An ideal company considers the interests of the employees when making decisions that may affect their status or careers. This seldom happens in these days of lay offs and down sizing. Businesses say they are fighting for their very survival by cutting staff. Truth is that most companies are doing just fine. The economic downturn was real enough, and for a short period the world economies were like a line of dominos. If one toppled they all may topple, but those days have passed.

The governments of the developed nations have stepped in with taxpayer money to rescue and reassure business that they will be fine. The billions of dollars that were spent seem to have vanished without so much as a trace of where it went. The banks are safe, the insurance companies are safe, the auto industry is safe, but where are the tickle down effects and jobs?

The rhetoric is that better days are on the way. That soon the manufacturing and service sectors will put everyone back to work again. There is some evidence the unemployment rate is slowly coming down, but the experts say at this rate it could take 10 years for a complete recovery. During this period pressure continues to push wages and benefits back to the post World War II levels. So even if you are lucky enough to get a job, you may not make a comfortable living.

It seems the leaders of the world’s economic powerhouses have sold their birthright for a few current dollars. While wages and benefits for workers plummet, management takes a larger and larger share of the profits for themselves. No longer does management provide the stewardship to the stockholders and employees, but instead maneuvers ever-increasing gains for themselves. Where is the accountability?

In my opinion the government has sold out the common people to fuel the donation machines that fund the political process. Instead of balance that ensures everyone a chance for a comfortable lifestyle, the government has turned against the workingman in favor of the very rich. Instead of the ally of worker, federal and state governments are becoming the enemy, cutting pay and benefits, and taking away bargaining rights. It is very reminiscent of the 1920’s and 30’s where the battles between labor and management became physical. Aren’t these the scenarios that are playing out in the Middle East?

Are the events in the Middle East precursors of what may eventually spread to the industrialized nations? If the rhetoric is to be believed, the basic cause of all of the Middle East rebellions is unemployment and underemployment of an educated middle class. The oil money, which has robbed western wealth for the past 50 years, is concentrated in the hands of a few very wealthy leaders and businessmen. The western governments engineered the current status quo to ensure a continuous flow of oil, and controlling influence over the politics of the region. Now we are witnessing the same scenarios as the western world experienced in the 1700’s when the monarchies came to an end? Those revolutions reshaped the world. Are we on the verge of another reshaping of world politics? In my mind the dangers are remote, but real.

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