Make elites compete: Why the 1% earn so much and what to do about it

Re:Make elites compete: Why the 1% earn so much and what to ... by WalterBright on Saturday March 26, 2016 @07:35AM (#11365287)

Then is it really the workers creating that value, or the people, capital, and infrastructure creating that value?

For example, suppose I have a machine that, when a lever is pulled, it manufactures a gold nugget. A worker is needed to pull that lever - but is the bulk of the value being created by the worker or the machine?

It gets down to how one does the accounting for productivity. Get it too far wrong and one is likely to go out of business.

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Re:Make elites compete: Why the 1% earn so much and what to ... by tamana on Saturday March 26, 2016 @01:24PM (#11366489)

Suppose the workers unionized and negotiated for higher wages. Did unionization increase their wealth creation?

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Re:Make elites compete: Why the 1% earn so much and what to ... by WalterBright on Saturday March 26, 2016 @07:03PM (#11367891)

If workers negotiate for higher wages, then business is forced to put them on more productive tasks. Less productive tasks tend to simply not get done, or get replaced by automation.

Unions have sometimes priced themselves out of the market, meaning the business closed. Didn't that happen with Hostess?

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