{"id":2023153,"date":"2023-09-06T08:15:01","date_gmt":"2023-09-06T12:15:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/save-the-worker-save-america\/"},"modified":"2023-09-06T08:20:45","modified_gmt":"2023-09-06T12:20:45","slug":"save-the-worker-save-america","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/save-the-worker-save-america\/","title":{"rendered":"Protect the Worker, Preserve America"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">10<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fsave-the-worker-save-america%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2023153&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div class=\"article-content\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Conservatives in Crisis: A New\u200d Identity Emerges<\/h2>\n<p>For the past decade, conservatives have been going through something of an identity crisis. What was once\u200d a movement that embraced free-market capitalism,\u2063 globalism, expertise, and military dominance now champions working-class populism, nationalism, subsidiarity, and non-interventionism. What keeps both forms of conservatism on the same spectrum\u200d is their opposition to leftist ideology, commitment to\u2063 law and order, and \u200dreverence for Western\u200d civilization.<\/p>\n<p>Most of today\u2019s conservatives are\u2064 somewhere in the middle of this spectrum. While they acknowledge the many virtues\u200b of the old conservatism, which defeated the Soviet Union, facilitated technological advancement, lifted billions of \u2064people out of poverty, and made the U.S. an economic\u2064 and cultural superpower, we also see the rise of the\u200d administrative \u200cstate, the futility \u200dof pointless \u2064wars, \u200cthe emergence of an elite class of oligarchs, and the widespread\u200d neglect of the working classes.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Unfortunately, when it comes to these new concerns, many conservatives lack the vocabulary to articulate their arguments. Yes, they can explain why communism is bad,\u200d why a strong military is important, and why hard\u2063 work \u2062and personal responsibility are necessary for success, but they struggle with explaining the importance of labor, making\u2062 the \u2062economy fairer, or\u200b decentralizing the current globalized \u200beconomic system.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Fortunately, \u200dMichael\u200c Lind\u2019s new book <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Hell-Pay-Conspiracy-Destroying-America\/dp\/0593421256\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Hell to Pay: How the Suppression of Wages Is Destroying America<\/a><\/em>  is a clear and concise primer to equip modern \u2062Americans of all political \u200cstripes to talk seriously about American labor. Far from being a niche issue, Lind shows how the decline in worker power has\u2064 fed into a host of other problems. Not\u200d only are workers making \u200cfar less than they\u2064 should, but this injustice has\u2062 resulted in the \u2062growth of the welfare state, crisis at the border, economic immobility, ever-expanding credentialism, and the devastation of \u200cAmerican families.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">You\u2019re Paid\u200c What You Deserve?<\/h2>\n<p>Lind \u200bbegins his book by taking \u2063on the \u200bpopular capitalist narrative that \u201cyou are \u200cpaid what you deserve.\u201d According to this logic, CEOs and entrepreneurs are just that much smarter, more productive, and more ambitious than their employees and thus deserve to be compensated a thousand times more\u200b than\u200b they are. Although most Americans tend to accept this argument, it happens to \u2062be absurd. As Lind explains, \u201cWhat workers are \u200bpaid, along with their working conditions and benefits, depends on \u2063the relative bargaining power of workers and \u200demployers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Therefore, it\u2019s illogical and offensive to\u2062 tell poor Americans that \u201cthey should learn to code\u201d \u200bto boost their earning potential. Rather, these workers should be given more bargaining power. More than\u2064 preaching personal responsibility and somehow reforming public education and training programs, addressing the plight\u2062 of the American \u200cworker\u200d must start with giving him leverage: \u201cNotwithstanding the attempts of the economic \u2063elite to distract us \u2063with \u2062misleading explanations for low wages in the United States, worker bargaining power \u200bremains the central issue.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>This\u2063 problem began with the\u200b decline of labor unions.