WORKERS LOSE OUT & OTHER GEMS

PITT(2006) THE GAZETTE/ 9/4/ 1A

WORKERS PAY SHRINKS AS PRODUCTIVITY GROWS

Worker wages have grown about 1% a year since 1990. It has risen in adjusted dollars from $13.12 to $14.28. Since the beginning of the Iraq war, wages have actually gone down. If there is a correlation between the two is not known.

Corporate profits have soared since 1990 however workers have not shared in the riches. Corporate profits from 90′ to 05′ have increased 149 %. Slack job market is to blame. Workers must compete with temps, illegal migrants, and outsource work which drive wages down.

MCQUIAD (2006) U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT 9/4/ 45-46

 Long before New Orleans was built, the area would have flooded and then would have been gone in a day. However when Katrina hit, there were some areas that were 30 feet deep. In building New Orleans, the city has to face two obstacles and perhaps many more. The first is erosion and pounding of the ocean lessen the marshland each day. The second is a hurricane that breaks down levees and produce flooding.

Officials knew before Katrina, that a big storm could overwhelm the city, however the money was not there and doing a cost benefit study could not produced positive numbers in poor residential areas near the river. So, it floods new dams like those in the Netherlands may work, but leaving the poorest areas and the lowest areas alone or leveled may be the most efficient way of dealing with the storm.

MEAD (2006) FOREIGN AFFAIRS 9/10  24-43

Except for 40 years (1920 to 1960) the conservative wing of  Protestant Christianity has been dominant power in the United States. During their absence, moderate and liberal Protestants and Catholics help establish the United Nations, the welfare state, and the recognition of Israel. However, with Civil Rights and the demise of the Vietnam war, church goers headed to churches that supported racial separation and the war in Asia. Further, during those turbulent times, conservative churches offered absolute answers to living one’s life. Today, liberals and moderates are so small that they could well do with merging with other churches to share the same building and offer services at different times for each group. Progressive Catholics have also been marginalizes and find masses conducted by right of center priests.

Conservative churches believe in faith based organizations, laissez faire capitalism, and are suspicious of secular institutions.  Internationally, they may not differ that much from their more

progressive brethren. Their ties to Israel are extremely strong because they believe that the end of the world will occur in Israel. President Bush is very much apart of this wing of Christianity and the attack on Iraq may be Bible based.