level Price Adjustment Period 1.095 1.094 1.093 1.092 1.091 1.09 1.089 1.088 1.087 1.086 1.085 Time FIGURE 10.1 USD/CHF price adjustments to Swiss unemployment news, recorded on July 8, 2009 at hourly (top panel) and tick-by-tick (bottom panel) frequencies.


pages: 338 words: 106,936

The Physics of Wall Street: A Brief History of Predicting the Unpredictable by James Owen Weatherall

Alan Greenspan, Albert Einstein, algorithmic trading, Antoine Gombaud: Chevalier de Méré, Apollo 11, Asian financial crisis, bank run, Bear Stearns, beat the dealer, behavioural economics, Benoit Mandelbrot, Black Monday: stock market crash in 1987, Black Swan, Black-Scholes formula, Bonfire of the Vanities, book value, Bretton Woods, Brownian motion, business cycle, butterfly effect, buy and hold, capital asset pricing model, Carmen Reinhart, Claude Shannon: information theory, coastline paradox / Richardson effect, collateralized debt obligation, collective bargaining, currency risk, dark matter, Edward Lorenz: Chaos theory, Edward Thorp, Emanuel Derman, Eugene Fama: efficient market hypothesis, financial engineering, financial innovation, Financial Modelers Manifesto, fixed income, George Akerlof, Gerolamo Cardano, Henri Poincaré, invisible hand, Isaac Newton, iterative process, Jim Simons, John Nash: game theory, junk bonds, Kenneth Rogoff, Long Term Capital Management, Louis Bachelier, mandelbrot fractal, Market Wizards by Jack D. Schwager, martingale, Michael Milken, military-industrial complex, Myron Scholes, Neil Armstrong, new economy, Nixon triggered the end of the Bretton Woods system, Paul Lévy, Paul Samuelson, power law, prediction markets, probability theory / Blaise Pascal / Pierre de Fermat, quantitative trading / quantitative finance, random walk, Renaissance Technologies, risk free rate, risk-adjusted returns, Robert Gordon, Robert Shiller, Ronald Coase, Sharpe ratio, short selling, Silicon Valley, South Sea Bubble, statistical arbitrage, statistical model, stochastic process, Stuart Kauffman, The Chicago School, The Myth of the Rational Market, tulip mania, Vilfredo Pareto, volatility smile

To put these pressure tanks to good use, they needed to figure out how to use them safely — that is, they needed to figure out the conditions under which ruptures would occur. But this seemed an impossible task. The ruptures seemed, quite simply, random. Until Sornette noticed a pattern. Normally, the parts of a pressure tank are more or less independent, like workers in the nineteenth century, before collective bargaining. If you kick a pressure tank, for instance, there might be some vibrations, but these will die off pretty quickly, and even if you manage to put a dent in the part of the tank where your foot made contact (unlikely), you won’t do any damage to the rest of the tank. Likewise, if a small fracture appears under these circumstances, it won’t produce a rupture.


pages: 289 words: 112,697

The new village green: living light, living local, living large by Stephen Morris

Alan Greenspan, An Inconvenient Truth, back-to-the-land, Buckminster Fuller, carbon tax, clean tech, clean water, collective bargaining, Columbine, Community Supported Agriculture, company town, computer age, cuban missile crisis, David Sedaris, deindustrialization, discovery of penicillin, distributed generation, Easter island, energy security, energy transition, Fellow of the Royal Society, financial independence, Firefox, Hacker Conference 1984, index card, Indoor air pollution, intentional community, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), invisible hand, John Elkington, Kevin Kelly, Louis Pasteur, low interest rates, Mahatma Gandhi, mass immigration, McMansion, Menlo Park, messenger bag, Negawatt, off grid, off-the-grid, peak oil, precautionary principle, rolodex, Silicon Valley, Steve Jobs, Stewart Brand, systems thinking, Whole Earth Catalog, Whole Earth Review

Their prices were thus set and non-negotiable. According to A Quaker Book of Wisdom, written recently by Robert Lawrence Smith, a practicing Quaker: Early in the history of the labor movement, Quaker businessmen recognized that unions were essential as a means of communication between management and workers. Many saw collective bargaining at its best as similar to the search for consensus that goes on at Quaker Meetings for Business. Viewed this way, negotiations become a method for bringing about an enlightened resolution or synthesis of different points of view. One result is that, by and large, workers at Quaker businesses have been able to reach fair contract terms without resorting to strikes. ...


pages: 335 words: 104,850

Conscious Capitalism, With a New Preface by the Authors: Liberating the Heroic Spirit of Business by John Mackey, Rajendra Sisodia, Bill George

"Friedman doctrine" OR "shareholder theory", "World Economic Forum" Davos, Abraham Maslow, Bear Stearns, benefit corporation, Berlin Wall, Buckminster Fuller, business process, carbon footprint, collective bargaining, corporate governance, corporate social responsibility, creative destruction, crony capitalism, cross-subsidies, do well by doing good, en.wikipedia.org, Everything should be made as simple as possible, Fall of the Berlin Wall, fear of failure, Flynn Effect, income per capita, invisible hand, Jeff Bezos, job satisfaction, John Elkington, lone genius, low interest rates, Mahatma Gandhi, microcredit, Nelson Mandela, Occupy movement, profit maximization, Ralph Waldo Emerson, shareholder value, six sigma, social intelligence, Social Responsibility of Business Is to Increase Its Profits, Steve Jobs, Steven Pinker, systems thinking, The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, too big to fail, union organizing, wealth creators, women in the workforce, zero-sum game

Private-sector union membership peaked at 36 percent in 1945 but has since declined to only 6.9 percent.2 Public employee unions were mostly illegal (the argument being that government is a monopoly lacking market competition to check union power) until President Kennedy in 1962 issued an executive order permitting collective bargaining in federal bureaucracies. Since then, public employee unions have grown tremendously and now represent about 36 percent of all public workers.3 Compelling arguments have been made that public employee unions are raising the cost of government tremendously and that they threaten the long-term solvency of many local, state, and federal governments.4 Whole Foods Market employs over sixty-seven thousand people, and none are unionized, despite the fact that we operate in a highly unionized segment of the economy.


pages: 300 words: 106,520

The Nanny State Made Me: A Story of Britain and How to Save It by Stuart Maconie

"there is no alternative" (TINA), banking crisis, basic income, Bernie Sanders, Big Tech, bitcoin, Black Lives Matter, Boris Johnson, British Empire, Bullingdon Club, cognitive dissonance, collective bargaining, Corn Laws, David Attenborough, Desert Island Discs, don't be evil, Downton Abbey, driverless car, Elon Musk, Etonian, Extinction Rebellion, failed state, fake news, Francis Fukuyama: the end of history, full employment, G4S, gentrification, Golden age of television, Gordon Gekko, greed is good, Greta Thunberg, helicopter parent, hiring and firing, housing crisis, Jeremy Corbyn, job automation, Mark Zuckerberg, market fundamentalism, Marshall McLuhan, North Sea oil, Own Your Own Home, plutocrats, post-truth, post-war consensus, rent control, retail therapy, Right to Buy, road to serfdom, Russell Brand, Silicon Valley, Stephen Fry, surveillance capitalism, The Chicago School, universal basic income, Winter of Discontent

But it went as far in the right direction as any British government has ever gone before or since, or seems likely to. In her history of the British working class, The People, Selina Todd states ‘between 1945 and 1951 the lives of working-class people greatly improved. Labour took power committed to maintaining full employment and collective bargaining and to introducing cradle to grave welfare provision’. There were caveats, of course: ‘For those who were used to a comfortable way of life, the late 1940s were an uncomfortable period of privation. But for those who had grown up in the depression and survived the blitz, the immediate post-war years heralded the start of a new life.’


pages: 421 words: 110,272

Deaths of Despair and the Future of Capitalism by Anne Case, Angus Deaton

Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, basic income, Bertrand Russell: In Praise of Idleness, Boeing 737 MAX, business cycle, call centre, collapse of Lehman Brothers, collective bargaining, company town, Corn Laws, corporate governance, correlation coefficient, crack epidemic, creative destruction, crony capitalism, declining real wages, deindustrialization, demographic transition, Dissolution of the Soviet Union, Donald Trump, Downton Abbey, Edward Glaeser, Elon Musk, falling living standards, Fellow of the Royal Society, financial engineering, fulfillment center, germ theory of disease, income inequality, Jeff Bezos, Joseph Schumpeter, Ken Thompson, Kenneth Arrow, labor-force participation, Les Trente Glorieuses, low skilled workers, Martin Wolf, meritocracy, Mikhail Gorbachev, obamacare, opioid epidemic / opioid crisis, pensions crisis, pill mill, randomized controlled trial, refrigerator car, rent-seeking, risk tolerance, shareholder value, Silicon Valley, The Spirit Level, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, Tim Cook: Apple, trade liberalization, Tyler Cowen, universal basic income, working-age population, zero-sum game

As of March 2019, Google had more temps and contractors than it did employees, even though the former work alongside the latter and sometimes do similar work.34 The growth of outsourcing and its downgrading of work help undermine working-class lives. The spread of these practices would surely have been contested by more powerful unions collectively bargaining on behalf of their members. Unions, where they exist, are, or once were, a countervailing power to management in the allocation of the firm’s value added between wages and profits, pushing for higher wages, better working conditions, and more benefits and restraining the power of management.


Drunk: How We Sipped, Danced, and Stumbled Our Way to Civilization by Edward Slingerland

agricultural Revolution, Alexander Shulgin, Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic, Burning Man, classic study, collective bargaining, coronavirus, COVID-19, Day of the Dead, delayed gratification, Deng Xiaoping, disruptive innovation, Drosophila, experimental economics, germ theory of disease, global pandemic, Google Hangouts, hive mind, invention of agriculture, John Markoff, knowledge worker, land reform, lateral thinking, lockdown, lone genius, meta-analysis, microdosing, Picturephone, placebo effect, post-work, Ralph Waldo Emerson, search costs, Silicon Valley, Skype, social intelligence, Steve Ballmer, Steve Jobs, Steven Pinker, sugar pill, TED Talk, Tragedy of the Commons, WeWork, women in the workforce, work culture , Zenefits

Our modern word “bridal,” for instance, comes from the Old English bryd ealu or “bride ale,” which was exchanged between bride and groom to seal their marriage, and crucially the new bond between their families.70 The anthropologist Dwight Heath, a pioneer of the study of the social function of alcohol, notes that it has always played a crucial bonding function in situations where otherwise isolated individuals are required to get along—sailors in port, loggers just having come out of the woods, cowboys gathering at a saloon.71 The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) was a union in the early twentieth century that needed to solve a serious public goods problem: getting ethnically diverse, mutually suspicious workers with different trades and backgrounds to put aside their narrow personal interests and present a unified front in high-stakes collective bargaining against capital owners. The degree to which they relied upon heavy drinking, combined with music and singing, is reflected in the nickname by which they are best known today, the Wobblies, most likely a reference to their manner of stumbling from saloon to saloon.72 These drunken, singing Wobblies, with their motto “an injury to one is an injury to all,” were quite successful in bringing together up to 150,000 workers across a wide variety of industries and winning important concessions from employers.


pages: 338 words: 104,684

The Deficit Myth: Modern Monetary Theory and the Birth of the People's Economy by Stephanie Kelton

2013 Report for America's Infrastructure - American Society of Civil Engineers - 19 March 2013, Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, Alan Greenspan, American Society of Civil Engineers: Report Card, Apollo 11, Asian financial crisis, bank run, Bernie Madoff, Bernie Sanders, blockchain, bond market vigilante , book value, Bretton Woods, business cycle, capital controls, carbon tax, central bank independence, collective bargaining, COVID-19, currency manipulation / currency intervention, currency peg, David Graeber, David Ricardo: comparative advantage, decarbonisation, deindustrialization, discrete time, Donald Trump, eurozone crisis, fiat currency, floating exchange rates, Food sovereignty, full employment, gentrification, Gini coefficient, global reserve currency, global supply chain, green new deal, high-speed rail, Hyman Minsky, income inequality, inflation targeting, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), investor state dispute settlement, Isaac Newton, Jeff Bezos, liquidity trap, low interest rates, Mahatma Gandhi, manufacturing employment, market bubble, Mason jar, Modern Monetary Theory, mortgage debt, Naomi Klein, National Debt Clock, new economy, New Urbanism, Nixon shock, Nixon triggered the end of the Bretton Woods system, obamacare, open economy, Paul Samuelson, Phillips curve, Ponzi scheme, Post-Keynesian economics, price anchoring, price stability, pushing on a string, quantitative easing, race to the bottom, reserve currency, Richard Florida, Ronald Reagan, San Francisco homelessness, shareholder value, Silicon Valley, Tax Reform Act of 1986, trade liberalization, urban planning, working-age population, Works Progress Administration, yield curve, zero-sum game

As former labor secretary Robert Reich has written, we need a slate of policies aimed at predistribution at least as much as we need conventional taxation and redistribution.80 We must thoroughly reform our labor laws to strengthen unions and do away with the capricious leverage employers wield over employees through things like mandatory arbitration and noncompete agreements. We can also remake licensing and intellectual property law, to cut down oligarchs’ and corporations’ use of those laws to stifle competition and siphon money from the rest of us. And we must drive workers’ wages and benefits and bargaining power back up, by making it easier for workers to collectively bargain and by sustaining the kind of tight labor markets we saw during World War II—through things like a job guarantee and public investment and better macroeconomic policy. Until we do so, the democracy deficit will leave us with “an education system in which you can buy admissions; a political system in which you can buy Congress; a justice system in which you can buy your way out of jail” and, “a health care system in which you can buy care others can’t.”81 Beyond the democracy deficit, there are practical economic consequences to America’s yawning inequality chasm.


pages: 400 words: 108,843

Kill Switch: The Rise of the Modern Senate and the Crippling of American Democracy by Adam Jentleson

"RICO laws" OR "Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations", active measures, activist lawyer, affirmative action, Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, anti-communist, collective bargaining, cotton gin, COVID-19, desegregation, Donald Trump, global pandemic, greed is good, income inequality, invisible hand, obamacare, plutocrats, Robert Bork, Ronald Reagan, Savings and loan crisis, Ted Kaczynski, Timothy McVeigh, trade route, W. E. B. Du Bois

On the other side of the ledger, the Democratic bills blocked by Republican filibusters included: a paycheck-fairness bill to reduce the wage disparity between men and women who perform the same work; the DREAM Act to protect undocumented immigrants who came to America as children from deportation; the DISCLOSE Act to expose the anonymous, superrich donors pumping millions of dollars into our political system; a bill to allow public safety officers to collectively bargain and form unions; a bill to close tax loopholes that reward corporations for sending American jobs overseas; and an expansion of Social Security benefits.23 Although it never received a floor vote, a public option for health care—giving Americans the choice of a Medicare-type plan alongside private insurance options, without eliminating private insurance—was included in the ACA until the very end, when it had to be removed because it became clear to negotiators that it no longer had the sixty votes needed to pass (even though it still enjoyed majority support).24 On top of all this, many observers at the time believed the climate change bill known as “cap-and-trade” that passed the House in 2010 would have passed the Senate, if not for the filibuster.


pages: 357 words: 107,984

Trillion Dollar Triage: How Jay Powell and the Fed Battled a President and a Pandemic---And Prevented Economic Disaster by Nick Timiraos

"World Economic Forum" Davos, Alan Greenspan, asset-backed security, banking crisis, Bear Stearns, Bernie Sanders, bitcoin, Black Monday: stock market crash in 1987, Bonfire of the Vanities, break the buck, central bank independence, collapse of Lehman Brothers, collective bargaining, coronavirus, corporate raider, COVID-19, credit crunch, cryptocurrency, Donald Trump, fear index, financial innovation, financial intermediation, full employment, George Akerlof, George Floyd, global pandemic, global supply chain, Greta Thunberg, implied volatility, income inequality, inflation targeting, inverted yield curve, junk bonds, lockdown, Long Term Capital Management, low interest rates, managed futures, margin call, meme stock, money market fund, moral hazard, non-fungible token, oil shock, Phillips curve, price stability, pushing on a string, quantitative easing, Rishi Sunak, risk tolerance, rolodex, Ronald Reagan, Savings and loan crisis, secular stagnation, Skype, social distancing, subprime mortgage crisis, Tesla Model S, too big to fail, unorthodox policies, Y2K, yield curve

As negotiations progressed, Democrats attached more strings to the loans—terms that only compounded the program’s complexity. Firms that took loans would have to rehire at least 90 percent of their workers within four months of the end of the public-health emergency. Recipients could not offshore jobs or alter existing collective-bargaining agreements for two years after the loans were repaid. As a rule, the Fed loathed the idea of turning Bagehot-style “lender of last resort” backstops into elaborate vehicles to engineer broader labor or social-policy agendas. Yet Fed lawyers generally weren’t deeply involved in the legislation.


pages: 864 words: 272,918

Palo Alto: A History of California, Capitalism, and the World by Malcolm Harris

2021 United States Capitol attack, Aaron Swartz, affirmative action, air traffic controllers' union, Airbnb, Alan Greenspan, Alvin Toffler, Amazon Mechanical Turk, Amazon Web Services, Apple II, Apple's 1984 Super Bowl advert, back-to-the-land, bank run, Bear Stearns, Big Tech, Bill Gates: Altair 8800, Black Lives Matter, Bob Noyce, book scanning, British Empire, business climate, California gold rush, Cambridge Analytica, capital controls, Charles Lindbergh, classic study, cloud computing, collective bargaining, colonial exploitation, colonial rule, Colonization of Mars, commoditize, company town, computer age, conceptual framework, coronavirus, corporate personhood, COVID-19, cuban missile crisis, deindustrialization, Deng Xiaoping, desegregation, deskilling, digital map, double helix, Douglas Engelbart, Edward Snowden, Elon Musk, Erlich Bachman, estate planning, European colonialism, Fairchild Semiconductor, financial engineering, financial innovation, fixed income, Frederick Winslow Taylor, fulfillment center, future of work, Garrett Hardin, gentrification, George Floyd, ghettoisation, global value chain, Golden Gate Park, Google bus, Google Glasses, greed is good, hiring and firing, housing crisis, hydraulic fracturing, if you build it, they will come, illegal immigration, immigration reform, invisible hand, It's morning again in America, iterative process, Jeff Bezos, Joan Didion, John Markoff, joint-stock company, Jony Ive, Kevin Kelly, Kickstarter, knowledge worker, land reform, Larry Ellison, Lean Startup, legacy carrier, life extension, longitudinal study, low-wage service sector, Lyft, manufacturing employment, Marc Andreessen, Marc Benioff, Mark Zuckerberg, Marshall McLuhan, Max Levchin, means of production, Menlo Park, Metcalfe’s law, microdosing, Mikhail Gorbachev, military-industrial complex, Monroe Doctrine, Mont Pelerin Society, moral panic, mortgage tax deduction, Mother of all demos, move fast and break things, mutually assured destruction, new economy, Oculus Rift, off grid, oil shale / tar sands, PageRank, PalmPilot, passive income, Paul Graham, paypal mafia, Peter Thiel, pets.com, phenotype, pill mill, platform as a service, Ponzi scheme, popular electronics, power law, profit motive, race to the bottom, radical life extension, RAND corporation, Recombinant DNA, refrigerator car, Richard Florida, ride hailing / ride sharing, rising living standards, risk tolerance, Robert Bork, Robert Mercer, Robert Metcalfe, Ronald Reagan, Salesforce, San Francisco homelessness, Sand Hill Road, scientific management, semantic web, sexual politics, Sheryl Sandberg, Silicon Valley, Silicon Valley ideology, Silicon Valley startup, social web, SoftBank, software as a service, sovereign wealth fund, special economic zone, Stanford marshmallow experiment, Stanford prison experiment, stem cell, Steve Bannon, Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, Steven Levy, Stewart Brand, stock buybacks, strikebreaker, Suez canal 1869, super pumped, TaskRabbit, tech worker, Teledyne, telemarketer, the long tail, the new new thing, thinkpad, Thorstein Veblen, Tim Cook: Apple, Tony Fadell, too big to fail, Toyota Production System, Tragedy of the Commons, transcontinental railway, traumatic brain injury, Travis Kalanick, TSMC, Uber and Lyft, Uber for X, uber lyft, ubercab, union organizing, Upton Sinclair, upwardly mobile, urban decay, urban renewal, value engineering, Vannevar Bush, vertical integration, Vision Fund, W. E. B. Du Bois, War on Poverty, warehouse robotics, Wargames Reagan, Washington Consensus, white picket fence, William Shockley: the traitorous eight, women in the workforce, Y Combinator, Y2K, Yogi Berra, éminence grise

The competitors were able to come together after getting spooked by a 1968 strike of 5,000 Bay Area electronics workers across three firms (including Ampex), which lasted a week—the kind of interruption the fast-moving semiconductor industry couldn’t afford.14 Offshoring and the threat of unemployment was a good issue to rally workers around, but it was also the boss’s trump card. It’s a card the video-game manufacturer Atari played in 1983 after the Glaziers’ union neared its goal of an election involving several shops. Rather than face its workers across a collective bargaining table, the company laid off 1,700 people and closed two of its three Silicon Valley factories, moving production to Hong Kong and Taiwan.15 Unsurprisingly, the Glaziers found it too difficult to organize Atari workers at the remaining domestic line. Despite the efforts of Newell and other rank-and-file workers, the UE’s organizing attempts failed repeatedly, as did limited campaigns by other national unions—notably, the Teamsters at Intel.

Trey After it turned Atari down, industry commentators assumed IBM would enter the U.S. minicomputer market via a Japanese partner, and in 1981 Matsushita (the Japanese conglomerate behind Panasonic) admitted that the two firms discussed a deal.13 Why not just make the computer in-house? Xerox’s example is instructive. The office-solutions company was stuck with giant legacy cost structures—collective-bargaining agreements with manufacturing unions, high-salary salesmen, and internal repair divisions with proprietary replacement parts—none of which fit with the hobbyist-led retail microcomputer market. One Xerox engineer famously joked that if the company sold a paper clip it would have to retail for three grand.14 Burdened under the cost structure, the Star system blinked out, too expensive even for the large enterprise customers.


J.K. Lasser's Your Income Tax 2022: For Preparing Your 2021 Tax Return by J. K. Lasser Institute

accelerated depreciation, Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, airline deregulation, anti-communist, asset allocation, bike sharing, bitcoin, business cycle, call centre, carried interest, collective bargaining, coronavirus, COVID-19, cryptocurrency, distributed generation, distributed ledger, diversification, employer provided health coverage, estate planning, Home mortgage interest deduction, independent contractor, intangible asset, medical malpractice, medical residency, mortgage debt, mortgage tax deduction, passive income, Ponzi scheme, profit motive, rent control, ride hailing / ride sharing, Right to Buy, sharing economy, TaskRabbit, Tax Reform Act of 1986, transaction costs, zero-coupon bond

The eligibility test requires that the plan benefit: (1) 70% or more of all employees or (2) 80% or more of employees eligible to participate, provided that at least 70% of all employees are eligible. A plan not meeting either test is considered discriminatory unless proven otherwise. In applying these tests, employees may be excluded if they have less than three years of service, are under age 25, do part-time or seasonal work, or are covered by a union collective bargaining agreement. A fraction of the benefits received by a highly compensated individual from a nonqualifying plan is taxable. The fraction equals the total reimbursements to highly compensated participants divided by total plan reimbursements; benefits available only to highly compensated employees are disregarded.

A surviving spouse may make a tax-free rollover, or, as an eligible designated benficiary under the SECURE Act, may use the life expectancy method; see below. Even if a life expectancy distribution method is allowed under the SECURE Act, the plan may require that you receive a lump-sum distribution or allow installment payments over only a limited number of years. Law Alert SECURE Act Delay for Governmental Plans and Collectively Bargained Plans Although the SECURE Act generally applies to beneficiaries of employees dying after 2019, the effective date is delayed for the Federal Thrift Savings Plan, state and local government 403(b) plans, and state and local government 457 plans. For such plans, the SECURE Act changes take effect for beneficiaries of employees dying after 2021.

For such plans, the SECURE Act changes take effect for beneficiaries of employees dying after 2021. A beneficiary who inherits such a governmental plan in 2022 or later must withdraw the entire account balance within 10 years of the employee's death, unless the beneficiary is an eligible designated beneficiary (8.15). For plans maintained under a collective bargaining agreement ratified before December 20, 2019, the SECURE Act effective date is delayed if the bargaining agreement had not terminated by the end of 2019. If the agreement terminated in 2020, beneficiaries of employees dying after 2020 will be subject to the SECURE Act rules, and for agreements terminating in 2021 or later, beneficiaries of employees dying after 2021 will be subject to the SECURE Act rules.


pages: 399 words: 116,828

When Work Disappears: The World of the New Urban Poor by William Julius Wilson

affirmative action, business cycle, citizen journalism, classic study, collective bargaining, conceptual framework, declining real wages, deindustrialization, deliberate practice, desegregation, Donald Trump, edge city, ending welfare as we know it, fixed income, full employment, George Gilder, ghettoisation, glass ceiling, Gunnar Myrdal, income inequality, informal economy, jobless men, labor-force participation, longitudinal study, low skilled workers, low-wage service sector, manufacturing employment, mass immigration, new economy, New Urbanism, pink-collar, race to the bottom, RAND corporation, school choice, The Bell Curve by Richard Herrnstein and Charles Murray, The Chicago School, upwardly mobile, urban decay, urban renewal, War on Poverty, work culture , working poor, working-age population, Works Progress Administration

Moreover, in the traditional mass production system only a few highly educated professional, technical, and managerial workers were needed because most of the work “was routine and could be performed by workers who needed only basic literacy and numeracy.” Accordingly, workers with limited education were able to take home wages that were comparatively high by international and historical standards. “This was especially true after the New Deal policies of the 1930s provided social safety nets for those who were not expected to work, collective bargaining to improve workers’ share of system’s gains, and monetary and fiscal policies to help the mass production system running at relatively low levels of unemployment.” At the same time that changes in technology are producing new jobs, however, they are making many others obsolete. The workplace has been revolutionized by technological changes that range from the development of robotics to the creation of information highways.


pages: 437 words: 113,173

Age of Discovery: Navigating the Risks and Rewards of Our New Renaissance by Ian Goldin, Chris Kutarna

"World Economic Forum" Davos, 2013 Report for America's Infrastructure - American Society of Civil Engineers - 19 March 2013, 3D printing, Airbnb, Albert Einstein, AltaVista, Asian financial crisis, asset-backed security, autonomous vehicles, banking crisis, barriers to entry, battle of ideas, Bear Stearns, Berlin Wall, bioinformatics, bitcoin, Boeing 747, Bonfire of the Vanities, bread and circuses, carbon tax, clean water, collective bargaining, Colonization of Mars, Credit Default Swap, CRISPR, crowdsourcing, cryptocurrency, Dava Sobel, demographic dividend, Deng Xiaoping, digital divide, Doha Development Round, double helix, driverless car, Edward Snowden, Elon Musk, en.wikipedia.org, epigenetics, experimental economics, Eyjafjallajökull, failed state, Fall of the Berlin Wall, financial innovation, full employment, Galaxy Zoo, general purpose technology, Glass-Steagall Act, global pandemic, global supply chain, Higgs boson, Hyperloop, immigration reform, income inequality, indoor plumbing, industrial cluster, industrial robot, information retrieval, information security, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), intermodal, Internet of things, invention of the printing press, Isaac Newton, Islamic Golden Age, Johannes Kepler, Khan Academy, Kickstarter, Large Hadron Collider, low cost airline, low skilled workers, Lyft, Mahbub ul Haq, Malacca Straits, mass immigration, Max Levchin, megacity, Mikhail Gorbachev, moral hazard, Nelson Mandela, Network effects, New Urbanism, non-tariff barriers, Occupy movement, On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres, open economy, Panamax, Paris climate accords, Pearl River Delta, personalized medicine, Peter Thiel, post-Panamax, profit motive, public intellectual, quantum cryptography, rent-seeking, reshoring, Robert Gordon, Robert Metcalfe, Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, Second Machine Age, self-driving car, Shenzhen was a fishing village, Silicon Valley, Silicon Valley startup, Skype, smart grid, Snapchat, special economic zone, spice trade, statistical model, Stephen Hawking, Steve Jobs, Stuxnet, synthetic biology, TED Talk, The Future of Employment, too big to fail, trade liberalization, trade route, transaction costs, transatlantic slave trade, uber lyft, undersea cable, uranium enrichment, We are the 99%, We wanted flying cars, instead we got 140 characters, working poor, working-age population, zero day

In the county of Suffolk, England (at the time one of the most “industrialized” parts of Europe), just 1.5 percent of the population commanded 50 percent of the region’s wealth, while the bottom half held just 4 percent, and four-fifths lived at or beneath the poverty line.66 A major cause was falling real wages at the bottom of the income scale. A constant influx of impoverished country dwellers kept town wages down, especially among the unskilled. Rural outsourcing by town manufacturers neatly sidestepped the regulations and collective bargaining power of the townspeople’s guilds. Circumstances grew especially hard for women. Between 1480 and 1562, a nanny saw no increase in her pay; over the same period, the price of her daily necessities rose 150 percent.67 Stumbling backwards The widening gap between rich and poor was driven by more than relative rates of forward progress.


