On 8-Sep-2010, bpuharic wrote:

Productivity and profit are the goals (your wages are YOUR profit) but
they're undermined by the slime you've elected. No more handouts due to
bankruptcy, no more core industries, no more jobs. Handouts WHICH CAME
FROM
YOU IN THE FIRST PLACE cannot make you whole, and are making you broke.

productivity went up 30% between 1997 and 2007. the middle class saw
none of this in increased wages while the rich got richer.

Productivity has nothing to do (usually) with labor hours. Automation and
imported materials (such as in the autos you buy) decrease costs; cost has
nothing to do with price, productivity increases as prices remain the same
or increase with the lower cost or labor consumption. Less resources are
used during output, revenue is maintained and profits increase. Increased
productivity has nothing to do with factory rats working harder. In fact,
technology and imports made labor irrelevant.