Toronto's in the midst of a strike by city workers, which is naturally raising debate on both sides of the issue. It prompted a political cartoon by Theo Moudakis in the Toronto Star that bothered me, because it illustrates how a huge number of people seem to be okay with the idea of our current race to the bottom.
The cartoon shows a city worker, in tuxedo and with snifter of brandy, carrying a sign that says, "Save our sick days," which refers to a contentious point in the negotiations where workers want to retain the current policy of being able to bank sick days and cash them out upon retirement. A man carrying a layoff notice is pointing a bullhorn at him and saying, "Earth to city workers!"
I won't get into the argument of the sick days per se, but this cartoon -- and the attitude of many who agree with it -- is what's bothering me. Layoffs are becoming commonplace in this economic meltdown, and as a result, anyone who still "has it good" has become cannon fodder. You shouldn't make $30 an hour, you shouldn't get full benefits, you shouldn't get a pension, you shouldn't be able to bank your sick days, you shouldn't get all of these things. Instead, you should be lucky you have a job.
And that's what's sending us at breakneck speed toward the bottom.
Certainly, I understand the frustration. And I also have a different perspective because I'm married to a unionized worker. But when I look at the big picture, it looks like I'm watching Upton Sinclair's The Jungle in reverse. That novel described the horrible lives of slaughterhouse workers around 1900, who had to work long hours, received little pay, had to do whatever was asked of them no matter how unsafe, and lost their income if they were sick or injured -- but at least they had a job.
Someone who has just lost his job would understandly be upset when someone else would go on strike to preserve what he perceives as perks. But once those perks are gone, they won't come back, and next time around, that worker will be asked to give up more. And when the laid-off man with the bullhorn does find employment again, chances are pretty slim that he'll be able to go back to what he had.
Everything you take for granted -- your roads, schools, police, fire protection, hospitals, parks, food safety, and so on -- is paid for with taxes. It may not seem fair that someone makes good money and gets benefits when his neighbor makes minimum wage, and his neighbor just lost his job. But consider this: do you want your neighborhood subsidized by someone making $30 an hour, or by someone whose job description is would you like fries with that?