pages: 436 words: 114,278

Crude Volatility: The History and the Future of Boom-Bust Oil Prices by Robert McNally

"World Economic Forum" Davos, Alan Greenspan, American energy revolution, Asian financial crisis, banking crisis, barriers to entry, Bear Stearns, Bretton Woods, collective bargaining, credit crunch, energy security, energy transition, geopolitical risk, housing crisis, hydraulic fracturing, Ida Tarbell, index fund, Induced demand, interchangeable parts, invisible hand, joint-stock company, market clearing, market fundamentalism, megaproject, moral hazard, North Sea oil, oil rush, oil shale / tar sands, oil shock, peak oil, price discrimination, price elasticity of demand, price stability, sovereign wealth fund, subprime mortgage crisis, Suez canal 1869, Suez crisis 1956, transfer pricing, vertical integration

While victorious, Pennsylvania drillers brooded and kept a wary eye on Rockefeller, fearing another plot by his increasingly powerful Standard Oil conglomerate. And indeed, immediately after the SIC unraveled, Rockefeller attempted to unite refiners. He and his partner Flagler visited their rivals in Pittsburgh and then Titusville to propose a National Refiners’ Association with the purpose of collectively bargaining with the railroads and drillers. The so-called “Pittsburgh Plan,” would establish a collective board to set prices, purchase and allocate all crude for refiners, and negotiate with railroads for freight rates.69 Not all refiners liked the idea. Titusville refiners were especially skeptical, suspecting a gambit by big city rivals to undercut the advantage of proximity they enjoyed.


pages: 390 words: 115,769

Healthy at 100: The Scientifically Proven Secrets of the World's Healthiest and Longest-Lived Peoples by John Robbins

caloric restriction, caloric restriction, clean water, collective bargaining, Community Supported Agriculture, Donald Trump, happiness index / gross national happiness, illegal immigration, indoor plumbing, land reform, life extension, lifelogging, longitudinal study, Maui Hawaii, meta-analysis, Nelson Mandela, randomized controlled trial, Silicon Valley, telemarketer

., who has written extensively on the medical consequences of wealth inequality.4 MacArthur required three fundamental things of the Japanese. First was demilitarization—Japan was forbidden to have an army. Second was democratization—his staff created the constitution that is in use in Japan to this day, providing for a representative democracy, free universal education, the right of labor unions to organize and engage in collective bargaining, the right of women to vote, and the right of everyone to a decent life. And the third was decentralization—MacArthur broke up the family dynasties that ran the huge corporations that had controlled the country. He mandated a maximum wage for business and corporate leaders. He also carried out the most successful land reform program in history.


pages: 453 words: 117,893

What Would the Great Economists Do?: How Twelve Brilliant Minds Would Solve Today's Biggest Problems by Linda Yueh

3D printing, additive manufacturing, Asian financial crisis, augmented reality, bank run, banking crisis, basic income, Bear Stearns, Ben Bernanke: helicopter money, Berlin Wall, Bernie Sanders, Big bang: deregulation of the City of London, bike sharing, bitcoin, Branko Milanovic, Bretton Woods, BRICs, business cycle, Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty, clean water, collective bargaining, computer age, Corn Laws, creative destruction, credit crunch, Credit Default Swap, cryptocurrency, currency peg, dark matter, David Ricardo: comparative advantage, debt deflation, declining real wages, deindustrialization, Deng Xiaoping, Doha Development Round, Donald Trump, endogenous growth, everywhere but in the productivity statistics, export processing zone, Fall of the Berlin Wall, fear of failure, financial deregulation, financial engineering, financial innovation, Financial Instability Hypothesis, fixed income, forward guidance, full employment, general purpose technology, Gini coefficient, Glass-Steagall Act, global supply chain, Great Leap Forward, Gunnar Myrdal, Hyman Minsky, income inequality, index card, indoor plumbing, industrial robot, information asymmetry, intangible asset, invisible hand, job automation, John Maynard Keynes: Economic Possibilities for our Grandchildren, joint-stock company, Joseph Schumpeter, laissez-faire capitalism, land reform, lateral thinking, life extension, low interest rates, low-wage service sector, manufacturing employment, market bubble, means of production, middle-income trap, mittelstand, Money creation, Mont Pelerin Society, moral hazard, mortgage debt, negative equity, Nelson Mandela, non-tariff barriers, Northern Rock, Occupy movement, oil shale / tar sands, open economy, paradox of thrift, Paul Samuelson, price mechanism, price stability, Productivity paradox, purchasing power parity, quantitative easing, RAND corporation, rent control, rent-seeking, reserve currency, reshoring, road to serfdom, Robert Shiller, Robert Solow, Ronald Coase, Ronald Reagan, school vouchers, secular stagnation, Shenzhen was a fishing village, Silicon Valley, Simon Kuznets, special economic zone, Steve Jobs, technological determinism, The Chicago School, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, Thomas Malthus, too big to fail, total factor productivity, trade liberalization, universal basic income, unorthodox policies, Washington Consensus, We are the 99%, women in the workforce, working-age population

When markets are imperfect, then employers have market power and can ‘exploit’ workers by paying them less than what is earned from their output. Because such exploitation arises from the unequal bargaining strength of employers and employees, one way to reduce exploitation is to increase the bargaining power of workers, for example through trade unions or collective bargaining. Legislation to place workers on a more equal footing with employers is another avenue. Germany did that by giving workers statutory representation in the boardroom. The rights of non-unionized workers also require protection. Bargaining strength is important in many cases, but raising wages through bargaining is not the sole solution to the problem of exploitation in Robinson’s theory.


pages: 374 words: 113,126

The Great Economists: How Their Ideas Can Help Us Today by Linda Yueh

3D printing, additive manufacturing, Asian financial crisis, augmented reality, bank run, banking crisis, basic income, Bear Stearns, Ben Bernanke: helicopter money, Berlin Wall, Bernie Sanders, Big bang: deregulation of the City of London, bike sharing, bitcoin, Branko Milanovic, Bretton Woods, BRICs, business cycle, Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty, clean water, collective bargaining, computer age, Corn Laws, creative destruction, credit crunch, Credit Default Swap, cryptocurrency, currency peg, dark matter, David Ricardo: comparative advantage, debt deflation, declining real wages, deindustrialization, Deng Xiaoping, Doha Development Round, Donald Trump, endogenous growth, everywhere but in the productivity statistics, export processing zone, Fall of the Berlin Wall, fear of failure, financial deregulation, financial engineering, financial innovation, Financial Instability Hypothesis, fixed income, forward guidance, full employment, general purpose technology, Gini coefficient, Glass-Steagall Act, global supply chain, Great Leap Forward, Gunnar Myrdal, Hyman Minsky, income inequality, index card, indoor plumbing, industrial robot, information asymmetry, intangible asset, invisible hand, job automation, John Maynard Keynes: Economic Possibilities for our Grandchildren, joint-stock company, Joseph Schumpeter, laissez-faire capitalism, land reform, lateral thinking, life extension, low interest rates, manufacturing employment, market bubble, means of production, middle-income trap, mittelstand, Money creation, Mont Pelerin Society, moral hazard, mortgage debt, negative equity, Nelson Mandela, non-tariff barriers, Northern Rock, Occupy movement, oil shale / tar sands, open economy, paradox of thrift, Paul Samuelson, price mechanism, price stability, Productivity paradox, purchasing power parity, quantitative easing, RAND corporation, rent control, rent-seeking, reserve currency, reshoring, road to serfdom, Robert Shiller, Robert Solow, Ronald Coase, Ronald Reagan, school vouchers, secular stagnation, Shenzhen was a fishing village, Silicon Valley, Simon Kuznets, special economic zone, Steve Jobs, technological determinism, The Chicago School, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, Thomas Malthus, too big to fail, total factor productivity, trade liberalization, universal basic income, unorthodox policies, Washington Consensus, We are the 99%, women in the workforce, working-age population

When markets are imperfect, then employers have market power and can ‘exploit’ workers by paying them less than what is earned from their output. Because such exploitation arises from the unequal bargaining strength of employers and employees, one way to reduce exploitation is to increase the bargaining power of workers, for example through trade unions or collective bargaining. Legislation to place workers on a more equal footing with employers is another avenue. Germany did that by giving workers statutory representation in the boardroom. The rights of non-unionized workers also require protection. Bargaining strength is important in many cases, but raising wages through bargaining is not the sole solution to the problem of exploitation in Robinson’s theory.


pages: 411 words: 114,717

Breakout Nations: In Pursuit of the Next Economic Miracles by Ruchir Sharma

"World Economic Forum" Davos, 3D printing, affirmative action, Alan Greenspan, Albert Einstein, American energy revolution, anti-communist, Asian financial crisis, banking crisis, Berlin Wall, book value, BRICs, British Empire, business climate, business cycle, business process, business process outsourcing, call centre, capital controls, Carmen Reinhart, central bank independence, centre right, cloud computing, collective bargaining, colonial rule, commodity super cycle, corporate governance, creative destruction, crony capitalism, deindustrialization, demographic dividend, Deng Xiaoping, eurozone crisis, financial engineering, Gini coefficient, global macro, global supply chain, Goodhart's law, high-speed rail, housing crisis, income inequality, indoor plumbing, inflation targeting, informal economy, junk bonds, Kenneth Rogoff, knowledge economy, labor-force participation, land reform, low interest rates, M-Pesa, Mahatma Gandhi, Marc Andreessen, market bubble, Masayoshi Son, mass immigration, megacity, Mexican peso crisis / tequila crisis, middle-income trap, Nelson Mandela, new economy, no-fly zone, oil shale / tar sands, oil shock, open economy, Peter Thiel, planetary scale, public intellectual, quantitative easing, reserve currency, Robert Gordon, rolling blackouts, Shenzhen was a fishing village, Silicon Valley, software is eating the world, sovereign wealth fund, The Great Moderation, Thomas L Friedman, trade liberalization, Tyler Cowen, Watson beat the top human players on Jeopardy!, working-age population, zero-sum game

Cutting deals required only that the oligarchs meet in a back room and work things out. Such groups are entirely self-interested: The social security workers’ union has won pensions that not only are much more generous than the average worker’s but also are effectively subsidized by the average worker. The teachers’ union won the right to national collective bargaining two decades ago, and one result is that Mexican students consistently rank at or near the bottom of international ratings, no matter where in Mexico they come from. These kinds of deals conspired to tarnish the era of unbroken PRI rule. Corporations fought to keep taxes down to just 12 percent of GDP, one of the lowest rates in the world, ultimately leading to government debt crises in the 1980s and 1990s and the landmark defeat of the PRI in the election of 2000.


pages: 406 words: 113,841

The American Way of Poverty: How the Other Half Still Lives by Sasha Abramsky

2013 Report for America's Infrastructure - American Society of Civil Engineers - 19 March 2013, Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, American Legislative Exchange Council, bank run, basic income, benefit corporation, big-box store, collective bargaining, deindustrialization, fixed income, Francis Fukuyama: the end of history, full employment, ghettoisation, Gini coefficient, government statistician, guns versus butter model, housing crisis, illegal immigration, immigration reform, income inequality, indoor plumbing, job automation, Kickstarter, land bank, Mark Zuckerberg, Maui Hawaii, microcredit, military-industrial complex, mortgage debt, mortgage tax deduction, new economy, Occupy movement, off-the-grid, offshore financial centre, payday loans, plutocrats, Ponzi scheme, Potemkin village, profit motive, Ronald Reagan, school vouchers, upwardly mobile, War on Poverty, Washington Consensus, women in the workforce, working poor, working-age population, Works Progress Administration

DOING BUSINESS TEXAS-STYLE If the private sector experience with rampant anti-unionizing efforts, and the emergence of a workforce lacking decent benefits and having almost no clout in negotiations with management, is anything to go by, Wisconsin’s public sector workers, as well as those in the other states contemplating changes to their collective bargaining rules, have plenty to fear. Let’s return to Texas again, this time to hear from 67-year-old Mary Vasquez, whose Social Security check was $600 and whose rent was $500. A little woman, her health broken by cancer, heart attacks, diabetes, high blood pressure, and a multitude of other ailments, her crinkled face a map of pain and heartache, Vasquez, to make ends meet, worked as a phone operator at a Walmart on the outskirts of Dallas.


pages: 386 words: 113,709

Why We Drive: Toward a Philosophy of the Open Road by Matthew B. Crawford

1960s counterculture, Airbus A320, airport security, augmented reality, autonomous vehicles, behavioural economics, Bernie Sanders, Big Tech, Boeing 737 MAX, British Empire, Burning Man, business logic, call centre, classic study, collective bargaining, confounding variable, congestion pricing, crony capitalism, data science, David Sedaris, deskilling, digital map, don't be evil, Donald Trump, driverless car, Elon Musk, emotional labour, en.wikipedia.org, Fellow of the Royal Society, Ford Model T, gamification, gentrification, gig economy, Google Earth, Great Leap Forward, Herbert Marcuse, hive mind, Ian Bogost, income inequality, informal economy, Internet of things, Jane Jacobs, labour mobility, Lyft, mirror neurons, Network effects, New Journalism, New Urbanism, Nicholas Carr, planned obsolescence, Ponzi scheme, precautionary principle, Ralph Nader, ride hailing / ride sharing, Ronald Reagan, Sam Peltzman, security theater, self-driving car, sharing economy, Shoshana Zuboff, Silicon Valley, smart cities, social graph, social intelligence, Stephen Hawking, surveillance capitalism, tacit knowledge, tech worker, technoutopianism, the built environment, The Death and Life of Great American Cities, the High Line, time dilation, too big to fail, traffic fines, Travis Kalanick, trolley problem, Uber and Lyft, Uber for X, uber lyft, Unsafe at Any Speed, urban planning, Wall-E, Works Progress Administration

Your institutions are sacred to us National Socialists! I myself am a poor peasant’s son and understand poverty. I know the exploitation of anonymous capitalism. Workers, I swear to you we will not only keep everything that exists, we will build up the protection and the rights of the worker still further.” Three weeks later, the right to collective bargaining was abolished, and all labor contracts would now be set by “labor trustees” appointed by Hitler. The effect was to make strikes illegal. Speaking not to workers but to industrialists, Ley promised to “restore absolute leadership to the natural leader of a factory, that is, the employer.” Clearly, this level of false dealing goes beyond the usual historical pattern in which “socialists” (of various degrees of sincerity) come to power and proceed to concentrate power in party cadres. 6.O.


pages: 358 words: 119,272

Anatomy of the Bear: Lessons From Wall Street's Four Great Bottoms by Russell Napier

Alan Greenspan, Albert Einstein, asset allocation, banking crisis, Bear Stearns, behavioural economics, book value, Bretton Woods, business cycle, buy and hold, collective bargaining, Columbine, cuban missile crisis, desegregation, diversified portfolio, fake news, financial engineering, floating exchange rates, Fractional reserve banking, full employment, Glass-Steagall Act, global macro, hindsight bias, Kickstarter, Long Term Capital Management, low interest rates, market bubble, Michael Milken, military-industrial complex, Money creation, mortgage tax deduction, Myron Scholes, new economy, Nixon triggered the end of the Bretton Woods system, oil shock, price stability, reserve currency, risk free rate, Robert Gordon, Robert Shiller, Ronald Reagan, short selling, stocks for the long run, yield curve, Yogi Berra

This industry was transformed in the postwar era and its transformation played an important role in fuelling the bull market in equities. The rapid growth in pension funds was spurred by a decision of the National Labor Relations Board in 1948 forcing Inland Steel to include negotiations on pensions as part of the collective bargaining process. Not only did strong growth in assets ensue from this decision, but employers were prepared to consider more risky asset allocations with a view to enhancing returns and restraining the size of future corporate contributions to these funds. In pursuit of higher returns, pension fund portfolios’ weightings in equities increased.


pages: 407 words: 113,198

The Secret Life of Groceries: The Dark Miracle of the American Supermarket by Benjamin Lorr

activist fund / activist shareholder / activist investor, Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, barriers to entry, Boeing 747, Brownian motion, carbon footprint, collective bargaining, food miles, Ford Model T, global supply chain, hiring and firing, hive mind, independent contractor, Internet Archive, invention of the wheel, inventory management, Isaac Newton, Kanban, low skilled workers, Mason jar, obamacare, off grid, race to the bottom, Ralph Nader, risk tolerance, Ronald Reagan, Silicon Valley, supply-chain management, Toyota Production System, transatlantic slave trade, Upton Sinclair, vertical integration, Wayback Machine, Whole Earth Catalog, women in the workforce

Federal law, as applied through the Interstate Commerce Commission, restricted the number of carriers, allowed overt price collusion between those that remained, and exempted the entire industry from antitrust laws. This was not a good thing, nor a sign of a healthy industry, but it allowed a small cohort of carriers to grow extremely powerful, and correspondingly provided the perfect conditions for collective bargaining. Jimmy Hoffa was a teamster first and foremost, and the strong, if corrupt, union he led was able to wrest a middle-class salary with benefits from that cohort. By the 1970s, trucking became the favorite scruffy but loveable blue-collar profession. Hence the slew of corny hit movies—from Smokey and the Bandit, Convoy, and Breaker!


pages: 356 words: 116,083

For Profit: A History of Corporations by William Magnuson

"Friedman doctrine" OR "shareholder theory", activist fund / activist shareholder / activist investor, Airbnb, bank run, banks create money, barriers to entry, Bear Stearns, Big Tech, Black Lives Matter, blockchain, Bonfire of the Vanities, bread and circuses, buy low sell high, carbon tax, carried interest, collective bargaining, Cornelius Vanderbilt, corporate raider, creative destruction, disinformation, Donald Trump, double entry bookkeeping, Exxon Valdez, fake news, financial engineering, financial innovation, Ford Model T, Ford paid five dollars a day, Frederick Winslow Taylor, Goldman Sachs: Vampire Squid, Gordon Gekko, greed is good, Ida Tarbell, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), invisible hand, joint-stock company, joint-stock limited liability company, junk bonds, Mark Zuckerberg, Menlo Park, Michael Milken, move fast and break things, Peter Thiel, power law, price discrimination, profit maximization, profit motive, race to the bottom, Ralph Waldo Emerson, randomized controlled trial, ride hailing / ride sharing, scientific management, Sheryl Sandberg, Silicon Valley, Silicon Valley startup, slashdot, Snapchat, South Sea Bubble, spice trade, Steven Levy, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, Thomas L Friedman, Tim Cook: Apple, too big to fail, trade route, transcontinental railway, union organizing, work culture , Y Combinator, Yom Kippur War, zero-sum game

The rise of Ford made it crystal clear to society that a vast disparity in power between the individual and the corporation now existed. By the 1930s, growing awareness of the labor problem led to the passage of a raft of new laws seeking to protect workers from exploitation and establish a right to collective bargaining. Corporate leaders have a role to play in enforcing the fifth rule. Too often, firms exalt profits over workers. They handsomely reward CEOs who increase share prices, regardless of the cost to employees. In 1965, the average CEO was paid twenty times more than the average worker; today, they are paid almost three hundred times as much as their workers.


Falling Behind: Explaining the Development Gap Between Latin America and the United States by Francis Fukuyama

Andrei Shleifer, Atahualpa, barriers to entry, Berlin Wall, British Empire, business climate, Cass Sunstein, central bank independence, collective bargaining, colonial rule, conceptual framework, creative destruction, crony capitalism, European colonialism, Fall of the Berlin Wall, first-past-the-post, Francis Fukuyama: the end of history, Francisco Pizarro, Hernando de Soto, income inequality, income per capita, land reform, land tenure, Monroe Doctrine, moral hazard, New Urbanism, oil shock, open economy, public intellectual, purchasing power parity, rent-seeking, Ronald Reagan, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, total factor productivity, trade liberalization, transaction costs, upwardly mobile, Washington Consensus, zero-sum game

Not only is increased access to credit for poor people very important, but so are raising the participation of women in the market, which will require subsidized child care services; the socializing of maternity benefits; labor legislation that allows more flexibility in contracting conditions; and a labor framework that encourages collective bargaining while enforcing the accountability of labor union leaders. A clear attack on ethnic and racial discrimination needs to be given high priority. 154 The Politics of Underdevelopment in Latin America These and other commonsense policies are essential to increasing competitiveness, reducing inequality and poverty, and giving citizens a stake in their democratic political systems.


pages: 476 words: 125,219

Digital Disconnect: How Capitalism Is Turning the Internet Against Democracy by Robert W. McChesney

2013 Report for America's Infrastructure - American Society of Civil Engineers - 19 March 2013, access to a mobile phone, Alan Greenspan, Albert Einstein, American Legislative Exchange Council, American Society of Civil Engineers: Report Card, AOL-Time Warner, Automated Insights, barriers to entry, Berlin Wall, Big Tech, business cycle, Cass Sunstein, citizen journalism, classic study, cloud computing, collaborative consumption, collective bargaining, company town, creative destruction, crony capitalism, David Brooks, death of newspapers, declining real wages, digital capitalism, digital divide, disinformation, Double Irish / Dutch Sandwich, Dr. Strangelove, Erik Brynjolfsson, Evgeny Morozov, failed state, fake news, Filter Bubble, fulfillment center, full employment, future of journalism, George Gilder, Gini coefficient, Google Earth, income inequality, informal economy, intangible asset, invention of agriculture, invisible hand, Jaron Lanier, Jeff Bezos, jimmy wales, John Markoff, John Maynard Keynes: Economic Possibilities for our Grandchildren, John Perry Barlow, Joseph Schumpeter, Julian Assange, Kickstarter, Mark Zuckerberg, Marshall McLuhan, means of production, Metcalfe’s law, military-industrial complex, mutually assured destruction, national security letter, Nelson Mandela, Network effects, new economy, New Journalism, Nicholas Carr, Occupy movement, ocean acidification, offshore financial centre, patent troll, Peter Thiel, plutocrats, post scarcity, Post-Keynesian economics, power law, price mechanism, profit maximization, profit motive, public intellectual, QWERTY keyboard, Ralph Nader, Richard Stallman, road to serfdom, Robert Metcalfe, Saturday Night Live, sentiment analysis, Silicon Valley, Silicon Valley billionaire, single-payer health, Skype, spectrum auction, Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, Steven Levy, Steven Pinker, Stewart Brand, technological determinism, Telecommunications Act of 1996, the long tail, the medium is the message, The Spirit Level, The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, Thorstein Veblen, too big to fail, transfer pricing, Upton Sinclair, WikiLeaks, winner-take-all economy, yellow journalism, Yochai Benkler

Of course, capitalist societies—especially democratic ones—have mechanisms for popular pressure to prevent the total privatization of essential public services or the creation of artificial scarcity of abundant resources like water. Occasionally, especially when labor movements are strong, important reforms are won. Much of what is most humane about the United States—like what remains of progressive taxation, collective bargaining, public education, Social Security, unemployment insurance, consumer protection, environmental safeguards, and Medicare—is a result of such political organizing. But attaining and maintaining these benefits require difficult battles, and the playing field is tilted; today it seems the slope approaches 90 degrees.


pages: 400 words: 124,678

The Investment Checklist: The Art of In-Depth Research by Michael Shearn

accelerated depreciation, AOL-Time Warner, Asian financial crisis, barriers to entry, Bear Stearns, book value, business cycle, call centre, Carl Icahn, Clayton Christensen, collective bargaining, commoditize, compensation consultant, compound rate of return, Credit Default Swap, currency risk, do what you love, electricity market, estate planning, financial engineering, Henry Singleton, intangible asset, Jeff Bezos, Larry Ellison, London Interbank Offered Rate, margin call, Mark Zuckerberg, money market fund, Network effects, PalmPilot, pink-collar, risk tolerance, shareholder value, six sigma, Skype, Steve Jobs, stock buybacks, subscription business, supply-chain management, technology bubble, Teledyne, time value of money, transaction costs, urban planning, women in the workforce, young professional

The examples shown below (in quotation marks) are from the 2009 Southwest Airlines 10-K: Salaries, wages, and benefits—Fixed Costs: “Salaries, wages, and benefits expense per ASM (Available Seat Miles) was 9.6 percent higher than 2008, primarily due to the fact that the Company’s unionized workforce, who make up the majority of its Employees, had pay scale increases as a result of increased seniority, while the Company’s ASM capacity declined 5.1 percent compared to 2008.” In addition, the notes section of the 10-K states, “Approximately 82 percent of the Company’s Employees are unionized and are covered by collective bargaining agreements.” You can therefore conclude that most of the salaries, wages, and benefits are fixed. Fuel and oil—Fixed Costs in Short-Term and Variable Costs in Long-Term: Southwest states that fuel and oil expense decreased 18 percent as the available seat miles decreased by 13.6 percent. Most of this decrease was due to a decrease in the prices of jet fuel.


pages: 654 words: 120,154

The Firm by Duff McDonald

"World Economic Forum" Davos, Alan Greenspan, AOL-Time Warner, Asian financial crisis, asset light, Bear Stearns, benefit corporation, book value, borderless world, collective bargaining, commoditize, conceptual framework, corporate governance, creative destruction, credit crunch, family office, financial independence, Frederick Winslow Taylor, Glass-Steagall Act, income inequality, invisible hand, Jeff Bezos, Joseph Schumpeter, Ken Thompson, Kickstarter, laissez-faire capitalism, Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, new economy, pets.com, Ponzi scheme, Ralph Nader, risk tolerance, risk-adjusted returns, Robert Solow, scientific management, shareholder value, Sheryl Sandberg, Silicon Valley, Steve Jobs, supply-chain management, The Nature of the Firm, vertical integration, young professional

In 1937 the Boston office hired Paul Cherington, a former marketing professor at Harvard Business School and author of Consumer Wants and How to Satisfy Them. The book was one of the first expressions of the product cycle—the idea that, like humans, products had different life stages (birth, growth, maturity, and decline) and that opportunities and problems changed in each stage. After the 1935 Wagner Act, which mandated collective bargaining with unions, McKinsey created its own specialty in the field. It hired Harold Bergen, former labor-relations manager at Procter & Gamble, and began advising clients on how to deal with their growing masses of employees and the rise of labor unions. Bergen brought with him a client list that upgraded McKinsey’s roster in one fell swoop: Cluett-Peabody, H.J.


pages: 410 words: 119,823

Radical Technologies: The Design of Everyday Life by Adam Greenfield

3D printing, Airbnb, algorithmic bias, algorithmic management, AlphaGo, augmented reality, autonomous vehicles, bank run, barriers to entry, basic income, bitcoin, Black Lives Matter, blockchain, Boston Dynamics, business intelligence, business process, Californian Ideology, call centre, cellular automata, centralized clearinghouse, centre right, Chuck Templeton: OpenTable:, circular economy, cloud computing, Cody Wilson, collective bargaining, combinatorial explosion, Computer Numeric Control, computer vision, Conway's Game of Life, CRISPR, cryptocurrency, David Graeber, deep learning, DeepMind, dematerialisation, digital map, disruptive innovation, distributed ledger, driverless car, drone strike, Elon Musk, Ethereum, ethereum blockchain, facts on the ground, fiat currency, fulfillment center, gentrification, global supply chain, global village, Goodhart's law, Google Glasses, Herman Kahn, Ian Bogost, IBM and the Holocaust, industrial robot, informal economy, information retrieval, Internet of things, Jacob Silverman, James Watt: steam engine, Jane Jacobs, Jeff Bezos, Jeff Hawkins, job automation, jobs below the API, John Conway, John Markoff, John Maynard Keynes: Economic Possibilities for our Grandchildren, John Maynard Keynes: technological unemployment, John Perry Barlow, John von Neumann, joint-stock company, Kevin Kelly, Kickstarter, Kiva Systems, late capitalism, Leo Hollis, license plate recognition, lifelogging, M-Pesa, Mark Zuckerberg, means of production, megacity, megastructure, minimum viable product, money: store of value / unit of account / medium of exchange, natural language processing, Network effects, New Urbanism, Nick Bostrom, Occupy movement, Oculus Rift, off-the-grid, PalmPilot, Pareto efficiency, pattern recognition, Pearl River Delta, performance metric, Peter Eisenman, Peter Thiel, planetary scale, Ponzi scheme, post scarcity, post-work, printed gun, proprietary trading, RAND corporation, recommendation engine, RFID, rolodex, Rutger Bregman, Satoshi Nakamoto, self-driving car, sentiment analysis, shareholder value, sharing economy, Shenzhen special economic zone , Sidewalk Labs, Silicon Valley, smart cities, smart contracts, social intelligence, sorting algorithm, special economic zone, speech recognition, stakhanovite, statistical model, stem cell, technoutopianism, Tesla Model S, the built environment, The Death and Life of Great American Cities, The Future of Employment, Tony Fadell, transaction costs, Uber for X, undersea cable, universal basic income, urban planning, urban sprawl, vertical integration, Vitalik Buterin, warehouse robotics, When a measure becomes a target, Whole Earth Review, WikiLeaks, women in the workforce

Hours are long; the work is numbingly repetitive, produces injuries at surreal rates,5 and often involves exposure to toxic chemicals.6 Wages are low and suicide rates among the workforce are distressingly high.7 The low cost of Chinese labor, coupled to workers’ relative lack of ability to contest these conditions, is critical to the industry’s ability to assemble the components called for in each model’s bill of materials, apply a healthy markup8 and still bring it to market at an acceptable price point. Should Chinese wages begin to approximate Western norms,9 or local labor win for itself anything in the way of real collective bargaining power, we may be certain that manufacturers will find other, more congenial places to assemble their devices. But for now Shenzhen remains far and away the preeminent global site of smartphone manufacture. Take a step or two further back in the production process, and the picture gets bleaker still.


