On September 10, 2010 there was an article in the CNN about the strike by the people working in the public sector companies. The workers working in the public sector and government jobs went on strike because the government decided to reduce the government debt by reducing the monthly salary and wages of the employees and by delaying the retirement date of the employees. The government has also decided to cut the bonuses of the employees. Greek Prime Minister Giorgos Papandreou declared that the government's debt can only be cleared by doing these measures. Mr Papandreou said it will freeze public sector pay, raise taxes and change the pension system, insisted that the proposals would be fully implemented. The workers will see around 10% decrease in their salary. The government is trying to slice of the deficit by hurting the working class.
According to Marx this idea of the government is wrong and unjust. He thinks that government is exploiting the people by making them work more and giving them less wages. They want the workers to work more and pay less to them. He adds that government wants to clear the debts of the country with the help of the money of the poor working class. Marx tells us that this kind of decision of tax rise and cutting wages will affect a lot of middle and working class people's lives. He tells us that by cutting the amount of wages they are alienating them. The government is not paying the right amount of wages the people deserve for their labor in their work. Marx tells us that the government is trying to increase the working limit of the people so they can use the pension money of the employees, which they rightly deserve.
I totally agree with Marx. The government is for the people and if they are not thinking for the betterment of the people then it is completely wrong. The government is trying to clear off the debts which the banks created by using the money of the people, who work hard to earn their money. If there will be a raise in taxes and cuts in the salaries of the people, it will be hard for the people to survive and fulfill their basic necessities. I think the banks who have created this debt should be solely responsible for this. The banks think this as a game, but it is not a game its playing with the peoples life. If the government takes the decision to what it proposes then the poor people will be hit the hardest.
This article is perfect for Marx's argument. I agree with you. This is exactly the idea that Marx is presenting on wage labor and capital. It also highlights what Harlan County, USA highlights about the fundamental antagonism. The government can reduce debt and benefit from reducing the wages of workers, which I agree is completely unethical. One must ask, however, if this is the only means of clearing the government debt, what choice does the government have?
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you. The government is definitely for the people, and the people in your news story are clearly unhappy about what is going on in their lives. The worst part about the situation is, like you said, that the poor people will be hit the hardest. The thing that stinks about that is the fact that the poor people are not just lazy and unemployed. Many of them have hardworking jobs and their labor is being seriously depreciated. If it depreciated anymore, they will not be able to obtain the basic necessities of life anymore.
ReplyDeleteThis is terrible news for this working people. This Government should not cut the wages of the working class. Instead of the government trying to slowly desalinate the people from their product they alienate them even more by cutting their wages. This government action also tears that gap of time and labor instead of closing it up. They tear the gap of time and labor for the working class in order to close up the gap for the wealthy and powerful (capitalist). The better the capitalist do the worst the workers do.
ReplyDeleteWhat the government is doing in this article is wrong. It is even worst than that of the capitalists depreciating workers’ wages by the division of labor. Marx thinks that workers are already alienated in wage labor. Marx would not agree with what the government is doing because Marx thinks this is against the workers’ claim for the dignity of their work by further alienating their labor.
ReplyDeleteThis article is a great example of basic Marxist philosophy. By implementing a wage freeze and increasing taxes, the worker will be able to access less of his or her wages every pay period. Unless the prices of goods and services are decreased, the cost of living and the cost of basic necessities will increase. While the government might benefit, this action would only cause a greater gap between the economic classes. Marx proposes a classless society, and government actions such as this make economic equality impossible.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, this article reflects what Marx is describing in his writing. People should not work more for less wages.
ReplyDeleteObviously if the cost of living would decline then I would agree with the companies, because the wages are enough to sustain oneself, and the compensation for the work done is accurate. However, this is not the case hence the strike. So I agree with Marx on this one.
I agree! This compounds on the ideas of Marx to a T. If the wages of people are cut even a little bit in today's economy things will completely go south for many families. Earning a "living wage" and a "working wage" are two completely different things, and I believe that the latter is almost certainly comparable with minimum wage in America. Cutting the already low wages of many civil servants will hurt the standard of living for many unskilled laborers in this country.
ReplyDeleteMarx would also agree with us on this idea. Capitalism and separating people from their labor via low wages would be an exact example of what Marx considers to be the downfalls of capitalism. It's actually quite sad that his predictions are becoming more true every day...