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Declining worker power vs. rising monopoly power: explaining recent macro trends

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Re: Declining worker power vs. rising monopoly power: explaining recent macro trends

#61

Post by zozbot234 »

pydry wrote: post #25
asdfasgasdgasdg wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you really think so? These stores all have insurance. The deductibles will hurt a little but I don't think it's going to be game changing, especially for any national or international chains.

Yes. I don't think it's a problem for them financially, it's just it's a a powerful symbol of the control that they have lost. That's why they'll pull out all of the stops including heavy handed propaganda, agent provocateurs, sending in the army (if it gets much worse) and even (finally, with gritted teeth), appeasement. Historically riots have often presaged regime change as it can uncover how dangerously exposed t…

We're already seeing agent provocateurs in the current protests. White nationalists are purposely trying to incite violent riots throughout the U.S. as part of their "accelerationist" plans. The regrettably widespread opinion that the original, peaceful protest against police brutality is per se violent and thus to be opposed is very much a false and racist claim.

Re: Declining worker power vs. rising monopoly power: explaining recent macro trends

#62

Post by scohesc »

altvali wrote: post #41
rapsey wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Automation is a drop in the ocean compared to the effects of trade agreements that resulted in jobs being exported.

Could you back that up with data? I'm curious to know by how much and how you reached that conclusion.

It's something that's so obviously common sense that you really don't need a study to back it up - let alone in today's culture any study that would even suggest this would be in the news with labels of 'racist' or 'alt-right'.

Re: Declining worker power vs. rising monopoly power: explaining recent macro trends

#63

Post by rmrfstar »

RcouF1uZ4gsC wrote: post #27

The big issue is supply and demand. With increasing automation and global supply chains, there is a huge amount of labor available relative to the need. In the past, a union strike at a plant would see a generous long-term contract and benefits for the workers. Now, it is likely for the plant to be moved or workers replaced with automation.

Larry Summers is simply not credible. This is an "oh fuck things are about to get out of hand, let's try to insert ourselves into the debate so we don't get locked out" paper.

Here is Larry Summers from his 1998 speech "The Challenges of Success".

" The world looks very different than it did at the beginning of this decade, a time when America was said to be in decline. It is now clear that America will grow faster in this decade than Japan and Europe. Their four-decade-long story of convergence has ended and America is pulling further ahead. Why this success? A large share of the credit must go to the two forces that this conference brings together: technology and finance.

The twin forces of intonation technology and modern competitive finance are moving us toward a post-industrial age. And if you think about what this new economy means - whether it is AIG in insurance, McDonald's in fast-food, Walmart in retailing, Microsoft in software, Harvard University in education, CNN in television news - the leading enterprises are American. "

Edit:

I tried deleting this, because it is an ad-hominem, which feels good but adds nothing.

It is just endlessly frustrating that one of the principle architects of the current status-quo demands so much attention.

Summers helped structure post-Soviet Russia, viciously attacked Brooksley Born when she sought to regulate the swaps market, among many many other serious lapses in judgement.

And yet, when he and his students come up with another insane policy proposal we have to take it seriously and challenge it on the merits.

It feels a lot like the allied strategy during WW2 of saturating enemy air defenses.

[1] https://mattstoller.substack.com/p/how-bill-clinton-and-amer...

Re: Declining worker power vs. rising monopoly power: explaining recent macro trends

#64

Post by brenden2 »

BurningFrog wrote: post #55
pydry wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In all likelihood lashing out at fancy retailers will be effective. Additional police powers and crackdowns will be paired with throwing the rioters a few bones (e.g. greater checks on police powers and throwing the book at George Floyd's murderers). Of course, the elites will pretend that they meant to throw that bone all along and will vehemently deny it has anything to do with a smashed up Gucci store in Beverly H…

This is really wrong. Destroying retail will just destroy retail. When it's gone it's gone. If you think shopkeepers control the Police, you are hopelessly confused.