pages: 394 words: 124,743

Overhaul: An Insider's Account of the Obama Administration's Emergency Rescue of the Auto Industry by Steven Rattner

activist fund / activist shareholder / activist investor, affirmative action, Alan Greenspan, bank run, banking crisis, Bear Stearns, business cycle, Carl Icahn, centre right, collapse of Lehman Brothers, collective bargaining, corporate governance, corporate raider, creative destruction, credit crunch, David Brooks, David Ricardo: comparative advantage, declining real wages, Ford Model T, friendly fire, hiring and firing, income inequality, Joseph Schumpeter, low skilled workers, McMansion, Mikhail Gorbachev, moral hazard, Ronald Reagan, Saturday Night Live, shareholder value, subprime mortgage crisis, supply-chain management, too big to fail

"This is not a time to feel good." After a few more awkward seconds, Holiefield reached across and shook Horrocks's hand. Horrocks mentioned the incident to Bloom the next day, saying it had upset him. But Bloom replied, "Don't take it personally. To Ron, you just undid one hundred years of collective bargaining." Despite the progress on legacy costs, everything else was at a standstill. The wage negotiations were stalled, and Fiat still hadn't produced the projections it had promised Jimmy and the banks. Less than three weeks remained. Bad blood between Fiat and Chrysler was the source of the delay as Sergio and Nardelli squared off over their divergent views of the business plan.


pages: 464 words: 121,983

Disaster Capitalism: Making a Killing Out of Catastrophe by Antony Loewenstein

"World Economic Forum" Davos, activist fund / activist shareholder / activist investor, Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, American Legislative Exchange Council, anti-communist, Asian financial crisis, benefit corporation, British Empire, business logic, Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty, Chelsea Manning, clean water, collective bargaining, colonial rule, corporate social responsibility, Corrections Corporation of America, do well by doing good, Edward Snowden, facts on the ground, failed state, falling living standards, Ferguson, Missouri, financial independence, full employment, G4S, Goldman Sachs: Vampire Squid, housing crisis, illegal immigration, immigration reform, income inequality, Julian Assange, Kickstarter, Leo Hollis, mandatory minimum, market fundamentalism, mass incarceration, Naomi Klein, neoliberal agenda, obamacare, Occupy movement, offshore financial centre, open borders, private military company, profit motive, Ralph Nader, Ronald Reagan, Russell Brand, Satyajit Das, Scramble for Africa, Slavoj Žižek, stem cell, the medium is the message, trade liberalization, vertical integration, WikiLeaks, work culture

“Is Syriza radical enough to deal with Greece’s many issues? I worry that they accept the EU framework. Alexis Tsipras thinks you can reform the EU terms on which Greece implements measures against austerity, but Syriza needs to make a decision. The Syriza program, to strengthen wages and collective bargaining, is incompatible with EU demands.” It was a view expressed by many who voted for Syriza in 2015—though exiting the euro remained a minority demand. Many in the corporate press expressed concern that a Greek exit from the Eurozone was a possibility. With popular opposition to the troika never stronger, Kampagiannis wanted his country to consider leaving both the euro and the EU: “The sky won’t fall in.


pages: 413 words: 119,587

Machines of Loving Grace: The Quest for Common Ground Between Humans and Robots by John Markoff

A Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace, AI winter, airport security, Andy Rubin, Apollo 11, Apple II, artificial general intelligence, Asilomar, augmented reality, autonomous vehicles, backpropagation, basic income, Baxter: Rethink Robotics, Bill Atkinson, Bill Duvall, bioinformatics, Boston Dynamics, Brewster Kahle, Burning Man, call centre, cellular automata, Charles Babbage, Chris Urmson, Claude Shannon: information theory, Clayton Christensen, clean water, cloud computing, cognitive load, collective bargaining, computer age, Computer Lib, computer vision, crowdsourcing, Danny Hillis, DARPA: Urban Challenge, data acquisition, Dean Kamen, deep learning, DeepMind, deskilling, Do you want to sell sugared water for the rest of your life?, don't be evil, Douglas Engelbart, Douglas Engelbart, Douglas Hofstadter, Dr. Strangelove, driverless car, dual-use technology, Dynabook, Edward Snowden, Elon Musk, Erik Brynjolfsson, Evgeny Morozov, factory automation, Fairchild Semiconductor, Fillmore Auditorium, San Francisco, From Mathematics to the Technologies of Life and Death, future of work, Galaxy Zoo, General Magic , Geoffrey Hinton, Google Glasses, Google X / Alphabet X, Grace Hopper, Gunnar Myrdal, Gödel, Escher, Bach, Hacker Ethic, Hans Moravec, haute couture, Herbert Marcuse, hive mind, hype cycle, hypertext link, indoor plumbing, industrial robot, information retrieval, Internet Archive, Internet of things, invention of the wheel, Ivan Sutherland, Jacques de Vaucanson, Jaron Lanier, Jeff Bezos, Jeff Hawkins, job automation, John Conway, John Markoff, John Maynard Keynes: Economic Possibilities for our Grandchildren, John Maynard Keynes: technological unemployment, John Perry Barlow, John von Neumann, Kaizen: continuous improvement, Kevin Kelly, Kiva Systems, knowledge worker, Kodak vs Instagram, labor-force participation, loose coupling, Marc Andreessen, Mark Zuckerberg, Marshall McLuhan, medical residency, Menlo Park, military-industrial complex, Mitch Kapor, Mother of all demos, natural language processing, Neil Armstrong, new economy, Norbert Wiener, PageRank, PalmPilot, pattern recognition, Philippa Foot, pre–internet, RAND corporation, Ray Kurzweil, reality distortion field, Recombinant DNA, Richard Stallman, Robert Gordon, Robert Solow, Rodney Brooks, Sand Hill Road, Second Machine Age, self-driving car, semantic web, Seymour Hersh, shareholder value, side project, Silicon Valley, Silicon Valley startup, Singularitarianism, skunkworks, Skype, social software, speech recognition, stealth mode startup, Stephen Hawking, Steve Ballmer, Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, Steven Levy, Stewart Brand, Strategic Defense Initiative, strong AI, superintelligent machines, tech worker, technological singularity, Ted Nelson, TED Talk, telemarketer, telepresence, telepresence robot, Tenerife airport disaster, The Coming Technological Singularity, the medium is the message, Thorstein Veblen, Tony Fadell, trolley problem, Turing test, Vannevar Bush, Vernor Vinge, warehouse automation, warehouse robotics, Watson beat the top human players on Jeopardy!, We are as Gods, Whole Earth Catalog, William Shockley: the traitorous eight, zero-sum game

His union first battled with newspaper publishers in the 1960s and struck a historic accommodation in the 1970s. Since then, however, the power of unions has declined dramatically. In the past three decades, the unionized percentage of the U.S. workforce has fallen from 20.1 to 11.3 percent. Collective bargaining will not play a significant role in defending workers’ jobs against the next wave of computerization. Printers and typographers in particular were highly skilled workers who fell prey to the technical advances of a generation of minicomputers during the 1970s, and the cost of computing plummeted as technologies shifted from transistor-based machines to lower-cost integrated circuits.


pages: 288 words: 16,556

Finance and the Good Society by Robert J. Shiller

Alan Greenspan, Alvin Roth, bank run, banking crisis, barriers to entry, Bear Stearns, behavioural economics, benefit corporation, Bernie Madoff, buy and hold, capital asset pricing model, capital controls, Carmen Reinhart, Cass Sunstein, cognitive dissonance, collateralized debt obligation, collective bargaining, computer age, corporate governance, Daniel Kahneman / Amos Tversky, democratizing finance, Deng Xiaoping, diversification, diversified portfolio, Donald Trump, Edward Glaeser, eurozone crisis, experimental economics, financial engineering, financial innovation, financial thriller, fixed income, full employment, fundamental attribution error, George Akerlof, Great Leap Forward, Ida Tarbell, income inequality, information asymmetry, invisible hand, John Bogle, joint-stock company, Joseph Schumpeter, Kenneth Arrow, Kenneth Rogoff, land reform, loss aversion, Louis Bachelier, Mahatma Gandhi, Mark Zuckerberg, market bubble, market design, means of production, microcredit, moral hazard, mortgage debt, Myron Scholes, Nelson Mandela, Occupy movement, passive investing, Ponzi scheme, prediction markets, profit maximization, quantitative easing, random walk, regulatory arbitrage, Richard Thaler, Right to Buy, road to serfdom, Robert Shiller, Ronald Reagan, selection bias, self-driving car, shareholder value, Sharpe ratio, short selling, Simon Kuznets, Skype, social contagion, Steven Pinker, tail risk, telemarketer, Thales and the olive presses, Thales of Miletus, The Market for Lemons, The Theory of the Leisure Class by Thorstein Veblen, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, Thorstein Veblen, too big to fail, Vanguard fund, young professional, zero-sum game, Zipcar

But their in uence has been waning throughout much of the world. 15 Symbolically important changes came with the aggressive moves of Ronald Reagan, who broke the U.S. air tra c controllers’ strike in 1981, and Margaret Thatcher, who broke the U.K. coal miners’ strike in 1985. Unions’ traditional source of power, collective bargaining, has been weakened by international competition and new labor laws. We as a society must devise other, possibly very di erent, ways to energize lobbying e orts on behalf of neglected interests. We need lobbyists as representatives for all groups in our society, including the “other 99%” with which the Occupy Wall Street protesters identify.


pages: 637 words: 128,673

Democracy Incorporated by Sheldon S. Wolin

affirmative action, Berlin Wall, British Empire, centre right, coherent worldview, collective bargaining, colonial rule, corporate governance, creative destruction, cuban missile crisis, David Ricardo: comparative advantage, dematerialisation, Donald Trump, Fall of the Berlin Wall, full employment, illegal immigration, invisible hand, It's morning again in America, mass incarceration, money market fund, mutually assured destruction, new economy, offshore financial centre, Plato's cave, public intellectual, radical decentralization, Ralph Nader, Ronald Reagan, school vouchers, single-payer health, stem cell, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, Thomas Kuhn: the structure of scientific revolutions, Thorstein Veblen

., male) military conscription was instituted; the economy was controlled by government “planning” directed toward prescribed production goals, prohibited from producing most consumer goods, and subjected to central allocation of vital materials. The labor force, for all practical purposes, was conscripted: its mobility was restricted, wages and prices were fixed, while collective bargaining was put on hold. Food and fuel were rationed, censorship was introduced, and the government undertook to wage a propaganda war, enlisting radio, newspapers, and the movie industry in the single purpose of winning the war. There was an all-enveloping atmosphere of apprehension: uniformed soldiers everywhere, warnings about spies, news censorship, propaganda films, heroic war movies, patriotic music, casualty figures.


pages: 482 words: 122,497

The Wrecking Crew: How Conservatives Rule by Thomas Frank

"Hurricane Katrina" Superdome, affirmative action, Alan Greenspan, anti-communist, barriers to entry, Berlin Wall, Bernie Madoff, British Empire, business cycle, classic study, collective bargaining, corporate governance, Credit Default Swap, David Brooks, disinformation, edge city, financial deregulation, full employment, George Gilder, guest worker program, Ida Tarbell, income inequality, invisible hand, job satisfaction, Michael Milken, Mikhail Gorbachev, Mont Pelerin Society, mortgage debt, Naomi Klein, Nelson Mandela, new economy, P = NP, plutocrats, Ponzi scheme, Ralph Nader, rent control, Richard Florida, road to serfdom, rolodex, Ronald Reagan, school vouchers, shareholder value, Silicon Valley, stem cell, stock buybacks, Strategic Defense Initiative, Telecommunications Act of 1996, the scientific method, too big to fail, Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, union organizing, War on Poverty

The answer: one.32 Almost every career civil servant I met during the Bush 43 years told me the same general story: they were dispirited; they were depressed; they were afraid of speaking up; they were thinking about leaving. “Federal employees feel under siege,” said John Threlkeld, the assistant legislative director for AFGE, a federal employees’ union. Every now and then I’ll hear someone say if their job’s not going to get contracted out or if they’re not going to get stripped of their collective bargaining rights, then they’re going to lose their civil service protections against politics and favoritism. I think there’s very low morale, a feeling that their services are not valued and that their careers are disposable. You know, there’s an increasing emphasis on federal employees having very short-term careers and then going back out to the private sector. . . .


Why Things Bite Back: Technology and the Revenge of Unintended Consequences by Edward Tenner

air freight, Alfred Russel Wallace, animal electricity, blue-collar work, Charles Babbage, clean water, collective bargaining, computer age, dematerialisation, Donald Knuth, Edward Jenner, Exxon Valdez, gentrification, germ theory of disease, Herman Kahn, informal economy, job automation, John Harrison: Longitude, John von Neumann, Lewis Mumford, Loma Prieta earthquake, loose coupling, Louis Pasteur, machine translation, mass immigration, Menlo Park, nuclear winter, oil shock, placebo effect, planned obsolescence, Productivity paradox, Ralph Waldo Emerson, rising living standards, Robert X Cringely, safety bicycle, scientific management, Shoshana Zuboff, Silicon Valley, sugar pill, systems thinking, technoutopianism, The Soul of a New Machine, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, Thomas Malthus, Thorstein Veblen, Triangle Shirtwaist Factory

Injuries rose sharply in some industries in the 197os and 198os, sometimes wiping out decades of gains. But steadily the problem becomes less technical and more social. We know more and more about making work safe. The obstacle is not the availability of technology; it is having the money and will to deploy it. The question is whether some combination of employer self-interest, collective bargaining, and legislation can require using what is already there. Rewards or pressure from supervisors sometimes lead workers to evade 4 safeguards, increasing risk of injury. And of course there is an ethical question of how much risk a rational worker should be allowed to take voluntarily for a higher income—a question familiar to anyone who has seen the denouement of The Magnificent Ambersons.


pages: 434 words: 127,608

The Myth of the Blitz by Angus Calder

anti-communist, Arthur Marwick, British Empire, collective bargaining, Etonian, first-past-the-post, full employment, Monroe Doctrine, post-war consensus, Red Clydeside

Churchill’s new Cabinet had received from the House of Commons, on 22 May, an Emergency Powers Act which gave it extraordinary scope for coercion – complete control over persons and property, so that Bevin, for instance, could direct any person to perform any service he thought fit, with wages, hours and conditions set by himself. In July, Order 1305 made strikes and lockouts illegal wherever collective bargaining between trade unions and employers existed. But large-scale direction of labour didn’t occur at this stage. Most people were still working in jobs they had voluntarily sought. Herbert Morrison, the new Minister of Supply, called on Britain’s workers to ‘Go to it’. Lord Beaverbrook dramatised the crisis in aircraft supply by insisting that Ministry of Aircraft Production contractors worked on Sundays.


pages: 516 words: 116,875

Greater: Britain After the Storm by Penny Mordaunt, Chris Lewis

"World Economic Forum" Davos, 2021 United States Capitol attack, 3D printing, accelerated depreciation, Ada Lovelace, Airbnb, banking crisis, battle of ideas, behavioural economics, Bernie Madoff, bitcoin, Black Lives Matter, blockchain, Bob Geldof, Boeing 747, Boris Johnson, Bretton Woods, Brexit referendum, British Empire, carbon footprint, Charles Babbage, collective bargaining, Corn Laws, corporate social responsibility, COVID-19, credit crunch, crowdsourcing, data is not the new oil, data is the new oil, David Attenborough, death from overwork, Deng Xiaoping, Diane Coyle, Donald Trump, Downton Abbey, driverless car, Elon Musk, en.wikipedia.org, experimental economics, failed state, fake news, Firefox, fixed income, full employment, gender pay gap, global pandemic, global supply chain, green new deal, happiness index / gross national happiness, high-speed rail, impact investing, Jeremy Corbyn, Khartoum Gordon, lateral thinking, Live Aid, lockdown, loss aversion, low skilled workers, microaggression, mittelstand, moral hazard, Neil Kinnock, Nelson Mandela, Ocado, off-the-grid, offshore financial centre, Panamax, Ponzi scheme, post-truth, quantitative easing, remote working, road to serfdom, Salesforce, Sheryl Sandberg, Skype, smart cities, social distancing, South China Sea, sovereign wealth fund, Steve Jobs, Steven Pinker, surveillance capitalism, transaction costs, transcontinental railway

The guilds of London, associations of craftsmen or merchants designed for mutual aid, were established in every trade to teach skills, maintain standards and monitor market conditions. Often, these were accompanied by patronage from royalty too, to help regulate the markets. Trade unions followed in the footsteps of the guilds to provide the power of collective bargaining to the labour forces, in what is ultimately another type of market mitigation. It is a central idea of this book that capitalism and democracy are reflexive and reciprocal. Some believe they can exist without one another, and that may be true in the short term, but such independence of ideas has never been tried in the long term.


pages: 453 words: 122,586

Samuelson Friedman: The Battle Over the Free Market by Nicholas Wapshott

2021 United States Capitol attack, Alan Greenspan, bank run, basic income, battle of ideas, Bear Stearns, Berlin Wall, Bretton Woods, business cycle, California gold rush, collective bargaining, coronavirus, corporate governance, COVID-19, creative destruction, David Ricardo: comparative advantage, Donald Trump, double helix, en.wikipedia.org, fiat currency, financial engineering, fixed income, floating exchange rates, full employment, God and Mammon, greed is good, Gunnar Myrdal, income inequality, indoor plumbing, invisible hand, John von Neumann, Joseph Schumpeter, Kenneth Arrow, laissez-faire capitalism, light touch regulation, liquidity trap, lockdown, low interest rates, Machinery of Freedom by David Friedman, market bubble, market clearing, mass immigration, military-industrial complex, Money creation, money market fund, Mont Pelerin Society, moral hazard, new economy, Nixon shock, Nixon triggered the end of the Bretton Woods system, paradox of thrift, Paul Samuelson, Philip Mirowski, Phillips curve, price mechanism, price stability, public intellectual, pushing on a string, quantitative easing, rent control, road to serfdom, Robert Bork, Robert Solow, Ronald Coase, Ronald Reagan, school vouchers, seminal paper, Simon Kuznets, social distancing, Tax Reform Act of 1986, The Chicago School, The Great Moderation, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, Thomas Kuhn: the structure of scientific revolutions, Thorstein Veblen, too big to fail, trickle-down economics, universal basic income, upwardly mobile, urban renewal, War on Poverty, We are all Keynesians now, Works Progress Administration, zero-sum game

The minimum wage had not lifted the incomes of the poor but had thrown Americans out of work. Grand publicly funded schemes such as the interstate highway network and vast hydroelectric dams were merely “tributes to the capacity of government to command great resources.”16 Labor unions, set up to protect the rights of their members and collectively bargain for better wages, could no longer be considered “on the side of the angels.”17 Chapter by chapter, Friedman laid out his vision of how an economy, freed from tinkering by politicians, could eventually make everyone more prosperous and fulfilled than the existing mixed economy, part private, part government system.


Theory of Games and Economic Behavior: 60th Anniversary Commemorative Edition (Princeton Classic Editions) by John von Neumann, Oskar Morgenstern

Abraham Wald, Albert Einstein, business cycle, collective bargaining, full employment, Isaac Newton, John Nash: game theory, John von Neumann, linear programming, Nash equilibrium, Parkinson's law, Paul Samuelson, profit motive, RAND corporation, the market place, zero-sum game

There is an optimal probability of bluffing that will maximize your mean gain against a rival who is following optimal probability strategy to maximize his gain. 2. In quizzing students, I select questions from the textbook at random so that students must prepare all the work. 3. Forbidding strikes and lockouts must change the outcome of collective bargaining. Beyond the two-person case of perfect opposition, game theory becomes more complicated and less definite. (When three sadists step into a room, two will gang up on the third but we can’t predict which two.) Still the book abounds with pregnant suggestions. Game theory, and its extension, can help a little in playing the horses, buying stocks, perhaps negotiating with the Russians in a world involving the Chinese.

See Player, chief Choice actual anterior axiom of pattern of random of strategy umpire’s Circularity Closed sets Closed systems Coalitions absolute certainly defeated certainly winning and characteristic function competition for concept of decisive defeated definition of of different strengths final first formation of interplay of losing minimal winning profitable minimal winning Set Back as a model of subcoalitions unprofitable value of weighted majority winning Collective bargaining Collusion. See Coalitions Colonel Blotto game Column of a matrix Combinatorics Commodity Communications, imperfect Communism. See also Economy, planned communistic Commutativity. See also Saddle points Compatibility Compensations Competition in business for coalitions imperfect monopolistic perfect pure in social behavior Complement Complementarity Complementation Complete ordering.


pages: 441 words: 136,954

That Used to Be Us by Thomas L. Friedman, Michael Mandelbaum

addicted to oil, Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, Alan Greenspan, Albert Einstein, Amazon Web Services, American Society of Civil Engineers: Report Card, Andy Kessler, Ayatollah Khomeini, bank run, barriers to entry, Bear Stearns, Berlin Wall, blue-collar work, Bretton Woods, business process, call centre, carbon footprint, carbon tax, Carmen Reinhart, Cass Sunstein, centre right, Climatic Research Unit, cloud computing, collective bargaining, corporate social responsibility, cotton gin, creative destruction, Credit Default Swap, crowdsourcing, delayed gratification, drop ship, energy security, Fall of the Berlin Wall, fear of failure, full employment, Google Earth, illegal immigration, immigration reform, income inequality, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), job automation, Kenneth Rogoff, knowledge economy, Lean Startup, low interest rates, low skilled workers, Mark Zuckerberg, market design, mass immigration, more computing power than Apollo, Network effects, Nixon triggered the end of the Bretton Woods system, obamacare, oil shock, PalmPilot, pension reform, precautionary principle, proprietary trading, Report Card for America’s Infrastructure, rising living standards, Ronald Reagan, Rosa Parks, Saturday Night Live, shareholder value, Silicon Valley, Silicon Valley startup, Skype, Steve Jobs, the long tail, the scientific method, Thomas L Friedman, too big to fail, University of East Anglia, vertical integration, WikiLeaks

It has spent $2.1 million on electioneering since the beginning of last month, according to FEC filings for two campaign committees associated with the union. That is just shy of the $2.2 million spent for that period in 2006. This explains why the Republican governors of Wisconsin and Ohio moved to curb collective-bargaining rights by their state public-employee unions early in 2011. They could achieve two goals at once: save money and hurt one of the Democratic Party’s key funding sources. As at the federal level, spending patterns for state and local governments will have to change. John Hood, the president of the John Locke Foundation, a state-policy think tank based in North Carolina, explained it this way in a report he wrote about on this issue, The States in Crisis: “When tax revenues declined precipitously as a result of the 2008 financial crisis, state officials’ optimistic budgeting crashed into cold, hard reality.”


pages: 444 words: 130,646

Twitter and Tear Gas: The Power and Fragility of Networked Protest by Zeynep Tufekci

"Hurricane Katrina" Superdome, 4chan, active measures, Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, algorithmic bias, AltaVista, Alvin Toffler, Andy Carvin, anti-communist, Bernie Sanders, Black Lives Matter, bread and circuses, British Empire, citizen journalism, collective bargaining, conceptual framework, context collapse, crowdsourcing, digital divide, disinformation, Donald Trump, Edward Snowden, end-to-end encryption, Evgeny Morozov, fake news, feminist movement, Ferguson, Missouri, Filter Bubble, Future Shock, gentrification, Howard Rheingold, income inequality, index card, interchangeable parts, invention of movable type, invention of writing, John Gilmore, John Perry Barlow, loose coupling, Mahatma Gandhi, Mark Zuckerberg, Menlo Park, Mikhail Gorbachev, moral hazard, moral panic, Naomi Klein, Network effects, new economy, obamacare, Occupy movement, offshore financial centre, pre–internet, race to the bottom, RAND corporation, real-name policy, ride hailing / ride sharing, Rosa Parks, sharing economy, Silicon Valley, Skype, Snapchat, Streisand effect, the strength of weak ties, The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere, The Theory of the Leisure Class by Thorstein Veblen, Thorstein Veblen, Twitter Arab Spring, We are the 99%, WikiLeaks, Yochai Benkler

Tahrir’s young rebels captured the world’s attention with their deft use of social media. But perhaps no group was more transfixed by the ground-level view of a revolution in the making than their fellow activists. There were other antecedent movements in Western nations as well: the 2011 occupation of the Wisconsin capitol by students and union workers who objected to collective bargaining being made illegal, and southern Europe’s “indignados” who had staged many occupations in multiple countries and had rocked Spain, Italy, and Greece. There are great differences in the material realities of a nation like the United States and one like Egypt, but there was a common thread among activists: a sense of challenging the powers that be whose rule had become increasingly unchecked by balancing forces.


pages: 462 words: 129,022

People, Power, and Profits: Progressive Capitalism for an Age of Discontent by Joseph E. Stiglitz

affirmative action, Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, Alan Greenspan, AlphaGo, antiwork, barriers to entry, basic income, battle of ideas, behavioural economics, Berlin Wall, Bernie Madoff, Bernie Sanders, Big Tech, business cycle, Cambridge Analytica, Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty, carbon tax, carried interest, central bank independence, clean water, collective bargaining, company town, corporate governance, corporate social responsibility, creative destruction, Credit Default Swap, crony capitalism, DeepMind, deglobalization, deindustrialization, disinformation, disintermediation, diversified portfolio, Donald Trump, driverless car, Edward Snowden, Elon Musk, Erik Brynjolfsson, fake news, Fall of the Berlin Wall, financial deregulation, financial innovation, financial intermediation, Firefox, Fractional reserve banking, Francis Fukuyama: the end of history, full employment, George Akerlof, gig economy, Glass-Steagall Act, global macro, global supply chain, greed is good, green new deal, income inequality, information asymmetry, invisible hand, Isaac Newton, Jean Tirole, Jeff Bezos, job automation, John Maynard Keynes: Economic Possibilities for our Grandchildren, John von Neumann, Joseph Schumpeter, labor-force participation, late fees, low interest rates, low skilled workers, Mark Zuckerberg, market fundamentalism, mass incarceration, meta-analysis, minimum wage unemployment, moral hazard, new economy, New Urbanism, obamacare, opioid epidemic / opioid crisis, patent troll, Paul Samuelson, pension reform, Peter Thiel, postindustrial economy, price discrimination, principal–agent problem, profit maximization, purchasing power parity, race to the bottom, Ralph Nader, rent-seeking, Richard Thaler, Robert Bork, Robert Gordon, Robert Mercer, Robert Shiller, Robert Solow, Ronald Reagan, Savings and loan crisis, search costs, secular stagnation, self-driving car, shareholder value, Shoshana Zuboff, Silicon Valley, Simon Kuznets, South China Sea, sovereign wealth fund, speech recognition, Steve Bannon, Steve Jobs, surveillance capitalism, TED Talk, The Chicago School, The Future of Employment, The Great Moderation, the market place, The Rise and Fall of American Growth, the scientific method, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, too big to fail, trade liberalization, transaction costs, trickle-down economics, two-sided market, universal basic income, Unsafe at Any Speed, Upton Sinclair, uranium enrichment, War on Poverty, working-age population, Yochai Benkler

When we act together and in concert, we can be far better off than when we act alone. People get together to cooperate in a whole variety of ways. They form partnerships and corporations to produce, clubs and social organizations to socialize, voluntary associations and NGOs to work together for causes they believe in. They form unions to engage in collective bargaining, and they engage in class action lawsuits—cooperative actions by a group of people who have been injured, say, by the actions of a corporation, knowing that any one, acting alone, would not be able to get redress.28 One of the strategies of corporations and the Right has been to preserve the current imbalance of power by making such collective action more difficult, making it more difficult for workers to unionize, making it more difficult for individuals to bring class action suits or to have recourse to public courts.


pages: 466 words: 127,728

The Death of Money: The Coming Collapse of the International Monetary System by James Rickards

"World Economic Forum" Davos, Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, Alan Greenspan, Asian financial crisis, asset allocation, Ayatollah Khomeini, bank run, banking crisis, Bear Stearns, Ben Bernanke: helicopter money, bitcoin, Black Monday: stock market crash in 1987, Black Swan, Boeing 747, Bretton Woods, BRICs, business climate, business cycle, buy and hold, capital controls, Carmen Reinhart, central bank independence, centre right, collateralized debt obligation, collective bargaining, complexity theory, computer age, credit crunch, currency peg, David Graeber, debt deflation, Deng Xiaoping, diversification, Dr. Strangelove, Edward Snowden, eurozone crisis, fiat currency, financial engineering, financial innovation, financial intermediation, financial repression, fixed income, Flash crash, floating exchange rates, forward guidance, G4S, George Akerlof, global macro, global reserve currency, global supply chain, Goodhart's law, Growth in a Time of Debt, guns versus butter model, Herman Kahn, high-speed rail, income inequality, inflation targeting, information asymmetry, invisible hand, jitney, John Meriwether, junk bonds, Kenneth Rogoff, labor-force participation, Lao Tzu, liquidationism / Banker’s doctrine / the Treasury view, liquidity trap, Long Term Capital Management, low interest rates, mandelbrot fractal, margin call, market bubble, market clearing, market design, megaproject, Modern Monetary Theory, Money creation, money market fund, money: store of value / unit of account / medium of exchange, mutually assured destruction, Nixon triggered the end of the Bretton Woods system, obamacare, offshore financial centre, oil shale / tar sands, open economy, operational security, plutocrats, Ponzi scheme, power law, price stability, public intellectual, quantitative easing, RAND corporation, reserve currency, risk-adjusted returns, Rod Stewart played at Stephen Schwarzman birthday party, Ronald Reagan, Satoshi Nakamoto, Silicon Valley, Silicon Valley startup, Skype, Solyndra, sovereign wealth fund, special drawing rights, Stuxnet, The Market for Lemons, Thomas Kuhn: the structure of scientific revolutions, Thomas L Friedman, too big to fail, trade route, undersea cable, uranium enrichment, Washington Consensus, working-age population, yield curve

