Ethical Wankery
There's been a lot of "me too" nonsense in Chile this past week about an Ethical Salary proposed by monsiñor Alejandro Goic, the Church guy, who said that the current minimum monthly wage of 144,000 pesos (USD $276) isn't "ethical", and that companies that can, should bump it up to 250,000 (USD $480) voluntarily.
Nothing like 0% accountability to put a self-righteous smile on every politician in Chile. Bachelet, the social warrioress who recently pushed through a revolutionary USD $0.16/hour raise to the minimum wage came out with a radiant thumbs up, saying: yeah, great idea! Then she fired a few rounds from her AK-47 into the air, screamed hasta la victoria, siempre! and dashed off to her Las Condes apartment.
Presidential hopeful, conservative Sebastian Piñera seized the moment to propose that the government subsidize the minimum wage for those working to support families. That sounds like something I would say: "hey, you're drowning in copper revenue, you can way afford it!"
But the President's Secretary General José Antonio Viera-Gallo shot back, asking how the big No-Taxes guy would hope to fund that, because copper won't, according to Viera-Gallo.
Could be right, and copper is big now but you never know about tomorrow. But in the meantime, you're fucking swimming in it, Viera-Gallo. I'd like to know if your assuredness of the impossibility of copper revenue being able to subsidize the poor even considers that your administration would, in good faith, push the senate to overturn Pinochet's 1980 constitutional provision that 10% of copper revenue be dumped into an already exaggeratedly mighty armed forces, whose voluntary recruits to this day are required to pay a tithe to fund the legal defenses of those accused of human rights abuses while just following orders.
Okay, if one actually reads the link, they point out that after 18 years of rabid socialism in Chile, the required tithe is ending...but if you read the article you'll see that now soldiers can use copper money to voluntarily pay the legal defense of rapists and torturers as they ease their way into Club Fed, where they gasp! just took away swimming pool privileges (reportedly) after 18 short years. Christ, Brazilian technicians who brought the electrocution machines to the National Stadium were themselves stunned by the amplitude to which the Chilean torturers jacked up those devices (Estadio Nacional)
So I understand why copper revenue might not be available.
And anyway, Piñera's full of shit and wouldn't subsidize the minimum wage anyway, although if he were to do it, might not be a bad idea to tax companies and pay their workers with that revenue. Or give tax credits to companies that voluntarily up their employees wages. Or just fucking raise the minimum wage.
All of which measures would be just asking for another military coup: these are the same companies that constantly complain that raising wages would harm their global competitiveness. This stinginess is the same reason that workers cashing their paychecks, or pretty much spending-it-all-in-one-place at the grocery store, wait in line for hours because the bosses can't bring themselves to shell out even the unethical, current minimum wage to hire a few more cashiers.
(Not, btw, that I think the proposed under-USD$500-per-month is ethical. It's more, but it's still pathetic.)
To his credit Viera-Gallo does point out that in Chile's case, the complaint about global competitiveness just ain't true because Chile has niche export markets that the world more or less depends upon. But most of his interview is a veritable wank-fest not dissimilar to the way nearly everyone else is treating this Ethical Salary proposal (my slapped-together translation):
He talks about unions' responsibility to up the wage - then so as not to make a complete ass of himself he alludes to their total impotence - but after that he can't even bring himself to name the industry, let alone the specific companies, paying wages that make working Chileans starve. This isn't Chilean buena onda soft-spokenness, or a cabinet member watching his words for the sake of watching his words. We know damn well that the President herself isn't above spouting off, when it suits her. But just watch how they talk when businesses are involved, and you'll understand who rules this country, no, but hook, line and sinker.
The Concertación's populism only mirrors the Right's, although I have to say I enjoy the fanfare of the latter a bit better. Piñera, the guy who recently got slapped on the wrist for insider trading and who would become president of Chile if elections were held right now, chooses to bank on public ignorance by offering an absurd subsidy for the poor that would never go through anyway. It's like Levín, of Pinochet's UDI party who lost against Lagos, who a few years back proposed "Snow for the Poor!" in Santiago (it melted) and emergency call boxes downtown that don't work. Piñera's seems a little bit classier, and smarter - this "subsidy" proposal of his plus whatever else he's got up his sleeve might just fly in a country schooled by what everyone here agrees to be a miserable education system.
With refreshing frankness, fascist economist Hernán Büchi told reporters that a voluntary raise in the minimum wage just wouldn't work. I'm sure he would go on to spout out nonsense about lack of economical viability, but the basic idea that voluntary raise will never ever happen is nice to hear, no matter who it comes from.
