Hoping for 25% Unemployment!

[Opinion]

Not sure on this history.
The work week was about 60 hours during the great depression. The work week was then shortened by law to 40 hrs in order to try to absorb the unemployed.

If now we reach approx. 25% unemployment we can cut the work week from 40 to 30 hrs while taking home the same size paycheck.

There is a book that discusses this:
The End of Work?

If the unemployment rate goes to 25% the government instead of paying unemployment benefits should give companies tax breaks and incentives to hire the unemployed and cut the work week from 40 to 30 hours.

So 25% unemployment may be the greatest thing for the American worker since the great depression?

If you like the sound of this, talk about it with friends, family and politicians so it can perhaps become a reality.

The unemployment rate is now about 7% and probably rising.

[ccl]

as bad as it is, for the first time in my life i will be hitting the unemployment office here in the next couple of months as my time in the military comes to an end. Get a guaranteed number of weeks on unemployment that may need to get used, mostly because of a move to an area that has seasonal jobs and gambling economy (not the greatest at this point in time), so with what you brought forward in this thread i say let the claims flow...

ccl

[GeorgeD]

It's been brought up before and I agree it's a good solution to unemployment. The truth is, though, how many people work only 40 hours? Many work more because of the demands of their job or profession, some out of greed for overtime, some are forced to work paid overtime. How many people work 2 or 3 jobs just to make ends meet or depend on regular OT to pay bills?

For many americans the 40 hour work week is a myth. Even if it would bolster the economy how cold it possibly be enforced? If records were kept, people would force them or work "off the books". Self employed or sub contractors probably could not legally be forced to work less if they have work.

Great in concept, but IMHO impossible to implement.

Originally Posted by Opinion

Not sure on this history.
The work week was about 60 hours during the great depression. The work week was then shortened by law to 40 hrs in order to try to absorb the unemployed.

If now we reach approx. 25% unemployment we can cut the work week from 40 to 30 hrs while taking home the same size paycheck.

There is a book that discusses this:
The End of Work?

If the unemployment rate goes to 25% the government instead of paying unemployment benefits should give companies tax breaks and incentives to hire the unemployed and cut the work week from 40 to 30 hours.

So 25% unemployment may be the greatest thing for the American worker since the great depression?

If you like the sound of this, talk about it with friends, family and politicians so it can perhaps become a reality.

The unemployment rate is now about 7% and probably rising.

[shadroch]

The forty hour work week ranks right up there with the female orgasim. Something most men will never get to participate in.

[moo321]

It was the government's restrictive policies that extended the Great Depression for so long. The only reason for 25% unemployment was wage controls.

We were literally paying farmers to destroy crops in the middle of a depression. Does that make any sense?

[Opinion]

Yes, I agree many Americans work more then 40 hours now. However, cutting the work hours would not be that hard. I believe federal laws were passed in the 30s that made overtime pay after 40 hours possible. This probably is what basically cut the work week from 60 to 40 hours. Suddenly it was in the interest of business to have 40 vs 60 hour work weeks. Yes, over time businesses have worked around this. The feds would just need to pass laws that any time over 30 or 40 hours of work per week would be triple pay and enforced with heavy fines. Then businesses that now have an employee working 50 or 60 hours a week would suddenly find it in their best interest to have 2 employees working 25 to 30 hours.

Somehow this country went from 60 hr to 40 hr work weeks. Linked to this and in the book I mentioned is how the productivity of the American worker has gone up tremendously since the 30s, yet we work just as loong? When the unemployment numbers get high we can go to 30 hour work weeks. Don't forget this important point, with the same take home pay!

If we reach 25% unemployment I think this change would almost be inevitable.

Talk about it to everyone, push it!!!!!

The book I think is titled
The End of Work?

[zengrifter]

Originally Posted by Opinion

Yes, I agree many Americans work more then 40 hours now. However, cutting the work hours would not be that hard. I believe federal laws were passed in the 30s that made overtime pay after 40 hours possible. This probably is what basically cut the work week from 60 to 40 hours. Suddenly it was in the interest of business to have 40 vs 60 hour work weeks. Yes, over time businesses have worked around this. The feds would just need to pass laws that any time over 30 or 40 hours of work per week would be triple pay and enforced with heavy fines. Then businesses that now have an employee working 50 or 60 hours a week would suddenly find it in their best interest to have 2 employees working 25 to 30 hours.