It was expanded significantly in 1976 with the requirement that worker delegates hold board seats of any corporation with more than five hundred employees. Codetermination does not replace unions but complements them by allowing worker input in corporate decision making in a regular and continuous way, in addition to the sporadic and often disruptive processes of collective bargaining and occasional strikes. The model is unique to Germany and may not be copied specifically by other EU members. What is significant about codetermination for Europe is not the exact model but the example it sets with regard to improving productivity and competitiveness for business. The German model compares favorably with that of China, where workers have few rights, and the United States, where labor-management relations are adversarial rather than cooperative.


pages: 493 words: 145,326

Fire and Steam: A New History of the Railways in Britain by Christian Wolmar

accounting loophole / creative accounting, Beeching cuts, carbon footprint, collective bargaining, computer age, Corn Laws, creative destruction, cross-subsidies, Crossrail, financial independence, hiring and firing, James Watt: steam engine, joint-stock company, low cost airline, railway mania, rising living standards, Silicon Valley, South Sea Bubble, strikebreaker, Traffic in Towns by Colin Buchanan, union organizing, upwardly mobile, vertical integration, working poor, yield management

Improvements came slowly, such as the passing of the Employers’ Liability Act in 1880, which meant the employers were no longer free of responsibility for the accidents they caused to their workers. Membership of the union grew in the latter part of the 1880s to reach 26,000 by the end of that decade, though still well under 5 per cent of the industry’s workforce. However, the union established the beginnings of a system of collective bargaining when the North Eastern agreed to meet a delegation accompanied by trade union officials during a dispute in 1889. That was to prove the spur to more rapid growth as workers could clearly see the advantages of membership. The main union for drivers and firemen, the Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen (ASLEF), established itself in 1880 through the efforts of a group of locomen on the Great Western and was open only to those on the footplate.


pages: 452 words: 134,502

Hacking Politics: How Geeks, Progressives, the Tea Party, Gamers, Anarchists and Suits Teamed Up to Defeat SOPA and Save the Internet by David Moon, Patrick Ruffini, David Segal, Aaron Swartz, Lawrence Lessig, Cory Doctorow, Zoe Lofgren, Jamie Laurie, Ron Paul, Mike Masnick, Kim Dotcom, Tiffiniy Cheng, Alexis Ohanian, Nicole Powers, Josh Levy

4chan, Aaron Swartz, Adam Curtis, Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, Airbnb, Bernie Sanders, Big Tech, Burning Man, call centre, Cass Sunstein, Chelsea Manning, collective bargaining, creative destruction, crony capitalism, crowdsourcing, digital rights, disinformation, don't be evil, dual-use technology, facts on the ground, Firefox, Free Software Foundation, Hacker News, hive mind, hockey-stick growth, immigration reform, informal economy, jimmy wales, John Perry Barlow, Julian Assange, Kickstarter, liquidity trap, lolcat, machine readable, Mark Zuckerberg, obamacare, Occupy movement, offshore financial centre, Overton Window, peer-to-peer, plutocrats, power law, prisoner's dilemma, radical decentralization, rent-seeking, Silicon Valley, Skype, Streisand effect, technoutopianism, The future is already here, WikiLeaks, Y Combinator, Yochai Benkler

We were striving to enact legislation that would guarantee that full-time employees for the city and major city contractors earn at least $10.19 per hour—not much to ask for in high-cost New England. Our efforts to pass the ordinance fell just short—our mayor flipped his position on the issue and brought a key councilmember with him—but several bargaining units that would have benefited from the law organized into unions and achieved wages at that level or higher through collective bargaining, and many of the activists who cut their teeth in that effort still serve as the heart of Providence’s progressive activist community. Over the course of my near-decade in politics I racked up a 100% voting record as per the various unions’ legislative scorecards, was endorsed by several major unions for my Congressional run in 2010, and regularly wore a Jobs with Justice hooded sweatshirt on the floor of the House of Reps.


pages: 489 words: 132,734

A History of Future Cities by Daniel Brook

Berlin Wall, British Empire, business process, business process outsourcing, call centre, carbon footprint, Celtic Tiger, collateralized debt obligation, collective bargaining, company town, Credit Default Swap, credit default swaps / collateralized debt obligations, Deng Xiaoping, desegregation, Edward Glaeser, Fall of the Berlin Wall, financial innovation, glass ceiling, high-speed rail, indoor plumbing, joint-stock company, land reform, Mikhail Gorbachev, New Urbanism, open economy, Parag Khanna, Pearl River Delta, Potemkin village, profit motive, rent control, Shenzhen special economic zone , SimCity, sovereign wealth fund, special economic zone, starchitect, Suez canal 1869, trade route, urban planning, urban renewal, working poor

In this respect, Dubai, for all its diversity, is the opposite of Old Shanghai, where all were welcome to stay, with neither passport nor visa nor job offer required. Dubai’s guest worker system places limits on social mobility that other wealthy countries do not. Dubai workers not only lack the right to a minimum wage or to collectively bargain, they lack the freedom to take a better job offer should one come along. Workers can only legally change jobs by obtaining a “No Objection Certificate” from their employer. In Dubai, there is no driving a cab until you find something better: once a cabdriver, always a cabdriver. Even a rudimentary speaker of English among Dubai’s cabbies used the erudite phrase “second-class citizen” to describe his status.


pages: 470 words: 130,269

The Marginal Revolutionaries: How Austrian Economists Fought the War of Ideas by Janek Wasserman

"World Economic Forum" Davos, Abraham Wald, Albert Einstein, American Legislative Exchange Council, anti-communist, battle of ideas, Berlin Wall, Bretton Woods, business cycle, collective bargaining, Corn Laws, correlation does not imply causation, creative destruction, David Ricardo: comparative advantage, different worldview, Donald Trump, experimental economics, Fall of the Berlin Wall, floating exchange rates, Fractional reserve banking, Francis Fukuyama: the end of history, full employment, Gunnar Myrdal, housing crisis, Internet Archive, invisible hand, John von Neumann, Joseph Schumpeter, laissez-faire capitalism, liberal capitalism, low interest rates, market fundamentalism, mass immigration, means of production, Menlo Park, military-industrial complex, Mont Pelerin Society, New Journalism, New Urbanism, old-boy network, Paul Samuelson, Philip Mirowski, price mechanism, price stability, public intellectual, RAND corporation, random walk, rent control, road to serfdom, Robert Bork, rolodex, Ronald Coase, Ronald Reagan, Silicon Valley, Simon Kuznets, The Chicago School, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, Thomas Kuhn: the structure of scientific revolutions, Thomas Malthus, trade liberalization, union organizing, urban planning, Vilfredo Pareto, Washington Consensus, zero-sum game, éminence grise

Complementing these developments in central Europe, socialists around the world united to form the Second International in Paris on July 14, 1889, the one hundredth anniversary of the storming of the Bastille. Over four hundred delegates and three hundred organizations from twenty countries participated in the event. Freedom of assembly, collective bargaining rights, franchise reform, and labor legislation figured in socialist party programs, all of which seemed to threaten the dominant political and economic interests of the time, whether conservative Prussian Junkers or the liberal Viennese Großbürgertum.10 If these developments indicated that Marx-inspired socialism had reached political maturity, the publication of the final volume of Marx’s masterwork Das Kapital provided an intellectual foundation.


pages: 504 words: 129,087

The Ones We've Been Waiting For: How a New Generation of Leaders Will Transform America by Charlotte Alter

"Hurricane Katrina" Superdome, "World Economic Forum" Davos, 4chan, affirmative action, Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, basic income, Berlin Wall, Bernie Sanders, Big Tech, Black Lives Matter, carbon footprint, carbon tax, clean water, collective bargaining, Columbine, corporate personhood, correlation does not imply causation, Credit Default Swap, crowdsourcing, data science, David Brooks, deepfake, deplatforming, disinformation, Donald Trump, double helix, East Village, ending welfare as we know it, fake news, Fall of the Berlin Wall, feminist movement, Ferguson, Missouri, financial deregulation, Francis Fukuyama: the end of history, gentrification, gig economy, glass ceiling, Glass-Steagall Act, Google Hangouts, green new deal, Greta Thunberg, housing crisis, illegal immigration, immigration reform, income inequality, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), job-hopping, Kevin Kelly, knowledge economy, Lyft, mandatory minimum, Marc Andreessen, Mark Zuckerberg, mass incarceration, McMansion, medical bankruptcy, microaggression, move fast and break things, Nate Silver, obamacare, Occupy movement, opioid epidemic / opioid crisis, passive income, pre–internet, race to the bottom, RAND corporation, Ronald Reagan, sexual politics, Sheryl Sandberg, side hustle, Silicon Valley, single-payer health, Snapchat, Social Justice Warrior, Steve Bannon, TaskRabbit, tech bro, too big to fail, Uber and Lyft, uber lyft, universal basic income, unpaid internship, We are the 99%, white picket fence, working poor, Works Progress Administration

He reorganized the banks through the Emergency Banking Act, put three million men to work planting an astonishing three billion trees in the Civilian Conservation Corps, and created millions more temporary government jobs through the Works Progress Administration and other new agencies. He regulated Wall Street for the first time by establishing the Securities and Exchange Commission and legalized collective bargaining—the key to union power—through the National Labor Relations Act. He created universal pensions (also known as Social Security) and ensured federal government protections for orphans and the disabled. Even though the New Deal perpetuated racial inequalities (people of color were largely excluded from the newly created jobs and the easy access to homeownership that would come after the war), it was still the largest expansion of the social safety net in American history.


Stacy Mitchell by Big-Box Swindle The True Cost of Mega-Retailers, the Fight for America's Independent Businesses (2006)

accelerated depreciation, big-box store, business climate, business cycle, clean water, collective bargaining, corporate personhood, drop ship, European colonialism, Haight Ashbury, income inequality, independent contractor, inventory management, invisible hand, Jane Jacobs, low skilled workers, Maui Hawaii, Menlo Park, new economy, New Urbanism, price discrimination, race to the bottom, Ray Oldenburg, RFID, Ronald Reagan, The Chicago School, The Death and Life of Great American Cities, The Great Good Place, the long tail, union organizing, urban planning, women in the workforce, zero-sum game

Support from farmers came as the chains continued to buy up surplus crops, saving citrus growers in Florida, walnut growers in Oregon, and turkey farmers in New York. In 1938 and 1939 A&P, which had previously fought unionization, permitted its stores to be organized and signed a series of collective-bargaining agreements. The company’s change of heart came “under the guidance of their public relations council.” In meetings with the president of the American Labor Federation, they cut a deal: unionization in exchange for labor’s opposition to Patman’s bill. Most important, the chains continued to cultivate the consumer identity.


pages: 611 words: 130,419

Narrative Economics: How Stories Go Viral and Drive Major Economic Events by Robert J. Shiller

agricultural Revolution, Alan Greenspan, Albert Einstein, algorithmic trading, Andrei Shleifer, autism spectrum disorder, autonomous vehicles, bank run, banking crisis, basic income, behavioural economics, bitcoin, blockchain, business cycle, butterfly effect, buy and hold, Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty, Cass Sunstein, central bank independence, collective bargaining, computerized trading, corporate raider, correlation does not imply causation, cryptocurrency, Daniel Kahneman / Amos Tversky, debt deflation, digital divide, disintermediation, Donald Trump, driverless car, Edmond Halley, Elon Musk, en.wikipedia.org, Ethereum, ethereum blockchain, fake news, financial engineering, Ford Model T, full employment, George Akerlof, germ theory of disease, German hyperinflation, Great Leap Forward, Gunnar Myrdal, Gödel, Escher, Bach, Hacker Ethic, implied volatility, income inequality, inflation targeting, initial coin offering, invention of radio, invention of the telegraph, Jean Tirole, job automation, John Maynard Keynes: Economic Possibilities for our Grandchildren, John Maynard Keynes: technological unemployment, litecoin, low interest rates, machine translation, market bubble, Modern Monetary Theory, money market fund, moral hazard, Northern Rock, nudge unit, Own Your Own Home, Paul Samuelson, Philip Mirowski, plutocrats, Ponzi scheme, public intellectual, publish or perish, random walk, Richard Thaler, Robert Shiller, Ronald Reagan, Rubik’s Cube, Satoshi Nakamoto, secular stagnation, shareholder value, Silicon Valley, speech recognition, Steve Jobs, Steven Pinker, stochastic process, stocks for the long run, superstar cities, The Rise and Fall of American Growth, The Theory of the Leisure Class by Thorstein Veblen, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, theory of mind, Thorstein Veblen, traveling salesman, trickle-down economics, tulip mania, universal basic income, Watson beat the top human players on Jeopardy!, We are the 99%, yellow journalism, yield curve, Yom Kippur War

He explained why he thought technological unemployment had suddenly become so important: Why does our nation seem to need this supplement to the market mechanism, after 158 years? You have the answer if you will go back into history and consider the gradual concentration of business into great corporations, of farmers into marketing cooperatives, of labor into collective bargaining associations. These have reduced the area of the free market and have increased the power of individuals controlling these concentrations.30 In other words, Davis saw the concentration of business as amplifying the problem of technological unemployment. The massive unemployment set off serious social problems.


pages: 505 words: 138,917

Open: The Story of Human Progress by Johan Norberg

Abraham Maslow, additive manufacturing, affirmative action, Albert Einstein, anti-globalists, basic income, Berlin Wall, Bernie Sanders, Bletchley Park, Brexit referendum, British Empire, business cycle, business process, California gold rush, carbon tax, citizen journalism, classic study, Clayton Christensen, clean water, cognitive dissonance, collective bargaining, Corn Laws, coronavirus, COVID-19, creative destruction, crony capitalism, decarbonisation, deindustrialization, Deng Xiaoping, digital map, Donald Trump, Edward Jenner, fake news, Fall of the Berlin Wall, falling living standards, Filter Bubble, financial innovation, flying shuttle, Flynn Effect, Francis Fukuyama: the end of history, future of work, Galaxy Zoo, George Gilder, Gini coefficient, global pandemic, global supply chain, global village, green new deal, humanitarian revolution, illegal immigration, income per capita, Indoor air pollution, indoor plumbing, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), invisible hand, Isaac Newton, Islamic Golden Age, James Watt: steam engine, Jane Jacobs, Jeff Bezos, job automation, John von Neumann, joint-stock company, Joseph Schumpeter, Kickstarter, knowledge economy, labour mobility, Lao Tzu, liberal capitalism, manufacturing employment, mass immigration, negative emissions, Network effects, open borders, open economy, Pax Mongolica, place-making, profit motive, RAND corporation, regulatory arbitrage, rent control, Republic of Letters, road to serfdom, Ronald Reagan, Schrödinger's Cat, sharing economy, side project, Silicon Valley, Solyndra, spice trade, stem cell, Steve Bannon, Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, Steven Pinker, tacit knowledge, The Death and Life of Great American Cities, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, Thomas L Friedman, too big to fail, trade liberalization, trade route, transatlantic slave trade, Tyler Cowen, Uber for X, ultimatum game, universal basic income, World Values Survey, Xiaogang Anhui farmers, zero-sum game

Giving an opportunity to people who are ready and willing to work, and also sheltering those who face persecution in their home country is not the same as regularly admitting large numbers of refugees into a country with generous benefits and discouraging work. If refugees aren’t integrated, there is a risk that they end up concentrated in troubled pockets, without means of supporting themselves and the skills they need for social mobility. Collective bargaining in Sweden has created de facto minimum wages at more than 70 per cent of the median wage in most industries. That worked well when we all had the same education, similar skills and were on our third job. But for those who have just arrived in Sweden, lacking contacts, higher education and the Swedish language, it is a second, more impenetrable border.


The Hour of Fate by Susan Berfield

bank run, buy and hold, capital controls, collective bargaining, company town, Cornelius Vanderbilt, death from overwork, friendly fire, Howard Zinn, Ida Tarbell, income inequality, new economy, plutocrats, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Simon Kuznets, strikebreaker, the market place, transcontinental railway, wage slave, working poor

The commission agreed to cut the miners’ workday from ten to nine hours and awarded a retroactive 10 percent wage increase to the miners, admitting that a 10 percent price increase in coal was likely. The commission did not recognize Mitchell’s union. That, it said, was beyond the scope of its mandate. But the report stated that all workers had the right to join unions and that employers would ultimately benefit from collective bargaining. It would help train union representatives to be more businesslike. The commission created a permanent six-member board of conciliation to rule on disputes between the miners and their employers. Both sides could, and did, consider the conclusions a victory. Mitchell said he was pleased to win a wage increase.


pages: 519 words: 148,131

An Empire of Wealth: Rise of American Economy Power 1607-2000 by John Steele Gordon

accounting loophole / creative accounting, Alan Greenspan, bank run, banking crisis, Bretton Woods, British Empire, business cycle, buttonwood tree, California gold rush, Charles Babbage, clean water, collective bargaining, Corn Laws, Cornelius Vanderbilt, corporate governance, cotton gin, cuban missile crisis, disintermediation, double entry bookkeeping, failed state, Fairchild Semiconductor, financial independence, flying shuttle, Ford Model T, Frederick Winslow Taylor, full employment, Glass-Steagall Act, global village, Ida Tarbell, imperial preference, industrial research laboratory, informal economy, interchangeable parts, invisible hand, Isaac Newton, it's over 9,000, Jacquard loom, James Hargreaves, James Watt: steam engine, joint-stock company, joint-stock limited liability company, junk bonds, lone genius, Louis Pasteur, low interest rates, margin call, Marshall McLuhan, means of production, megaproject, Menlo Park, Mikhail Gorbachev, Money creation, money market fund, money: store of value / unit of account / medium of exchange, moral hazard, new economy, New Urbanism, postindustrial economy, price mechanism, Ralph Waldo Emerson, RAND corporation, rent control, rent-seeking, reserve currency, rolodex, Ronald Reagan, Savings and loan crisis, spinning jenny, Suez canal 1869, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, three-masted sailing ship, trade route, transaction costs, transcontinental railway, undersea cable, vertical integration, Yom Kippur War

After the war, the IRS tried to tax this considerable benefit, but Congress quickly stepped in and ordered the IRS to treat it as a nontaxable, deductible business expense of corporations (but medical insurance purchased by individuals had no such tax advantage, an increasingly serious distortion of the labor market as more and more people became self-employed). In 1948 the National Labor Relations Board ruled that health benefits were subject to collective bargaining, and medical insurance spread quickly through the American economy. By 1950 some 54.5 million people were covered by employer-paid health plans, more than a third of the total population. By removing the threat of economic catastrophe, medical insurance greatly improved the quality of life for those covered.


Killing Hope: Us Military and Cia Interventions Since World War 2 by William Blum

anti-communist, Berlin Wall, Bolshevik threat, centre right, collective bargaining, colonial rule, cuban missile crisis, currency manipulation / currency intervention, deindustrialization, disinformation, Dr. Strangelove, kremlinology, land reform, liberation theology, Mikhail Gorbachev, Monroe Doctrine, nuremberg principles, Ronald Reagan, Seymour Hersh, South China Sea, trickle-down economics, union organizing

It was revealed that AFSCME's International Affairs Department, which had been responsible for the British Guiana operation, had actually been run by two CIA "aides".6 CIA work within Third World unions Typically involves a considerable educational effort, the basic premise of which is that all solutions will come to working people under a system of free enterprise, class co-operation and collective bargaining, and by opposing communism in collaboration with management and government, unless, of course, the government, as in this case, is itself "communist". The most promising students, those perhaps marked as future leaders, are singled out to be sent to CIA schools in the United States for further education.


pages: 570 words: 158,139

Overbooked: The Exploding Business of Travel and Tourism by Elizabeth Becker

airport security, Asian financial crisis, barriers to entry, Berlin Wall, BRICs, car-free, carbon footprint, clean water, collective bargaining, colonial rule, computer age, corporate governance, Costa Concordia, Deng Xiaoping, European colonialism, Exxon Valdez, Fall of the Berlin Wall, Frank Gehry, global village, Global Witness, Great Leap Forward, happiness index / gross national happiness, haute cuisine, high-speed rail, indoor plumbing, Kickstarter, Masdar, Murano, Venice glass, open borders, out of africa, race to the bottom, Ralph Nader, Scramble for Africa, Silicon Valley, statistical model, sustainable-tourism, the market place, union organizing, urban renewal, wage slave, young professional, éminence grise

“So our view, not surprisingly, is that we provide fantastic employment opportunities to people from around the world that would not otherwise exist.” Goldstein’s argument is what academics call the “race to the bottom” justification, a throwback to the early twentieth century before societies mandated minimum wages, improved labor conditions and the right to collective bargaining. While those rights were codified in national laws and are enforced within national boundaries, they are laws that the cruise companies can ignore. Twenty years ago cruise ship wages would have been a decent sum, especially for highly motivated people trying to escape abject poverty. Today, though, the wage gap is disappearing and the average monthly income in India is between $60 and $100.


pages: 868 words: 147,152

How Asia Works by Joe Studwell

affirmative action, anti-communist, Asian financial crisis, bank run, banking crisis, barriers to entry, borderless world, Bretton Woods, British Empire, call centre, capital controls, central bank independence, collective bargaining, crony capitalism, cross-subsidies, currency manipulation / currency intervention, David Ricardo: comparative advantage, deindustrialization, demographic dividend, Deng Xiaoping, failed state, financial deregulation, financial repression, foreign exchange controls, Gini coefficient, glass ceiling, Great Leap Forward, high-speed rail, income inequality, income per capita, industrial robot, Joseph Schumpeter, Kenneth Arrow, land reform, land tenure, large denomination, liberal capitalism, low interest rates, market fragmentation, megaproject, non-tariff barriers, offshore financial centre, oil shock, open economy, passive investing, purchasing power parity, rent control, rent-seeking, Right to Buy, Ronald Coase, South China Sea, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, TSMC, urban sprawl, Washington Consensus, working-age population

A third intervention in north-east Asia was to provide a great deal of bureaucratic support to manufacturers which exported successfully. In addition to domestic market protection and a supply of credit, states provided important assistance in the field of technology acquisition. Governments in Japan, Korea, Taiwan and China have variously undertaken collective bargaining operations to buy foreign technology – often forcing foreign firms to hand over know-how or to lower their price for it in return for local market access – and organised public sector or joint public–­private research initiatives where individual firms were unable to undertake research and development investments alone.


pages: 504 words: 143,303

Why We Can't Afford the Rich by Andrew Sayer

"World Economic Forum" Davos, accounting loophole / creative accounting, Alan Greenspan, Albert Einstein, Anthropocene, anti-globalists, asset-backed security, banking crisis, banks create money, basic income, biodiversity loss, bond market vigilante , Boris Johnson, Bretton Woods, British Empire, Bullingdon Club, business cycle, call centre, capital controls, carbon footprint, carbon tax, collective bargaining, corporate raider, corporate social responsibility, creative destruction, credit crunch, Credit Default Swap, crony capitalism, David Graeber, David Ricardo: comparative advantage, debt deflation, decarbonisation, declining real wages, deglobalization, degrowth, deindustrialization, delayed gratification, demand response, don't be evil, Double Irish / Dutch Sandwich, en.wikipedia.org, Etonian, financial engineering, financial innovation, financial intermediation, Fractional reserve banking, full employment, G4S, Goldman Sachs: Vampire Squid, green new deal, high net worth, high-speed rail, income inequality, information asymmetry, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), investor state dispute settlement, Isaac Newton, James Carville said: "I would like to be reincarnated as the bond market. You can intimidate everybody.", James Dyson, job automation, Julian Assange, junk bonds, Kickstarter, labour market flexibility, laissez-faire capitalism, land bank, land value tax, long term incentive plan, low skilled workers, Mark Zuckerberg, market fundamentalism, Martin Wolf, mass immigration, means of production, moral hazard, mortgage debt, negative equity, neoliberal agenda, new economy, New Urbanism, Northern Rock, Occupy movement, offshore financial centre, oil shale / tar sands, patent troll, payday loans, Philip Mirowski, plutocrats, popular capitalism, predatory finance, price stability, proprietary trading, pushing on a string, quantitative easing, race to the bottom, rent-seeking, retail therapy, Ronald Reagan, shareholder value, short selling, sovereign wealth fund, Steve Jobs, tacit knowledge, TED Talk, The Nature of the Firm, The Spirit Level, The Theory of the Leisure Class by Thorstein Veblen, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, Thorstein Veblen, too big to fail, transfer pricing, trickle-down economics, universal basic income, unpaid internship, upwardly mobile, Washington Consensus, wealth creators, WikiLeaks, Winter of Discontent, working poor, Yom Kippur War, zero-sum game

In the neoclassical view of what a rational economy would be like, everything is potentially up for sale, everything would have a price, because only then can people assess whether they could gain from exchanging things. So economic efficiency is thought of primarily in terms of market exchange, and whether all resources have been moved to where they give their holders maximum utility. Any restriction on this, for example by governments fixing a minimum wage, or unions engaging in collective bargaining, therefore reduces economic efficiency thus defined. From this, economists tend further to claim that economic growth will be restricted, since growth will surely be fastest when goods are deployed where they bring most benefit (or rather, make most profit). Rates of return on different possible ‘investments’ are continually shifting, so markets must be as active as possible so as to allow traders to shift their ‘investments’ as fast as possible to what are or are expected to be the most profitable things.


