25.TheHighCostOfLabor
In1914，HenryFordstartedtopayhisworkers$5adaywhentheaveragewagewas$2.50aday.Insteadofmakingastatementaboutwagelevels,whatHenrywasdoingwastryingtocreateamiddleclassofconsumerswhowouldbeabletoaffordtobuythecarshisplantwereturningout.
Today,thecementinthewholedemocraticsystemistheworkerearning$15anhour.Heistheguywhowillbuyahouseandcarandarefrigerator.He'stheoilintheengineofthecapitalistsystem.Themassmediatendtoconcentrateontheveryrichandtheverypoor,butit'sthemiddleclassthatgivesstabilityandkeepstheeconomyrolling.
Today,thelabormovementintheUnitedStateshasmadehugegainsinpaymentsfortheworkers,butatwhatcost？Forexample,ChryslerCorporationpaysmorethan$600millionayearformedicalbenefitsforitsworkers,orinotherwords，$600foreverycarandtruckmanufactured.Forasmallercar,thatcomesoutto7%ofthepurchasepriceofthecarinmedicalbenefitsfortheworkersalone.
Otherbenefits,suchasautomaticcost-of-livingallowancesandpaidholidays,havemadetheAmericanlaborforceextremelyuncompetitivewhencomparedtotheJapaneseandEuropeans.