From: Behind the Bastards podcast, 5/9/2023
In 1953, GE worked in the balanced, best interests of all. The annual report trumpeted how much the company had paid in taxes, the virtue of paying its suppliers well, and how critical it was to take care of its employees. That year, GE proudly stated that it spent some 37% of its sales on pay and benefits for its workers, resulting in the biggest payroll in the company’s history, with more people at work than ever before. Only after enumerating the nimber of ways in which it was helping the government, suppliers, and employees did the company mention how much it allocated for investors: the sum, a modest 3.9% of sales.
This is why older generations don’t understand why generations today aren’t having kids and aren’t buying houses. And why “no one wants to work anymore.” Back in the ‘50s companies understood that the welfare of the workers would boost production and lead to the welfare of the company. There are no corporations that I can think of that have this philosophy. There is such a huge disconnect between what our parents and grandparents experienced working for a big corporation and what we’re experiencing now.
Without a rebellion across the country, I have no idea how we will ever fix this system.