\u2064 After\u2062 peaking in the 1950s when \u201clabor unions represented more than a\u2064 third of wage and salary workers\u200b in the United States, almost all of them in the private\u200c sector,\u201d labor unions in the U.S. have dwindled to \u200c\u201c10.3 percent\u201d of all American workers, half of which are in the public sector. In the past half-century, business owners and politicians have\u2064 worked\u200b together to replace an empowered \u200bworkforce with a \u201clow-wage\/high-welfare\u201d\u200c system, where the government facilitates and subsidizes the \u200duse of cheap labor \u200cthrough free \u2062trade policies and social welfare for underpaid workers.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>In the following chapters, Lind outlines how this\u200b system works out. The first of\u200b which focuses\u2063 on what employers do to suppress wages:\u200b salary bands, no-poach\u2062 agreements, non-compete clauses, forced arbitration, and contract or \u201cgig\u201d \u2062work. If \u2062employees try to leave for better pay,\u200c their\u2064 employer can\u2062 rig the system so they are paid the same (salary bands); they can also \u200bbe blackballed or contractually prohibited from leaving\u2062 (no-poach agreements and non-compete clauses). And \u2062if they complain about \u2062this, \u200cthey must go through the employer\u2019s form of due process (forced arbitration).\u200b However,\u2064 all this is \u2063moot because employers are now increasingly\u2063 resorting\u200d to\u200c contract work, conveniently remaining off\u200c the hook for pesky concerns like salaries, benefits, and \u2062working conditions \u200b\u2014 all of which leave millions underemployed and under-compensated in the\u2064 so-called \u201cgig economy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Lind then discusses the two wage-suppressing \u200cstrategies most \u200bpeople will \u2063recognize\u2063 \u2014 offshoring \u200doperations to other \u2064countries and hiring <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/france-is-facing-an-immigration-crisis-not-a-george-floyd-moment\/\" title=\"France's immigration crisis is distinct from the 'George Floyd moment'.\">low-skilled immigrants<\/a>. The motives here are simple enough: \u201cboost corporate profits by replacing high-wage American workers with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/d-c-lobbies-cut-inflation-by-importing-cheaper-workers\/\" title=\"D.C. Lobbies: Cut Inflation by Importing Cheaper Workers\">low-wage foreign workers<\/a>.\u201d As a consequence, the manufacturing hubs of the heartland are hollowed out, and laid-off \u2064American workers are forced to \u2063compete with low-skilled immigrants for whatever low-paying scraps are left \u2062over.<\/p>\n<p>This prompts the usual objections that it was automation, not offshoring, that eliminated American manufacturing jobs and that immigrants \u2062will do \u2062jobs that Americans refuse \u2062to\u2062 do. Lind debunks each of these points in quick order. In\u2063 response to \u2063the \u201c\u2018automation did it\u2019 alibi,\u201d he simply reviews the numbers and demonstrates that \u2063it was primarily Chinese and Mexican workers taking Americans\u2019 jobs, not robots. As for the jobs that Americans supposedly refuse to do, Lind points to the majority of Americans already doing those jobs, outnumbering migrant workers by large margins.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>But surely, the \u2064use \u2063of cheaper labor makes products cheaper. Considering the tradeoff of devastating the American workforce for such \u200da meager reduction in\u2062 the price of a few key goods, Lind rightly mocks this kind of\u2064 argument: \u201cOffshoring plus \u200ca \u2063flood of\u2063 imports turned formerly flourishing industrial regions in the American Midwest and Northeast and elsewhere into abandoned, decaying slums. \u2062\u2026 But\u200d look on the bright side: American consumers paid around 6 percent less for \u2064imports from China than they might have paid for American-made products. What a bargain!\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Many white-collared Americans may dismiss \u200call \u2063this\u2063 as a\u2064 blue-collar problem. If only these folks did better at school,\u200c attended college, and \u200cfollowed the <a href=\"https:\/\/ifstudies.org\/success-sequence\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">success \u200bsequence<\/a>, they wouldn\u2019t be so vulnerable. Responding to these doubters, Lind, a professor who has taught at Harvard, John Hopkins, and the University of Texas at Austin, devotes\u200d a whole chapter \u200cto the increasingly desperate \u201ccredential arms race\u201d that robs so many\u2063 young people of so much money\u200b and\u200c time.<\/p>\n<p>Deprived of\u2062 any bargaining power, many professionals will organize \u2064into \u200bassociations \u2064and protect their careers by requiring incoming members\u200b to be highly credentialed. Even if \u200dmany of the\u200d degrees and certifications amount to\u2064 meaningless hoops to\u200d jump through, these barriers are set firmly in place\u200c to effectively\u2062 segregate the white-collar aspirants from the less\u200b ambitious blue-collar types.