Turning the Tide by Noam Chomsky

anti-communist, Bolshevik threat, British Empire, collective bargaining, Cornelius Vanderbilt, cuban missile crisis, declining real wages, disinformation, failed state, feminist movement, guns versus butter model, Howard Zinn, land reform, launch on warning, means of production, Monroe Doctrine, Paul Samuelson, RAND corporation, Ronald Reagan, Seymour Hersh, Strategic Defense Initiative, union organizing

Like the revival of military escalation, the attack on social legislation began in the latter part of the Carter presidency, taking flight under Reagan along with the assault against the labor movement.11 Thomas Ferguson and Joel Rogers review the effects of the first four years of these endeavors. Average first-year wage increases in major collective bargaining agreements set a record low in 1984, lagging significantly behind inflation for the third year running. “This dismal bargaining record,” they note, “reflects the spectacular decline in union membership over the Reagan years,” with a 22.4% drop in unionization rates for the private sector. Anti-union decisions of the National Labor Relations Board more than tripled, to 57% of contested cases, since the last Republican-dominated board under the Ford Administration.


pages: 399 words: 155,913

The Right to Earn a Living: Economic Freedom and the Law by Timothy Sandefur

"Friedman doctrine" OR "shareholder theory", Alan Greenspan, American ideology, barriers to entry, big-box store, Cass Sunstein, clean water, collective bargaining, corporate governance, corporate social responsibility, creative destruction, Edward Glaeser, housing crisis, independent contractor, joint-stock company, Joseph Schumpeter, minimum wage unemployment, positional goods, price stability, profit motive, race to the bottom, Ralph Nader, RAND corporation, rent control, Robert Bork, Silicon Valley, Social Responsibility of Business Is to Increase Its Profits, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, trade route, transaction costs, Upton Sinclair, urban renewal, wealth creators

Whether or not this policy was wise, it was almost certainly constitutional—government has long had the power to impose such requirements on businesses that have unique relationships with the government.65 But three months later, the city amended the law so that it would apply to any business operating on property leased from the city, employing more than six people, and receiving a gross income of more than $350,000 per year. The ordinance also included an exception allowing an employer to pay below the living wage if the 80 The Contracts Clause: Victim of the Living Constitution employer had a collective-bargaining agreement with a union. That meant that the law would apply to only one business in the entire city: a restaurant called Skates by the Bay, owned by a corporation called RUI One and located on land leased from the city under a 1967 contract.66 In other words, the Berkeley ordinance essentially rewrote the agreement between the city and this one restaurant, requiring as a condition of its lease that Skates by the Bay pay its employees the specified rate.


pages: 423 words: 149,033

The fortune at the bottom of the pyramid by C. K. Prahalad

"World Economic Forum" Davos, barriers to entry, business cycle, business process, call centre, cashless society, clean water, collective bargaining, corporate social responsibility, deskilling, digital divide, disintermediation, do well by doing good, farmers can use mobile phones to check market prices, financial intermediation, Hernando de Soto, hiring and firing, income inequality, information asymmetry, late fees, Mahatma Gandhi, market fragmentation, microcredit, new economy, profit motive, purchasing power parity, rent-seeking, shareholder value, The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid, time value of money, transaction costs, vertical integration, wealth creators, working poor

Value to Suppliers CEMEX is the largest cement manufacturing company in Mexico and, by virtue of its size, it has significant bargaining power with its suppliers and distributors. Patrimonio Hoy collaborates with CEMEX in negotiating prices of raw material such as bricks, steel, clay, limestone, and so on, with suppliers. The company exerts collective bargaining power over its suppliers by negotiating on three key factors: generating a steady demand for materials, creating a consistent revenue stream, and ensuring zero-risk collection of money. According to Patrimonio Hoy’s general manager, the suppliers are very happy to supply materials to Patrimonio Hoy because of the steady demand for their materials and the quick growth in sales (as high as 30 percent annually) in locations of operations of Patrimonio Hoy.


pages: 473 words: 154,182

Moby-Duck: The True Story of 28,800 Bath Toys Lost at Sea and of the Beachcombers, Oceanographers, Environmentalists, and Fools, Including the Author, Who Went in Search of Them by Donovan Hohn

An Inconvenient Truth, carbon footprint, clean water, collective bargaining, dark matter, Deng Xiaoping, disinformation, Exxon Valdez, Filipino sailors, Garrett Hardin, Google Earth, hindcast, illegal immigration, indoor plumbing, intermodal, Isaac Newton, means of production, microbiome, Neil Armstrong, ocean acidification, off-the-grid, Panamax, Pearl River Delta, planned obsolescence, post-Panamax, profit motive, Skype, standardized shipping container, statistical model, the long tail, Thorstein Veblen, Tragedy of the Commons, traveling salesman

Listening to him, I picture blow-molding machines and plastic ducks carried by a wave of outsourcing across the surface of the planet, from Massachusetts, where Ron Sidman’s parents started turning out playthings a half century ago, to Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, then flooding the banks of the Pearl River Delta, before rippling northward to Shanghai and Beijing and southward toward Cambodia, Indonesia, and Vietnam, leaving behind it both greater prosperity and greater economic disparity, higher crime rates but also, perhaps, if recent developments in China are any indication, stronger labor and environmental laws. In June of 2007, sensing that the proletariat was growing restless, Beijing enacted the most sweeping labor reforms in the history of China’s thirty-year experiment with capitalism, expanding legal protections for temporary workers and giving all workers the right to collective bargaining. In response, foreign companies threatened to take their business elsewhere, to more pliable labor markets. Chan adheres strictly to China’s laws, he assures me, as well as to the divergent product-safety codes of America and Europe. But with American importers refusing to pay more for Chinese toys, even as production costs rise, he is not surprised that some of his misguided competitors have given in to the temptation to cheat.


pages: 500 words: 146,240

Gamers at Work: Stories Behind the Games People Play by Morgan Ramsay, Peter Molyneux

Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic, augmented reality, Bill Atkinson, Bob Noyce, book value, collective bargaining, Colossal Cave Adventure, do what you love, financial engineering, game design, Golden age of television, Ian Bogost, independent contractor, index card, Mark Zuckerberg, oil shock, pirate software, RAND corporation, risk tolerance, Silicon Valley, SimCity, Skype, Steve Jobs, Von Neumann architecture

Now, digital platform companies like Apple, Facebook, and Google have the ability to dominate and control entire value chains. We all have to be concerned that any of them that get too big or become too central could misbehave. In order to favorably influence the platform titans, smaller game publishers and developers will need to find ways to stick together, and have some collective bargaining power and policy viewpoint. Going forward, the business of games will be about how to leverage technology and intellectual property. Startups will have to find ways to contribute in those dimensions, but it is always possible. Nolan Bushnell Cofounder, Atari At the dawn of the 1970s, Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney set to work on their flagship product with spare parts in hand: Computer Space, which became the first commercial coin-operated game and the first commercial video game.


pages: 519 words: 155,332

Tailspin: The People and Forces Behind America's Fifty-Year Fall--And Those Fighting to Reverse It by Steven Brill

"Friedman doctrine" OR "shareholder theory", "World Economic Forum" Davos, 2013 Report for America's Infrastructure - American Society of Civil Engineers - 19 March 2013, activist fund / activist shareholder / activist investor, affirmative action, Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, airport security, American Society of Civil Engineers: Report Card, asset allocation, behavioural economics, Bernie Madoff, Bernie Sanders, Blythe Masters, Bretton Woods, business process, call centre, Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty, carbon tax, Carl Icahn, carried interest, clean water, collapse of Lehman Brothers, collective bargaining, computerized trading, corporate governance, corporate raider, corporate social responsibility, Credit Default Swap, currency manipulation / currency intervention, deal flow, Donald Trump, electricity market, ending welfare as we know it, failed state, fake news, financial deregulation, financial engineering, financial innovation, future of work, ghettoisation, Glass-Steagall Act, Gordon Gekko, hiring and firing, Home mortgage interest deduction, immigration reform, income inequality, invention of radio, job automation, junk bonds, knowledge economy, knowledge worker, labor-force participation, laissez-faire capitalism, low interest rates, Mahatma Gandhi, Mark Zuckerberg, Michael Milken, military-industrial complex, mortgage tax deduction, Neil Armstrong, new economy, Nixon triggered the end of the Bretton Woods system, obamacare, old-boy network, opioid epidemic / opioid crisis, paper trading, Paris climate accords, performance metric, post-work, Potemkin village, Powell Memorandum, proprietary trading, quantitative hedge fund, Ralph Nader, ride hailing / ride sharing, Robert Bork, Robert Gordon, Robert Mercer, Ronald Reagan, Rutger Bregman, Salesforce, shareholder value, Silicon Valley, Social Responsibility of Business Is to Increase Its Profits, stock buybacks, Tax Reform Act of 1986, tech worker, telemarketer, too big to fail, trade liberalization, union organizing, Unsafe at Any Speed, War on Poverty, women in the workforce, working poor

The end of World War II brought an end to the promise many unions had made not to strike during wartime, accompanied by a post-war boom in demand for the products the workers made. Thanks to the New Deal’s National Labor Relations Act, which established a breakthrough menu of protections for union organizing and collective bargaining, this gave workers and their union leaders unprecedented power. They used it aggressively. In 1946, there were strikes involving more than five million workers, many of them prolonged standoffs. Taft-Hartley was passed to recalibrate the balance of power. It survived a veto by President Harry Truman, in part with the votes of Democrats, particularly those from the South.


pages: 498 words: 145,708

Consumed: How Markets Corrupt Children, Infantilize Adults, and Swallow Citizens Whole by Benjamin R. Barber

"World Economic Forum" Davos, Abraham Maslow, addicted to oil, AltaVista, American ideology, An Inconvenient Truth, AOL-Time Warner, Berlin Wall, Bertrand Russell: In Praise of Idleness, Bill Gates: Altair 8800, bread and circuses, business cycle, Celebration, Florida, collective bargaining, creative destruction, David Brooks, delayed gratification, digital divide, do well by doing good, Donald Trump, double entry bookkeeping, Dr. Strangelove, G4S, game design, George Gilder, Gordon Gekko, greed is good, Herbert Marcuse, Hernando de Soto, illegal immigration, informal economy, invisible hand, John Perry Barlow, Joseph Schumpeter, laissez-faire capitalism, late capitalism, liberal capitalism, Marc Andreessen, McJob, microcredit, Naomi Klein, new economy, New Journalism, Norbert Wiener, nuclear winter, Panopticon Jeremy Bentham, Paradox of Choice, pattern recognition, presumed consent, profit motive, race to the bottom, Ralph Nader, retail therapy, road to serfdom, Robert Bork, Ronald Reagan, Saturday Night Live, Silicon Valley, SimCity, spice trade, Steve Jobs, telemarketer, The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid, the market place, The Wisdom of Crowds, Thomas L Friedman, Thorstein Veblen, trade route, Tyler Cowen, vertical integration, Virgin Galactic, X Prize

National Basketball Association Commissioner David Stern called not so long ago for a minimum age of twenty for professional players, but in a field where high-school-freshmen ball players can land on the pages of Sports Illustrated and on cable television, Stern’s rhetorical gesture resulted only in moving the age from eighteen to nineteen (as per the NBA collective bargaining agreement, available at nbpa.com). Again, it is not just pushy parents or ambitious coaches, but corporate players who underwrite the trend, sponsoring summer preprofessional basketball camps (as Nike and Reebok do) and providing gear for high schools around the nation, as many shoe and apparel companies do.


Globalists: The End of Empire and the Birth of Neoliberalism by Quinn Slobodian

"World Economic Forum" Davos, Alan Greenspan, Asian financial crisis, Berlin Wall, bilateral investment treaty, borderless world, Bretton Woods, British Empire, business cycle, capital controls, central bank independence, classic study, collective bargaining, David Ricardo: comparative advantage, Deng Xiaoping, desegregation, Dissolution of the Soviet Union, Doha Development Round, eurozone crisis, Fall of the Berlin Wall, floating exchange rates, full employment, Garrett Hardin, Greenspan put, Gunnar Myrdal, Hernando de Soto, invisible hand, liberal capitalism, liberal world order, Mahbub ul Haq, market fundamentalism, Martin Wolf, Mercator projection, Mont Pelerin Society, Norbert Wiener, offshore financial centre, oil shock, open economy, pattern recognition, Paul Samuelson, Pearl River Delta, Philip Mirowski, power law, price mechanism, public intellectual, quantitative easing, random walk, rent control, rent-seeking, road to serfdom, Ronald Reagan, special economic zone, statistical model, Suez crisis 1956, systems thinking, tacit knowledge, The Chicago School, the market place, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, theory of mind, Thomas L Friedman, trade liberalization, urban renewal, Washington Consensus, Wolfgang Streeck, zero-sum game

The party “could paralyze all economic life at any time” with a strike. Most importantly, the Social Demo­crats had control of the army, which was “equipped with ­rifles and machine guns, light artillery, ample munitions, and manpower at least three times greater than that available to the government.”86 Mises l­ater described collective bargaining as the “gun ­under the t­ able.” He might have meant it as a meta­phor, but it was not a meta­phor in Vienna. By 1927 ­there was a well-­defined and internationally or­ga­nized network of pro-­business forces engaged in the collection of economic 48 GLOBALISTS information in pursuit of a common goal of negative global ­i ntegration—­t he reestablishment of an open world economy.


pages: 475 words: 156,046

When They Go Low, We Go High: Speeches That Shape the World – and Why We Need Them by Philip Collins

anti-communist, Berlin Wall, Bretton Woods, British Empire, classic study, collective bargaining, Copley Medal, Corn Laws, crony capitalism, cuban missile crisis, Deng Xiaoping, desegregation, Donald Trump, F. W. de Klerk, fear of failure, Fellow of the Royal Society, full employment, Great Leap Forward, invention of the printing press, Jeremy Corbyn, late capitalism, Mahatma Gandhi, meritocracy, Mikhail Gorbachev, Monroe Doctrine, Neil Armstrong, Neil Kinnock, Nelson Mandela, plutocrats, road to serfdom, Ronald Reagan, Ronald Reagan: Tear down this wall, Rosa Parks, stakhanovite, Ted Sorensen, Thomas Malthus, Torches of Freedom, World Values Survey

During the preparation of the speech Thatcher was irritated by Jacques Delors, the president of the European Commission. During an appearance on the Jimmy Young Show on Radio 2 in July she slapped down what she took to be a hint from Delors in the direction of a single European government. On 8 September Delors won a standing ovation at the Trades Union Congress in Bournemouth for suggesting that collective bargaining should take place at European level. On the same day Delors informed David Hannay, Britain’s permanent representative to the European Community, that he would be unable to attend the prime minister’s speech in Bruges. He probably knew what was coming. Thatcher opened by acknowledging the likelihood of controversy.


pages: 535 words: 144,827

1939: A People's History by Frederick Taylor

Albert Einstein, anti-communist, Berlin Wall, Brexit referendum, British Empire, collective bargaining, delayed gratification, facts on the ground, false flag, full employment, guns versus butter model, intentional community, mass immigration, rising living standards, the market place, women in the workforce

A survey in 1933 of the 42,000 workers at Siemens’s giant plants in the capital revealed that 70 per cent had never spent any of their free time outside Berlin.1 When the Nazi regime declared that German workers would be entitled to two to three weeks’ paid Erholungsurlaub (relaxation leave), the way was all at once open for the recently founded (November 1933) leisure subdivision of the German Labour Front, KdF, to start offering travel and vacation possibilities alongside its other ‘after-work’ activities such as sports clubs, popular libraries, keep-fit clubs and the like. Both the new paid vacation ordinances and the regime’s sponsorship of mass tourism were shrewd propaganda moves, compensating as they did for the loss of trade union and collective bargaining rights under the repressive labour laws introduced early in 1934. The KdF vacation offerings were a good part of the reason why, whatever their initial hostile attitudes and continuing gripes about low pay and long hours, millions of workers gradually found themselves inclined to reach an accommodation with the Nazi system.


pages: 559 words: 155,372

Chaos Monkeys: Obscene Fortune and Random Failure in Silicon Valley by Antonio Garcia Martinez

Airbnb, airport security, always be closing, Amazon Web Services, Big Tech, Burning Man, business logic, Celtic Tiger, centralized clearinghouse, cognitive dissonance, collective bargaining, content marketing, corporate governance, Credit Default Swap, crowdsourcing, data science, deal flow, death of newspapers, disruptive innovation, Dr. Strangelove, drone strike, drop ship, El Camino Real, Elon Musk, Emanuel Derman, Fairchild Semiconductor, fake it until you make it, financial engineering, financial independence, Gary Kildall, global supply chain, Goldman Sachs: Vampire Squid, Hacker News, hive mind, How many piano tuners are there in Chicago?, income inequality, industrial research laboratory, information asymmetry, information security, interest rate swap, intermodal, Jeff Bezos, Kickstarter, Malcom McLean invented shipping containers, Marc Andreessen, Mark Zuckerberg, Maui Hawaii, means of production, Menlo Park, messenger bag, minimum viable product, MITM: man-in-the-middle, move fast and break things, Neal Stephenson, Network effects, orbital mechanics / astrodynamics, Paul Graham, performance metric, Peter Thiel, Ponzi scheme, pre–internet, public intellectual, Ralph Waldo Emerson, random walk, Reminiscences of a Stock Operator, Ruby on Rails, Salesforce, Sam Altman, Sand Hill Road, Scientific racism, second-price auction, self-driving car, Sheryl Sandberg, Silicon Valley, Silicon Valley startup, Skype, Snapchat, social graph, Social Justice Warrior, social web, Socratic dialogue, source of truth, Steve Jobs, tech worker, telemarketer, the long tail, undersea cable, urban renewal, Y Combinator, zero-sum game, éminence grise

Here’s how it works: Since this sort of early-stage “acqui-hire” is more “hire” than “acqui,” every employee Facebook cares about must go through the usual hiring screen you’d experience if you had simply applied individually. The fact that you come bundled just changes the economics. We used to have unions that would give workers a magical thing called collective bargaining. Now being part of a hot startup is your union, and the only dues required are your entire life for the time you’re in the startup. Welcome to our new collectivism, tovarish. By bundling the talent, though, you command a premium due to mere leverage—don’t like the price, we’re all off the table.


pages: 495 words: 144,101

Goddess of the Market: Ayn Rand and the American Right by Jennifer Burns

Abraham Maslow, Alan Greenspan, Alvin Toffler, anti-communist, Apollo 11, bank run, barriers to entry, centralized clearinghouse, collective bargaining, creative destruction, desegregation, feminist movement, financial independence, gentleman farmer, George Gilder, Herbert Marcuse, invisible hand, jimmy wales, Joan Didion, John Markoff, Joseph Schumpeter, knowledge worker, laissez-faire capitalism, Lewis Mumford, lone genius, Menlo Park, minimum wage unemployment, Mont Pelerin Society, new economy, Norman Mailer, offshore financial centre, Ponzi scheme, profit motive, public intellectual, RAND corporation, rent control, road to serfdom, Robert Bork, rolodex, Ronald Reagan, side project, Stewart Brand, The Chicago School, The Wisdom of Crowds, union organizing, urban renewal, We are as Gods, white flight, Whole Earth Catalog

Rand, “For the New Intellectual,” in For the New Intellectual, 55. 57. See, for example, Ayn Rand, Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal (New York: Penguin, 1967), 48, 216; Rand, For the New Intellectual, 43. “At the point of a gun” was a favorite libertarian catchphrase. Ludwig von Mises used it to describe collective bargaining. Mises quoted in Kimberly Phillips-Fein, Invisible Hands: The Making of the Conservative Movement from the New Deal to Reagan (New York: Norton, 2009), 105. It is unclear if Mises and Rand arrived at the phrase independently or if one learned it from the other. 58. Rand, The Virtue of Selfishness, 137, 131. 59.


pages: 543 words: 147,357

Them And Us: Politics, Greed And Inequality - Why We Need A Fair Society by Will Hutton

Abraham Maslow, Alan Greenspan, Andrei Shleifer, asset-backed security, bank run, banking crisis, Bear Stearns, behavioural economics, Benoit Mandelbrot, Berlin Wall, Bernie Madoff, Big bang: deregulation of the City of London, Blythe Masters, Boris Johnson, bread and circuses, Bretton Woods, business cycle, capital controls, carbon footprint, Carmen Reinhart, Cass Sunstein, centre right, choice architecture, cloud computing, collective bargaining, conceptual framework, Corn Laws, Cornelius Vanderbilt, corporate governance, creative destruction, credit crunch, Credit Default Swap, debt deflation, decarbonisation, Deng Xiaoping, discovery of DNA, discovery of the americas, discrete time, disinformation, diversification, double helix, Edward Glaeser, financial deregulation, financial engineering, financial innovation, financial intermediation, first-past-the-post, floating exchange rates, Francis Fukuyama: the end of history, Frank Levy and Richard Murnane: The New Division of Labor, full employment, general purpose technology, George Akerlof, Gini coefficient, Glass-Steagall Act, global supply chain, Growth in a Time of Debt, Hyman Minsky, I think there is a world market for maybe five computers, income inequality, inflation targeting, interest rate swap, invisible hand, Isaac Newton, James Dyson, James Watt: steam engine, Japanese asset price bubble, joint-stock company, Joseph Schumpeter, Kenneth Rogoff, knowledge economy, knowledge worker, labour market flexibility, language acquisition, Large Hadron Collider, liberal capitalism, light touch regulation, Long Term Capital Management, long term incentive plan, Louis Pasteur, low cost airline, low interest rates, low-wage service sector, mandelbrot fractal, margin call, market fundamentalism, Martin Wolf, mass immigration, means of production, meritocracy, Mikhail Gorbachev, millennium bug, Money creation, money market fund, moral hazard, moral panic, mortgage debt, Myron Scholes, Neil Kinnock, new economy, Northern Rock, offshore financial centre, open economy, plutocrats, power law, price discrimination, private sector deleveraging, proprietary trading, purchasing power parity, quantitative easing, race to the bottom, railway mania, random walk, rent-seeking, reserve currency, Richard Thaler, Right to Buy, rising living standards, Robert Shiller, Ronald Reagan, Rory Sutherland, Satyajit Das, Savings and loan crisis, shareholder value, short selling, Silicon Valley, Skype, South Sea Bubble, Steve Jobs, systems thinking, tail risk, The Market for Lemons, the market place, The Myth of the Rational Market, the payments system, the scientific method, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, three-masted sailing ship, too big to fail, unpaid internship, value at risk, Vilfredo Pareto, Washington Consensus, wealth creators, work culture , working poor, world market for maybe five computers, zero-sum game, éminence grise

The City reclaimed ancient privileges to restore its nineteenth-century position as an international financial centre, although this was now built upon proprietary trading in financial derivatives and securitisation. This was the purposeful, positive use of power to achieve a feasible aim – a dominant City of London. Light-touch regulation became as important a mantra to the City as free collective bargaining had been to the unions. Equally, the freedom to exploit tax havens and relieve foreign nationals from their tax obligations was as pivotal to City power as the unions’ insistence on legal immunity from damages in industrial disputes had been to theirs. Just as the unions portrayed themselves as essential to the construction of a Britain in which working-class interests would be enshrined, so the City portrayed itself as essential to a post-industrial Britain in which financial services would be in the vanguard of national wealth generation.


pages: 497 words: 150,205

European Spring: Why Our Economies and Politics Are in a Mess - and How to Put Them Right by Philippe Legrain

3D printing, Airbnb, Alan Greenspan, Asian financial crisis, bank run, banking crisis, barriers to entry, Basel III, battle of ideas, Berlin Wall, Big bang: deregulation of the City of London, book value, Boris Johnson, Bretton Woods, BRICs, British Empire, business cycle, business process, capital controls, Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty, carbon tax, Carmen Reinhart, Celtic Tiger, central bank independence, centre right, clean tech, collaborative consumption, collapse of Lehman Brothers, collective bargaining, corporate governance, creative destruction, credit crunch, Credit Default Swap, crony capitalism, Crossrail, currency manipulation / currency intervention, currency peg, debt deflation, Diane Coyle, disruptive innovation, Downton Abbey, Edward Glaeser, Elon Musk, en.wikipedia.org, energy transition, eurozone crisis, fear of failure, financial deregulation, financial engineering, first-past-the-post, Ford Model T, forward guidance, full employment, Gini coefficient, global supply chain, Great Leap Forward, Growth in a Time of Debt, high-speed rail, hiring and firing, hydraulic fracturing, Hyman Minsky, Hyperloop, immigration reform, income inequality, interest rate derivative, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Irish property bubble, James Dyson, Jane Jacobs, job satisfaction, Joseph Schumpeter, Kenneth Rogoff, Kickstarter, labour market flexibility, labour mobility, land bank, liquidity trap, low interest rates, margin call, Martin Wolf, mittelstand, moral hazard, mortgage debt, mortgage tax deduction, North Sea oil, Northern Rock, offshore financial centre, oil shale / tar sands, oil shock, open economy, peer-to-peer rental, price stability, private sector deleveraging, pushing on a string, quantitative easing, Richard Florida, rising living standards, risk-adjusted returns, Robert Gordon, savings glut, school vouchers, self-driving car, sharing economy, Silicon Valley, Silicon Valley startup, Skype, smart grid, smart meter, software patent, sovereign wealth fund, Steve Jobs, The Death and Life of Great American Cities, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, too big to fail, total factor productivity, Tyler Cowen, Tyler Cowen: Great Stagnation, working-age population, Zipcar

“If you don’t have a set of rules then you have to improvise, and when you improvise you make mistakes,” says Hans-Werner Sinn, one of Germany’s best-known economists.471 Misleadingly known as “ordoliberalism”, this deeply conservative philosophy in fact privileges order over freedom. But this rules-based conservatism is embedded in a SozialeMarktwirtschaft, a “social market economy” that involves close coordination between businesses, unions and government, notably in setting wages and providing social insurance. Thus, for instance, collective bargaining between unions and companies sets industry-wide pay levels, while the government redistributes incomes. Designed to be a third-way between laissez-faire liberalism and social democracy, this Christian Democratic approach – call it capitalism with a social conscience – was taken up by the country’s Social Democrats too once it became associated with Germany’s post-war boom.


pages: 492 words: 152,167

Rikers: An Oral History by Graham Rayman, Reuven Blau

Bernie Sanders, biofilm, collective bargaining, COVID-19, crack epidemic, housing justice, Saturday Night Live, social distancing

He had a lot of juice. He threatened to shut [the bridge] down when I was there. Again, me and Hanley met with the police commissioner at the time. The NYPD gave him a pretty strong message: if you do this, we are going to arrest everyone. I don’t even remember what the issue was, if it was a collective bargaining issue or he was pissed about something else. I had a pretty good relationship. It was hot and cold and we’d hate each other. His threats were always just business. Nothing personal. It was not like I was ever worried for my safety. RICHARD STEIER: Well, the bridge stuff, that wasn’t brand-new.


pages: 2,045 words: 566,714

J.K. Lasser's Your Income Tax by J K Lasser Institute

accelerated depreciation, Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, airline deregulation, asset allocation, book value, business cycle, collective bargaining, distributed generation, employer provided health coverage, estate planning, Home mortgage interest deduction, independent contractor, intangible asset, medical malpractice, medical residency, money market fund, mortgage debt, mortgage tax deduction, passive income, Ponzi scheme, profit motive, rent control, Right to Buy, telemarketer, transaction costs, urban renewal, zero-coupon bond

The eligibility test requires that the plan benefit: (1) 70% or more of all employees or (2) 80% or more of employees eligible to participate, provided that at least 70% of all employees are eligible. A plan not meeting either test is considered discriminatory unless proven otherwise. In applying these tests, employees may be excluded if they have less than three years of service, are under age 25, do part-time or seasonal work, or are covered by a union collective bargaining agreement. A fraction of the benefits received by a highly compensated individual from a nonqualifying plan is taxable. The fraction equals the total reimbursements to highly compensated participants divided by total plan reimbursements; benefits available only to highly compensated employees are disregarded.

Employers are required to make matching contributions or a flat contribution (8.18). Qualifying employers. A SIMPLE IRA may be maintained only by an employer that (1) in the previous calendar year had no more than 100 employees who earned compensation of $5,000 or more and (2) does not maintain any other retirement plan (unless the other plan is for collective bargaining employees). A self-employed individual who meets these tests may set up a SIMPLE IRA, as discussed in Chapter 41. A simple IRA must be maintained on a calendar-year basis. In determining whether the 100-employee test is met for the prior year, all employees under the common control of the employer must be counted.

In general, an employee must be allowed to contribute to a SIMPLE IRA for a year in which he or she is reasonably expected to earn $5,000 or more, provided at least $5,000 of compensation was received in any two prior years, whether or not consecutive. If the employer owns more than one business (under common control rules) and sets up a SIMPLE IRA for one of them, employees of the other business must also be allowed to participate if they meet the $5,000 compensation tests. Employees who are covered by a collective bargaining agreement may be excluded if retirement benefits were the subject of good-faith negotiations. The employer may lower or eliminate the $5,000 compensation requirement in order to broaden participation in the plan. No other conditions on eligibility, such as age or hours of work, are permitted.


pages: 1,845 words: 567,850

J.K. Lasser's Your Income Tax 2014 by J. K. Lasser

accelerated depreciation, Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, airline deregulation, asset allocation, book value, business cycle, collective bargaining, distributed generation, employer provided health coverage, estate planning, Home mortgage interest deduction, independent contractor, intangible asset, medical malpractice, medical residency, mortgage debt, mortgage tax deduction, obamacare, passive income, Ponzi scheme, profit motive, rent control, Right to Buy, telemarketer, transaction costs, urban renewal, zero-coupon bond

The eligibility test requires that the plan benefit: (1) 70% or more of all employees or (2) 80% or more of employees eligible to participate, provided that at least 70% of all employees are eligible. A plan not meeting either test is considered discriminatory unless proven otherwise. In applying these tests, employees may be excluded if they have less than three years of service, are under age 25, do part-time or seasonal work, or are covered by a union collective bargaining agreement. A fraction of the benefits received by a highly compensated individual from a nonqualifying plan is taxable. The fraction equals the total reimbursements to highly compensated participants divided by total plan reimbursements; benefits available only to highly compensated employees are disregarded.

Employers are required to make matching contributions or a flat contribution (8.18). Qualifying employers A SIMPLE IRA may be maintained only by an employer that (1) in the previous calendar year had no more than 100 employees who earned compensation of $5,000 or more and (2) does not maintain any other retirement plan (unless the other plan is for collective bargaining employees). A self-employed individual who meets these tests may set up a SIMPLE IRA, as discussed in Chapter 41. A simple IRA must be maintained on a calendar-year basis. In determining whether the 100-employee test is met for the prior year, all employees under the common control of the employer must be counted.

Eligible employees In general, an employee must be allowed to contribute to a SIMPLE IRA for a year in which he or she is reasonably expected to earn $5,000 or more, provided at least $5,000 of compensation was received in any two prior years, whether or not consecutive. If the employer owns more than one business (under common control rules) and sets up a SIMPLE IRA for one of them, employees of the other business must also be allowed to participate if they meet the $5,000 compensation tests. Employees who are covered by a collective bargaining agreement may be excluded if retirement benefits were the subject of good-faith negotiations. The employer may lower or eliminate the $5,000 compensation requirement in order to broaden participation in the plan. No other conditions on eligibility, such as age or hours of work, are permitted.


Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House by Peter Baker

"Hurricane Katrina" Superdome, addicted to oil, Alan Greenspan, anti-communist, battle of ideas, Bear Stearns, Berlin Wall, Bernie Madoff, Bob Geldof, Boeing 747, buy low sell high, carbon tax, card file, clean water, collective bargaining, cuban missile crisis, desegregation, drone strike, energy security, facts on the ground, failed state, Fall of the Berlin Wall, friendly fire, Glass-Steagall Act, guest worker program, hiring and firing, housing crisis, illegal immigration, immigration reform, information security, Mikhail Gorbachev, MITM: man-in-the-middle, no-fly zone, operational security, Robert Bork, rolling blackouts, Ronald Reagan, Ronald Reagan: Tear down this wall, Saturday Night Live, South China Sea, stem cell, Ted Sorensen, too big to fail, uranium enrichment, War on Poverty, working poor, Yom Kippur War

Just as Karl Rove had forecast, they were taking their national security case to the American public and winning. One of their most cutting arguments concerned the proposed Department of Homeland Security, an idea Bush opposed for nine months after Septem- ber 11 but now supported, although he was bogged down in a dispute over collective bargaining rights for its employees. Bush wanted to run the department with as little red tape as possible, while Democrats defended the interests of organized labor, a core constituency. To campaign audiences, though, Bush cast it as a sign of Democratic weakness. “The Senate is more interested in special interests in Washington and not interested in the security of the American people,” he declared in a speech in New Jersey on September 23.

