Only a broadcaster as crassly commercial as Bloomberg could run a commercial telling its listeners that they should right-size their companies (i.e., they should lay off some workers), so that they are able to go out to the local Porsche dealer and buy a brand new Porsche!
And the really pathetic thing is that hardly anyone even notices how incredibly unethical it is to lay workers off just so that one can buy a fancy foreign car. Or, even more, how amazingly idiotic the Porsche dealer was to run such an offensive ad, practically telling employers to fire some workers and spend it on themselves, forcing all the other workers into panic-driven "productivity." But that is the Republican and right-wing message - bleep the workers, and buy an expensive cigar!
So this is a story about the issue of "productivity." We see gains in productivity, even today, and of course, it's Bloomberg out there praising all the companies for screwing their workers, laying them of, leaving them unemployed and without health insurance or any other benefits.
Yes, it's PRODUCTIVITY, ladies and gentelemen! That's what they're all excited about. And what does productivity mean, but laying off workers, or not hiring workers, and forcing the rest of the terrified workers to work their tails off because they are so afraid of losing their jobs and benefits.
Data from the Labor Department showed... worker productivity climbed at a 9.5 percent annual rate in the third quarter, the fastest pace in six years.
Isn't productivity wonderful? We have nearly 10% unemployment, and the total # of workers who are underemployed, part-time when they want full-time, or completely discouraged because they couldn't find a job and aren't even counted in the statistics any more is between 17% and 20%.
See? This is how we get worker productivity climbing at a 9.5% rate in a single quarter!
It's when the workers who have jobs are absolutely terrified, then the employers can really stick it to them, and threaten their job security, and pay them no benefits, no raises, no cost of living, actually cut their hours and cut their payment, cut their health insurance, and still....
STILL, they ask for more! More productivity! More widgets, more output.
Screw the workers if they get sick - fire 'em! Then buy a Porsche or a Rolls Royce!
And then if they complain, and their teeth start falling out, fire a bunch more and then go buy a yacht, or better yet, a small tropical island. And when you get to the tropical island, steal the wives, put the husbands in your own private jail, and pillage the land, pollute the landscape, put on a few hundred pounds...
And by all means, while you're at it.... PLEASE BUY A NEW PORSCHE!