Re: No subject was specified.
With your growing CV, you should apply for the City College job! David >From: Eugene Coyle <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >To: Pen-L Pen-l <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Subject: [PEN-L:8912] No subject was specified. >Date: Sat, 10 Mar 2001 11:30:08 -0800 > >Below is a review I just published in the Jan 2001 BLS' "Monthly Labor >Review." > > >Gene Coyle > > > >Work-time reduction > >Sharing the Work, Sparing the Planet. By Anders Hayden. New York, >St. >MartinÕs Press, 2000, 234 pp. $65, cloth; $22.50, paper. > >Canadian author Anders Hayden adds a powerful new dimension to the >array of >arguments for reducing hours of work. Sharing the Work, Sparing the >Planet >stands out for that reason from the recent stream of books >advocating >cutting the hours of work. Hayden shares the concerns of many >writersÑjob >creation, improved quality of life for the employed, balancing work >and >family, and equity between North and SouthÑbut adds a >compelling >environmental basis for cutting working time. It is among the very >best >books on the subject of working time. > >Many recent books have offered work-time reduction as a single solution >for >multiple problems. Unemployment, declining quality of life, and >stress on >the family and individuals have each been the focus of books >advocating >cutting hours of work. HaydenÕs is a more encompassing vision, taking in >all >these issues and more, and his voice adds a rich new dimension to >the >symphony. > >The book focuses on the role of reducing time in achieving >ecologically >sustainable development, addressing at the same time equity between >the >North and the South. Hayden demonstrates a wide-ranging command of >the >multiple issues that reduction of working time can address, and >adds a >mastery of the literature. > >Hayden begins by recalling that since the beginning of the >Industrial >Revolution, people have had two motives for a reduction in working >time, >getting more hours away from work, and creating more jobs through a >better >distribution of the available work. These remain every bit as >pertinent, he >says, but this focus is on the ecological gains to be achieved by >work-time >reduction. > >The stress that consumption in the North puts on the earthÕs ecology is >the >main concern of the book, and Hayden develops a powerful thesis to >address >it. Acknowledging a rift in the environmental community about how to >deal >with ecological problems, Hayden draws a distinction between >two >campsÑ"sufficiency" and "efficiency." The latter group, he argues, >believes >that environmental impacts can be reduced by better use of inputs, so >that >material sacrifice is unnecessary, and unlimited economic >growth is >possible. In contrast, the "sufficiency" camp of the green >movement, to >which Hayden clearly belongs, believes that reducing inputs per >unit of >goods and services, while good in itself, must ultimately fail to save >the >earth. He asserts that "although the ecological crisis does clearly call >for >a more efficient use of non-human nature, this response has >serious >limitations. Growth in GNP without input growth is little more >than a >theoretical possibility at present, and in any case zero input growth is >not >enough. Significant reductions in input in the North are necessary." >The >author argues that achieving that end can come through reductions in >working >time. > >Make no mistake, this book is about work-time reduction, though sparing >the >earth is a main goal. The headings of the remaining chapters make the >bookÕs >scope clear: "Working Less, Consuming Less, and Living More"; >"Work-time >Reduction and an Expansionary Vision"; "Why ItÕs So Hard to Work >Less"; >"Work-time Policy and Practice, North and South"; "EuropeÕs New Movement >for >Work-time Reduction"; and "With or without Loss of Pay? With or >without >Revolution?" > >It is outside the scope of the book to provide a history of the struggle >for >the shorter work dayÑfor that, in the United States, see Roediger >and >FonerÕs Our Own Time: A History of American Labor and the Working Day >(pp. >44?49.) But Hayden does trace some important voices who have spoken out >for >work-time reduction over the past two centuries. This enriches his >argument >and provides a brief background for the reader new to the issue of >work-time >reduction. > >For readers more conversant with the issue, the long chapter on steps >taken >by European countries for reducing hours of work will be very useful, >as it >goes into great detail on what is happening now outside the United >States. >France, where a series of laws over the past 10 years have made real >changes >in work time, gets 11 pages of reporting. Germany, where changes have >come >more through collective bargaining, also gets full coverage, as
Re: Quote of the day
This is rich! You sure Dubya didn't say this? David >From: Eugene Coyle <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >To: Pen-L Pen-l <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Subject: [PEN-L:8504] Quote of the day >Date: Tue, 27 Feb 2001 16:59:31 -0800 > >California's governor hopes to help the utilities by giving them an >enormous amount of money for the title to their transmission lines. > > > > > Federal regulators and some state lawmakers are wary of > > the plan. Curt Hebert, head of the Federal >Energy > > Regulatory Commission, has called state >ownership of power > > lines "nationalization." > > _ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com
Fwd: question for PENL, LBO etc