I'm going to blame the Catholic Church for starting this whole mess, although I can only imagine who's at the bottom of it. If they are going to weigh in on something this important, it should have been a demand for a legal minimum wage increase, not a suggestion for something that any idiot can tell you would never, ever happen. On the surface this helps the Church strengthen its image as a compassionate institution: they "suggest" that businesses raise wages, and give some nice talking points to politicians, who in turn get a "good guy" pass for absolutely free, because they can support the proposal without committing to legislation. No one is proposing a law, or legal consequences to exploitative companies. The companies, obviously, won't do anything. Nor can they possibly care about their image that much. In an export economy with no laws, what the FUCK do Chileans matter to them? Right?
What's disturbing is that up to now, the Catholic Church hasn't been one to "suggest" that much. When it comes to fucking poor women over, they demand - even when companies' profits are at stake. Thanks to the Catholic Church, Chile's only two pharmaceuticals producing the morning-after pill halted production, cutting off supply and resulting in Sweet Jesus knows how many unwanted pregnancies followed up by back-alley abortions Dear Lord, while rich white girls get to go to the doctor. Thanks to the Catholic Church, the new gov't sponsored pro-condom campaign includes an actress featured for a phatty 10-15 seconds talking about how her and her boyfriend have decided not to have sex until they marry. What planet are they living on? And that the government swallows all this? These are the Church's demands.
Oh but how sweet and humble the Church has suddenly become, how respectful of a Jeffersonian separation between Church and State, how it pains them now to even "suggest" that the children of workers be able to eat and clothe themselves. This "suggestion" is a cynical, self-serving attempt to cut off real efforts to improve the wages of millions of workers in Chile who cannot survive on what they are making. It is the symptomatic of an institutional hatred of the poor that defines Chilean society.
That's all that trickles down. A few days ago when Santiago experienced a record cold snap and 150 homeless were housed in Victor Jara Stadium, the lower-middle class neighbors got all up in arms at the "delincuency" that these ruffians were sure to bring with them. Beautiful Chile. One man interviewed on TV said that he was worried for all the women who lived alone...it was sickening. Cut that fuck's wage by $10 and he'd be homeless 151. No, but all that the masters of Chile do by their cynicism is promulgate hatred, fear and division. Don't be fooled.
Nothing like 0% accountability to put a self-righteous smile on every politician in Chile. Bachelet, the social warrioress who recently pushed through a revolutionary USD $0.16/hour raise to the minimum wage came out with a radiant thumbs up, saying: yeah, great idea! Then she fired a few rounds from her AK-47 into the air, screamed hasta la victoria, siempre! and dashed off to her Las Condes apartment.
Presidential hopeful, conservative Sebastian Piñera seized the moment to propose that the government subsidize the minimum wage for those working to support families. That sounds like something I would say: "hey, you're drowning in copper revenue, you can way afford it!"
But the President's Secretary General José Antonio Viera-Gallo shot back, asking how the big No-Taxes guy would hope to fund that, because copper won't, according to Viera-Gallo.
Could be right, and copper is big now but you never know about tomorrow. But in the meantime, you're fucking swimming in it, Viera-Gallo. I'd like to know if your assuredness of the impossibility of copper revenue being able to subsidize the poor even considers that your administration would, in good faith, push the senate to overturn Pinochet's 1980 constitutional provision that 10% of copper revenue be dumped into an already exaggeratedly mighty armed forces, whose voluntary recruits to this day are required to pay a tithe to fund the legal defenses of those accused of human rights abuses while just following orders.
Okay, if one actually reads the link, they point out that after 18 years of rabid socialism in Chile, the required tithe is ending...but if you read the article you'll see that now soldiers can use copper money to voluntarily pay the legal defense of rapists and torturers as they ease their way into Club Fed, where they gasp! just took away swimming pool privileges (reportedly) after 18 short years. Christ, Brazilian technicians who brought the electrocution machines to the National Stadium were themselves stunned by the amplitude to which the Chilean torturers jacked up those devices (Estadio Nacional)
So I understand why copper revenue might not be available.
And anyway, Piñera's full of shit and wouldn't subsidize the minimum wage anyway, although if he were to do it, might not be a bad idea to tax companies and pay their workers with that revenue. Or give tax credits to companies that voluntarily up their employees wages. Or just fucking raise the minimum wage.
All of which measures would be just asking for another military coup: these are the same companies that constantly complain that raising wages would harm their global competitiveness. This stinginess is the same reason that workers cashing their paychecks, or pretty much spending-it-all-in-one-place at the grocery store, wait in line for hours because the bosses can't bring themselves to shell out even the unethical, current minimum wage to hire a few more cashiers.
