The new Wisconsin Death Trip began in 1973 with the inauguration of the Free Trade Regime. Nixon was President and he made certain it didn’t happen until he was safely re-elected in 1972. He knew it would result in the lowering of living standards.
Also, during the 1972 campaign, Nixon’s friend Arthur Burns was head of the Federal Reserve. He pumped lots of money into the economy while wage & price controls were still in force. When these were removed in 1973, inflation from the Vietnam War took off. The Postwar Boom was over and American living standards were never this high again.
During the 1970s, business profits were half of what they were in the 1960s. This was evident by the Bear Market on Wall Street. Big Business reacted with what Doug Fraser of the United Auto Workers called a one-side Class War against Labor.
But because of the government-induced inflation, the Republican Propaganda Mill successfully blamed the Government, keeping the heat off of Big Business.
Under Reagan, Free Trade went on steroids. Much of the USA Industrial Base was shipped to Asia. You can see the results in Wisconsin. When Reagan took over, Wisconsin urban wages were 29% above the national average. Now they’re that much below.
The Free Trade Regime is the culprit for Wisconsinites’ declining living standards. Scott Walker and his billionaire friends are pointing to the wrong enemy.
A tough economy doesn’t bring out the best in people. In the fight for survival they turn on each other. The ever simmering racial civil war bubbles beneath the surface and threatens to rise.
