By Joseph Lazzaro, U.S. Editor: Subscribe to Joseph's RSS feed
August 19, 2011 7:52 PM EDT
The United States is, in many ways, a mystical and enchanting place. The creation of (largely) Protestants in the 18th century, in the 19th and 20th centuries it became a sanctuary for Catholics and Jews, and now, just about everyone else. And along the way, the nation went from a primarily rural, agarian society, to the strongest industrial power of the industrial age, and then to hte technological leader in the Internet age.
Right now, as most investors know, the United States economy is restructuring -- a transition complicated by the global financial crisis and the aftermath of the bursting of the U.S. housing bubble. Those two latter problems prompted unconventional responses -- most of which have so far worked, but in the process it's prompted a critique.
Some of the critique has been valid, but some has simply sought to exploit the vulnerabilities and fears among the American body politic, and also play on certain myths.
Moreover, it goes without saying that a civilization and society as complex as the U.S. would have its share of myths and misnomers. Further, particularly in the early 21st century, and magnified by the challenges/stresses associated with the U.S. economic restructuring, some misnomers have made the round with regular frequency, it seems. They are misnomers are rooted in ignorance, and in some cases, stem from a concerted effort to distort the record, so let's take a moment to dispel a few here:
1. 'The labor movement doesn't benefit me.' This is perhaps the most egregious error making the rounds today.
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Simply, labor market reforms and improvements -- many of which are hard-fought gains won by unions -- have made the work environment a safer, more humane place. Everything from fair labor and standards acts, to overtime for extended work period, to numerous safety measures that have saved lives were enacted in many cases after reforms lobbied for and secured by the labor movement.
Oh, and then there's the matter of pay/compensation: In general, when the labor movement/union movement wins increases in pay and benefits, it tends to push up the wages and benefits of non-union employees in the region as well.
2. 'The feminist movement doesn't benefit me, as a woman; or me, as a man.' These are two more canards. While the American revolutionary period of the 18th century and American frontier of the 19th century contained many conservative women of significance and consequence, the improved status of women that exists today would not have been possible without the liberal reforms championed by Gloria Steinem, Betty Friedan, and many other feminists.
As proof of the impact of Steinem, Friedan et al: look at the U.S. House, Senate, workforce and college campuses before the modern feminist movement, in say, 1952: not too many women. And today? Women abound in these spheres.
Second, the feminist movement benefits men in many ways -- including the breaking-down of stereotypes and barriers. For example, notions that men cannot care for children in an extended way. Fifty years ago, the notion of a Dad "Mr. Momming" it for a year or two while he decides what new career to choose after a downsizing, would have been impossible. Today, it's done all the time.
And, of course, also think of the brainpower unleashed by the modern feminist movement? Simply, lives have been saved by the brainpower of women in medicine, science, and in countless other fields.
3. 'There's no need to pay employees and workers a living wage.' This third misnomer is a costly delusion, particularly for those of you who are rooting for high rates of return on stocks and bonds.
True, an employee or worker represents a cost that must be contained, but as New York University Economics Professor Nouriel "Dr. Doom" Roubini and others have pointed out, if employee salaries and worker wages are cut too much, you undermine the commercial system's foundation -- the base for revenue growth and earnings growth.
Roubini points out that this flaw is at the heart of the U.S.' current sluggish economic growth: right now, the United States does not have enough people with incomes large enough to support substantial and sustained GDP growth, and by extension, corporate revenue growth and earnings growth.
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