Supreme Court

Immigration Banter Leaves U.S. Workers in the Dust

cheap labor flowsHouston, we have a problem. We need jobs. The never ending political banter on immigration is a droning inane brew of special interests. One thing always is constant. At the back of the pack is America's middle class. We even have various groups supposedly representing U.S. labor who seem to be interested in illegal immigrants instead. Even worse, we have numerous lobbyists spinning out economic fiction, trying to claim offshore outsourcing is good for America or displacing U.S. workers with foreigners is somehow good economically. Neither is true. Worker displacement is worker displacement and if anyone is alive these days, the employment statistics say it all. Indeed we saw the foreign born getting majority of the jobs from 2008-2010. We need jobs for U.S. citizens, American workers. We also need a big legal rubber stamp proclaiming U.S. workers are preferred for all jobs within our shores.

Supreme Court Lands a Blow to Women

women not paid as muchThe Supreme Court just landed a body blow to women. They sided with Wal-Mart on a class action sex discrimination lawsuit by blowing apart the class action status of the suit. The court was unanimous that the case was too big, yet the decision was split to let the case be reformed for another chance. The court ruled 5-4 against the women of Wal-Mart.

The case was seeking damages for 1.5 million women. In 2001, Wal-Mart had only 14% of women in management and 80% of women in the lowest paid positions. Wal-Mart also allowed local managers to use their own discretion in hiring and promotion decisions. NPR:

When the case was filed 10 years ago, women held two-thirds of the lowest-level hourly jobs and only one-third of the management jobs; and that women were paid on average $1.16 less per hour than men in the same jobs, despite having more seniority and higher performance ratings.

A lower court previously ruled the case should encompass all women who work at all Walmart stores. SCOTUS used the phrase commonality and quoted statistics to claim because 1.5 million women didn't have the same common experience, magically 1.5 million women at Wal-Mart are not subject to systemic discrimination. From the actual ruling:

The Road to Predatory Capitalism

We have repeatedly heard over the past decade how “things just happened.”

How “…nobody could have foreseen that.”

Or, how everything came about due to “..unintended consequences.”

Conscious actions have intended consequences.

While at the same time we have repeatedly witnessed how the major perpetrators, culprits and predators go unscathed, facing no consequences for the abominations against the public.

In fact, we have observed them to be unjustly rewarded again and again and again.

Then there are those of us who must hustle endlessly for the next month’s mortgage payment, or rent due, or the next meal, are constantly chided with the admonition that “…we must innovate our way out of this!”

We, Kimosabe????

“We” have innovated endlessly, only to find ourselves bereft of employment while the technology we developed has been transferred, along with our jobs, offshore!