Recently public dialogue among Americans and within its media conglomerates began to center around economic issues. Much of the time, the voice protruding from the body of the United States’ citizenry echoes the mantra of getting or creating jobs in “this economy.”
Regardless of one’s position in the social hierarchy of the nation, most seem to talk about the economy in terms of people obtaining jobs. You hear it from corrupted political officials and YOUR favorite political officials, you hear it from executives and owners of corporations and their employed workers, and you hear it passionately from unemployed folks.
Corporate Welfare Defined
Since the economic collapse of 2008 and the resulting corporate bailouts, political rhetoric from common people–and even politicians–shifted toward fighting against corporate welfare. A loose translation of “Corporate welfare” is a systematic program of collecting federal tax dollars on behalf of the U.S. government and turning amounts over to the private corporations to use at their own discretion. When money is turned over to private corporations, individuals resting at the upper tiers of the receiving organizations see an enormous bubbling of their income and wealth, while individuals trudging in the bowels of the company see little to no change in their income and total wealth–mostly negative changes once inflation is taken into account.
Median CEO pay jumped 27% in 2010 as the executives’ compensation started working its way back to pre-recession levels, a USA TODAY analysis of data from GovernanceMetrics International found. Workers in private industry, meanwhile, saw their compensation grow just 2.1% in the 12 months ended December 2010, says the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Two years of scaling back amid tough economic times proved temporary as three-quarters of CEOs got raises in 2010…
Source: USA TODAY
Effects Of Outrageous CEO Salaries And Bonuses
While large stockholders, board members, executives, and owners of major companies that were bailed or received “stimulus” money from the U.S. government, millions of Americans are still out of work and finding it extremely difficult to sustain any life of substance–so much so that many have practically given up looking for work all together. Because those individuals at the top of those same corporations who benefited from tax dollars continually receive salary and bonuses enough to pay all of their lower-level workers–times many more–the median income of over $33,000, corporate welfare is a relevant and obvious corporate-government program.
According to the AFL-CIO’s analysis of 299 companies, a CEO of a Standard & Poor’s (S&P) 500 Index company received, on average, $11.4 million in total compensation in 2010. In other words, the combined pay of 299 CEOs could support 102,325 workers earning the median wage.
Source: AFL–CIO
The Cry For Job Creation
The standard response–reaction–to the the pervasive existence of corporate welfare in “these economic times” by regular people and workers is to create more jobs so that businesses can hire more workers, thus more money going to regular individuals. Also, many Americans fell that creating more jobs within the government itself is a way to ease the economic burdens on some of its citizens (This is usually done by creating more government agencies or departments).
People across a slew of ideologies who push for more jobs believe that some government actions must be taken to solve the problem of unemployment. Some of the sort of policies that are recommended to be implemented by government are lowering corporate/business tax rates, such that they pay less taxes. This is grounded in the belief that businesses will have more capital that can go directly toward increasing the size of its workforce–paying more people.
Some of the general public believe more taxes should be paid by corporations to assist in the lives of people who are victims of businesses’ practices of creating few jobs while hoarding much of the profits. The basis for this belief may be that businesses that profit from taxes paid by individuals are putting monies earned back into the hands of people whom funded their success.
Follow The Money
At the same time, a large portion of the population makes demands for legislation that would specifically create jobs in the private sector. For legislation from the United States government to actually create more jobs, more government-funded programs would have to be crafted. The federal government would be awarding contracts to private companies. As a result, money is funneled from the pockets and bank accounts of individuals through taxation into the accounts of businesses lucky enough to be handed government contracts. Despite this fact, average Americans are more concerned with simple creation of jobs. But, this is exactly a version of corporate welfare.
The Problem With Begging For Jobs
Private sector businesses receiving new projects required more workers does not eliminate hoarding tax dollars by upper-management and executives. Corporations will continue to hire workers at the lowest possible wages conducive to the main purpose of business, which is maximizing profits, and to line the pockets of executives and mere owners–people who do nothing besides have their name on some documents. Basically, any bill or legislation that is supposed to create jobs will actually create some jobs, though minimal. but it is mostly corporate welfare; people who are already (so-called) successful will be the individuals who benefit the most.
Today’s tactics of begging for jobs is begging for increasing the capital and total wealth exponentially of already rich/wealth elite individuals who deserve nothing more, because of the pain and suffering they caused and continue to cause on the entire nation and world.
Real Issues Not Addressed With Temporary Economic Fixes
We will always find ourselves in similar situations, because the real issues are never addressed. The population continues to relieve the pain by implementing an immediate, temporary fix. If anyone ever noticed, when the tire of a car goes flat due to punctures and the solution is always to plug the holes, eventually the tire will go flat again; as long as that same tire is being plugged and filled, the driver will be in a situation where he cannot rely on that tire, because it will happen again and again, as long as he continues to plug the tire.
That is what government programs to create jobs do. It gives money to corporations. Also, corporations who receive the government entitlements are already in bed with the government itself and officials/lawmakers. It is common knowledge that many people who seek government contracts made possible through taxation have no chance at receiving those contracts. The same companies continually receive welfare from the government, using moneies derived to lobby Congress for more contracts and fund campaigns to make it harder for the average American while making life much easier for big business and their heads.
The Cycle Of Begging
Begging for jobs as an immediate solution will only get the people over for a short duration, because the the capital, political and digital, remains in the court of the same companies and people. If these practices continue, we will find ourselves in the same position again. Every few years, the unemployment rate rises, people call for jobs, the government and businesses throws a bone, and everything seems hunky-dory; then, the process is repeated. There must be a time while immediate demands appear to be met, or are being demanded, that major pushes for drastic changes need to take place.
Demand Actual Change
The demand should be for actual change, even for something as little as the way corporate welfare payments is handed out and handled by corporate welfare-recipients. If any legislation giving money away to companies does not specifically state that executive pay cannot dwarf that of the people who do all of the actual work, or if specific job numbers are not mentioned or required, then a great portion of the population will remain in a state of suffering while another portion dines on disgusting fish eggs on yachts while the former does all of the work–if work is even available.
Reading history, watching history, and viewing political campaign ads over even only the past 100 years, one can see, there is almost never a time when there is no debates over jobs and pay. During those 100 years executives and owners were mainly the individuals who never had to bear the burden of scrounge, toil, and pain one bit. Why must we continue to ask for jobs while there exists a group of people who never really give up or lose anything significant enough to affect their lives negatively? So, stop begging for jobs, and demand and work for true change.
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