Rep. Steve King compares workers to commodities like beans and corn
Rep. Steve King is one of the most extreme of the extreme right in Congress, and he says some of the most dehumanizing, evil-spirited, and downright hateful things any member of Congress has ever spoken.
Late last night on the House floor, Rep. Steve King (R-IA) spoke in support of a Republican amendment to the Department of Homeland Security funding bill that would exempt DHS construction projects from a law requiring federal contractors to pay laborers the prevailing wage and benefits for the area. That law, known as Davis-Bacon, serves to protect union laborers from being drastically underbid by non-union contractors. In effect, the law prevents a 'race to the bottom' in federal contracting bids, which in turn protects working-class wages in the building trades.
But not according to Steve King, who once again likened the law to anti-gay legislation decried by Democrats and argued that it is an unacceptable intrusion into the free market, where "labor is a commodity just like corn or beans or oil or gold, and the value of it needs to be determined by the competition, supply and demand in the workplace."
KING: If you wanna do as many Democrats have said on this floor, and that is that any relationship between two consenting adults the federal government shouldn't be involved in, well this is a relationship the federal government should not be involved in. For the federal government to tell me that I can't say to my own son, I'd like to climb in the seat of your excavator and sit there for $10 an hour, federal government says I can't, he's gotta pay me some $28 rate or whatever that is. But the government has no business interfering and no business driving up these costs. And we must go through this period of austerity. That requires that we not impose federal union scale on federal construction projects. [...] And I think the free market should set the wages. Labor is a commodity just like corn or beans or oil or gold, and the value of it needs to be determined by the competition, supply and demand in the workplace.
After King finished his remarks, Rep. Norman Dicks (D-WA) asked where King's family construction business is located. King explained, and then a live mic caught him saying, "Now he'll send the unions to organize [us]." Watch (transcript beginning at 1:52):
To King and Randian Conservatives like him, people aren't people, they are things who have no value except that which CEOs ascribe to them. It reminds me of the quote from the movie, Island of Lost Souls: Are we not men? To Rep. Steve King, we are not men or women or children, we are beans and corn.
Mushed reminded me of these quotes from King:
CLAIMED HIS WIFE "IS AT FAR GREATER RISK BEING A CIVILIAN IN DC THAN AN AVERAGE CIVILIAN IN IRAQ":
On June 12, on the House floor, Rep. Steve King (R-IA) downplayed the violence on the ground in Iraq, claiming his wife is taking a greater risk by living in Washington, D.C. King said: "27.51 Iraqis per 100,000 die a violent death on an annual basis. 27.51. Now what does that mean? To me, it really doesn't mean a lot until I compare it to people that I know or have a feel for the rhythm of this place. Well I by now have a feel for the rhythm of this place called Washington, D.C., and my wife lives here with me, and I can tell you, Mr. Speaker, she's at far greater risk being a civilian in Washington, D.C. than an average civilian in Iraq. 45 out of every 100,000 Washington, D.C. regular residents die a violent death on an annual basis. [Center for American Progress's Blog, Think Progress]
OFFERED LEGISLATION TO STRIKE DOWN THE REAUTHORIZATION OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN ACT (VAWA) BECAUSE ACCORDING TO MR. KING VAWA GOT IN THE WAY OF MARRIAGE : Last year Rep. Steve King offered an amendment to H.R. 3402 - Department of Justice Appropriations Authorization Act, which would struck down the reauthorization of violence against women section (VAWA) of the bill. He justified the amendment because in his words VAWA "demonstrated a certain hostility particularly against men, but also involves itself in the relationship of marriage that I think we should stay out of." [Transcripts, House Rules Committee, 109-1st, September 27, 2005]
And here are a few more from the Steve King Files:
Rep . Steve King 'empathizes' with the Austin Texas suicide attack on the IRS
Rep. Steve King says Rep. Grijalva's district has ceded to Mexico
Hey, Steve King! Exactly where SHOULD gays wear their sexuality?
Rep. Steve King smears Obama's name: "radical Islamists will be dancing in the streets'
It would really be nice if he went away....
Maybe he can get on the magic monkey flying bus tour !!! Be like putting a raccoon on your old radio antenna...
That is exactly what workers are to these slugs - like cattle or pork bellies.
"I know that there are people who do not love their fellow
man, and I hate people like that! " ~ Tom Lehrer (1928 - )
Rep. Steve King is a commodity just like corn or beans or oil or gold, and his value needs to be determined by the competition, supply and demand in the workplace.
Steve King: dime a dozen. Cut his pay and take his benefits
far left loon >.<
maybe he can outsource himself to China. See ya!!!
He is the personification of the republican attitude that took root during Reagan's time - "I've got mine, too fuckin' bad about you, Jack!" Now these bastards want to take it one step further and take away what little we poor bastards have left. We have to fight like hell or we'll end up eating dog food and living in cardboard boxes in our old age.
