I've been writing for years that the core Republican value boils down to this: cheap, disposable labor.

They want the workforce battered to the point where they will be grateful for any kind of work, no matter how badly paid or how poor the working conditions - and they want you stripped of any rights in the workplace that might slow them down while making money.

I was reminded of that this basic truth this morning when I read George Will's latest column:

Today's unemployment rate is 10 percent; the underemployment rate—the unemployed, plus those employed part time, plus those discouraged persons who have stopped looking for jobs—is 17.3 percent. Almost 40 percent of the unemployed have been so for seven months or more—which is not surprising: Congress continues to extend eligibility for unemployment benefits, apparently oblivious to the truth that when you subsidize something you get more of it.

He's not talking about the Wall Street Bankers who got us into this mess, of course. He's chiding people who are on unemployment for not taking anything they can get, under any conditions.

He bemoans the fact that I can still pay my rent.

And here, I've been thanking the lucky stars that had me accept a job across the bridge in New Jersey, where the reasonable benefits are generous enough to still cover my rent and food. (I suppose I could get find a job doing manual labor at minimum wage somewhere, but the medical bills wouldn't be worth it.)

I feel like I've let George down, somehow. The fact that the few jobs that are still available don't pay enough to live on makes the decision to stay on unemployment the only sane one - sort of like how George's banker friends decided to take their own version of government support.

I guess I'm supposed to feel ashamed. After all, if I'd picked the right parents who would have sent me to the right schools, why, I'd probably be George Will right now! My magical DNA and Ivy League alumni network would have been enough to save me from life's travails, someone's father would have given me a protected job with a fat paycheck, and this point would officially be moot.

It never ceases to amaze me, how they think down there in Cocktail Party Land.

American Street: The GOP plan to break the backs of suffering Americans

the talking dog:: Really old school

Alternate Brain: Support the Troops? NIMBY!

Scott Horton: Power Shortage for the National Security State

Inside Higher Ed: Organized against labor

INSTAPUTZ: Althouse Putziness

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(William Green - succeeded Samuel Gompers as head of the AFofL)

Following in the footsteps of his predecessor Samuel Gompers, William Green headed up the American Federation of Labor from 1924 to his death in 1952. He presided over the merger of the AFof L to the newly formed Congress of Industrial Ogranizations (CIO), becoming the most powerful trade union in American history.

During their annual convention in 1944, Green addressed the delegates on the Union's role during wartime and the outlook for the union movement in a postwar world.

William L.Green: “If there ever was a time when Labor in America should be united, it is now, and in the months to come. For that compelling reason, I publicly renew the appeal to the American Federation of Labor to those who left us to come back to the home of labor and reunite with us. But regardless of what course others may take, we in this convention will do everything in our power to strengthen and maintain the free and democratic principles upon which our trade union movement was founded.”

Like they say, if you're being paid to take a vacation today, thank a union member. And if you're a union member, thank this guy.

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(John L. Lewis - even at 80 he was still busy drilling)

John L. Lewis certainly looms large in the annals organized labor history. Going back to the early 1900's, Lewis was a staunch organizer, leader and outspoken critic. He had his fair share of run-ins with the government, not to mention Management. But he was always on the side of the worker, always fighting for safe conditions. He didn't endear himself to the press, as was evidenced by this Meet The Press appearance on May 31, 1959.

Clark Mollenhoff: “Mister Lewis, while you were before the committee a week or two ago, you said that, during all those years, those early years in labor ‘I occupied the proud position that Jimmy Hoffa occupies today’. Now, do you really think that’s a proud position in labor?”

John L. Lewis: “Have you any sense of humor, at all?”

He certainly didn't pull any punches and the show ended six minutes early.

But John L. Lewis was just like that.

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(Meeting with Robert F. Kennedy, 1968 - Chavez on day 25 of Hunger Strike)

We often think the situation with Migrant workers is something that's happen in the past few years. It's been going on for decades. One of the great voices in the labor movement and champion of migrant workers rights was Cesar Chavez. His endless campaign of organizing for better working conditions and a fair wage for long hours was a lifelong struggle for him, which was often met by overwhelming resistance. But in the end, progress had been made - not perfect, but a solid foundation. His is certainly a legacy that has lived on, long past his death in 1993.

Here is an interview, part of the Educational Television Networks nightly news program Newsfront, hosted by Mitchell Kraus on May 17, 1968. Chavez is joined by Junior Senator Harrison A.Williams (D-New Jersey) and Chairman of the Senate Sub-committee on Migratory Labor.