Somehow this country went from 60 hr to 40 hr work weeks. Linked to this and in the book I mentioned is how the productivity of the American worker has gone up tremendously since the 30s, yet we work just as loong? When the unemployment numbers get high we can go to 30 hour work weeks. Don't forget this important point, with the same take home pay!

If we reach 25% unemployment I think this change would almost be inevitable.

Talk about it to everyone, push it!!!!!

The book I think is titled
The End of Work?

UNEMPLOYMENT NOW!! spread the word! zg

[ccl]

paying farmers to destroy crops wasn't just in the depression. i have family in the eastern part of the country who used to be tobacco farmers however the product has too many people growing and are receiving money from the government to not even plant tobacco, they could sit on their land and make almost as much as if they were working on it. However they grew a few other crops at the time the payments started so the land isn't going to waste.

[moo321]

Originally Posted by ccl

paying farmers to destroy crops wasn't just in the depression. i have family in the eastern part of the country who used to be tobacco farmers however the product has too many people growing and are receiving money from the government to not even plant tobacco, they could sit on their land and make almost as much as if they were working on it. However they grew a few other crops at the time the payments started so the land isn't going to waste.

Farm subsidies are one of the jackass-iest things the government does.

[InPlay]

Originally Posted by moo321

It was the government's restrictive policies that extended the Great Depression for so long. The only reason for 25% unemployment was wage controls.

We were literally paying farmers to destroy crops in the middle of a depression. Does that make any sense?

You are totally one informed person on everything I have ever seen. Total ---hole! You had better read about history and learn what the causes of the depressions were. Here is a start for you !

Main Causes of the Great Depression

The Great Depression was the worst economic slump ever in U.S. history, and one which spread to virtually all of the industrialized world. The depression began in late 1929 and lasted for about a decade. Many factors played a role in bringing about the depression; however, the main cause for the Great Depression was the combination of the greatly unequal distribution of wealth throughout the 1920's, and the extensive stock market speculation that took place during the latter part that same decade. The maldistribution of wealth in the 1920's existed on many levels. Money was distributed disparately between the rich and the middle-class, between industry and agriculture within the United States, and between the U.S. and Europe. This imbalance of wealth created an unstable economy. The excessive speculation in the late 1920's kept the stock market artificially high, but eventually lead to large market crashes. These market crashes, combined with the maldistribution of wealth, caused the American economy to capsize.

The "roaring twenties" was an era when our country prospered tremendously. The nation's total realized income rose from $74.3 billion in 1923 to $89 billion in 19291. However, the rewards of the "Coolidge Prosperity" of the 1920's were not shared evenly among all Americans. According to a study done by the Brookings Institute, in 1929 the top 0.1% of Americans had a combined income equal to the bottom 42%2. That same top 0.1% of Americans in 1929 controlled 34% of all savings, while 80% of Americans had no savings at all3. Automotive industry mogul Henry Ford provides a striking example of the unequal distribution of wealth between the rich and the middle-class. Henry Ford reported a personal income of $14 million4 in the same year that the average personal income was $7505. By present day standards, where the average yearly income in the U.S. is around $18,5006, Mr. Ford would be earning over $345 million a year! This maldistribution of income between the rich and the middle class grew throughout the 1920's. While the disposable income per capita rose 9% from 1920 to 1929, those with income within the top 1% enjoyed a stupendous 75% increase in per capita disposable income7.

A major reason for this large and growing gap between the rich and the working-class people was the increased manufacturing output throughout this period. From 1923-1929 the average output per worker increased 32% in manufacturing8. During that same period of time average wages for manufacturing jobs increased only 8%9. Thus wages increased at a rate one fourth as fast as productivity increased. As production costs fell quickly, wages rose slowly, and prices remained constant, the bulk benefit of the increased productivity went into corporate profits. In fact, from 1923-1929 corporate profits rose 62% and dividends rose 65%10.

READ MORE AT THIS LINK ! MOO MAN AND YOU WILL LEARN INSTEAD OF JUST SPOUTING NONSENSE !


http://www.gusmorino.com/pag3/greatd...ion/index.html