[lbo-talk] Unproductive Workers = The Best Organized in the USA

[Marvin Gandall]

That's how I see it too until persuaded otherwise. My question was addressed
to Yoshie. I understand her position to be based on the labour theory of
value, and the distinction between productive and unproductive labour, which
it seems to me can lend itself to "contradictions" in a service economy
where the goods-producing sector is only about 20%. But I don't pretend to
have anything more than a lay understanding of the LTOV and the
controversies surrounding it so others more knowlegable might want want to
comment further. I do know if it lends support to attacks on government
workers - many of them low-income and blue-collar, incidentally - than
something is wrong somewhere.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Wojtek Sokolowski" <sokol at jhu.edu>
To: <lbo-talk at lbo-talk.org>
Sent: Wednesday, January 18, 2006 4:37 PM
Subject: RE: [lbo-talk] Unproductive Workers = The Best Organized in the USA


> Marvin:
>> I may have missed it (haven't read the whole thread) but have
>> you touched on how you would answer right-wingers who argue
>> public employee jobs, pay and benefits should be slashed
>> because they increase the tax burden on workers in the
>> private sector, and that for this reason the right to strike
>> should also be withheld from public employees, and, where
>> applicable, removed?
>
>
> Please do read the whole thing because I outlined a coherent (I think)
> argument against such right wing bullshit - based totally on the classical
> notions in economics - so no Marx cult membership is required to accept
> it.
> Basically the argument boils down to the statement that taxes are user
> fees
> no different from user fees charged by private businesses (like insurance
> companies, private schools, etc.) and as such, they are actually lower
> than
> fees charged by businesses, because they do not include profits.  So taxes
> are actually  a bargain (comparing to private fees for same services) not
> a
> burden for the public, albeit that may cut the private property owners out
> of the loop.
>
> What surprises me is Yoshie in her "bot" mode spitting out nonsense that
> seems like the recitation of the right wing propaganda.  Go figure.
>
> Wojtek
>
>
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