Gotta fuck them fuckin' fuckers before they fuckin' fuck you.....
king's remarks should ensure his loss in the next election,
unless, his constituents are as dumbass fucking stupid
as he is every moment of the day.
and king is a half eaten can of beans----the gaseous part,
alot of hot stinky air.
the beans were eaten by a goat.
It's Kansas without the publicity except for every four years. Steve king will be done when Steve King decides not to run again. His seat is safe as long as he wants it. This is one of the most backwoods states in the nation. I would rather live in Mississippi or Texas than Iowa.
is intended to be a factual statement
I have an old Navy buddy from Iowa. I like to tease him the Iowa stands for Idiots Out Walking Around. He laughs but he has turned pretty conservative himself since going back there from California after getting out of the Big Blue. He made four West Pacs to the South China Sea and the Gulf of Tonkin during the Viet Nam War. Said that he never wanted to see the ocean again as long as he lived. Guess that he wasn't kidding.
Actually, although I live elsewhere now(somewhere warmer), I am an Iowa native and have spent much time there. I live within miles of west texas now. I can assure you I'll take Iowa politically anyday. King reps the western district. The Ben Nelson Nebraska side. The rest of the state has a fair percentage of progressive people. The have elected Tom Harkin numerous times. One of the most progressive people in the Senate. They are also one of the few states to allow gay marriage. Of course the right in the state is incensed but it is still the law. Lots of people in Iowa are live and let live whatever they think otherwise.
West Texas is like the western side of Iowa on steroids.
If I'm a commodity shouldn't I be bought and sold on the open market? If I am to be bought and sold on the open market wouldn't that make me slave?
What is wrong with Iowa voting this man and others in office time and time again? I spent a week in a half in Iowa for some training for a computer program being installed at work. Even the Pizza Huts had Christian references in them. It is a freaky state, Children of the Corn freaky.
is intended to be a factual statement
Perhaps, this guy is really Stephen King in disguise!?! Freaky is as freaky does.....
I do know that every time I flip to C-Span during the day, this freak is at the mic on the House floor spouting some kind of ridiculous drivel. The big AG companies likely stuff his pockets with cash to vote their way.....and that's how he 'buys' his votes to get into Congress.
"Egotism is the anesthetic that dulls the pain of Stupidity" - Frank Leahy
Guys, I love this blog, but labor is a commodity. Not exactly the same as corn or West Texas Intermediate Crude Oil, but it is bought and sold and can be described and modeled as a commodity. There is a market. It's not a market in people, it's a market in labor. You buy and sell hours of work.
Now, because we live in a society and not in some libertarian fantasy land, we regulate markets, including and especially the market in labor. We have the SEC, we have the FDA, we have OSHA, we have regulations that permit only licensed professionals to work as lawyers and doctors and nurses and structural engineers and, for some reason, interior decorators. We do not allow people to sell their labor who are too young to consent to do so, and we do not allow employers to offer unnecessarily dangerous work environments even if some people are willing to take them. We don't allow people to work in jobs which we deem detrimental to society at large - drug-dealing, for example, or prostitution. And we set a minimum wage.
Steve King is totally wrong, insisting that we should not regulate this market. But don't exaggerate his wrongness by claiming he doesn't believe employees are people.
It certainly CAN be thought of (and often is) as a commodity That doesn't mean that it SHOULD be thought of as a commodity.
It is true that labor is a commodity. However, it is not one like beans and corn. The labor market is similar to the goods-and-services market, but operates differently in important ways, which is something that everyone sort of intuitively knows even if they don't always know why.
For King to equate the two markets shows that he is either ignorant, or hopes that we are ignorant. Neither interpretation is flattering to him.
But laborers are not. And the problem is, people like King make no distinction between 'labor' and 'laborers.'
Yes, "labor is a commodity", especially in the eyes of so-called "conservatives".
We must realize that evil lies at the extremes. In pure communism people are cogs in the machine of state. In laissez-faire capitalism they are commodities to be bought and sold. In neither case are they valued as humans. The U.S. does treat humans as commodities now. See There's no 'free market' for Labor on how the Fed assures there are always more people who need jobs than there are jobs.
The U.S. hasn't ended slavery, which is perfectly compatible with capitalism; it's just exported it to China ... and even those here who work for a wage are effectively wage slaves thanks to Fed policies.
i wouldn't need to have food or shelter or anything else really, but i'm not so as much as he would like people to say well the market value of food an shelter is beyond my means so i'll just die, i don't see that happening anytime soon. ironically i bet he would want to increase spending on police when people start rioting and someone robs his house so they can exist.
When the people shall have nothing more to eat, they will eat the rich.-Jean Jacques Rousseau
Simply shows what they say behind closed doors. Tell me, is it required that Republicans have super scary, stare-y blue eyes like Ryan, Bachmann and King?
