The Fruits of Labor

I wanted to write about Labor Day on Labor Day, but since it was a national holiday to reflect on our labor, I took that time to reflect on the day itself.

This country works harder than any other country in the world. We don't get the social benefits found in other countries, like six weeks vacation, one-year maternity leave and free healthcare. But we do get the fruits of our labor if we choose to pick those fruits?

That means, we sit on Saturdays and Sundays to escape from the work week by watching our big-screen televisions and surround-sound speakers to watch and listen to college and pro football as if we are at the stadiums. Some of us, with enough money to spend, actually go to these huge coliseums to watch the games for real. Others might watch fairly recent movies in their living rooms and, again if money permits, go to movie theaters. Then, some others might visit their local retail establishments for a shopping trip.

Money, however, is the key to enjoying these activities. To get to work, we need money to purchase cars, gas or pay for public transportation. Some more fortunate people can save on those costs by working from home. Whatever the case may be, despite our fruits of labor, consumers have stopped spending. Confidence is down and now it is time to tighten our belts.

More than 16 percent of people are in part-time jobs or frustrated that they do not work in full-time positions. Another large percentage is out of the workforce. And, if you can believe how the Bureau of Labor Statistics determine unemployment, 9.1 percent of the population has no job.

The people who actually labor work today with fewer resources, which can only lead to exhaustion. That said, large corporate CEOs making millions of dollars hold back on spending more because they can. The worker becomes scared of losing their full-time jobs, their healthcare, their 401k retirement accounts partially or fully matched. Companies can play on that fear and outlast the common worker because there are more than enough workers to go around.

The unions, which came into being in the late 1920s for this very reason, are down to 7 percent of all workers. They are going away. Those protests of the late 1920s were repeated by protests of the late 1960s as the economy began to wane again and a large segment of the population reached their college years with a grim future ahead of them.

The masses eventually revolt and another recession with more layoffs could be the tipping point and the straw that breaks the camel's back. Eventually, workers will need to unite because they will discover that $16 million CEO salaries do not "trickle down." They find returns on their investments and decide to hold back on dispensable workers or overwork them to exhaustion. In the end, training others cost employers in time, money and quality. Also, workers determine that there are never guarantees in their jobs so loyalty no longer exists from either side.

The wealth gap is larger than it has ever been in this country, and it is unsustainable. If a double-dip recession is in our future, and I believe we are in the midst of one, then employers may need to cut back again. Bank of America is already talking about a possible 30,000 in layoffs. Yet Brian Moynihan earns millions of dollars as a CEO figurehead. JPMorgan is no longer alive. Neither is Goldman Sachs or Andrew Carnegie. Yet unrelated CEO figureheads run these firms and earn millions more than the person who produces anything of relevance.

It is one thing to say to ourselves that we "work hard and play hard." But when the economy forces us to work hard and sacrifice play to save our money, we begin to wonder why we are working so hard. What happens when there are no longer any "fruits" of labor?

What happens when we are laboring without pride in our labor? What happens when we realize our money can no longer afford a movie for two at $20 a pop or a football game with $60 tickets, $25 parking and $7 a beer? We just hold up in our homes and pay off that television and home audio system.

If it hasn't already, alienated individuals deteriorate any feeling of community in favor of the inexpensive entertainment within the home. We hunker down, poor but entertained, in favor of the abundantly wealthy bank or insurance CEO. And then, when life loses the quality we become accustomed to and we see ourselves at home in the dark because there is nowhere else to go, we get angry for our rights in a free, capitalistic, democratic society.

In our current economic path, in a "jobless recovery," that is when we begin to see the community organize itself for the pursuit of happiness. That day may not be too far away.

I hope everyone had a happy Labor Day and happy labor days ahead. And, may everyone receive the fruits of their labor, rather than rotten apples, in the upcoming year.

Robert Michaels