[PEN-L:6711] Re: Competitiveness

[dhenwood@xxxxxxxxx (Doug Henwood)]

At 8:20 PM 10/15/96, Tavis Barr wrote:

>And, given any of these explanations, what is one to make of the
>current profit boom?

Though I think there are a lot of similarities between the present and the
late 19th century, one difference is that increased competitive and
deflationary pressures have not yet shown up in depressed profitability. I
wonder if the reason for this is that so far capital has successfully
shifted all the burden of adjustment onto labor: in the 19th century there
was nothing for labor to "give back," but after the Golden Age there was
plenty to be taken from workers. Additionally, the deflationary consquences
of the attack on labor have been avoided through consumer credit, which has
sustained aggregate demand despite pressure on income. The question then is
how long can this be sustained, before there is no more to take back from
labor, and there is no room left on the VISA card?

Doug

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Doug Henwood
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