A query from Doug Orr >-- >Please respond to [EMAIL PROTECTED], not to the list. >Thanks, >Doug Orr > > In Heilbroner's old principles book he had a great chapter on "the real >world," which came before any discussion of theory. I still structure >my courses that way. One piece that I got from the last edition of that >book is hopelessly out of date, but I still use it because it is so >effective. > > Lots of books have the breakdown of businesses into proprietorships, >partnerships, and corps and give numbers of firms and size of sales, and >then note that corps dominate sales. What Heilbroner did was to focus >on the control of decision making by focusing on the ownership of assets >by type of business and demonstrated that in 1982 3600 corps with assets >over $250 million owned 80% of all tangeble assets in the US economy. >3600 out of 19.5 M firms means that 0.02% of firms own and control 80% >of the economy. This makes students take notice. > > So my question is: where do I go to get data to update these numbers? >I have found numbers of businesses and sales by type from the IRS in the >Stat Abstract 99. I have been able to find Total Assets for partnerships, >also from the IRS in Stat AB, but I assume this includes tangible and >financial assets. For corportations, I can get both tangible and financial >assets broken out. I have found nothing on asset holdings of any type >for proprietors. > > Obviously, I need to go beyond the Stat Ab., but knowing where to start >would be a great help. So any thoughts you have would be great. > >Thanks for any help you can give. > >Doug Orr >[EMAIL PROTECTED] Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com
[PEN-L:9514] Re: neo-liberalism question
I've had the same question as Michael. Although I've seen "neoliberal" used in the context of World Bank/IMF policies and Latin American discussions, "neoliberal" has also been used in the U.S. context, e.g., in an article on privatization in the latest Dollars and Sense. How is this paen to market solutions different from what we have been referring to as the 'conservative' laissez-faire perspective? David Landes
[PEN-L:1179] New book on racism
I highly recommend a new book by my colleague Paul Kivel--"Uprooting Racism: How White People Can Work for Racial Justice." It tackles all the hard issues--affirmative action, immigration, whiteness, multiculturalism, interrupting personal remarks, the police--while giving white people practical steps to take to intervene in workplace, school, institutiional and interpersonal interactions. It is filled with stories, suggestions, advice, exercises and approaches for working together to fight racism. Uprooting Racism is easy to read, accessible, supportive, and challenging. Endorsements include Howard Zinn, Ron Davis, Highlander Center, and Morris Dees, Southern Poverty Law Center, among others. Uprooting Racism should be available in local bookstores, or directly from the publisher, New Society, at 800-333-9093. Paul Kivel would appreciate feedback at pkivel&netcom.com.
[PEN-L:5105] Two queries
A friend is finishing a book on racism and had the following questions. 1) What portion of the world's annual use of resources is consumed by the United States? 2) What is a reasonable estimate for the long-term total cost of the S&L bailout including interest? I thought $300-500; he thought $1 trillion. Can anyone give me these numbers or direct me to resources with them either directly or through the list. Many thanks. David Landes
Re: introductions
Pen-l folks -- As a lurker on pen-l for the past year, I'm responding to Michael's invitation to introduce ourselves. I teach econ parttime at a community college in Silicon Valley with evening students who mostly work fulltime and tend to be older than those at San Jose State where I taught in the early 70's. Most are quite open to hearing a progressive perspective tho' very distrustful of any solution smacking of socialism due to their deep resentment of their own governments and the corporate hierarchies in which they tend to work as well as the East European experience. I've been active in the disability rights movement for the past 20 years. Since 1980 I've coupled that with my interest in Latin American underdevelopment by helping to organize material and technical support for disabled organizations in Nicaragua, El Salvador and Cuba. Currently, I spend days working as a counselor in a Berkeley non-profit which trains disabled people as computer programmers. I appreciate the work that Michael and others have devoted to Pen-l. Although I lurk, it has been in an invaluable resource reconnecting me to what people are thinking and doing. David Landes Oakland, California
Re: introductions
Pen-l folks -- As a lurker on pen-l for the past year, I'm responding to Michael's invitation to introduce ourselves. I teach econ parttime at a community college in Silicon Valley with evening students who mostly work fulltime and tend to be older than those at San Jose State where I taught in the early 70's. Most are quite open to hearing a progressive perspective tho' very distrustful of any solution smacking of socialism due to their deep resentment of their own governments and the corporate hierarchies in which they tend to work as well as the East European experience. I've been active in the disability rights movement for the past 20 years. Since 1980 I've coupled that with my interest in Latin American underdevelopment by helping to organize material and technical support for disabled organizations in Nicaragua, El Salvador and Cuba. Currently, I spend days working as a counselor in a Berkeley non-profit which trains disabled people as computer programmers. I appreciate the work that Michael and others have devoted to Pen-l. Although I lurk, it has been in an invaluable resource reconnecting me to what people are thinking and doing. David Landes Oakland, California
