A “Living Wage” sinks into a black hole…
There’s an essay in the New York Times magazine today on how the “New Deal” is never coming back.
The author, a Democrat, puts out a challenge to his party — Come up with a plan to replace the “New Deal”.
The New Deal, which spawned Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, and a pact between business and government: “Business, you provide a living wage and benefits, and government, you fill in the gaps with programs to help those who fall through the gaps.”
The author, Dalton Conley, puts it more eloquently:
Government and big business had an understanding, famously embodied by the line, “What’s good for the country is good for General Motors, and vice versa.” Employers, in turn, agreed to pay their (male) employees a living wage and provide generous benefits. Men, in turn, had an obligation to provide for their dependents. To complete the sequence, the state would step in if any of these links broke down by providing a minimal level of support in the case of unemployment, death, desertion or disability.
Conley makes some good points about providing new systems where people can become part of a pool and buy affordable health insurance, and creating savings incentives.
But alas Conley does not tackle what is probably the biggest problem in our economic structure today, the demise of a living wage.
Wages in this country have been stagnant. Jobs that once paid a good wage, where workers could have a solid middle class life and send their kids to college are disappearing. All the major U.S. automakers are laying off or offering buyouts to huge chucks of their workforces so they can replace them with employees who will work for half the money. And large retailers, such as Circuit City, a recent example, are showing veteran workers the door so they can also fill their jobs with people that will take less.
Last night, I was talking with my neighbor who told us his dad — who without a college education, worked for AT&T as a telephone repair man — and his mom — who was a stay-at-home mom — where able to raise seven kids and provide for them without ever getting help from the government.
Is that possible today?
Paying someone a fair salary will go a long way in providing for the nation’s middle class. We can have endless programs to fill in the gaps, but how will they work if the gaps are like black holes able to consume a whole segment of the population that once hoped it could fend for itself if only they were paid enough.
June 23rd, 2008 at 11:49 am
Possible? Yes and no.
My wife and I did receive some government assistance in the early years. One of us stayed home with the kids while the other worked, or, during one period), we worked on different shifts, but we did receive help for a while during our first four years together. I had no college degree for the first 10 years (and six kids), but we managed by doing without a lot of luxuries that most of our peers thought were necessities (e.g., cable TV, new cars, a nice house). I was blessed to land a good job based on my experience alone, but I did not pass up the opportunity to go back to school and finish my degree. Since then, it’s still been tough at times (with nine kids today and a tenth due in November), but we’ve done alright. I’m currently working on a master’s degree while holding down a full time job and while teaching part time.
Thankfully, other than a short period after a move when we had additional expenses, my wife has continued to have the luxury of staying at home. It’s nice to know that she may pursue workplace opportunities if they strike her fancy, rather than out of financial necessity.
So, I believe it’s possible, but some of us may need some help from time to time, and that’s okay. By now, we’ve replaced far more than we have consumed, so it was a good thing that we got through our tight spots–both for us, and for the country.
June 23rd, 2008 at 6:03 pm
Perhaps a different question about the same idea: can two people make it without both of them working?
That is getting very hard to do. If you include one having health insurance and the other not, almost impossible to do.
Wanting to have a good retirement since most pensions have gone the way of the polar ice cap, very tough.
There were underlying pacts about business and government with the New Deal…wages, pensions, benefits, and almost lifetime employment. All of those are either gone or fully under attack as being costly.
I agree that a new “New Deal” needs to be done, but it will need to be something very different then depending upon Corporations to foot the bill.
A thoughtful post.
June 24th, 2008 at 9:46 am
Perhaps it’s because I’m the son of an immigrant, but I’ve never really thought of retiring. Perhaps it’s because my father worked so long, even though he had a union retirement plan. Perhaps its because I believe I was put on this earth to do something other than pursue my own interests.
If, by retirement, you mean the cessation of regular paid employment necessary to provide one’s basic needs, then I may never reach that place. I will work as hard as I can, and for as long as necessary, to support my wife and my household. When my years wane to the point where I am no longer able to sustain myself, I entrust myself to the care of my family. Thankfully, my family is large and the burden will not be too great for any one of them. It is an old-fashioned concept, I know, and I risk that my children will grow to view aging and parental responsibility differently. Yet I will not fret much for the future. I have today, and I need to make the best of it, for I have no guarantee of tomorrow.
Oh, I’ll not be a fool who lives only in this moment. I’m working to eliminate my consumer debt (before the end of the year, I hope to be free of all debts apart from our mortgage and our remaining student loans), and I’m working to set aside funds for those unexpected swells of crises that tend to rise just when we feel like we’re getting our sea legs. I guess I’m making a long-winded argument for stating that I have no contract in life that says I will live long, or that I will be healthy or financially stable. Each breath I take is a gift, and I must learn to live in a way that makes the most of every moment, so I do not end my life bankrupt of the things that count the most (and a loaded retirement fund isn’t one of them).