Will GOP Connect With Worried Workers?

US News & World Report/CapitalCommerce blog ^ | Jan. 29, 2007 | James Pethokoukis

[DredTennis]

Laura Ingraham, the willowy, conservative radio talker, really nailed it. She was speaking last Friday night as part of a panel discussion at a "conservative summit" in Washington held by National Review magazine. Ingraham said she was impressed by Jim Webb's televised rebuttal to President Bush's State of the Union address, particularly the part that hit on economics. In his talk, the newbie U.S. senator from Virginia launched a populist attack on the Bush economic years, railing about growing income inequality, skyrocketing CEO pay, outsourcing, and the so-called middle-class squeeze. Although Webb's stern speaking manner and improbable hair are easy to mock, Ingraham urged her fellow conservatives to pay serious attention to his message. "The party that comes off as the party that represents the American worker best is the party that wins in 2008," she said, adding that the GOP will be relegated to the political wilderness if it goes back "to being the party of the elites."

[brownsfan]

"You cannot claim to defend the $75,000/year software developer from the India, and the $45,000 manufacturing job from China, and not defend the $20,000 service job from illegal immigration. "

But that would only work if you were willing to stop illegal immigration. Democrats want the voters, (yes, illegals will vote), and Republicans want the cheap labor. It's a free pass for the Dems.

[Victoria_R]

Your supposed meat cutters are mythology. They DO not exist. Average wages in this country have gone up $2.37 in the last 28 months. This supposed "country on the verge of depression?" is a complete media manufacture myth. IT does NOT exist anywhere.

It's pretty much agreed that personal debt per capita is the highest it has been since just before the "Great Depression".

Last I looked, the IRS has stated that reported personal income has dropped the last 3 or 4 years.

In terms of real dollars, taxes, etc. the middle class salary peaked around 1972.

If you want more you have to pay me because I need to eat.

[Beagle8U]

"However, I would also take such a claim from a trade association with a very large grain of salt - they are hardly a neutral party to the debate."

The quote I posted was a few years old.

The brand new link that brownsfan posted was new and from a union site that said the average was $12-$13 and hour.

$7 an hour that you posted was way off.

In reality today the real average wage for meatpackers is $14-$15 an hour.

That is less than it was years ago when unions dominated the industry.

The economy adjusted to a world market where meat can be imported if labor causes it to be overpriced.

1950 is long gone and unions can't change the facts.

[driftless2]

"educate...."

Are you serious? 60K would be considered very good dough around my part of the country, Wisconsin. You could do all those things you mentioned very easily here.

[MikeA]

Bingo. Granted I don't have kids, but I live in one of the most expensive parts of Southern California on a lot less than $60k a year which probably evens me out with the poster I replied to who apparently has a kid in college, or so I'm assuming. I bet he lives in place where the cost of living is a lot less than mine...yet I am still able to afford a trip to Maui next month. And oh yeah, I still have money to help some friends on hard times (because of their dumb choices, not because of Bush, Dewine or free trade.)

[magellan]

"How does one educate, house, insure and plan for retirement on 60K a year? Answer, you don't!"

Dave Ramsey would disagree.

[tioga]

I only ever listened to her a couple of times and she was fine then, but it was too much trouble to find her on line.

[DuncanWaring]

Yes, DeVos is the Amway guy. Son-of-Amway, at least.

[brownsfan]

" I trust you'll be silent on FR.com regarding bitching about the 8 years of Clinton part deux since you'll have helped bring it about."

Some people are bright enough to recognize, and understand pre-emptive debate. You apparently have strongly held notions, and aren't going to let those notions be confused with information. It is voters like you, not I, who will lead us right into Queen Hillary!'s reign.

If you imagine that 40% of active voters are hard core Dems, and 40% of active voters are hard core Republicans, that leaves 20% who really decide things. Take a hard line stance, and ignore concerns of Americans... yeah, that will sway that 20%.

[MikeA]

I suppose you have a better perspective in California than I do in Akron, Ohio?

Oh I see, so the Internet doesn't work here in California, we have no reading material on the Ohio economy here, nothing that could inform me of the situation there that somehow better than your anecdotal data? This isn't the 1800s. I can actually know something about Ohio without having to live there being in the Information Age and all. You have to live somewhere to know about the situation there? Lame tactic really.

And if Honda is in Maryville, doesn't that create jobs? And if you deny that trade unions have been one of the biggest factors in making US manufacturing labor uncompetitive, then I would suggest where you live matters even less to this argument since you are denying a basic reality of the decline of the manufacturing and steel industries.

I'm not sure how you can deny that reality while blaming it all on Republicans and in the process implying that putting liberal Democrats in charge of Ohio would change its fortunes when other states in the rust belt governed by the same have also struggled to make an economic comeback, including Pennsylvania.

[Entrepreneur]

I thought he was wearing a rug too. I didn't think he looked smooth, but childish and petulant. He also told some whoppers.

I wasn't impressed. But then, I laughed out loud when Clinton felt someone's pain. I seem alone in finding Clinton a boring, banal public speaker, so what do I know about Webbed head?

[MikeA]

If you imagine that 40% of active voters are hard core Dems, and 40% of active voters are hard core Republicans, that leaves 20% who really decide things. Take a hard line stance, and ignore concerns of Americans...

Save your temper tantrums and get back to me when I actually said any of that.