The pandemic demonstrated that luxury retail is non-essential (you can still buy your Gucci bags online). When luxury retail was closed the world did not fall apart. Nobody is protesting because they can't shop at the Apple store.

Re: Declining worker power vs. rising monopoly power: explaining recent macro trends

#65

Post by whatshisface »

toomuchtodo wrote: post #47
whatshisface wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, or the military, known for their cost-effectiveness or wise operation?

Note how current "cost effective" supply chains have collapsed significantly [1]. Survival of certain supply chains, distribution networks, and institutions is preferable over a few percentages in cost savings. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_security ("National security or national defence is the security and defence of a nation state, including its citizens, economy, and institutions, which is regarded as a…

Bankruptcies are evidence that private businesses are more efficient: you can watch as the less-efficient ones are eliminated.

Re: Declining worker power vs. rising monopoly power: explaining recent macro trends

#66

Post by lotsofpulp »

harpratap wrote: post #54
lotsofpulp wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Economies of scale from computing power and reduced demand for labor due to automation is not US specific.

> But the decline in the labour share has been much more pronounced in the US than in other industrialised economies which are arguably similarly exposed to globalisation and technological change From the linked article

The US happens to have a huge population speaking the same language and dealing with roughly the same regulations, so the economies of scale are even better. But, as the article says, labor everywhere faces the same risks.

Re: Declining worker power vs. rising monopoly power: explaining recent macro trends

#67

Post by toomuchtodo »

whatshisface wrote: post #65
toomuchtodo wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Note how current "cost effective" supply chains have collapsed significantly [1]. Survival of certain supply chains, distribution networks, and institutions is preferable over a few percentages in cost savings. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_security ("National security or national defence is the security and defence of a nation state, including its citizens, economy, and institutions, which is regarded as a…

Bankruptcies are evidence that private businesses are more efficient: you can watch as the less-efficient ones are eliminated.

You're moving the goal posts. BKs are a sign of economic dynamism, not organizational efficiency.

Re: Declining worker power vs. rising monopoly power: explaining recent macro trends

#68

Post by jerkstate »

rapsey wrote: post #37
RcouF1uZ4gsC wrote: post #27

The big issue is supply and demand. With increasing automation and global supply chains, there is a huge amount of labor available relative to the need. In the past, a union strike at a plant would see a generous long-term contract and benefits for the workers. Now, it is likely for the plant to be moved or workers replaced with automation.

Automation is a drop in the ocean compared to the effects of trade agreements that resulted in jobs being exported.

Another way to phrase jobs being exported is the rise in imports of partially completed goods for final assembly locally. This is how the USA "manufacturing output" continues to go up while employment goes down - we no longer smelt steel, cast parts, weave textiles, pick-n-place electronic components, etc in the amount that we used to. Those things are done overseas where environmental and worker regulations are laxer and then the parts are imported for final assembly, and then in many cases re-exported.

Data to back this argument up is available on FRED if you're interested.

Re: Declining worker power vs. rising monopoly power: explaining recent macro trends

#69

Post by lotsofpulp »

brenden2 wrote: post #29
lotsofpulp wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Until the businesses don’t exist anymore because it’s not possible to insure at a price where people will still buy product.

These are mostly big chains, I think they'll be okay.

The big chains were suffering outside of a handful of affluent neighborhoods in all cities even in good times, I don’t see why this wouldn’t be a problem. Margins are low, and consumers’ ability to spend is low, so raising prices might not be possible leaving closing down as the only option.

Re: Declining worker power vs. rising monopoly power: explaining recent macro trends

#70

Post by whatshisface »

toomuchtodo wrote: post #67
whatshisface wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bankruptcies are evidence that private businesses are more efficient: you can watch as the less-efficient ones are eliminated.

You're moving the goal posts. BKs are a sign of economic dynamism, not organizational efficiency.

They're the mechanism by which it is ensured that only efficient organizations stick around. They're the economic equivalent of a civil servant getting pushed out of their position because an elected official is afraid of losing an election, except they are much more direct.
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