MyMy
"Tell me, is it required that Republicans have super scary, stare-y blue eyes like Ryan, Bachmann and King?"
No, but the black wormy jism of Satan *does* have that side effect... :)
"Labor is a commodity just like corn or beans or oil or gold, and the value of it needs to be determined by the competition, supply and demand in the workplace."
So that's a strong "NO CORN SUBSIDIES" from you, Rep. King? I'm sure the farmers back home will be STOKED to hear that you want to take still more money out of their pockets. I mean, we've got to let the "market" determine the price, right?
Holy Cow!
http://waronignorance.net/index.html
beeryblog
Fighting a War on Ignorance
...that they would CHOSE to send this maggot to represent them in Washington? This idiot is an embarrassment to his state.
Wrong King. Rep. Peter King (R-NY) is the asshole from New York. I know, I know, it is hard to keep the assholes straight without a program when they are all spouting similar bullshit all the time. The prick from Iowa is Steve King.
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He was at least food for thought until he got here: Labor is a commodity just like corn or beans or oil or gold, and the value of it needs to be determined by the competition, supply and demand in the workplace.
This is from Teddy Roosevelts speech "A New Nationalism" :
Of that generation of men to whom we owe so much, the man to whom we owe most is, of course, Lincoln. Part of our debt to him is because he forecast our present struggle and saw the way out. He said:
"I hold that while man exists it is his duty to improve not only his own condition, but to assist in ameliorating mankind."
And again:
"Labor is prior to, and independent of, capital. Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if labor had not first existed. Labor is the superior of capital, and deserves much the higher consideration."
If that remark was original with me, I should be even more strongly denounced as a Communist agitator than I shall be anyhow. It is Lincoln’s. I am only quoting it; and that is one side; that is the side the capitalist should hear.
Now I know to Steve I wouldn't be considered a "Real American" but this is Abraham Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt. Half of Mt. Rushmore. I'm sticking with them.
A commodity , not human beings , not citizens . . King and his ilk are nothing but sociopaths . Instead of calling them the right wing or the neocon we should call them thee sociapathic society .
Insanity , it is what it is , there is no understanding it .
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Ayn Rand's religion is properly called 'Objectificationism'.
Where all human beings are merely objects to be exploited for one person's profits.
Remember: Objectificationism.
She was a miserable sociopath , plain and simple .
Insanity , it is what it is , there is no understanding it .
That's why only sociopaths are spouting the shabby set of rationalizations she called her philosophy. In being incapable of according in-her-guts objective reality to any other human being, she reduced all others to the status of mere objects. When she had reduced all others to objects (a trick at which sociopaths are master adepts) she also reduced them (in her own mind and conscience) to the status of being inanimate things against which (not whom) any wrong could be committed with zero consequence. Magically, she could then committ any harm upon any other, yet still retain the capacity call herself a "good person".....the mental gymnastics of the sociopath. When virtually every elected Republican these days is a clinically definable sociopath, they are all going to be in the market for a series of plausible, convoluted and lofty sounding excuses to cover their crimes against others while still thinking of themselves as "good people". Ayn Rand to their rescue.
There some paths through life upon which it is probably better never to have been born than to have made the choice to set out and travel. I think that is going to end up being the summary story of most of these guy's lives.
Pilots are expenses. They are not assets like planes or computers. - American Airlines Vice-President
This is the philosophy of American business. People are not people, but enemies to the Corporation. Here is an article I wrote addressing this from a Christian theological perspective.
Good Lord...someone's actually married to this slimebag.
another rent a wife ... probably a former ( or current ) member of the young Republicans .
Insanity , it is what it is , there is no understanding it .
his secretary?
So he's saying that we're a global economy and wages need to be determined by the wages of the Mexican and Chinese workers. Get that idiots who support the GOP? You make too damn much. The business owners aren't making enough profits. You need to live in squalor so that Steve Kings' son can live a life of luxury.
When will government of the people, by the politicians, for the corporations perish from this Earth?
Not soon enough!
That's actually pretty impressive. A self made man. Rare to see these days. Most politicians are spoiled rich kids from old money who want to see their name in the paper, for something other than crashing their BMW into a tree.
Resist We Much!
To the wealthy, 99% of us -- the percentage on the lower end of the ridiculously tilted financial scale -- are really just cattle. They own us. They herd us. They milk us. And when it's convenient for them, they slaughter us, whether we're rationalized as soldiers in their overseas money-making ventures or victims of aging and disease who die from lack of decent health care.
When the wealthy insist that it's ridiculous for us to moan about class warfare, they're right -- we're no more at war with them than cows are at war with the stock yard.
then it's time our self-appointed "owners" were gored and trampled.