By the way, why is the rest of the country UNDER REPUBLICAN governance prospering while Ohio is at the back of the pack in terms of recoverying?? Could it be a problem with Ohio and not Republican governance? Why is the South and West are prospering? Why full employment at 4.5% at the national level while Ohio's averages well over 5%?

Sorry, we're not going to choke of trade that's helped to create our economic boom just to please people in eastern Ohio. If they want to vote for Hillary or some other socialist because of that, then let them. I'll just laugh as your state sinks into the economic mire under some delusion that Democrats will save you all when they know damned good and well too, especially Hillary through her husband, that trade was a big part of what's grown the US economy and kept recessions short and shallow these last 2 decades.

So we need to destroy the economies of the West and South that rely so much on trade to feed your fantasy that cutting off the US from world markets will help Ohio? That's truly cutting off your nose to spite your face.

[brownsfan]

"The brand new link that brownsfan posted was new and from a union site that said the average was $12-$13 and hour."

Actually, it's Michelle Malkin's hot air site. And the drop was $20/hr to $12-$13/hr. I dare say any one of us who saw a drop of 35% in our wages, or portfolio, would be screaming now.

"1950 is long gone and unions can't change the facts."

And that's what VOTERS who are worried about their jobs want to hear. Just tell them it's globalization, and they're screwed, get used to it. That will work. Or, maybe it will put the Dems in charge and we will all go down the chute together?

[brownsfan]

"You have to live somewhere to know about the situation there? Lame tactic really. "

No, actually it's reality. You can read about it, and you are subject to the author's prejudices. Ever wonder why real news services send someone to the scene of a story? Every wonder why sports networks such as ESPN pick up stories from the local beat writers?
Being here, you are immersed, and pick up on subtle details. I suppose you could be an authority on Ohio if you studied it, and read multiple sources targeting Ohio. If you do, then I'll admit I'm wrong.

"And if Honda is in Maryville, doesn't that create jobs? "

Honda has been here a long time. The point is, the decline of Ohio is not purely the evil union, as you want to suggest. Liberals will not fix it. Socialism doesn't work, anywhere. But, Republicans who are corrupt and focus on a narrow range of interests won't fix it either.

What Ohio needs is realistic, responsible leadership that will create a business friendly environment. This leadership has to communicate with the voters and tell them how this will benefit them, and then show results.

That hasn't happend in the last 16 years.

[magellan]

"Last I looked, the IRS has stated that reported personal income has dropped the last 3 or 4 years."

Can't speak for the IRS, but the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows person income did decline during the recession from 2001-2004, but leveled in 2005 and increased in 2006.

In terms of real dollars, taxes, etc. the middle class salary peaked around 1972."

Uh, no. See:

The Average American: 1967 And Today

Some details:

Median Income (Men)*

1975 $33,148

2005 $41,386

Median Income (Women)*

1975 $12,697 (38% of men)

2005 $31.858 (77% of men)

* All figures in 2005 inflation-adjusted dollars. Source: Census Bureau

[dirtboy]

It's interesting how this evolved. This was the original statement that I responded to:

CharlesWayneCT: It's real enough that we need to take the time to explain why fiscally conservative policies and the free market are BEST for workers of all classes.

Once the details were hashed out as to just what the general drop in wages was, that disproved Wayne's claim. Meatpackers are NOT faring better under the current system.

beagle8U said this:

1950 is long gone and unions can't change the facts

The point is, folks just don't cheerfully accept a major slash in their take-home pay in the name of free-market economics - and then see the CEO from Home Depot get fired but still get, what, $50 mil or so? The seeds of some very serious economic discontent are being sowed here, and if the corporatists are smart, they will need to realize that they have to take a different approach or risk popular backlash of the type we see in Venezuala.

[muleskinner]

At least your not in Michigan.

[brownsfan]

"So we need to destroy the economies of the West and South that rely so much on trade to feed your fantasy that cutting off the US from world markets will help Ohio? That's truly cutting off your nose to spite your face."

Temper tantrums? Now you're able to sense my emotional state? Wow, you are good. I guess you do know more about Ohio than I do! Feh.

I'm just pointing out what's going on. People are losing their standard of living. You can either deal with it or not. The GOP has the same choice. Bad governments arise from bad circumstances. People will vote for who they think is going to give them hope, or a chance.

People know what they see. GWB might be helping your portfolio, but people in my industry, computers, aren't real excited about losing jobs they've trained hard for. And people in Ohio know that the GOP has had the controls in Ohio for 16 years and augered us into the ground. If the Dem governor who was elected here doesn't mess something up, count on Ohio going Dem in '08.

[Beagle8U]

"And that's what VOTERS who are worried about their jobs want to hear. Just tell them it's globalization, and they're screwed, get used to it. That will work. Or, maybe it will put the Dems in charge and we will all go down the chute together?"

Some people are stupid enough to vote for RATS because their union forced their job to a RTW state. I agree on that.

Minimum wage is ZERO. If you lose your job because it was overpriced that is what you will get, zero.

The RATS or the unions can't change it.

If someone can replace your labor with 8 hours training you can't expect to get $30 an hour in a world market. It just wont happen for long. Ask the big 3 autoworkers.

[brownsfan]

"The point is, folks just don't cheerfully accept a major slash in their take-home pay in the name of free-market economics ... "

And that really is the whole point. The free market types argue that they are right, both literally and figuratively. Then they assume that being right is enough, that people should accept that, and bow down to it.

Ignoring what voters experience is a very dangerous approach.