Perhaps the greatest of all Python sketches is the Four Yorkshiremen (video link), where four tycoons compete in fantastic tales about how poor they were and how lucky people are today.
It’s supposed to be a parody. But if you listen to Republican whining about the supposed inflated labor costs at the Big Three, you might be forgiven for wondering whether it was just prescient.
From Bernard Simon in today’s Financial Times (well known front group for worldwide socialism):
The UAW made significant sacrifices in contracts signed last year, but many of the savings have yet to be realised by the company.The union agreed to a two-tier wage structure under which new assembly-line workers would be paid about $14.20 an hour, compared with $29 for existing workers.
Wha–$14.20 an hour?!! Why, that reaches almost $29,000 a year! Luxury. We used to dream about making wages that officially put a family of four into HUD’s definition of low-income.
And you tell that to the young people today–they never believe you.
(Yes, yes: I know. These were just for new workers, of which there are precious few. But maybe we’d believe the labor costs argument a little more if multimillionaires like Mitt Romney would stop lying about it.)