It showed the pictures of bin Laden and Hussein to illustrate the threat seen to America and then showed Cleland’s picture while criticizing him for his voting record. But Cleland actually co-sponsored legislation creating a department of homeland security in May 2002 while Bush still opposed it; the ad presented Cleland’s opposition to Republican proposals to strip collective bargaining rights for employees at the new department as a national security threat. http://www.youtube.com/watch?vKFYpd0q9nE. Cleland was devastated by the campaign and afterward sought psychiatric help and returned to Walter Reed, where he was surrounded by wounded veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan.


Betrayal of Trust: The Collapse of Global Public Health by Laurie Garrett

accounting loophole / creative accounting, airport security, Albert Einstein, anti-communist, Ayatollah Khomeini, Berlin Wall, biofilm, clean water, collective bargaining, contact tracing, desegregation, discovery of DNA, discovery of penicillin, disinformation, Drosophila, employer provided health coverage, Fall of the Berlin Wall, germ theory of disease, global pandemic, Gregor Mendel, illegal immigration, indoor plumbing, Induced demand, John Snow's cholera map, Jones Act, Louis Pasteur, Mahatma Gandhi, mass incarceration, Maui Hawaii, means of production, Menlo Park, Mikhail Gorbachev, mouse model, Nelson Mandela, new economy, nuclear winter, Oklahoma City bombing, phenotype, profit motive, Project Plowshare, RAND corporation, randomized controlled trial, Right to Buy, Ronald Reagan, sexual politics, Silicon Valley, stem cell, the scientific method, urban decay, urban renewal, War on Poverty, working poor, Works Progress Administration, yellow journalism

Conversely, those medical pursuits most closely associated with concepts of hospital-based curative care rose to the top: surgery, oncology, cardiology. And within those higher-prestige fields, physicians and nurses became increasingly specialized over the postwar years. Commensurate with the growth of hospital power would be the rise of private health insurance, which was chiefly obtained by Americans as a result of collective bargaining between unions and large employers.172 Less than 20 percent of the U.S. population was covered by any form of health insurance in 1945, and most of that offered limited protection that failed to cover key costs accrued in hospitalization. By 1960, however, about 25 percent of hospital costs would be covered by insurance.173 After passage of the Hill-Burton Act hospital spending drove overall health costs upward at an accelerated pace.

Studies in 1997 showed that 56 percent of the uninsured put off treatments due to lack of funds, and 47 percent found it difficult or impossible to obtain medical care when needed.12 Most insured Americans had coverage through their employers, a victory that had been won decades earlier through labor union collective bargaining. But the end of the twentieth century brought significant changes in the American workplace resulting in millions of fully employed Americans having no health insurance. And millions more had coverage, the costs of which were docked from their pay: in other words, they were paying some or all of their medical coverage themselves.13 By the end of 1998 fully a third of all Americans favored some form of radical reconstruction of their health care system, registering the highest level of dissatisfaction seen in any major industrialized society.14 They were spending twice as much annually on their out-of-pocket health needs as Canadians, and more than triple the $1,347 annual per person payments made by citizens of the United Kingdom.15 The average American in 1997 spent $4,090 on personal health care, compared to $2,339 for a typical German.


pages: 559 words: 169,094

The Unwinding: An Inner History of the New America by George Packer

"World Economic Forum" Davos, Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, Alan Greenspan, Apple's 1984 Super Bowl advert, bank run, Bear Stearns, big-box store, citizen journalism, clean tech, collateralized debt obligation, collective bargaining, company town, corporate raider, Credit Default Swap, credit default swaps / collateralized debt obligations, DeepMind, deindustrialization, diversified portfolio, East Village, El Camino Real, electricity market, Elon Musk, Fairchild Semiconductor, family office, financial engineering, financial independence, financial innovation, fixed income, Flash crash, food desert, gentrification, Glass-Steagall Act, global macro, Henry Ford's grandson gave labor union leader Walter Reuther a tour of the company’s new, automated factory…, high-speed rail, housing crisis, income inequality, independent contractor, informal economy, intentional community, Jane Jacobs, Larry Ellison, life extension, Long Term Capital Management, low skilled workers, Marc Andreessen, margin call, Mark Zuckerberg, market bubble, market fundamentalism, Maui Hawaii, Max Levchin, Menlo Park, military-industrial complex, Neal Stephenson, Neil Kinnock, new economy, New Journalism, obamacare, Occupy movement, off-the-grid, oil shock, PalmPilot, Patri Friedman, paypal mafia, peak oil, Peter Thiel, Ponzi scheme, proprietary trading, public intellectual, Richard Florida, Robert Bork, Ronald Reagan, Ronald Reagan: Tear down this wall, Savings and loan crisis, shareholder value, side project, Silicon Valley, Silicon Valley billionaire, Silicon Valley startup, single-payer health, smart grid, Snow Crash, Steve Jobs, strikebreaker, tech worker, The Death and Life of Great American Cities, the scientific method, too big to fail, union organizing, uptick rule, urban planning, vertical integration, We are the 99%, We wanted flying cars, instead we got 140 characters, white flight, white picket fence, zero-sum game

The public began to turn against labor’s new militancy, and in the short run the companies won. But the defeat of 1937 led to victory in 1942, when the National Labor Relations Board ruled that Republic and Sheet and Tube had used illegal tactics to crush the strike. The companies were forced to recognize SWOC and enter collective bargaining. Youngstown became a solidly union city, just as World War II was beginning, bringing with it the economic security that workers had always craved—even, as the years went by, for black workers. The mill was hot, filthy, body- and soul-crushing, but its wages and pensions came to represent the golden age of American economic life.


pages: 554 words: 167,247

America's Bitter Pill: Money, Politics, Backroom Deals, and the Fight to Fix Our Broken Healthcare System by Steven Brill

Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, asset light, barriers to entry, behavioural economics, Bernie Sanders, business process, call centre, collapse of Lehman Brothers, collective bargaining, compensation consultant, crony capitalism, desegregation, Donald Trump, Edward Snowden, employer provided health coverage, medical malpractice, Menlo Park, military-industrial complex, Nate Silver, obamacare, Potemkin village, Ronald Reagan, Saturday Night Live, side project, Silicon Valley, the payments system, young professional

Harry Truman—influenced, historians say, by the number of recruits he had met during the war who showed up for duty too sick to fight—took up the banner after he succeeded Roosevelt in 1945. But by then rulings by the National Labor Relations Board had solidified healthcare coverage as a key ingredient of collectively bargained contracts. As a result, the unions were even more opposed to the idea, and their members were largely indifferent to it. Meanwhile, the more predictable opponents—the incumbent insurers and hospitals and drug companies worried about having to bargain with one single payer—were arrayed against Truman’s push, which he presented to Congress in 1949.


pages: 497 words: 161,742

The Enemy Within by Seumas Milne

active measures, anti-communist, Berlin Wall, Boris Johnson, collective bargaining, corporate governance, disinformation, Edward Snowden, electricity market, Etonian, fake news, Fall of the Berlin Wall, invisible hand, Kickstarter, Leo Hollis, market fundamentalism, Mikhail Gorbachev, Naomi Klein, Neil Kinnock, Nelson Mandela, New Journalism, Ronald Reagan, Seymour Hersh, strikebreaker, union organizing, Washington Consensus, Winter of Discontent, éminence grise

The internal struggle in the NUM eventually crystallized over whether to compromise with the breakaway Union of Democratic Mineworkers so as to allow a return to normal national negotiations with the Coal Board. As in the aftermath of the 1926 lockout, which was also a period of splits and recriminations, the miners’ union lost its right to national collective bargaining after 1985. The Board unilaterally abandoned the traditional arrangements and gave notice that from May 1986 it would only negotiate wages and conditions if the NUM agreed to accept its so-called ‘majority–minority’ principle. The new management position was that the majority union in a pit or area would negotiate for all miners regardless of their individual union affiliation.


pages: 568 words: 174,089

The Power Elite by C. Wright Mills, Alan Wolfe

affirmative action, Albert Einstein, American ideology, anti-communist, Asilomar, collective bargaining, Cornelius Vanderbilt, creative destruction, cuban missile crisis, desegregation, full employment, Ida Tarbell, it's over 9,000, Joseph Schumpeter, long peace, means of production, military-industrial complex, Monroe Doctrine, one-China policy, plutocrats, pneumatic tube, profit motive, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Ronald Reagan, Simon Kuznets, The Theory of the Leisure Class by Thorstein Veblen, Thorstein Veblen, Vilfredo Pareto

These bargains set the pattern of wage contracts; thousands of other employers may go through the motions of bargaining, but the odds are high that they will end up according to the pattern set by the few giant deals. See Business Week, 18 October 1952, p. 148; Frederick H. Harbison and Robert Dubin, Patterns of Union-Management Relations (Chicago: Science Research Associates, 1947); Mills, The New Men of Power, pp. 233 ff. and Frederick H. Harbison and John R. Coleman, Goals and Strategy in Collective Bargaining (New York: Harper, 1951), pp. 125 ff. 13. ‘Special Report to Executives on Tomorrow’s Management,’ Business Week, 15 August 1953, p. 161. 14. John M. Blair, ‘Technology and Size,’ American Economic Review, vol. XXXVIII, May 1948, Number 2, pp. 150–51. Blair argues that present-day technology, unlike that of the nineteenth and the early twentieth century, is a force leading toward decentralization rather than consolidation.


Necessary Illusions by Noam Chomsky

anti-communist, Ayatollah Khomeini, British Empire, centre right, collective bargaining, colonial rule, cuban missile crisis, disinformation, full employment, Howard Zinn, Khyber Pass, Korean Air Lines Flight 007, land reform, long peace, military-industrial complex, New Journalism, Ronald Reagan, Strategic Defense Initiative, strikebreaker, union organizing

It has always provided a warm welcome to foreign investment and has promoted a form of class collaboration that often “sacrificed the rights of labor,” Don Pepe’s biographer observes,20 while establishing a welfare system that continues to function thanks to U.S. subsidies, with one of the highest per capita debts in the world. Don Pepe’s 1949 constitution outlawed Communism. With the most militant unions suppressed, labor rights declined. “Minimum wage laws were not enforced,” and workers “lost every collective-bargaining contract except one that covered a single group of banana workers,” Walter LaFeber notes. By the 1960s “it was almost as if the entire labor movement had ceased to exist,” an academic study concludes. The United Fruit Company prospered, nearly tripling its profits and facing no threat of expropriation.


pages: 540 words: 168,921

The Relentless Revolution: A History of Capitalism by Joyce Appleby

1919 Motor Transport Corps convoy, agricultural Revolution, Alan Greenspan, An Inconvenient Truth, anti-communist, Asian financial crisis, asset-backed security, Bartolomé de las Casas, Bear Stearns, Bernie Madoff, Bretton Woods, BRICs, British Empire, call centre, Charles Lindbergh, classic study, collateralized debt obligation, collective bargaining, Columbian Exchange, commoditize, Cornelius Vanderbilt, corporate governance, cotton gin, creative destruction, credit crunch, Credit Default Swap, credit default swaps / collateralized debt obligations, David Ricardo: comparative advantage, deindustrialization, Deng Xiaoping, deskilling, Doha Development Round, double entry bookkeeping, epigenetics, equal pay for equal work, European colonialism, facts on the ground, failed state, Firefox, fixed income, Ford Model T, Ford paid five dollars a day, Francisco Pizarro, Frederick Winslow Taylor, full employment, General Magic , Glass-Steagall Act, Gordon Gekko, Great Leap Forward, Henry Ford's grandson gave labor union leader Walter Reuther a tour of the company’s new, automated factory…, Hernando de Soto, hiring and firing, Ida Tarbell, illegal immigration, informal economy, interchangeable parts, interest rate swap, invention of movable type, invention of the printing press, invention of the steam engine, invisible hand, Isaac Newton, James Hargreaves, James Watt: steam engine, Jeff Bezos, John Bogle, joint-stock company, Joseph Schumpeter, junk bonds, knowledge economy, land bank, land reform, Livingstone, I presume, Long Term Capital Management, low interest rates, Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Wolf, military-industrial complex, moral hazard, Nixon triggered the end of the Bretton Woods system, PalmPilot, Parag Khanna, pneumatic tube, Ponzi scheme, profit maximization, profit motive, race to the bottom, Ralph Nader, refrigerator car, Ronald Reagan, scientific management, Scramble for Africa, Silicon Valley, Silicon Valley startup, South China Sea, South Sea Bubble, special economic zone, spice trade, spinning jenny, strikebreaker, Suez canal 1869, the built environment, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, Thomas L Friedman, Thorstein Veblen, total factor productivity, trade route, transatlantic slave trade, transcontinental railway, two and twenty, union organizing, Unsafe at Any Speed, Upton Sinclair, urban renewal, vertical integration, War on Poverty, working poor, Works Progress Administration, Yogi Berra, Yom Kippur War

Few in the press represented the workers’ side to the general public, though Adam Smith did comment shrewdly in Wealth of Nations that manufacturers never gathered for dinner but what they set the price of wages. While employers easily made informal agreements, workers, when pressuring for any concessions, fell afoul of the laws against conspiracies. It would be another century before collective bargaining became part of the capitalist system and laborers would be able to enjoy the benefits of industrialization at both work and home. The Intellectual Impact of Technological Change People have their favorite English quality to account for England’s industrial career—high wages and low fuel costs, secure title to land, agricultural improvements, low taxation, the rise of cities, and its scientific culture—but why not recognize how mutually enhancing all these elements were?


pages: 547 words: 172,226

Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty by Daron Acemoglu, James Robinson

Admiral Zheng, agricultural Revolution, Albert Einstein, Andrei Shleifer, Atahualpa, banking crisis, Bartolomé de las Casas, Berlin Wall, blood diamond, bread and circuses, BRICs, British Empire, central bank independence, clean water, collective bargaining, colonial rule, conceptual framework, Corn Laws, Cornelius Vanderbilt, creative destruction, crony capitalism, Deng Xiaoping, desegregation, discovery of the americas, en.wikipedia.org, European colonialism, failed state, Fall of the Berlin Wall, falling living standards, financial independence, financial innovation, financial intermediation, flying shuttle, Francis Fukuyama: the end of history, Francisco Pizarro, full employment, Great Leap Forward, household responsibility system, Ida Tarbell, income inequality, income per capita, indoor plumbing, invention of movable type, invisible hand, James Hargreaves, James Watt: steam engine, Jeff Bezos, joint-stock company, Joseph Schumpeter, Kickstarter, land reform, low interest rates, mass immigration, Mikhail Gorbachev, minimum wage unemployment, Mohammed Bouazizi, Paul Samuelson, price stability, profit motive, Robert Solow, Rosa Parks, Scramble for Africa, seminal paper, Simon Kuznets, spice trade, spinning jenny, Steve Ballmer, Steve Jobs, Suez canal 1869, trade liberalization, trade route, transatlantic slave trade, union organizing, upwardly mobile, W. E. B. Du Bois, Washington Consensus, working poor

Before the Court’s ruling came in, Roosevelt had moved to the next step of his agenda and had signed the Social Security Act, which introduced the modern welfare state into the United States: pensions at retirement, unemployment benefits, aid to families with dependent children, and some public health care and disability benefits. He also signed the National Labor Relations Act, which further strengthened the rights of workers to organize unions, engage in collective bargaining, and conduct strikes against their employers. These measures also faced challenges in the Supreme Court. As these were making their way through the judiciary, Roosevelt was reelected in 1936 with a strong mandate, receiving 61 percent of the popular vote. With his popularity at record highs, Roosevelt had no intention of letting the Supreme Court derail more of his policy agenda.


pages: 598 words: 172,137

Who Stole the American Dream? by Hedrick Smith

Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, Airbus A320, airline deregulation, Alan Greenspan, anti-communist, asset allocation, banking crisis, Bear Stearns, Boeing 747, Bonfire of the Vanities, British Empire, business cycle, business process, clean water, cloud computing, collateralized debt obligation, collective bargaining, commoditize, corporate governance, Credit Default Swap, credit default swaps / collateralized debt obligations, currency manipulation / currency intervention, David Brooks, Deng Xiaoping, desegregation, Double Irish / Dutch Sandwich, family office, financial engineering, Ford Model T, full employment, Glass-Steagall Act, global supply chain, Gordon Gekko, guest worker program, guns versus butter model, high-speed rail, hiring and firing, housing crisis, Howard Zinn, income inequality, independent contractor, index fund, industrial cluster, informal economy, invisible hand, John Bogle, Joseph Schumpeter, junk bonds, Kenneth Rogoff, Kitchen Debate, knowledge economy, knowledge worker, laissez-faire capitalism, Larry Ellison, late fees, Long Term Capital Management, low cost airline, low interest rates, manufacturing employment, market fundamentalism, Maui Hawaii, mega-rich, Michael Shellenberger, military-industrial complex, MITM: man-in-the-middle, mortgage debt, negative equity, new economy, Occupy movement, Own Your Own Home, Paul Samuelson, Peter Thiel, Plutonomy: Buying Luxury, Explaining Global Imbalances, Ponzi scheme, Powell Memorandum, proprietary trading, Ralph Nader, RAND corporation, Renaissance Technologies, reshoring, rising living standards, Robert Bork, Robert Shiller, rolodex, Ronald Reagan, Savings and loan crisis, shareholder value, Shenzhen was a fishing village, Silicon Valley, Silicon Valley startup, Solyndra, Steve Jobs, stock buybacks, tech worker, Ted Nordhaus, The Chicago School, The Spirit Level, too big to fail, transaction costs, transcontinental railway, union organizing, Unsafe at Any Speed, Vanguard fund, We are the 99%, women in the workforce, working poor, Y2K

They call it “the Great Compression”—meaning that differences in incomes and living standards were compressed back then, with Americans from the top to the bottom of the income scale closer together than ever before or since. In short, middle-class power, exercised through grassroots movements, through trade union collective bargaining, and through government policies, produced the most democratically shared prosperity in our history—an unparalleled achievement. “The Great Compression succeeded in equalizing incomes for a long period—more than thirty years,” reported economist Paul Krugman. “And the era of equality was also a time of unprecedented prosperity, which we have never been able to recapture.”


pages: 614 words: 174,226

The Economists' Hour: How the False Prophets of Free Markets Fractured Our Society by Binyamin Appelbaum

90 percent rule, airline deregulation, Alan Greenspan, Alvin Roth, Andrei Shleifer, anti-communist, battle of ideas, Benoit Mandelbrot, Big bang: deregulation of the City of London, Bretton Woods, British Empire, business cycle, capital controls, Carmen Reinhart, Cass Sunstein, Celtic Tiger, central bank independence, clean water, collective bargaining, Corn Laws, correlation does not imply causation, Credit Default Swap, currency manipulation / currency intervention, David Ricardo: comparative advantage, deindustrialization, Deng Xiaoping, desegregation, Diane Coyle, Donald Trump, Dr. Strangelove, ending welfare as we know it, financial deregulation, financial engineering, financial innovation, fixed income, flag carrier, floating exchange rates, full employment, George Akerlof, George Gilder, Gini coefficient, greed is good, Greenspan put, Growth in a Time of Debt, Ida Tarbell, income inequality, income per capita, index fund, inflation targeting, invisible hand, Isaac Newton, It's morning again in America, Jean Tirole, John Markoff, Kenneth Arrow, Kenneth Rogoff, land reform, Les Trente Glorieuses, long and variable lags, Long Term Capital Management, low cost airline, low interest rates, manufacturing employment, means of production, Menlo Park, minimum wage unemployment, Mohammed Bouazizi, money market fund, Mont Pelerin Society, Network effects, new economy, Nixon triggered the end of the Bretton Woods system, oil shock, Paul Samuelson, Philip Mirowski, Phillips curve, plutocrats, precautionary principle, price stability, profit motive, public intellectual, Ralph Nader, RAND corporation, rent control, rent-seeking, Richard Thaler, road to serfdom, Robert Bork, Robert Gordon, Robert Solow, Ronald Coase, Ronald Reagan, Sam Peltzman, Savings and loan crisis, Silicon Valley, Simon Kuznets, starchitect, Steve Bannon, Steve Jobs, supply-chain management, The Chicago School, The Great Moderation, The Myth of the Rational Market, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, Thomas Kuhn: the structure of scientific revolutions, transaction costs, trickle-down economics, ultimatum game, Unsafe at Any Speed, urban renewal, War on Poverty, Washington Consensus, We are all Keynesians now

Salmon workers in Norway are paid more than three times as much as their counterparts in Chile.67 Under Pinochet’s regime, employers prevented the formation of labor unions. After the return of democracy, some workers formed unions, but Chilean law still imposes some of the most restrictive limits on collective bargaining anywhere in the developed world. In 2001, female workers at a salmon processing plant who earned an average of $130 a month went on strike seeking a raise of $15 a month. The company responded by firing 10 percent of the women, a literal decimation.68 Chile also has struggled to build on its successes in the relatively low-value business of producing food.


pages: 520 words: 164,834

Bill Marriott: Success Is Never Final--His Life and the Decisions That Built a Hotel Empire by Dale van Atta

Berlin Wall, Black Monday: stock market crash in 1987, Boeing 747, book value, Carl Icahn, Charles Lindbergh, clean water, collective bargaining, corporate raider, Deng Xiaoping, Donald Trump, dumpster diving, financial innovation, Ford Model T, hiring and firing, index card, indoor plumbing, Kickstarter, Kintsugi, Maui Hawaii, medical residency, Menlo Park, Mikhail Gorbachev, mortgage debt, profit motive, Robert Bork, Ronald Reagan, shareholder value, short selling, stock buybacks, three-martini lunch, urban renewal

The next morning, he told the Marriotts he would serve out the last months of his term, and then he and Alice would return to Utah so that he could fully take up his duties as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.2 Billy on a pony. The Marriotts attended FDR’s inaugural ball, but to them the President’s New Deal programs looked increasingly socialistic. Among the legislation were minimum-wage and union collective-bargaining laws that would challenge the bottom line for the Hot Shoppes and then the Marriott company for decades to come. In March, several weeks after FDR’s inauguration, Billy turned one, and his family moved into Senator Smoot’s French provincial mansion at 4500 Garfield Street. It would be Billy’s permanent home until he left for college.


pages: 569 words: 165,510

There Is Nothing for You Here: Finding Opportunity in the Twenty-First Century by Fiona Hill

2021 United States Capitol attack, active measures, Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, algorithmic bias, barriers to entry, Berlin Wall, Bernie Sanders, Big Tech, Black Lives Matter, blue-collar work, Boris Johnson, Brexit referendum, British Empire, business climate, call centre, collective bargaining, company town, coronavirus, COVID-19, crony capitalism, cuban missile crisis, David Brooks, deindustrialization, desegregation, digital divide, disinformation, Dissolution of the Soviet Union, Donald Trump, Fall of the Berlin Wall, financial independence, first-past-the-post, food desert, gender pay gap, gentrification, George Floyd, glass ceiling, global pandemic, Great Leap Forward, housing crisis, illegal immigration, imposter syndrome, income inequality, indoor plumbing, industrial cluster, industrial research laboratory, informal economy, Jeff Bezos, Jeremy Corbyn, Kickstarter, knowledge economy, lockdown, low skilled workers, Lyft, Martin Wolf, mass immigration, meme stock, Mikhail Gorbachev, new economy, oil shock, opioid epidemic / opioid crisis, Own Your Own Home, Paris climate accords, pension reform, QAnon, ransomware, restrictive zoning, ride hailing / ride sharing, Right to Buy, Ronald Reagan, self-driving car, Silicon Valley, single-payer health, statistical model, Steve Bannon, The Chicago School, TikTok, transatlantic slave trade, Uber and Lyft, uber lyft, University of East Anglia, urban decay, urban planning, Washington Consensus, WikiLeaks, Winter of Discontent, women in the workforce, working poor, Yom Kippur War, young professional

And the new jobs lacked security. At the same time that Trump focused on “unleashing” billionaires and big business, he also launched efforts to weaken American workers’ protections and benefits—just as Margaret Thatcher had targeted the UK “nanny state” in the 1980s. Trump went after trade unions’ efforts to deploy collective bargaining for pay raises and the Obama administration’s Affordable Care Act, which had expanded access to health insurance for millions of Americans, and he rolled back environmental standards and health and safety codes. His antiunion attitude was well documented. He was always railing against unions in meetings, expressing his opposition to organized labor and employees, rather than shareholders, who wanted stakes in companies.


J.K. Lasser's Your Income Tax 2016: For Preparing Your 2015 Tax Return by J. K. Lasser Institute

accelerated depreciation, Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, airline deregulation, asset allocation, book value, business cycle, collective bargaining, distributed generation, employer provided health coverage, estate planning, Home mortgage interest deduction, independent contractor, intangible asset, medical malpractice, medical residency, mortgage debt, mortgage tax deduction, passive income, Ponzi scheme, profit motive, rent control, Right to Buy, transaction costs, urban renewal, zero-coupon bond

The eligibility test requires that the plan benefit: (1) 70% or more of all employees or (2) 80% or more of employees eligible to participate, provided that at least 70% of all employees are eligible. A plan not meeting either test is considered discriminatory unless proven otherwise. In applying these tests, employees may be excluded if they have less than three years of service, are under age 25, do part-time or seasonal work, or are covered by a union collective bargaining agreement. A fraction of the benefits received by a highly compensated individual from a nonqualifying plan is taxable. The fraction equals the total reimbursements to highly compensated participants divided by total plan reimbursements; benefits available only to highly compensated employees are disregarded.

Employers are required to make matching contributions or a flat contribution (8.18). Qualifying employers. A SIMPLE IRA may be maintained only by an employer that (1) in the previous calendar year had no more than 100 employees who earned compensation of $5,000 or more and (2) does not maintain any other retirement plan (unless the other plan is for collective bargaining employees). A self-employed individual who meets these tests may set up a SIMPLE IRA, as discussed inChapter 41. A simple IRA must be maintained on a calendar-year basis. In determining whether the 100-employee test is met for the prior year, all employees under the common control of the employer must be counted.

In general, an employee must be allowed to contribute to a SIMPLE IRA for a year in which he or she is reasonably expected to earn $5,000 or more, provided at least $5,000 of compensation was received in any two prior years, whether or not consecutive. If the employer owns more than one business (under common control rules) and sets up a SIMPLE IRA for one of them, employees of the other business must also be allowed to participate if they meet the $5,000 compensation tests. Employees who are covered by a collective bargaining agreement may be excluded if retirement benefits were the subject of good-faith negotiations. The employer may lower or eliminate the $5,000 compensation requirement in order to broaden participation in the plan. No other conditions on eligibility, such as age or hours of work, are permitted.


pages: 613 words: 181,605

Circle of Greed: The Spectacular Rise and Fall of the Lawyer Who Brought Corporate America to Its Knees by Patrick Dillon, Carl M. Cannon

"RICO laws" OR "Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations", accounting loophole / creative accounting, affirmative action, Alan Greenspan, AOL-Time Warner, Bear Stearns, Bernie Madoff, Black Monday: stock market crash in 1987, buy and hold, Carl Icahn, collective bargaining, Columbine, company town, computer age, corporate governance, corporate raider, desegregation, energy security, estate planning, Exxon Valdez, fear of failure, fixed income, Gordon Gekko, greed is good, illegal immigration, index fund, John Markoff, junk bonds, mandatory minimum, margin call, Maui Hawaii, McDonald's hot coffee lawsuit, Michael Milken, money market fund, new economy, oil shale / tar sands, Ponzi scheme, power law, Ralph Nader, rolodex, Ronald Reagan, Sand Hill Road, Savings and loan crisis, Silicon Valley, Silicon Valley startup, Steve Jobs, the High Line, the market place, white picket fence, Works Progress Administration, zero-sum game

Georgiou had attended Stanford on an academic scholarship, and in an effort to extend a hand to those who grew up in circumstances even more modest than his own, he co-founded Mariposa School, an alternative elementary and middle school in remote Mendocino County, where he also taught seventh and eighth graders, many of them sons and daughters of farmworkers. After a year he enrolled at Harvard Law School, graduating with honors in 1974. After clerking for a federal judge in San Francisco, Georgiou served four years for the California Agricultural Labor Relations Board, prosecuting unfair labor practices and enforcing the collective bargaining rights of farmworkers. Later, he went to work on the staff of Governor Edmund G. “Jerry” Brown, Jr., as legal affairs secretary. Georgiou was responsible for advising Brown on issues relating to the state’s public employee unions. It was this experience that piqued Bill Lerach’s interest. Lerach was not only beefing up his stable of litigators, he was in need of a lawyer with credibility who could act as liaison with what he saw as the future of his law firm—institutional investors, particularly public pension plans and labor unions.