<\/p>\n<p>This results in a \u201ccascade effect\u201d in which low wages and excessive credentialism force young \u2064Americans \u200cto delay or forego \u200chaving children, leading to low fertility rates, which in turn drives employers to import \u2064workers and offshore\u2064 operations. All of this drives a host of society-wide\u2064 problems: a\u2062 demographic crisis, credential inflation, a social crisis (i.e., fewer friendships and associations), \u200dan identity crisis, and political \u200cpolarization.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A New American System<\/h2>\n<p>In\u2062 the final third of the book, Lind \u200doffers a number of prescriptions that could help the country reverse course. First and foremost, he advocates for a \u201cnew American System\u201d that will \u201cfocus on productivity growth, not workforce growth, as\u2063 the\u2064 primary method for increasing the gross domestic product.\u201d This means forcing employers to invest in labor-saving technology\u2063 (automation) by restricting immigration and imposing \u201cstrategic trade\u201d restrictions that discourage outsourcing jobs.<\/p>\n<p>He also\u2062 calls for\u200b restoring collective bargaining rights that are separate from\u2064 political activity: \u201cIf the goal is to ensure \u200dthat every American has not only a\u200d living wage but also a decent job,\u2062 then it is better to organize a union \u2063\u2014 \u200dor appoint a wage board \u2014 than to pass a law.\u201d For its part, the federal government would need to make sure that unions aren\u2019t undermined by competing state\u200c and \u2064local governments \u201cby adopting a system of federal revenue sharing\u201d\u200c where the kickbacks offered to employers are distributed \u200con a federal level and assigned to \u201cpublic goods,\u201d not \u201cbribes to lure corporations to\u2064 their jurisdictions.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Finally, Lind concludes with a recommendation to reform the entitlement state\u2062 so that workers receive what \u2064they put into it instead of being conditioned to depend on the government to take care of them. In order to fund these social insurance programs, Lind recommends taxing employers more \u2064and demanding higher wages for employees: \u201cThe goal, remember,\u200c is to move\u2062 \u2026\u2063 toward a system\u2062 in which all the costs of all workers are privatized and the taxpayer is not forced to directly subsidize cheap-labor employers\u2062 and their customers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For most of the book, Lind dutifully\u200b supports each of his claims with evidence and \u200bsound reasoning. That said, there are times when Lind could make more concessions to the other side, particularly in regard to labor unions. After all, there \u200bare reasons why state governments felt\u200d the need to crack down on unions and \u2063create right-to-work laws, and \u200dit\u2019s not\u2064 only because employers are greedy and heartless. All too often, unions can become their own worst enemy. In \u2063my own capacity \u2062as a\u200b teacher, I certainly appreciate \u200bthe work of\u2063 teacher unions to raise salaries \u2064and improve the working conditions of my\u2062 profession, \u2064but I also recognize that these same unions will also \u2064fight\u2062 against all forms\u2064 of \u200ceducational \u2064reform and become excessively \u2062enmeshed in party politics.<\/p>\n<p>In Lind\u2019s defense, treating \u2063the complex subject of \u200clabor unions with the care it deserves would require several volumes. His purpose is to touch on them broadly\u200b and at least remove the stigma they \u200dhave\u2064 among \u200cconservatives. Overall, <em>Hell to Pay<\/em> is persuasive in arguing for worker power and higher wages. Moreover, it makes a deeper\u200b case that nearly all of us are working class in some\u2064 sense. The sooner we acknowledge this,\u2062 the sooner we can set about improving our lives and\u2064 saving\u200d our country\u200b in the \u2062process.<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For 10 years, conservatives have faced an identity crisis. They shifted from supporting capitalism, globalism, expertise, and military dominance to advocating for populism, nationalism, subsidiarity, and non-interventionism. Despite these changes, both conservative forms oppose leftist ideology and remain committed to the rule of law.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":551,"featured_media":2023154,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2023153","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2023153","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/551"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2023153"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2023153\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2023154"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2023153"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2023153"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2023153"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}