Quote:
Originally Posted by New Era
No, what has lifted so many people out of poverty in the last 100 years has been education and unions. All those crazy benefits that people have amassed and created the middle class have come from unions. Wages beyond slave labor wages came as a result of unions. The 40 hour work week came as a result of unions. Fringe benefits (medical, retirement/pensions, vacation time, etc.) that made the middle class possible were a result of unions. If you were looking for a very specific market segment responsible for the greatest impact on the middle class, that was manufacturing, and it isn't even close. The loss of manufacturing capacity in the United States is the downfall of the middle class. Not fossil fuels. The whole fossil fuel industry in the US employs just over a million people. Walmart employs twice that number. |
There is a lot in the original post. So let's start with this. I don't disagree with this, but again you wouldn't have any of it without cheap energy which opened up markets all over the world for products, amongst a litany of other things its done... which amassed the wealth the Unions went after. Def had their effect especially in the First World but not anywhere near cheap energy. Again there is more than one factor but cheap energy has been the biggest.