Money and Government: The Past and Future of Economics by Robert Skidelsky

"Friedman doctrine" OR "shareholder theory", Alan Greenspan, anti-globalists, Asian financial crisis, asset-backed security, bank run, banking crisis, banks create money, barriers to entry, Basel III, basic income, Bear Stearns, behavioural economics, Ben Bernanke: helicopter money, Big bang: deregulation of the City of London, book value, Bretton Woods, British Empire, business cycle, capital controls, Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty, Carmen Reinhart, central bank independence, cognitive dissonance, collapse of Lehman Brothers, collateralized debt obligation, collective bargaining, constrained optimization, Corn Laws, correlation does not imply causation, credit crunch, Credit Default Swap, credit default swaps / collateralized debt obligations, David Graeber, David Ricardo: comparative advantage, debt deflation, Deng Xiaoping, Donald Trump, Eugene Fama: efficient market hypothesis, eurozone crisis, fake news, financial deregulation, financial engineering, financial innovation, Financial Instability Hypothesis, forward guidance, Fractional reserve banking, full employment, Gini coefficient, Glass-Steagall Act, Goodhart's law, Growth in a Time of Debt, guns versus butter model, Hyman Minsky, income inequality, incomplete markets, inflation targeting, invisible hand, Isaac Newton, John Maynard Keynes: Economic Possibilities for our Grandchildren, John Maynard Keynes: technological unemployment, Joseph Schumpeter, Kenneth Rogoff, Kondratiev cycle, labour market flexibility, labour mobility, land bank, law of one price, liberal capitalism, light touch regulation, liquidationism / Banker’s doctrine / the Treasury view, liquidity trap, long and variable lags, low interest rates, market clearing, market friction, Martin Wolf, means of production, Meghnad Desai, Mexican peso crisis / tequila crisis, mobile money, Modern Monetary Theory, Money creation, Mont Pelerin Society, moral hazard, mortgage debt, new economy, Nick Leeson, North Sea oil, Northern Rock, nudge theory, offshore financial centre, oil shock, open economy, paradox of thrift, Pareto efficiency, Paul Samuelson, Phillips curve, placebo effect, post-war consensus, price stability, profit maximization, proprietary trading, public intellectual, quantitative easing, random walk, regulatory arbitrage, rent-seeking, reserve currency, Richard Thaler, rising living standards, risk/return, road to serfdom, Robert Shiller, Ronald Reagan, savings glut, secular stagnation, shareholder value, short selling, Simon Kuznets, structural adjustment programs, technological determinism, The Chicago School, The Great Moderation, the payments system, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, Thomas Malthus, Thorstein Veblen, tontine, too big to fail, trade liberalization, value at risk, Washington Consensus, yield curve, zero-sum game

At first the system works not too badly but after a short time the change in the balance of power, since it is unaccompanied by a change in social attitudes and institutions, leads to inflation and through inflation and lack of business confidence to political unrest. This is the direct consequence of the increase in concentration of economic power on both sides when combined with full employment. The outcome of collective bargaining is then no longer determined or limited by the real resources of the community.50 The crux of the matter was ‘the real resources of the community’. The premise of the growth Keynesians was that without a ‘healthy rate of economic growth’ the struggle for relative shares of the national income would bring inflationary pressure, requiring the imposition of much stronger control measures than ‘voluntary’ restraints.


pages: 559 words: 178,279

The Cold War: Stories From the Big Freeze by Bridget Kendall

anti-communist, Berlin Wall, British Empire, collective bargaining, colonial rule, cuban missile crisis, Deng Xiaoping, Dissolution of the Soviet Union, European colonialism, Fall of the Berlin Wall, Great Leap Forward, Howard Zinn, Korean Air Lines Flight 007, land reform, Mikhail Gorbachev, Monroe Doctrine, mutually assured destruction, open borders, Prenzlauer Berg, Ronald Reagan, Suez canal 1869, white flight

After teaching in Fife for nine years, she married George Wang in Shanghai, where she worked as a British council lecturer for ten years. She retired in 2002. Ingrid Bartel was working as an accountant in West Berlin when the relaxation of travel restrictions allowed her to see her cousin Eva Eberbeck again after a long separation. Until her retirement in 2003 she was an adviser in employment and collective bargaining law. Throughout the years, her relationship with her cousin Eva Eberbeck has remained close and when the Berlin Wall fell, she instinctively knew that her cousin would come the following day with her family. Without hearing a word from her, she prepared everything for their visit, and indeed, that evening they all arrived.


pages: 701 words: 199,010

The Crisis of Crowding: Quant Copycats, Ugly Models, and the New Crash Normal by Ludwig B. Chincarini

affirmative action, Alan Greenspan, asset-backed security, automated trading system, bank run, banking crisis, Basel III, Bear Stearns, Bernie Madoff, Black-Scholes formula, Bob Litterman, business cycle, buttonwood tree, Carmen Reinhart, central bank independence, collapse of Lehman Brothers, collateralized debt obligation, collective bargaining, corporate governance, correlation coefficient, Credit Default Swap, credit default swaps / collateralized debt obligations, currency risk, delta neutral, discounted cash flows, diversification, diversified portfolio, family office, financial engineering, financial innovation, financial intermediation, fixed income, Flash crash, full employment, Gini coefficient, Glass-Steagall Act, global macro, high net worth, hindsight bias, housing crisis, implied volatility, income inequality, interest rate derivative, interest rate swap, John Meriwether, Kickstarter, liquidity trap, London Interbank Offered Rate, Long Term Capital Management, low interest rates, low skilled workers, managed futures, margin call, market design, market fundamentalism, merger arbitrage, Mexican peso crisis / tequila crisis, Mitch Kapor, money market fund, moral hazard, mortgage debt, Myron Scholes, National best bid and offer, negative equity, Northern Rock, Occupy movement, oil shock, price stability, proprietary trading, quantitative easing, quantitative hedge fund, quantitative trading / quantitative finance, Ralph Waldo Emerson, regulatory arbitrage, Renaissance Technologies, risk free rate, risk tolerance, risk-adjusted returns, Robert Shiller, Ronald Reagan, Sam Peltzman, Savings and loan crisis, Sharpe ratio, short selling, sovereign wealth fund, speech recognition, statistical arbitrage, statistical model, survivorship bias, systematic trading, tail risk, The Great Moderation, too big to fail, transaction costs, value at risk, yield curve, zero-coupon bond

For analyzing general price trends in the economy, seasonally adjusted changes are usually preferred since they eliminate the effect of changes that normally occur at the same time and in about the same magnitude every years such as price movements resulting from changing climatic conditions, production cycles, model changeovers, holidays, and sales. The unadjusted data are of primary interest to consumers concerned about the prices they actually pay. Unadjusted data also are used extensively for escalation purposes. Many collective bargaining contract agreements and pension plans, for example, tie compensation changes to the Consumer Price Index before adjustment for seasonal variation. 11. Even this is not technically correct. Every consumer consumes a different basket of goods. The CPI represents the most typically consumed basket and it would be difficult to customize a basket for every consumer. 12.


pages: 924 words: 198,159

Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army by Jeremy Scahill

"World Economic Forum" Davos, air freight, anti-communist, Berlin Wall, Bernie Sanders, business climate, business intelligence, centralized clearinghouse, collective bargaining, Columbine, facts on the ground, Fall of the Berlin Wall, independent contractor, Kickstarter, military-industrial complex, multilevel marketing, Naomi Klein, no-fly zone, operational security, private military company, Project for a New American Century, Robert Bork, Ronald Reagan, school choice, school vouchers, Seymour Hersh, stem cell, Timothy McVeigh, urban planning, vertical integration, zero-sum game

Even better, investors could take 100 percent of the profits they made in Iraq out of the country; they would not be required to reinvest and they would not be taxed. Under Order 39, they could sign leases and contracts that would last for forty years. Order 40 welcomed foreign banks to Iraq under the same favorable terms. All that remained of Saddam Hussein’s economic policies was a law restricting trade unions and collective bargaining. If these policies sound familiar, it’s because they are the same ones multinationals around the world lobby for from national governments and in international trade agreements. But while these reforms are only ever enacted in part, or in fits and starts, Bremer delivered them all, all at once.


pages: 695 words: 194,693

Money Changes Everything: How Finance Made Civilization Possible by William N. Goetzmann

Albert Einstein, Andrei Shleifer, asset allocation, asset-backed security, banking crisis, Benoit Mandelbrot, Black Swan, Black-Scholes formula, book value, Bretton Woods, Brownian motion, business cycle, capital asset pricing model, Cass Sunstein, classic study, collective bargaining, colonial exploitation, compound rate of return, conceptual framework, Cornelius Vanderbilt, corporate governance, Credit Default Swap, David Ricardo: comparative advantage, debt deflation, delayed gratification, Detroit bankruptcy, disintermediation, diversified portfolio, double entry bookkeeping, Edmond Halley, en.wikipedia.org, equity premium, equity risk premium, financial engineering, financial independence, financial innovation, financial intermediation, fixed income, frictionless, frictionless market, full employment, high net worth, income inequality, index fund, invention of the steam engine, invention of writing, invisible hand, James Watt: steam engine, joint-stock company, joint-stock limited liability company, laissez-faire capitalism, land bank, Louis Bachelier, low interest rates, mandelbrot fractal, market bubble, means of production, money market fund, money: store of value / unit of account / medium of exchange, moral hazard, Myron Scholes, new economy, passive investing, Paul Lévy, Ponzi scheme, price stability, principal–agent problem, profit maximization, profit motive, public intellectual, quantitative trading / quantitative finance, random walk, Richard Thaler, Robert Shiller, shareholder value, short selling, South Sea Bubble, sovereign wealth fund, spice trade, stochastic process, subprime mortgage crisis, Suez canal 1869, Suez crisis 1956, the scientific method, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, Thomas Malthus, time value of money, tontine, too big to fail, trade liberalization, trade route, transatlantic slave trade, tulip mania, wage slave

The key components of the system, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (later, the World Bank), provided a new means for the international community of nations to deal with sovereign debt. The IMF was designed to address the disjunctions in the international balance of payments; roughly speaking, to help countries with excessive debt in foreign currencies by lending to them while guiding them back toward a balance of payments. The IMF was a new means of collective bargaining with a state having currency problems. Countries paid into a pool against which any nation with payment imbalances could draw. A crucial feature of the IMF is that it dispensed with the old notion of collateral for sovereign debt. No longer, for example, would a region like the Ruhr be held as security to force payments.


pages: 1,744 words: 458,385

The Defence of the Realm by Christopher Andrew

Able Archer 83, active measures, anti-communist, Ayatollah Khomeini, Berlin Wall, Bletchley Park, Boeing 747, British Empire, classic study, Clive Stafford Smith, collective bargaining, credit crunch, cuban missile crisis, Desert Island Discs, disinformation, Etonian, Fall of the Berlin Wall, false flag, G4S, glass ceiling, illegal immigration, information security, job satisfaction, large denomination, liquidationism / Banker’s doctrine / the Treasury view, Mahatma Gandhi, Mikhail Gorbachev, Neil Kinnock, North Sea oil, operational security, post-work, Red Clydeside, Robert Hanssen: Double agent, Ronald Reagan, sexual politics, strikebreaker, Suez crisis 1956, Torches of Freedom, traveling salesman, union organizing, uranium enrichment, Vladimir Vetrov: Farewell Dossier, Winter of Discontent, work culture

A small, disciplined Communist group, backed by the CPGB’s industrial apparatus, was capable of exerting disproportionate influence on any union executive whose other members did not act in concert. Communist penetration of the union movement had also increased the Party’s political influence on the Labour left. Over the past decade, the threat assessment argued, the CPGB had shown an increasing ability to exploit traditional trade union opposition to interference in free collective bargaining and government attempts to reform industrial relations. The Security Service believed there was a strong Communist influence in the NUM and AUEW (the Amalgamated Union of Engineering Workers, formerly the AEU), both of which had been in the forefront of opposition to wage restraint and industrial-relations legislation.

It is in the long term interests of the Security Service that we adhere firmly to the objective non-partisan approach of our Charter and the current definition of subversion assists in this.16 The Communist-influenced left-wing minority on the TUC General Council had its greatest impact during the final two years of the Callaghan government. The Alternative Economic Policy adopted by the TUC in 1977 began as a Communist initiative, proposed by Ken Gill, the Communist leader of the draughtsmen’s union, TASS. At its annual conference in September, the TUC voted for a return to ‘unfettered collective bargaining’. Gill recalls an occasion when he was part of a TUC delegation to 10 Downing Street and had to ring his office during a break in the meeting. He felt a tap on his shoulder, turned round and saw the grinning face of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Denis Healey, who had presumably been reading MI5’s Box 500 reports (so called after the Service’s SW1 Post Office box).


pages: 801 words: 209,348

Americana: A 400-Year History of American Capitalism by Bhu Srinivasan

activist fund / activist shareholder / activist investor, American ideology, AOL-Time Warner, Apple II, Apple's 1984 Super Bowl advert, bank run, barriers to entry, Bear Stearns, Benchmark Capital, Berlin Wall, blue-collar work, Bob Noyce, Bonfire of the Vanities, British Empire, business cycle, buy and hold, California gold rush, Carl Icahn, Charles Lindbergh, collective bargaining, commoditize, Cornelius Vanderbilt, corporate raider, cotton gin, cuban missile crisis, Deng Xiaoping, diversification, diversified portfolio, Douglas Engelbart, Fairchild Semiconductor, financial innovation, fixed income, Ford Model T, Ford paid five dollars a day, global supply chain, Gordon Gekko, guns versus butter model, Haight Ashbury, hypertext link, Ida Tarbell, income inequality, information security, invisible hand, James Watt: steam engine, Jane Jacobs, Jeff Bezos, John Markoff, joint-stock company, joint-stock limited liability company, junk bonds, Kickstarter, laissez-faire capitalism, Louis Pasteur, Marc Andreessen, Menlo Park, Michael Milken, military-industrial complex, mortgage debt, mutually assured destruction, Norman Mailer, oil rush, peer-to-peer, pets.com, popular electronics, profit motive, punch-card reader, race to the bottom, refrigerator car, risk/return, Ronald Reagan, Sand Hill Road, self-driving car, shareholder value, side project, Silicon Valley, Silicon Valley startup, Steve Ballmer, Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, strikebreaker, Ted Nelson, The Death and Life of Great American Cities, the new new thing, The Predators' Ball, The Theory of the Leisure Class by Thorstein Veblen, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, trade route, transcontinental railway, traveling salesman, Upton Sinclair, Vannevar Bush, Works Progress Administration, zero-sum game

And mathematically, as there would be far more at the bottom of the pyramid than the top, the question now facing society was how to improve the conditions of employment, not how to inspire laborers to escape them through ambition. Writing his book as the developments of 1885 and early 1886 were happening, Ely explained to his readers that this rapid rise of unions and labor organizations was meant to “remove disadvantages under which the great mass of workingmen suffer” by collectively bargaining for shorter hours and better working conditions. The need for such an approach somewhat conflicted with the market principles outlined by Adam Smith. In his Wealth of Nations he had argued that freedom of contract, two parties in a negotiation, was enough to obtain a fair outcome between any buyer and seller.


pages: 823 words: 220,581

Debunking Economics - Revised, Expanded and Integrated Edition: The Naked Emperor Dethroned? by Steve Keen

accounting loophole / creative accounting, Alan Greenspan, banking crisis, banks create money, barriers to entry, behavioural economics, Benoit Mandelbrot, Big bang: deregulation of the City of London, Black Swan, Bonfire of the Vanities, book value, business cycle, butterfly effect, capital asset pricing model, cellular automata, central bank independence, citizen journalism, clockwork universe, collective bargaining, complexity theory, correlation coefficient, creative destruction, credit crunch, David Ricardo: comparative advantage, debt deflation, diversification, double entry bookkeeping, en.wikipedia.org, equity risk premium, Eugene Fama: efficient market hypothesis, experimental subject, Financial Instability Hypothesis, fixed income, Fractional reserve banking, full employment, Glass-Steagall Act, Greenspan put, Henri Poincaré, housing crisis, Hyman Minsky, income inequality, information asymmetry, invisible hand, iterative process, John von Neumann, Kickstarter, laissez-faire capitalism, liquidity trap, Long Term Capital Management, low interest rates, mandelbrot fractal, margin call, market bubble, market clearing, market microstructure, means of production, minimum wage unemployment, Money creation, money market fund, open economy, Pareto efficiency, Paul Samuelson, Phillips curve, place-making, Ponzi scheme, Post-Keynesian economics, power law, profit maximization, quantitative easing, RAND corporation, random walk, risk free rate, risk tolerance, risk/return, Robert Shiller, Robert Solow, Ronald Coase, Savings and loan crisis, Schrödinger's Cat, scientific mainstream, seigniorage, six sigma, South Sea Bubble, stochastic process, The Great Moderation, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, Thorstein Veblen, time value of money, total factor productivity, tulip mania, wage slave, zero-sum game

You will argue for private provision of services – such as education, health, welfare, perhaps even police – because governments, untrammeled by the discipline of supply and demand, will either under- or oversupply the market (and charge too much or too little for the service). In fact, the only policies you will support are ones that make the real world conform more closely to your economic model. Thus you may support anti-monopoly laws – because your theory tells you that monopolies are bad. You may support anti-union laws, because your theory asserts that collective bargaining will distort labor market outcomes. And you will do all this without being ideological. Really? Yes, really – in that most economists genuinely believe that their policy positions are informed by scientific knowledge, rather than by personal bias or religious-style dogma. Economists are truly sincere in their belief that their policy recommendations will make the world a better place for everyone in it – so sincere, in fact, that they often act against their own self-interest.


pages: 767 words: 208,933

Liberalism at Large: The World According to the Economist by Alex Zevin

"there is no alternative" (TINA), activist fund / activist shareholder / activist investor, affirmative action, Alan Greenspan, anti-communist, Asian financial crisis, bank run, Berlin Wall, Big bang: deregulation of the City of London, Bretton Woods, British Empire, business climate, business cycle, capital controls, carbon tax, centre right, Chelsea Manning, collective bargaining, Columbine, Corn Laws, corporate governance, corporate social responsibility, creative destruction, credit crunch, David Ricardo: comparative advantage, debt deflation, desegregation, disinformation, disruptive innovation, do well by doing good, Donald Trump, driverless car, Edward Snowden, failed state, Fall of the Berlin Wall, financial deregulation, financial innovation, Francis Fukuyama: the end of history, full employment, Gini coefficient, Glass-Steagall Act, global supply chain, guns versus butter model, hiring and firing, imperial preference, income inequality, interest rate derivative, invisible hand, It's morning again in America, Jeremy Corbyn, John von Neumann, Joseph Schumpeter, Julian Assange, junk bonds, Khartoum Gordon, land reform, liberal capitalism, liberal world order, light touch regulation, Long Term Capital Management, low interest rates, market bubble, Martin Wolf, means of production, Michael Milken, Mikhail Gorbachev, Monroe Doctrine, Mont Pelerin Society, moral hazard, Naomi Klein, new economy, New Journalism, Nixon triggered the end of the Bretton Woods system, no-fly zone, Norman Macrae, Northern Rock, Occupy movement, Philip Mirowski, plutocrats, post-war consensus, price stability, quantitative easing, race to the bottom, railway mania, rent control, rent-seeking, road to serfdom, Ronald Reagan, Rosa Parks, Seymour Hersh, Snapchat, Socratic dialogue, Steve Bannon, subprime mortgage crisis, Suez canal 1869, Suez crisis 1956, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, Thomas Malthus, too big to fail, trade liberalization, trade route, unbanked and underbanked, underbanked, unorthodox policies, upwardly mobile, War on Poverty, WikiLeaks, Winter of Discontent, Yom Kippur War, young professional

9 In fact, Corbyn steered his party to the biggest electoral swing in its favour since 1945, eliminating the Conservative majority, to deliver a hung parliament. To cling to power, May would have to rely on the tiny, far-right Democratic Unionist Party from Northern Ireland. Corbyn achieved this, moreover, on the back of a manifesto promising to renationalize the rail, water and postal services, raise the minimum wage, revive collective bargaining, increase taxes on wealthy individuals and businesses, and make university free again – each of which the Economist vehemently opposed as ‘backward-looking’ and ‘dangerous’.10 This latest assault on liberalism was the final straw, provoking unusual signs of fissiparity and fracture at the paper.


Americana by Bhu Srinivasan

activist fund / activist shareholder / activist investor, American ideology, AOL-Time Warner, Apple II, Apple's 1984 Super Bowl advert, bank run, barriers to entry, Bear Stearns, Benchmark Capital, Berlin Wall, blue-collar work, Bob Noyce, Bonfire of the Vanities, British Empire, business cycle, buy and hold, California gold rush, Carl Icahn, Charles Lindbergh, collective bargaining, commoditize, Cornelius Vanderbilt, corporate raider, cotton gin, cuban missile crisis, Deng Xiaoping, diversification, diversified portfolio, Douglas Engelbart, Fairchild Semiconductor, financial innovation, fixed income, Ford Model T, Ford paid five dollars a day, global supply chain, Gordon Gekko, guns versus butter model, Haight Ashbury, hypertext link, Ida Tarbell, income inequality, information security, invisible hand, James Watt: steam engine, Jane Jacobs, Jeff Bezos, John Markoff, joint-stock company, joint-stock limited liability company, junk bonds, Kickstarter, laissez-faire capitalism, Louis Pasteur, Marc Andreessen, Menlo Park, Michael Milken, military-industrial complex, mortgage debt, mutually assured destruction, Norman Mailer, oil rush, peer-to-peer, pets.com, popular electronics, profit motive, punch-card reader, race to the bottom, refrigerator car, risk/return, Ronald Reagan, Sand Hill Road, self-driving car, shareholder value, side project, Silicon Valley, Silicon Valley startup, Steve Ballmer, Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, strikebreaker, Ted Nelson, The Death and Life of Great American Cities, the new new thing, The Predators' Ball, The Theory of the Leisure Class by Thorstein Veblen, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, trade route, transcontinental railway, traveling salesman, Upton Sinclair, Vannevar Bush, Works Progress Administration, zero-sum game

And mathematically, as there would be far more at the bottom of the pyramid than the top, the question now facing society was how to improve the conditions of employment, not how to inspire laborers to escape them through ambition. Writing his book as the developments of 1885 and early 1886 were happening, Ely explained to his readers that this rapid rise of unions and labor organizations was meant to “remove disadvantages under which the great mass of workingmen suffer” by collectively bargaining for shorter hours and better working conditions. The need for such an approach somewhat conflicted with the market principles outlined by Adam Smith. In his Wealth of Nations he had argued that freedom of contract, two parties in a negotiation, was enough to obtain a fair outcome between any buyer and seller.


The Age of Turbulence: Adventures in a New World (Hardback) - Common by Alan Greenspan

addicted to oil, air freight, airline deregulation, Alan Greenspan, Albert Einstein, asset-backed security, bank run, Berlin Wall, Black Monday: stock market crash in 1987, Bretton Woods, business cycle, business process, buy and hold, call centre, capital controls, carbon tax, central bank independence, collateralized debt obligation, collective bargaining, compensation consultant, conceptual framework, Corn Laws, corporate governance, corporate raider, correlation coefficient, cotton gin, creative destruction, credit crunch, Credit Default Swap, credit default swaps / collateralized debt obligations, crony capitalism, cuban missile crisis, currency peg, currency risk, Deng Xiaoping, Dissolution of the Soviet Union, Doha Development Round, double entry bookkeeping, equity premium, everywhere but in the productivity statistics, Fall of the Berlin Wall, fiat currency, financial innovation, financial intermediation, full employment, Gini coefficient, Glass-Steagall Act, Hernando de Soto, income inequality, income per capita, information security, invisible hand, Joseph Schumpeter, junk bonds, labor-force participation, laissez-faire capitalism, land reform, Long Term Capital Management, low interest rates, Mahatma Gandhi, manufacturing employment, market bubble, means of production, Mikhail Gorbachev, moral hazard, mortgage debt, Myron Scholes, Nelson Mandela, new economy, North Sea oil, oil shock, open economy, open immigration, Pearl River Delta, pets.com, Potemkin village, price mechanism, price stability, Productivity paradox, profit maximization, purchasing power parity, random walk, Reminiscences of a Stock Operator, reserve currency, Right to Buy, risk tolerance, Robert Solow, Ronald Reagan, Savings and loan crisis, shareholder value, short selling, Silicon Valley, special economic zone, stock buybacks, stocks for the long run, Suez crisis 1956, the payments system, The Theory of the Leisure Class by Thorstein Veblen, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, Thorstein Veblen, Tipper Gore, too big to fail, total factor productivity, trade liberalization, trade route, transaction costs, transcontinental railway, urban renewal, We are all Keynesians now, working-age population, Y2K, zero-sum game

(To be sure, the motives were less economic and more a step toward political integration of the Continent, which had seen the devastation of two world wars in a third of a century.) Nonetheless, the failure of a new European constitution to be approved in a referendum in France (and elsewhere) has stayed the process of integration. Although union representation in the French private sector is relatively low, national collective-bargaining agreements bind all employees whether unionized or not. Unions therefore wield considerable power in the marketplace, and especially in government. In France as in Germany, regulations fostered by unions to protect jobs by making it costly to discharge employees have curbed hiring, with the effect that unemployment has been significantly higher than in economies where the cost of discharging workers is low, as in the United States.


pages: 1,057 words: 239,915

The Deluge: The Great War, America and the Remaking of the Global Order, 1916-1931 by Adam Tooze

anti-communist, bank run, banking crisis, British Empire, centre right, collective bargaining, Corn Laws, credit crunch, failed state, fear of failure, first-past-the-post, floating exchange rates, Ford Model T, German hyperinflation, imperial preference, labour mobility, liberal world order, low interest rates, mass immigration, Mikhail Gorbachev, Monroe Doctrine, mutually assured destruction, negative equity, price stability, reserve currency, Right to Buy, Suez canal 1869, Suez crisis 1956, the payments system, trade route, transatlantic slave trade, union organizing, zero-sum game

Between 1906 and 1911 in the Liberal government of Prime Minister Asquith, it had been Lloyd George who had carried the radical flag, taking the fight to the House of Lords and breaking their veto over the budget, pushing through redistributive taxation, introducing a social insurance system and guaranteeing the right of trade unions to free collective bargaining. Before he became the scourge of conservatism at home, Lloyd George had made his name as a radical anti-imperialist. In 1901, in the midst of the Boer War, speaking to a raucous crowd in Birmingham, the heartland of jingoist nationalism, he had demanded that the empire must free itself of ‘racial arrogance’.


pages: 976 words: 235,576

The Meritocracy Trap: How America's Foundational Myth Feeds Inequality, Dismantles the Middle Class, and Devours the Elite by Daniel Markovits

8-hour work day, activist fund / activist shareholder / activist investor, affirmative action, algorithmic management, Amazon Robotics, Anton Chekhov, asset-backed security, assortative mating, basic income, Bernie Sanders, big-box store, business cycle, capital asset pricing model, Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty, Carl Icahn, carried interest, collateralized debt obligation, collective bargaining, compensation consultant, computer age, corporate governance, corporate raider, crony capitalism, David Brooks, deskilling, Detroit bankruptcy, disruptive innovation, Donald Trump, Edward Glaeser, Emanuel Derman, equity premium, European colonialism, everywhere but in the productivity statistics, fear of failure, financial engineering, financial innovation, financial intermediation, fixed income, Ford paid five dollars a day, Frederick Winslow Taylor, fulfillment center, full employment, future of work, gender pay gap, gentrification, George Akerlof, Gini coefficient, glass ceiling, Glass-Steagall Act, Greenspan put, helicopter parent, Herbert Marcuse, high net worth, hiring and firing, income inequality, industrial robot, interchangeable parts, invention of agriculture, Jaron Lanier, Jeff Bezos, job automation, job satisfaction, John Maynard Keynes: Economic Possibilities for our Grandchildren, junk bonds, Kevin Roose, Kiva Systems, knowledge economy, knowledge worker, Kodak vs Instagram, labor-force participation, Larry Ellison, longitudinal study, low interest rates, low skilled workers, machine readable, manufacturing employment, Mark Zuckerberg, Martin Wolf, mass incarceration, medical residency, meritocracy, minimum wage unemployment, Myron Scholes, Nate Silver, New Economic Geography, new economy, offshore financial centre, opioid epidemic / opioid crisis, Paul Samuelson, payday loans, plutocrats, Plutonomy: Buying Luxury, Explaining Global Imbalances, precariat, purchasing power parity, rent-seeking, Richard Florida, Robert Gordon, Robert Shiller, Robert Solow, Ronald Reagan, Rutger Bregman, savings glut, school choice, shareholder value, Silicon Valley, Simon Kuznets, six sigma, Skype, stakhanovite, stem cell, Stephen Fry, Steve Jobs, stock buybacks, supply-chain management, telemarketer, The Bell Curve by Richard Herrnstein and Charles Murray, The Theory of the Leisure Class by Thorstein Veblen, Thomas Davenport, Thorstein Veblen, too big to fail, total factor productivity, transaction costs, traveling salesman, universal basic income, unpaid internship, Vanguard fund, War on Poverty, warehouse robotics, Winter of Discontent, women in the workforce, work culture , working poor, Yochai Benkler, young professional, zero-sum game

