The economic crisis wasnt born yesterday

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• The economic crisis wasnt born yesterday
• John August, Executive Director Union Delegates
  ConferenceApril 18, 2009

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1934 General Strike San Francisco
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1936 NLRA gives unions a voice

• If I was a working man, Id join a union!
• - Franklin Roosevelt

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Unions built the middle class

• Paid vacations
• Health insurance
• Pensions

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Systems Thinking
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The U.S. economy is a system
Economics is not like the weather!
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Choices we made

• Deregulation of major industries such as
  transportation, communications, electric
  power.and
• BANKING
• Shift of tax burden from wealthy and corporations
  to everyone else
• Weakened labor movement
• Lowering of wages for most workers

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Unionized industries are gone
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Potential collapse of U.S. auto industry
One-in-tenUS jobson the line
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The financial sector filled the gap
Financial-Industry Profits As a Share of U.S.
Business Profits
Pay Per Worker in The Financial Sector As A
Percentage of Average U.S. Compensation
45 35 25 15 5
200 160 120 80 40
1948 1958 1968 1978
1988 1998 2007
1948 1958 1968 1978
1988 1998 2007
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Easy credit became a necessity
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Income inequality grew
513 Income Rise5.9 million Income
U.S. INCOME DISTRIBUTION Large and Growing Gaps
in Income Income Growth Across the U.S Population
353 Income Rise1.3 MillionAverage Income
1947-73
1973-05
Poorest 20
Second 20
Middle 20
Fourth 20
Richest 20
Top 0.1
Top 0.01
Source Economic Policy Institute
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Productivity vs. Wages
Productivity
Wages
400
365
330
295
260
225
190
155
120
85
50
1950
1960
1970
1980
1990
2000
2006
Source Economic Policy Institute
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National debt

• It took from 1789 to 1981 to accumulate the first
  1 trillion of the national debt. From
  1981-present the debt has accelerated to 11
  trillion.

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Monthly change in unemployment
(In 000s)
2007
2008
300 200 100 0 (100) (200) (300) (400) (500) (600)
Jan Mar May Jul Sep Nov
Jan Mar May Jul Sep Nov
Source Bureau of Labor Statistics, November
2008
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The health care system is broken
50 million Americans without insurance
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Acting our way into new thinking

• The Case for Change
• We have a historic mission
• We face unprecedented market threats
• Were changing to meet these challenges

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Understanding KP to understand health care
Understanding and changing systems is a critical
skill set called organizing!