(Not, btw, that I think the proposed under-USD$500-per-month is ethical. It's more, but it's still pathetic.)
To his credit Viera-Gallo does point out that in Chile's case, the complaint about global competitiveness just ain't true because Chile has niche export markets that the world more or less depends upon. But most of his interview is a veritable wank-fest not dissimilar to the way nearly everyone else is treating this Ethical Salary proposal (my slapped-together translation):
La Nación: What's your take on the warning by the CPC president, Alredo Ovalle, that by raising the minimum wage it could mean an increase in unemployment?You slippery little salmon! Note: to anyone who's new to Chilean politicians, specifically the ever-so-well-intentionedly "socialist" Concertación, this shit is currency I swear to God: populism without action, and pure artlessness in disguising it as anything else (read: no accountability).
Viera-Gallo: I wouldn't take it to mean that the law should necessarily determine the Ethical Salary. The minimum income should be determined by a law, but the Ethical Salary should be the substance of collective negotiation between the unions and the businesses. But for that we need stronger unions with a better ability to negotiate collectively. It shouldn't be the case that big exportation businesses pay very low salaries.
La Nación: Like the salmon industry.
Viera-Gallo: I don't want to specify industries...
He talks about unions' responsibility to up the wage - then so as not to make a complete ass of himself he alludes to their total impotence - but after that he can't even bring himself to name the industry, let alone the specific companies, paying wages that make working Chileans starve. This isn't Chilean buena onda soft-spokenness, or a cabinet member watching his words for the sake of watching his words. We know damn well that the President herself isn't above spouting off, when it suits her. But just watch how they talk when businesses are involved, and you'll understand who rules this country, no, but hook, line and sinker.
The Concertación's populism only mirrors the Right's, although I have to say I enjoy the fanfare of the latter a bit better. Piñera, the guy who recently got slapped on the wrist for insider trading and who would become president of Chile if elections were held right now, chooses to bank on public ignorance by offering an absurd subsidy for the poor that would never go through anyway. It's like Levín, of Pinochet's UDI party who lost against Lagos, who a few years back proposed "Snow for the Poor!" in Santiago (it melted) and emergency call boxes downtown that don't work. Piñera's seems a little bit classier, and smarter - this "subsidy" proposal of his plus whatever else he's got up his sleeve might just fly in a country schooled by what everyone here agrees to be a miserable education system.
With refreshing frankness, fascist economist Hernán Büchi told reporters that a voluntary raise in the minimum wage just wouldn't work. I'm sure he would go on to spout out nonsense about lack of economical viability, but the basic idea that voluntary raise will never ever happen is nice to hear, no matter who it comes from.
I'm going to blame the Catholic Church for starting this whole mess, although I can only imagine who's at the bottom of it. If they are going to weigh in on something this important, it should have been a demand for a legal minimum wage increase, not a suggestion for something that any idiot can tell you would never, ever happen. On the surface this helps the Church strengthen its image as a compassionate institution: they "suggest" that businesses raise wages, and give some nice talking points to politicians, who in turn get a "good guy" pass for absolutely free, because they can support the proposal without committing to legislation. No one is proposing a law, or legal consequences to exploitative companies. The companies, obviously, won't do anything. Nor can they possibly care about their image that much. In an export economy with no laws, what the FUCK do Chileans matter to them? Right?
What's disturbing is that up to now, the Catholic Church hasn't been one to "suggest" that much. When it comes to fucking poor women over, they demand - even when companies' profits are at stake. Thanks to the Catholic Church, Chile's only two pharmaceuticals producing the morning-after pill halted production, cutting off supply and resulting in Sweet Jesus knows how many unwanted pregnancies followed up by back-alley abortions Dear Lord, while rich white girls get to go to the doctor. Thanks to the Catholic Church, the new gov't sponsored pro-condom campaign includes an actress featured for a phatty 10-15 seconds talking about how her and her boyfriend have decided not to have sex until they marry. What planet are they living on? And that the government swallows all this? These are the Church's demands.
Oh but how sweet and humble the Church has suddenly become, how respectful of a Jeffersonian separation between Church and State, how it pains them now to even "suggest" that the children of workers be able to eat and clothe themselves. This "suggestion" is a cynical, self-serving attempt to cut off real efforts to improve the wages of millions of workers in Chile who cannot survive on what they are making. It is the symptomatic of an institutional hatred of the poor that defines Chilean society.