There's a problem with that view. Humans rebel when they feel like thy're being screwed. Corn and beans don't.
Of course, that's when these "freedom loving" libertarians send in the tanks and the guns. The ideological kernel of libertarianism is totalitarianism.
we're no longer "personel", we're "human resources". If we die or get hurt, just wheel in another sack of meat.
Resist We Much!
he does have a point about Davis-Bacon. It's an old law that has no real need any longer.
His choice of words about workers was a little harsh, though.
You dear voter and citizen are equal under the laws of the USA and are expendable in our ongoing wars, are too needy when it comes to medical care, education and pensions so stop your whining and crawl back under the bridge or cardboard box you came from. The absolute contempt most of these politicians have for the fools who voted for them is revolution worthy. Bring back guillotines!
Who are thee elitists hmmmmmmm ?
Insanity , it is what it is , there is no understanding it .
Iowa is a nice place. Traveling there for work, I've always enjoyed it and the people who live there. They deserve better than this clown.
The most money the middle class (the majority) has, the better the economy thrives.
By shutting down minimum wage and unions, King would only make it good with his rich friends at the expense of the general economy. Hey, the guy's got to answer to his real masters...
This is simply labor arbitrage. The GOP has been supporting it for years. This is what driving offshoring. and moving companies from state to state as they look for the best deal. This is exactly what is killing our country.
when they use the term "human resources".
Steve King is from Iowa. People in Iowa know corn,
Workers ARE a commodity. I remember when I first entered the workforce - the real one, not the teenager held positions common in my youth - each company had a "Personnel Department". Then, sometime in the mid 80s, coinciding with the Reagan administration, the Personnel Department became the "Human Resources" department, with an HR director. We, the people who produced the goods with our labor, became nothing more to the corporations than a resource. Not a human through which the profit of the company was produced by our labor, but a mere resource. It is no surprise that the corporatists of today view labor as nothing more than a commodity.
Freedom Isn't Free, So Stop Whining And Pay Your Taxes.
Steve King could easily be replaced by someone willing to be a brain-dead congressman for $10 an hour.
I'm surprised some teatard congressman hasn't started demanding that the U.S. pay all it's workers in gold bullion instead of fiat currency.
If Steve King thinks that workers are the same as cattle, he should keep in mind that when you rile up the cowherd, you might get trampled by the stampede.
I'm ready to stampede his ass right now. Mooo?
Democratic Party progressive, Vietnam veteran and proud Union member for 41 years
I think that's called a rampage. Not sure.
Bite my shiny metal ass.
http://www.startalkradio.net/
you have barely scratched the surface, follow it to it's logical extension.
"Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you."
Matthew 7:6
i don't do religion, it is just that the quote fits.
seems no one has a clue about this issue. the market model has been thoroughly internalized, we have lost our humanity. very few have moved beyond the capiatlist/marxist dynamic, understanding is limited, and when the few with a clue speak, their words are blown away on the wind of ignorance. these subjects are not easy, we are dealing with abstract concepts turned into concrete realities, with little regard for the consequences. the trauma has bred a deep narcissism which prevents the affected from reaching a catharsis.
the issue is what entities are to accorded human rights, every discussion on this board is shot through with this tension; this issue affects our everyday life in innumerable ways, but no one seems to be able to tie the strings together.
it is past time to have such a puerile understanding of what we are about, past time for compromises. time to understand what the function of government is and isn't, our lives may very well depend upon it, and many are suffering because of neglect of this issue.
yes, we are treated as commodities, slaves were a commodity, capitalism without the mask.
yes, we are treating humans as commodities even today, hidden behind the mask of individual rights.
yes, you know what i am talking about, and no i won't argue about it.
yes, our laws contradict themselves.
yes, we are talking about the commodification of human flesh, i have used the phrase many times.
the issue of who and what constitutes a human being must be resolved, our current understanding undermines the very basis of civilized society, is coarsening our culture, and undermining our government.
you can't have it both ways, you must go one way or the other, we ignore and grandstand on these issues at our peril. it is time to come to the realization that when we institute government we surrender some of our sovereignty to that government, that government suppresses certain behaviors, that is one of it's functions.
"He that troubleth his own house shall inherit the wind: and the fool [shall be] servant to the wise of heart."
Proverbs 11:29
i detest religious dogmatism, especially fanatics and fundamentalists, but there is a reason that these types, of every stripe; whether muslim, christian, jew, hindu, or whatever, call our country the great satan.
i am atheist as my screen name suggests, but i agree with the fanatics assessment completely, difference is my mind is not shrouded in religious hocus-pocus, i know exactly why i say what i say.
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Rep, Steve King (R-IA) is a MARXIST!!!
Here's what Friedrich Engels wrote in The Principles of Communism (1847):
"Labor is a commodity, like any other, and its price is therefore determined by exactly the same laws that apply to other commodities."
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