According to Louis Uchitelle, long-time business writer for the New York Times and author of The Disposable American: Layoffs And Their Consequences, "The country has deteriorated. Without the easy and frequent use of layoffs, there would not have been so many wasteful mergers, or so much outsourcing or ceding of production to foreign competition and overseas subsidiaries." Uchitelle believes that, from the Great Depression to the early 1970's, there was far more of a feeling of trust and loyalty between corporate employees and high-level management - a feeling that is all but gone today. He asserts that executives and politicians must rethink the false expediency of layoffs, and consider what their true effect has been on American society. Over 30 million people have lost their jobs through layoffs since the early 1980's, and the personal cost has been immense. How can we prevent layoffs? Uchitelle suggests that, for instance, we raise the minimum wage, institute a steeply progressive income tax on America's highest earners - and most of all - restore bargaining power to our workers, whether blue collar or white collar, and to their communities as a whole. "Each job saved is a victory," he says. "And each victory brings people together in the mutual task of resurrecting the obstacles to layoffs that once protected us and lifted our dignity."

Please note that this is the third time that I have mentioned Mr. Uchitelle and his book on this blog. I may be repeating myself, but this message bears repeating. Buy the book, and learn...

"Business writer decries destructive layoffs" from the Toledo Blade