That's all that trickles down. A few days ago when Santiago experienced a record cold snap and 150 homeless were housed in Victor Jara Stadium, the lower-middle class neighbors got all up in arms at the "delincuency" that these ruffians were sure to bring with them. Beautiful Chile. One man interviewed on TV said that he was worried for all the women who lived alone...it was sickening. Cut that fuck's wage by $10 and he'd be homeless 151. No, but all that the masters of Chile do by their cynicism is promulgate hatred, fear and division. Don't be fooled.
posted by Chileno @ 7:02 AM
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3 Comments:
Oye, chileno, has de escribir para los periodicos chilenos! Pero en castellano!
"...the lower-middle class neighbors got all up in arms at the "delincuency" that these ruffians were sure to bring with them."
Someone once pointed out that socialism promulgates a tendency for the general public to leave the government to deal with “doing unto others” because “isn’t there a government program for poor people? Why don’t they go wait in line?”
Anyway, even though I know this will elicit a response telling me about how heartless and Pinochet-like I am, I enjoy the blog mucho! You’re a good writer, and I can’t really find this information anywhere else out there (honestly, I haven’t really looked because…why?)
I don't think I've ever promoted socialism for Chile on this blog. Maybe I have, or should more, but up to now I think I've spent a lot more time pointing out Chile's fake socialism, and how damaging it is.
Anyway, it's a valid concern you bring up, about the negation of personal responsibility brought on by a gov't that says, "don't worry, I'll take it from here. Better that you don't get involved."
Unfortunately, that's exactly what happened in Chile although it wasn't "communism" or "socialism", it was fascism. I think it's a helpful exercise to look at Chile as if it were a former soviet bloc state, like Poland or East Germany. Massive human rights abuses throughout the 70's and 80's and an oppressive gov't that took personal responsibility out of peoples' hands. I mean, a gunpoint curfew imposed on people for 17 years doesn't help much with a sense of personal empowerment, I'd submit.
Chile, for whatever reasons, has been extremely slow to come to terms with its past and is still doing so to this day. Despite calling itself a "democracy" the government continues to represent a very limited spectrum of interests. I think some countries really may get closer to being "of the people, for the people". In Chile, reality - as well as common perception, I sense - is that the government really is not the people. This predates Pinochet, but Pinochet was an extreme reaction to the government making a strong move in that direction of popular representation.
Anyway, maybe I should promote real socialism in Chile, rather than just criticize fake socialism. I just find the latter a lot more interesting, how these crooks get away with being branded "socialist" when a more extreme example of laissez faire exploitation would be hard to find. Okay, China seems pretty bad, but at least the world knows that their brand of "communism" is purely nominal. The problem with Chile is that there's a general perception that it's doing alright (after all, what could be worse than Pinochet!), so they say, "yeah, I like the way Chile does socialism". They are simply confusing the president's expressed political opinions with the way the country is run. And perhaps they do know better but they like it that people will vote "socialist" while free trade agreements continue to be signed, 1% of companies control 96% of exports (in an export based economy), employ 10% of Chileans and the vast majority are shat upon.
I'm no economics or poli-sci expert, so I don't know if raising the minimum wage is technically a "socialist" maneuver. But if Chile were to do that (I mean, more than $0.16/hour) and, say, introduce affordable, guaranteed health care and a truly social, social security system, then yeah. But until then there's absolutely nothing "socialist" about Chile. To say otherwise is simply absurd, yet many continue to say so, and it's appalling.
Fwiw, I would welcome socialism in Chile, and whatever problems it brought along with it. I think it's nice that the Catholic Church makes an effort to shelter homeless people, they're not entirely bad ;-) and I'm not against volunteer work, I did a tiny bit of that myself in the United States and I'd never advocate that everything be left up to the gov't in any country because I've seen how evil gov'ts can be, no matter where you are.
So anyway, it's fine that neighbors don't help out, because the Church and their volunteers are doing it, but that they threaten to storm the stadium where the homeless people are staying is just over the top.
Anyway, back to politics. Check out this NY Times editorial about how ridiculous it was for supporters of Bush's (now dead, thank God) initiative to privatize social security to point to Chile as a good example.
You know, what I absolutely HATE is when Chilean conservatives borrow Rush Limbaugh/Newt Gingrich style rhetoric and superimpose it upon Chile. As if more than 1% of Chileans had something to to protect from those tax-n-spend libs coming to snatch it all! As if there really were a middle class in Chile. For Christ's sake, imposing reasonable taxes on those who currently pilfer this Banana Republic could only HELP at least 80%, if not more of Chileans.
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