tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-183955164740657319.post4396004649542354736..comments2023-11-03T10:40:27.057-05:00Comments on Boring Old White Guy: The chart of the day...mtracyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09520649088994864951noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-183955164740657319.post-43662901519565388222017-03-10T15:21:28.112-06:002017-03-10T15:21:28.112-06:00Maybe the focus shouldn't be on bringing back ...Maybe the focus shouldn't be on bringing back factory jobs but rather on how to unionize the jobs that are currently available. Or, if unions are really so terrible then there should be other ways for workers to organize so they have some leverage in bargaining for wages and benefits. Of course the country has seen some of this type of activity with the movement to raise the minimum wage. I guess it is harder for collective actions like those to have an impact though when the jobs do not require the technical skills of manufacturing.<br /><br />Still it seems like having a say in the workplace is really what is being mourned rather than the type of employment. Economists really need to consider that slightly lower costs at Walmart look good on charts but do not account for the powerful effect of people feeling denigrated by their job. This kind of strong psychological impact is something that seems to get left out in policy analysis. Well meaning (perhaps) social scientists are at a loss as to why constituencies "vote against themselves" because they don't see that people are voting for their dignity as whole individuals rather than to be seen as a set of debits and credits. <br /><br />Rationalists decry human emotion as a blind spot of humanity. While emotion can make people vulnerable to snake oil salesmen like Trump, it can also be a motivating force to transcend superficial differences of class and skin color. If politicians refuse to engage the good potential of human emotion then they leave voters exposed to people who know how to provoke the bad.Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14318056238726954566noreply@blogger.com