As a political coordinator for a labor union in New York, I wholeheartedly agree with the Dec. 4 commentary “Cutting wages won’t solve Detroit 3’s crisis.”
There are individuals in this country who want to see GM, Ford and Chrysler go bankrupt so they can break the union. They want them to “reorganize” with workers who will not have the protection of a union contract, meaning low wages and little or no benefits, and forget about any kind of pension.
America is in crisis because we are seeing the results of an economy that is brutally untrue to the deep meaning of what our nation was founded upon. In 1970, the American educator and historian Eli Siegel showed that our economy based on profit for a few had failed because it is unethical and based on contempt for people.
“There will be no economic recovery in the world,” Siegel stated, “until economics itself, the making of money, the having of jobs, becomes ethical; is based on good will rather than on the ill will which has been predominant for centuries.”
All the machinations going on in Washington, along with the trillions of dollars being given away to a few entities, is not going to save our economy. The only thing that can make for an efficient and healthy economy that provides for all is for it to be based on good will and ethics.
Every American should give deep thought to this question asked by Siegel, “What does a person deserve by being a person?” When this is done we will be able to lay the foundation to an economy that is humane.
Matthew D’Amico
Political Coordinator
Civil Service Employees Union
Local 1000 AFSCME
New York