In today’s capitalist society, the idea of privatization is a common one. Many things have been privatized, postal service, transportation systems, roads, even the army, to name a few. The news story posted by The Detroit News “Editorial: Bobb trims the cost of DPS bus service by privatizing,” explores the privatization issues that the Detroit public school system is faced with to cut costs in their budget.
The article reports that faced with the high cost of transporting a child to school, an average of $2,133 per year, Robert Bobb, the state emergency financial manager of the Detroit public schools, came to the solution that by privatizing their bus transportation needs they would be able to save $50 million over five years, which would allow them to use the money on academics.
Milton Friedman would very much agree with Bobb’s decision of privatizing the student’s transportation. Friedman was a firm believer that if private companies can do the job, they should; he believes that a private company can do a much better job with better resources. And it should come as no surprise, looking through Friedman’s point of view, that by privatizing the transportation system for the Detroit public schools, they would operate more efficiently and save money.
However as reported on the article, the privatization of the bus system for the Detroit public schools has its down side; about 345 bus drivers and other employees will lose their jobs due to this occurrence. And while it was mentioned on the article that the employees that would be let go can go and apply for jobs with the companies that are taking over, in this economy it is safe to say that the companies will come with their own already trimmed staff, and these now unemployed workers will be left empty handed.
http://www.detnews.com/article/20100225/OPINION01/2250342/1008/Editorial--Bobb-trims-the-cost-of-DPS-bus-service-by-privatizing
Friday, February 26, 2010
Monday, February 15, 2010
Marx on the News
In Business today, in order to move up in the corporate ladder, one needs to “pay their dues;” meaning working extremely hard, with little, to no reward, in hopes that one day all this hard work will pay off. After reading Carl Marx’s “Wage Labour and Capital” I was reminded that this is not the way things should be. People have business norms ingrained in their minds and no one stops to ask the question of, is this really how things should be done, allowing for further exploitation of workers in general.
A lot of times, like Marx explains in his text, this devaluation of one’s own labor power is done by the workers themselves, who were put in a poor financial state and need to accept any treatment they are given in order to survive. In the news story “Is industry utilizing employees? Or exploiting?” Reported at CIOL News Reports, by Akanksha Prasad, Marx’s view is brought to life. The news reported on “positive employee utilization” (Prasad), which is just a fancy way of saying, making employees work more hours than they should without any extra pay.
With the ongoing financial crisis, and unemployment rates shooting through the roof, workers are put at competition with themselves to survive, and the more this occurs, the less valued their work becomes; which then gives rise to employer exploitation. The story reported complaints of workers who were made to labor 12-15 hours per day, and were denied petition for overtime pay. And when these companies were asked about these claims, some refuse to speak on the subject, others, said that these long work hours had been happening for a long time.
It baffles me that companies can use their exploitation tactics, as an excuse. But the fact of the matter is that in today’s society there is no escape from this kind of living. We are trained to sell our labor power for a wage, of which we are takers not choosers, and further ourselves down into lower wage rates, until we can no longer survive.
http://news.ciol.com/News/News-Reports/Is-industry-utilizing-employees-Or-exploiting/15210131523/0/
A lot of times, like Marx explains in his text, this devaluation of one’s own labor power is done by the workers themselves, who were put in a poor financial state and need to accept any treatment they are given in order to survive. In the news story “Is industry utilizing employees? Or exploiting?” Reported at CIOL News Reports, by Akanksha Prasad, Marx’s view is brought to life. The news reported on “positive employee utilization” (Prasad), which is just a fancy way of saying, making employees work more hours than they should without any extra pay.
With the ongoing financial crisis, and unemployment rates shooting through the roof, workers are put at competition with themselves to survive, and the more this occurs, the less valued their work becomes; which then gives rise to employer exploitation. The story reported complaints of workers who were made to labor 12-15 hours per day, and were denied petition for overtime pay. And when these companies were asked about these claims, some refuse to speak on the subject, others, said that these long work hours had been happening for a long time.
