Lean Production: Inside the war on public education

[mbperrin]

9. Yes, that's all very........coincidental,

isn't it?

This used to be called the speedup, and it led to the formation of strong unions.

I teach my students to look for places where you are being asked to do someone else's job, and for no pay.

For instance, I never use the self-checkout lanes anywhere. I'd be doing another person's job and for nothing, not even a slight discount on my purchases. I tell them about full service stations when I was young, and because I was young, I fell for saving 2 cents a gallon to pump my own gas.

Now that I'm in my 60s, it would be pleasant to have someone check the fluids, clean the glass, check my tires and make change without me having to leave the car, especially on some of these cold and unpleasant days. But that option is dead - why? Because we helped eliminate someone's job without a thought for the future.

The one topic no longer taught in economics is sustainability - truth is, business types don't give a shit what will happen in 30 years, 20 years, 5 years, or even next year - they've got a 90 day horizon to the next quarter. That's no way to run a country.

But you are right - those with real money seem to be able to get all the things that everyone used to get. Weird, huh?