The language of superordinate life in the end admits this: the very idea of work/life balance, so prominent among meritocrats today, presumes that work involves not vocational but alienated labor. The meritocracy trap ensnares the elite in a twist of fate. The old associations between leisure and status, industry and subordination—the norms behind Veblen’s leisure class—established a kind of collective bargain among the elite, a code of conduct that protected against overwork, exploitation, and alienation. By privileging leisure over the consumption of material goods, these norms protected the elite’s time and attention. And by casting industrious work devoted to financing material consumption as degraded, they encouraged the elite to devote itself to authentic interests, sustaining the idea of a vocation.


pages: 809 words: 237,921

The Narrow Corridor: States, Societies, and the Fate of Liberty by Daron Acemoglu, James A. Robinson

Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, agricultural Revolution, AltaVista, Andrei Shleifer, bank run, Berlin Wall, British Empire, California gold rush, central bank independence, centre right, classic study, collateralized debt obligation, collective bargaining, colonial rule, Computer Numeric Control, conceptual framework, Corn Laws, Cornelius Vanderbilt, corporate governance, creative destruction, Credit Default Swap, credit default swaps / collateralized debt obligations, crony capitalism, Dava Sobel, David Ricardo: comparative advantage, Deng Xiaoping, discovery of the americas, double entry bookkeeping, Edward Snowden, en.wikipedia.org, equal pay for equal work, European colonialism, export processing zone, Ferguson, Missouri, financial deregulation, financial innovation, flying shuttle, Francis Fukuyama: the end of history, full employment, Glass-Steagall Act, Great Leap Forward, high-speed rail, income inequality, income per capita, industrial robot, information asymmetry, interest rate swap, invention of movable type, Isaac Newton, it's over 9,000, James Watt: steam engine, John Harrison: Longitude, joint-stock company, Kula ring, labor-force participation, land reform, Mahatma Gandhi, manufacturing employment, mass incarceration, Maui Hawaii, means of production, megacity, Mikhail Gorbachev, military-industrial complex, Nelson Mandela, obamacare, openstreetmap, out of africa, PageRank, pattern recognition, road to serfdom, Ronald Reagan, seminal paper, Skype, spinning jenny, Steven Pinker, the market place, transcontinental railway, War on Poverty, WikiLeaks

Partly as a result of these policy attitudes (and partly because of the decline of manufacturing employment), today union membership is much lower in the U.S. economy, especially in the private sector, than it was in the heyday of labor unions in midcentury, after the rights of workers to organize in unions, engage in collective bargaining, and go on strike were recognized with the National Labor Relations (Wagner) Act of 1935. Similar declines in the power of labor unions have been ongoing in other advanced economies. Whether the opposition to trade unions makes sense on purely economic grounds is debatable. But an essential role of trade unions is political; they are central for maintaining a partial balance of power between well-organized business interests and labor.


pages: 790 words: 253,035

Powerhouse: The Untold Story of Hollywood's Creative Artists Agency by James Andrew Miller

Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, Airbnb, Albert Einstein, Bonfire of the Vanities, business process, collective bargaining, corporate governance, do what you love, Donald Trump, Easter island, family office, financial engineering, independent contractor, interchangeable parts, Joan Didion, junk bonds, Kickstarter, Kōnosuke Matsushita, Larry Ellison, obamacare, out of africa, rolodex, Ronald Reagan, Saturday Night Live, Silicon Valley, Skype, SoftBank, stem cell, Steve Jobs, traveling salesman, union organizing, vertical integration

For years, the players had single agents, but then those agents started to pair up with multimedia companies like CAA so they could be an arm for endorsements and other things that happen off the court. It was a real coup for CAA. LEON ROSE: When I did LeBron’s second contract with Cleveland—the extension in 2006—I recommended to LeBron we do a three-year contract where he could opt out after the third year, because it guaranteed that his next contract would be under the existing collective bargaining agreement. It also was shorter, which would keep the pressure on Cleveland in order to build the best team they could, and it gave him flexibility in regard to getting out of his contract. Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, who were also in the same position, took three-year deals as well. So that’s what led to all of those guys becoming free agents in the same year.


pages: 1,042 words: 266,547

Security Analysis by Benjamin Graham, David Dodd

activist fund / activist shareholder / activist investor, asset-backed security, backtesting, barriers to entry, Bear Stearns, behavioural economics, book value, business cycle, buy and hold, capital asset pricing model, Carl Icahn, carried interest, collateralized debt obligation, collective bargaining, corporate governance, corporate raider, credit crunch, Credit Default Swap, credit default swaps / collateralized debt obligations, currency risk, diversification, diversified portfolio, fear of failure, financial engineering, financial innovation, fixed income, flag carrier, full employment, Greenspan put, index fund, intangible asset, invisible hand, Joseph Schumpeter, junk bonds, land bank, locking in a profit, Long Term Capital Management, low cost airline, low interest rates, Michael Milken, moral hazard, mortgage debt, Myron Scholes, prudent man rule, Right to Buy, risk free rate, risk-adjusted returns, risk/return, secular stagnation, shareholder value, stock buybacks, The Chicago School, the market place, the scientific method, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, transaction costs, two and twenty, zero-coupon bond

While bankruptcy procedure has since changed, with the 1978 adoption of the Bankruptcy Code and some subsequent amendments, most recently the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005, these legal changes do not undermine the general principles laid out by the authors. 4 Time, “Bankruptcy as an Escape Hatch,” March 5, 1984. 5 Janice Castro, “A Break in the Action,” Time, April 27, 1987. 6 Texaco is but one example of how the Bankruptcy Code may be used as an escape hatch. Crucially, in NLRB v. Bildisco & Bildisco, 465 U.S. 513 (1984), the Supreme Court held that a company may use section 365(a) of the code, which permits the bankruptcy trustee to assume or reject executory contracts, to escape from the terms of a collective-bargaining agreement by which it had been bound. 7 Ibid. 8 For an overview of the Texaco bankruptcy and Icahn’s subsequent jousting with the company, see Mark Potts, “With Icahn Agreement, Texaco Emerges from Years of Trying Times,” Washington Post, February 5, 1989, p. H2. 9 Michael Arndt, “Texaco, Icahn Make a Deal,” Chicago Tribune, January 30, 1989, p.


pages: 872 words: 259,208

A History of Modern Britain by Andrew Marr

air freight, Albert Einstein, anti-communist, battle of ideas, Beeching cuts, Big bang: deregulation of the City of London, Bletchley Park, Bob Geldof, Bretton Woods, British Empire, Brixton riot, clean water, collective bargaining, computer age, congestion charging, cuban missile crisis, deindustrialization, Etonian, falling living standards, fear of failure, Fellow of the Royal Society, financial independence, floating exchange rates, full employment, gentleman farmer, Herbert Marcuse, housing crisis, illegal immigration, Kickstarter, liberal capitalism, Live Aid, loadsamoney, market design, mass immigration, means of production, Mikhail Gorbachev, millennium bug, Neil Kinnock, Nelson Mandela, new economy, North Sea oil, Northern Rock, offshore financial centre, open borders, out of africa, Parkinson's law, Piper Alpha, post-war consensus, Red Clydeside, reserve currency, Right to Buy, road to serfdom, Ronald Reagan, Silicon Valley, strikebreaker, upwardly mobile, Winter of Discontent, working poor, Yom Kippur War

Yet persuading people not to make deals about pay is extremely difficult. It cannot last long in a free society. There will always be special cases, and one special case inspires the next. Healey reckoned two-thirds of his time was spent trying to deal with the inflationary effects of free collective bargaining and the rest with the distortions caused by his own pay policy. As he reflected later: ‘Adopting a pay policy is rather like jumping out of a second-floor window: no one in his senses would do it unless the stairs were on fire. But in postwar Britain the stairs have always been on fire.’53 By refusing to allow companies to pass on inflationary wage increases as higher prices, and by endless haggling with union leaders who were themselves alarmed about the fate of the country, Healey did manage to squeeze inflation downwards.


pages: 932 words: 307,785

State of Emergency: The Way We Were by Dominic Sandbrook

anti-communist, Apollo 13, Arthur Marwick, back-to-the-land, banking crisis, Bretton Woods, British Empire, centre right, collective bargaining, Corn Laws, David Attenborough, Doomsday Book, edge city, estate planning, Etonian, falling living standards, fear of failure, Fellow of the Royal Society, feminist movement, financial thriller, first-past-the-post, fixed income, full employment, gentrification, German hyperinflation, global pandemic, Herbert Marcuse, mass immigration, meritocracy, moral panic, Neil Kinnock, new economy, New Urbanism, Norman Mailer, North Sea oil, oil shock, Own Your Own Home, post-war consensus, sexual politics, traveling salesman, union organizing, upwardly mobile, urban planning, Winter of Discontent, young professional

Carr said later that he ‘certainly had a blind spot’ about it, but recognized that ‘it was a damnably effective tactic’. Although it meant that the unions lost the rights and immunities guaranteed by the Industrial Relations Act, it also meant that they made a mockery of the government’s new framework for collective bargaining. It was a brilliantly simple way of killing the bill, especially because many employers promised to respect the unions’ existing arrangements, thereby lessening the risk. By the end of November, Carr’s figures showed that 28 unions had refused to register from the start, 61 had cancelled their registrations, and only 52 were still playing along, although many of them had already applied to cancel.


pages: 1,104 words: 302,176

The Rise and Fall of American Growth: The U.S. Standard of Living Since the Civil War (The Princeton Economic History of the Western World) by Robert J. Gordon

3D printing, Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, airline deregulation, airport security, Apple II, barriers to entry, big-box store, blue-collar work, business cycle, Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty, carbon tax, Charles Lindbergh, classic study, clean water, collective bargaining, computer age, cotton gin, creative destruction, deindustrialization, Detroit bankruptcy, discovery of penicillin, Donner party, Downton Abbey, driverless car, Edward Glaeser, en.wikipedia.org, Erik Brynjolfsson, everywhere but in the productivity statistics, feminist movement, financial innovation, food desert, Ford Model T, full employment, general purpose technology, George Akerlof, germ theory of disease, glass ceiling, Glass-Steagall Act, Golden age of television, government statistician, Great Leap Forward, high net worth, housing crisis, Ida Tarbell, immigration reform, impulse control, income inequality, income per capita, indoor plumbing, industrial robot, inflight wifi, interchangeable parts, invention of agriculture, invention of air conditioning, invention of the sewing machine, invention of the telegraph, invention of the telephone, inventory management, James Watt: steam engine, Jeff Bezos, jitney, job automation, John Markoff, John Maynard Keynes: Economic Possibilities for our Grandchildren, labor-force participation, Les Trente Glorieuses, Lewis Mumford, Loma Prieta earthquake, Louis Daguerre, Louis Pasteur, low skilled workers, manufacturing employment, Mark Zuckerberg, market fragmentation, Mason jar, mass immigration, mass incarceration, McMansion, Menlo Park, minimum wage unemployment, mortgage debt, mortgage tax deduction, new economy, Norbert Wiener, obamacare, occupational segregation, oil shale / tar sands, oil shock, payday loans, Peter Thiel, Phillips curve, pink-collar, pneumatic tube, Productivity paradox, Ralph Nader, Ralph Waldo Emerson, refrigerator car, rent control, restrictive zoning, revenue passenger mile, Robert Solow, Robert X Cringely, Ronald Coase, school choice, Second Machine Age, secular stagnation, Skype, Southern State Parkway, stem cell, Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, Steven Pinker, streetcar suburb, The Market for Lemons, The Rise and Fall of American Growth, Thomas Malthus, total factor productivity, transaction costs, transcontinental railway, traveling salesman, Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, undersea cable, Unsafe at Any Speed, Upton Sinclair, upwardly mobile, urban decay, urban planning, urban sprawl, vertical integration, warehouse robotics, washing machines reduced drudgery, Washington Consensus, Watson beat the top human players on Jeopardy!, We wanted flying cars, instead we got 140 characters, working poor, working-age population, Works Progress Administration, yellow journalism, yield management

The gradual increase in human capital as educational attainment advanced allowed more workers to shift into the more desirable occupations of professional, proprietor, and manager. The income security of the elderly improved rapidly after the adoption of the Social Security legislation of the 1930s and the spread in the postwar years of defined-benefit pension plans, many negotiated as part of union collective bargaining agreements. Workers responded by retiring as early as age 62 and turning to a life of leisure, often moving to country club and golfing communities in the Sun Belt. As life expectancy increased, the length of the retirement years stretched to twenty years and beyond, raising concerns about the financial viability of the system.


pages: 1,037 words: 294,916

Before the Storm: Barry Goldwater and the Unmaking of the American Consensus by Rick Perlstein

"there is no alternative" (TINA), affirmative action, Alan Greenspan, Alvin Toffler, anti-communist, anti-work, antiwork, Berlin Wall, bread and circuses, Bretton Woods, business climate, card file, collective bargaining, company town, cuban missile crisis, desegregation, distributed generation, Dr. Strangelove, Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, ending welfare as we know it, George Gilder, haute couture, Henry Ford's grandson gave labor union leader Walter Reuther a tour of the company’s new, automated factory…, Herman Kahn, index card, indoor plumbing, invisible hand, Joan Didion, liberal capitalism, Marshall McLuhan, means of production, military-industrial complex, mortgage debt, New Journalism, Norman Mailer, plutocrats, Project Plowshare, road to serfdom, Robert Bork, rolodex, Ronald Reagan, Rosa Parks, school vouchers, the medium is the message, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, transcontinental railway, union organizing, Upton Sinclair, upwardly mobile, urban renewal, War on Poverty, Watson beat the top human players on Jeopardy!, white picket fence, Works Progress Administration

“For six years newspapers such as this one have been telling you that Barry Goldwater hates the union men,” the voice said, “and for six years I have been trying to get through this union curtain of thought control”—then the camera focused in as Goldwater burst through the scrim to explain his iron-clad support for the principle of collective bargaining. It was all very impressive. It was also mostly nonsense. There was no Hoffa/Reuther cartel; Jimmy Hoffa, who liked Goldwater, had just been kicked out of the AFL-CIO by Walter Reuther. The Republic reported that COPE was spending $450,000 on state races in 1958. The actual amount was $14,000.


pages: 1,106 words: 335,322

Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr. by Ron Chernow

business cycle, California gold rush, classic study, collective bargaining, Cornelius Vanderbilt, death of newspapers, delayed gratification, double entry bookkeeping, endowment effect, family office, financial independence, Ford Model T, Frederick Winslow Taylor, George Santayana, God and Mammon, Gregor Mendel, Ida Tarbell, income inequality, invisible hand, Joseph Schumpeter, Louis Pasteur, low interest rates, Mahatma Gandhi, Menlo Park, New Journalism, oil rush, oil shale / tar sands, passive investing, plutocrats, price discrimination, profit motive, prosperity theology / prosperity gospel / gospel of success, Ralph Waldo Emerson, refrigerator car, Suez canal 1869, The Chicago School, The Theory of the Leisure Class by Thorstein Veblen, Thorstein Veblen, transcontinental railway, traveling salesman, union organizing, Upton Sinclair, vertical integration, W. E. B. Du Bois, white picket fence, yellow journalism

The Rockefellers’ unsympathetic response was colored by a belief that President Wilson was biased toward labor. Rockefeller lamented after Wilson’s election, “I wish some day that we might have a real businessman as President.”8 When Wilson appointed a former UMW official, William B. Wilson, as the first secretary of labor, he implicitly committed his administration to the concept of collective bargaining. Wilson sent a deputy, Ethelbert Stewart, to New York to confer with Junior about averting the strike. Even with arsenals being stockpiled on both sides, Junior refused to see the emissary and shunted him off to Starr Murphy, who warned that “we here in the east know nothing about the conditions [in Colorado] and would be unwilling to make any suggestions to the executive officers.”9 Junior hid cravenly behind L.


The Transformation Of Ireland 1900-2000 by Diarmaid Ferriter

anti-communist, Bob Geldof, British Empire, Celtic Tiger, collective bargaining, deliberate practice, edge city, falling living standards, financial independence, ghettoisation, greed is good, hiring and firing, housing crisis, immigration reform, income per capita, land reform, manufacturing employment, moral panic, New Journalism, New Urbanism, offshore financial centre, open economy, Plato's cave, postnationalism / post nation state, sensible shoes, the market place, upwardly mobile, urban renewal, wage slave, women in the workforce

This led to the resignation of the Minister for Agriculture, Patrick Smith, owing to what he called the disregard by the unions and their leadership of the wage agreement, ‘the complete indiscipline of their union members and their own utter lack of leadership’.78 A contentious dispute commenced between the EI Company, a subsidiary of General Electric, at Shannon and the ITGWU, over recognition of the union, a time when ‘bus-burning allied with the nineteenth-century tradition of collective bargaining by riot made a fleeting reappearance’.79 Highly destructive strikes by craftsmen were a feature of industrial discontent towards the end of the 1960s, with sectionalised pay bargaining increasing the risk of conflict and the emergence of an unprecedented white-collar militancy. There were strikes in construction, the National Busmen’s Union, the Electricity Supply Board (in 1966 the government rushed through legislation to make it illegal for ESB personnel to strike in some circumstances) and, most bitterly, among maintenance craftsmen in 1969.


pages: 1,108 words: 321,463

The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand

British Empire, collective bargaining, Easter island, laissez-faire capitalism, plutocrats, profit motive, the scientific method, yellow journalism

The conversation switched to art and its acknowledged leaders of the day in every field. “Lois Cook said that words must be freed from the oppression of reason. She said the stranglehold of reason upon words is like the exploitation of the masses by the capitalists. Words must be permitted to negotiate with reason through collective bargaining. That’s what she said. She’s so amusing and refreshing.” “Ike—what’s his name again?—says that the theater is an instrument of love. It’s all wrong, he says, about a play taking place on the stage—it takes place in the hearts of the audience.” “Jules Fougler said in last Sunday’s Banner that in the world of the future the theater will not be necessary at all.


pages: 1,327 words: 360,897

Demanding the Impossible: A History of Anarchism by Peter Marshall

agricultural Revolution, anti-communist, anti-globalists, Bertrand Russell: In Praise of Idleness, classic study, clean water, collective bargaining, colonial rule, David Graeber, different worldview, do-ocracy, feminist movement, garden city movement, gentleman farmer, Great Leap Forward, Herbert Marcuse, hive mind, Howard Zinn, intentional community, invisible hand, laissez-faire capitalism, land reform, land tenure, Lao Tzu, Lewis Mumford, liberation theology, Machinery of Freedom by David Friedman, Mahatma Gandhi, means of production, military-industrial complex, MITM: man-in-the-middle, Murray Bookchin, Naomi Klein, open borders, Panopticon Jeremy Bentham, plutocrats, post scarcity, profit motive, public intellectual, radical decentralization, Ralph Waldo Emerson, rewilding, road to serfdom, Ronald Reagan, sexual politics, the market place, union organizing, wage slave, washing machines reduced drudgery

By 1922 it had 32,000 members while its counterpart in Norway — Norsk Syndikalistik Federasjon — had 20,000. But while the Norwegian federation fell away, the SAC has continued with its daily paper as a significant force within the Swedish labour movement and has helped maintain the syndicalist International Working Men’s Association. Although they have accepted a form of collective bargaining, the Swedish syndicalists still keep clear of political activity and defend the local syndicates as the centres of union power. Holland Holland has developed one of the most original anarchist movements in Europe. In the first International the Dutch delegates supported Bakunin and the anti-authoritarians against Marx and the General Council and went on to affiliate to the Saint-Imier International.


Eastern USA by Lonely Planet

1960s counterculture, active transport: walking or cycling, Affordable Care Act / Obamacare, Albert Einstein, Apollo 11, Bear Stearns, Berlin Wall, bike sharing, Bretton Woods, British Empire, car-free, carbon footprint, centre right, Charles Lindbergh, collective bargaining, congestion pricing, Cornelius Vanderbilt, cotton gin, cuban missile crisis, Day of the Dead, desegregation, Donald Trump, East Village, fake news, Fall of the Berlin Wall, Ford Model T, Frank Gehry, gentleman farmer, gentrification, glass ceiling, Guggenheim Bilbao, haute cuisine, Hernando de Soto, illegal immigration, immigration reform, information trail, interchangeable parts, jitney, Ken Thompson, Kickstarter, license plate recognition, machine readable, Mason jar, mass immigration, McMansion, megacity, Menlo Park, Neil Armstrong, new economy, New Urbanism, obamacare, Quicken Loans, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Ronald Reagan, Rosa Parks, Saturday Night Live, Silicon Valley, Skype, the built environment, the High Line, the payments system, three-martini lunch, transcontinental railway, union organizing, Upton Sinclair, upwardly mobile, urban decay, urban planning, urban renewal, urban sprawl, walkable city, white flight, Works Progress Administration, young professional

Held by Ted Kennedy for almost a half-century until his death, the seat was considered a shoo-in for Democrats – until Tea Party support helped carry pickup-truck-driving Republican Scott Brown into office. In essence, the region is becoming more and more divided. Wisconsin took center stage in 2011, as battles raged between Republican Governor Scott Walker (with Tea Party supporters) and pro-union government workers fighting over wages and collective bargaining rights. Despite huge protests Walker got his way, but the resulting acrimony led to recall elections (permitted in Wisconsin) for many lawmakers. Walker himself is eligible for a recall vote in 2012. The presidential election also takes place in 2012. Getting Back on Track Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath have reshaped much of the Gulf Coast.


From Peoples into Nations by John Connelly

Albert Einstein, anti-communist, bank run, Berlin Wall, Cass Sunstein, centre right, collective bargaining, colonial exploitation, colonial rule, crony capitalism, cuban missile crisis, disinformation, facts on the ground, Fall of the Berlin Wall, financial independence, German hyperinflation, Gini coefficient, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, joint-stock company, laissez-faire capitalism, land bank, land reform, land tenure, liberal capitalism, means of production, Mikhail Gorbachev, moral hazard, oil shock, old-boy network, open borders, Panopticon Jeremy Bentham, Peace of Westphalia, profit motive, purchasing power parity, Ronald Reagan, strikebreaker, the built environment, The Chicago School, trade liberalization, Transnistria, union organizing, upwardly mobile, wikimedia commons, women in the workforce

Such attitudes weakened efforts at recovery, though the Treasury Minister Eugeniusz Kwiatkowski (1935–1939) expanded the Polish mining, metallurgical, chemicals, and shipping industries, built an industrial region in central Poland, and made the north-coast village of Gdynia into an international seaport. Despite Kwiatkowski’s four-year investment plan, the number of unemployed remained high, and employers were reducing pay and violating agreements reached by collective bargaining. The result was 2,056 strikes in 1936, involving some 675,000 workers, the greatest number since 1923.47 At times strikers were able to realize their demands, but more often the police crushed the protests, and workers lost jobs. A wave of factory occupation strikes engulfed Kraków in the spring of 1936.


pages: 1,544 words: 391,691

Corporate Finance: Theory and Practice by Pierre Vernimmen, Pascal Quiry, Maurizio Dallocchio, Yann le Fur, Antonio Salvi

"Friedman doctrine" OR "shareholder theory", accelerated depreciation, accounting loophole / creative accounting, active measures, activist fund / activist shareholder / activist investor, AOL-Time Warner, ASML, asset light, bank run, barriers to entry, Basel III, Bear Stearns, Benoit Mandelbrot, bitcoin, Black Swan, Black-Scholes formula, blockchain, book value, business climate, business cycle, buy and hold, buy low sell high, capital asset pricing model, carried interest, collective bargaining, conceptual framework, corporate governance, correlation coefficient, credit crunch, Credit Default Swap, currency risk, delta neutral, dematerialisation, discounted cash flows, discrete time, disintermediation, diversification, diversified portfolio, Dutch auction, electricity market, equity premium, equity risk premium, Eugene Fama: efficient market hypothesis, eurozone crisis, financial engineering, financial innovation, fixed income, Flash crash, foreign exchange controls, German hyperinflation, Glass-Steagall Act, high net worth, impact investing, implied volatility, information asymmetry, intangible asset, interest rate swap, Internet of things, inventory management, invisible hand, joint-stock company, joint-stock limited liability company, junk bonds, Kickstarter, lateral thinking, London Interbank Offered Rate, low interest rates, mandelbrot fractal, margin call, means of production, money market fund, moral hazard, Myron Scholes, new economy, New Journalism, Northern Rock, performance metric, Potemkin village, quantitative trading / quantitative finance, random walk, Right to Buy, risk free rate, risk/return, shareholder value, short selling, Social Responsibility of Business Is to Increase Its Profits, sovereign wealth fund, Steve Jobs, stocks for the long run, supply-chain management, survivorship bias, The Myth of the Rational Market, time value of money, too big to fail, transaction costs, value at risk, vertical integration, volatility arbitrage, volatility smile, yield curve, zero-coupon bond, zero-sum game

Examples include an aggressive devaluation, the introduction of a shorter working week or measures to reduce the opening hours of shops. (c) External factors Like regulatory changes, these are imposed on the company. That said, they are more common and are specific to the company’s sector of activity, e.g. pressures in a market, arrival (or sudden reawakening) of a very powerful competitor or changes to a collective bargaining agreement. (d) Pre-emptive action Pre-emptive action is where a company immediately reflects expectations of an increase in the cost of a production factor by charging higher selling prices. This occurs in the champagne sector where the build-up of pressure in the raw materials market following a poor grape harvest very soon leads to an increase in prices per bottle.


pages: 1,230 words: 357,848

Andrew Carnegie by David Nasaw

banking crisis, book value, British Empire, Burning Man, business climate, business cycle, business logic, California gold rush, clean water, collective bargaining, company town, Corn Laws, Cornelius Vanderbilt, crony capitalism, David Brooks, death from overwork, delayed gratification, financial independence, flying shuttle, full employment, housing crisis, indoor plumbing, invention of the steam engine, it's over 9,000, James Watt: steam engine, Khartoum Gordon, land reform, land tenure, Louis Pasteur, Monroe Doctrine, price stability, railway mania, Republic of Letters, strikebreaker, Thomas Malthus, transcontinental railway, traveling salesman, union organizing, Upton Sinclair, vertical integration, work culture , Works Progress Administration

When, in March 1878, Carnegie pushed Jones to speed up production to meet new orders, the captain, demurring, reminded him of a recent horse race in Louisville: “You noted that they did not rush the horses on the first mile, but aimed at a gait that would give a good four mile average…now in conclusion you let me handle this nag in this race, I think I will keep her on the track, and may keep her nose in front. I think at the end of this year I will have her ahead, and when we stop to rub down, you will find her in excellent condition.”38 Though Carnegie would, in later years, profess himself a supporter of organized labor, neither he nor his unacknowledged mentor, Jones, believed in collective bargaining. They did not intend to give their steelworkers the same control over the pace and rhythm of work that the puddlers exercised in the iron mills. Nor did they believe they had to. The technologies of iron-and steelmaking were radically different. Unlike steel, which was cooked in huge converters, iron had to be “puddled” manually by highly skilled artisans, who stirred the molten mass with an iron rod inserted through a hole in the furnace door.


Reaganland: America's Right Turn 1976-1980 by Rick Perlstein

8-hour work day, Aaron Swartz, affirmative action, air traffic controllers' union, airline deregulation, Alan Greenspan, Alistair Cooke, Alvin Toffler, American Legislative Exchange Council, anti-communist, Apollo 13, Ayatollah Khomeini, Berlin Wall, Bernie Sanders, Boeing 747, Brewster Kahle, business climate, clean water, collective bargaining, colonial rule, COVID-19, creative destruction, crowdsourcing, cuban missile crisis, currency peg, death of newspapers, defense in depth, Deng Xiaoping, desegregation, disinformation, Donald Trump, Dr. Strangelove, energy security, equal pay for equal work, facts on the ground, feminist movement, financial deregulation, full employment, global village, Golden Gate Park, guns versus butter model, illegal immigration, In Cold Blood by Truman Capote, index card, indoor plumbing, Internet Archive, invisible hand, Julian Assange, Kitchen Debate, kremlinology, land reform, low interest rates, Marshall McLuhan, mass immigration, military-industrial complex, MITM: man-in-the-middle, Monroe Doctrine, moral panic, multilevel marketing, mutually assured destruction, New Journalism, oil shock, open borders, Peoples Temple, Phillips curve, Potemkin village, price stability, Ralph Nader, RAND corporation, rent control, road to serfdom, Robert Bork, Robert Solow, rolodex, Ronald Reagan, Rosa Parks, Saturday Night Live, Silicon Valley, Suez crisis 1956, three-martini lunch, traveling salesman, unemployed young men, union organizing, unpaid internship, Unsafe at Any Speed, Upton Sinclair, upwardly mobile, urban decay, urban planning, urban renewal, wages for housework, walking around money, War on Poverty, white flight, WikiLeaks, Winter of Discontent, yellow journalism, Yom Kippur War, zero-sum game

The law also made the formerly routine intimidation technique of firing workers for supporting a union a federal crime, punishable by costly fines and reinstatement of the worker with back pay. In the decades that followed, this principle was enshrined as civic holy writ. “Labor unions are woven into the economic pattern of American life, and collective bargaining is part of the Democratic Process,” the head of the Chamber of Commerce said in 1946. “I say recognize this fact not only with our lips but with our hearts.” Dwight Eisenhower in 1952 said, “Only a handful of unreconstructed reactionaries harbor the ugly thought of breaking unions. Only a fool would try to deprive working men and women of the right to join the union of their choice.”