It baffles me that companies can use their exploitation tactics, as an excuse. But the fact of the matter is that in today’s society there is no escape from this kind of living. We are trained to sell our labor power for a wage, of which we are takers not choosers, and further ourselves down into lower wage rates, until we can no longer survive.
http://news.ciol.com/News/News-Reports/Is-industry-utilizing-employees-Or-exploiting/15210131523/0/
Friday, January 29, 2010
Locke in the News
In today’s world where everyone is quick to judge, and boundaries of property are set in black and white, the news story “Davis to return statue to university” by Daarel Burnette II on the Chicago Tribune, managed to overrule the norm by using Locke’s logic of how private property can be obtained.
The statue titled “Defiance” (a statue of a slave woman) was taken from Chicago State University by Arnold Jordan and given to State Rep. Monique Davis (his girlfriend). Arnold Jordan claimed to have found the statue lying on the floor of Chicago State University’s warehouse, among broken furniture, and collecting dust; which by Locke’s reasoning is not being used to its potential, so by all means, it can be claimed by someone else.
Locke’s theory of private property tells us that we can acquire as much as we want as long as we don’t let any of it go to waste. By not only storing the statue, but by doing it in a manner that was inappropriate to the point of possibly harming the statue, Chicago State University was letting the statue go to waste and therefore stealing property that could be of use to someone else.
In the end, Monique Davis agreed to return the statue to the Chicago State University, who intends on using the statue on a display in front of the library. And it is obvious that it is due to the property norms of today. But I can’t help but wonder if such situation had presented itself at a time where Locke’s views were predominant, if Davis would be obligated to give back the statue once the University displayed interest in using it again, or if it would be a “users keepers” and Chicago State University would have forfeited their right of use, when they stopped doing so.
The statue titled “Defiance” (a statue of a slave woman) was taken from Chicago State University by Arnold Jordan and given to State Rep. Monique Davis (his girlfriend). Arnold Jordan claimed to have found the statue lying on the floor of Chicago State University’s warehouse, among broken furniture, and collecting dust; which by Locke’s reasoning is not being used to its potential, so by all means, it can be claimed by someone else.
Locke’s theory of private property tells us that we can acquire as much as we want as long as we don’t let any of it go to waste. By not only storing the statue, but by doing it in a manner that was inappropriate to the point of possibly harming the statue, Chicago State University was letting the statue go to waste and therefore stealing property that could be of use to someone else.
In the end, Monique Davis agreed to return the statue to the Chicago State University, who intends on using the statue on a display in front of the library. And it is obvious that it is due to the property norms of today. But I can’t help but wonder if such situation had presented itself at a time where Locke’s views were predominant, if Davis would be obligated to give back the statue once the University displayed interest in using it again, or if it would be a “users keepers” and Chicago State University would have forfeited their right of use, when they stopped doing so.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Aristotle in the News
In this day and age, when profits are the driving force of our capitalist society, there are still companies that manage to have a heart and think of the other in times of need, bringing back concepts that were introduced by Aristotle many years ago. Concepts like the proper use of one’s property explored by Aristotle in his book Politics come to mind when looking at the article “United to transport supplies to Haiti” reported by Julie Johnsson with the help of Bruce Japsen, on the Chicago Tribune. The report stated that United Airlines together with Walgreens, Abbott Laboratories, and Baxter International, Inc. are going to offer relief to the people in Haiti.
The help which consists of water, food, medication, and hygiene products that will be transported by United Airlines to Port-au-Prince exemplifies Aristotle’s belief of property ownership. Aristotle believed that the best arrangement in society for ownership and usage of property is when property is privately owned, but its use is common. These companies are using their own resources and distributing them among people in need. Also, the article reported that pending visa issues with the government, United Airlines plans on transporting orphans back to the US where they can be treated and given a chance of safety. While some may argue that these actions of solidarity are not in the best interest of these companies, as well as the country, however my personal belief lies with Aristotle, we are all in the search for living the “good life,” and strides of humanity and charity can ensure that we as a race help each other achieve this common goal together.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
