A Brief History of Corporate Whining

Cartoon by Barry

Each panel has a caption indicating what year the panel takes place in. Every panel shows an upper-class businessperson, dressed in clothing appropriate for their era, and complaining. All of them have expressions of panic or anger.

1842 Businessman: If workers can legally STRIKE, no business will be able to survive!

1887 Businessman: Give BLACKS an entire DOLLAR for a day’s labor? Might as well burn my business to the ground!

1912 Businessman: Worker deaths are TRAGIC, but ANTI-SWEATSHOP laws would be the DEATH of industry in America!

1915 Businessman: When workers can’t be FIRED for joining a UNION, how can ANYONE stay in business?

1924 Businessman: Banning CHILD LABOR would DESTROY the economy! Right, little Timmy?
Small urchan boy, missing a front tooth and two fingers, standing next to 1924 businssman: That’s right!

1938 Businessman: We can’t have a FORTY HOUR WORK WEEK, because if we DO there’ll be no employers LEFT to hire anyone!

1964 Businessman: EQUAL PAY for women AND negroes? Business can’t stay afloat if federal regulations STRANGLE us!

1970 Businessman: HEALTH and SAFETY laws are a formula for MASSIVE PERMANENT UNEMPLOYMENT!

NOW Businesswoman: If the new labor rights law PASSES, then business is doomed! DOOOOOOOOMED!

UPDATE: Someone pointed out this Chinese version to me on the web. I don’t know who created the translation, but I’m told it’s quite accurate!

Posted in Economic cartoons, History, Labor rights & Unions |

Libertarian Freedom

Cartoon by Barry

Posted in Economic cartoons |

The Great Cycle Of Wall Street, or, WALL STREET JUGGLE!

Cartoon by Barry

Posted in Cycle cartoons, Economic cartoons |

Waiting On Line

Cartoon by Barry

This comic strip was a component of a larger page of cartoons originally done for Dollars & Sense Magazine. You can view the whole thing here.

Posted in Economic cartoons |

TV News Can Always See The Bright Side

Cartoon by Barry

This comic strip was a component of a larger page of cartoons originally done for Dollars & Sense Magazine. You can view the whole thing here.

Posted in Economic cartoons, Media criticism |

Paradigm

Cartoon by Barry

This comic strip was a component of a larger page of cartoons originally done for Dollars & Sense Magazine. You can view the whole thing here.

Posted in Economic cartoons |

Maintain that Hierarchy!

Cartoon by Barry

This comic strip was a component of a larger page of cartoons originally done for Dollars & Sense Magazine. You can view the whole thing here.

Posted in Economic cartoons, Labor rights & Unions, Racism & Racists, Sexism & Misogyny |

Is it a recession yet?

Cartoon by Barry

This comic strip was a component of a larger page of cartoons originally done for Dollars & Sense Magazine. You can view the whole thing here.

Posted in Economic cartoons, Media criticism |

Recession Funnies!

Cartoon by Barry

“Recession Funnies” was a 2/3 page group of cartoons done for Dollars & Sense Magazine. It’s too large to fit in this space, but you can view the whole thing here.

Posted in Economic cartoons, Media criticism, Racism & Racists |

A Brief Guide To What Society Values

Cartoon by Barry

Posted in Barry's favorites, Economic cartoons, Labor rights & Unions |

Going To The Scary Place

Cartoon by Barry

TRANSCRIPT OF CARTOON

This cartoon has six panels, with a caption at bottom. The caption says “GOING TO THE SCARY PLACE.”

All the panels depict two woman, talking as they walk through a residential neighborhood, with fences and houses and trees. One woman is wearing jeans and a peacoat; the other is wearing a sweater over a long flowy skirt.

PANEL 1

PEACOAT: I’m still not sure if subprime mortgages were a good or a bad thing.

SWEATER: How so?

PANEL 2

PEACOAT: On the one hand, when credit companies tempt poor people with mortgages they can’t afford, we end up with lots of poor people losing their homes and life savings!

PANEL 3

A closeup of Peacoat. She’s looking a bit angry and making a palms-up gesture with her hands that I’d roughly translate as “what the fuck?”

PEACOAT: But without subprime mortgages, who’d make it possible for poor people to buy homes and build up security? Poor folks get screwed either way.

PANEL 4

Sweater talks seriously, her arms folded on her chest. She’s got her mouth open WAAAAY wide, and I have no idea why I drew it that way (I’m typing this transcript in 2019, and this cartoon was drawn in 2007).

SWEATER: I see what you mean. But we can’t even begin to get out of that trap without looking at the root problems of an economy that values profits over people.

PANEL 5

Close-up on Sweater. She’s getting a bit excited/angry as she talks, waving her arms and with an intense expression.

SWEATER: The left has to stop being so afraid of questioning capitalism, and so afraid of looking at socialism when it makes sense!

PANEL 6

Sweater has a questioning expression as she looks up into a tree. Peacoat can no longer be seen, and her word balloon is coming down from the tree.

SWEATER: er… Why are you hiding in that tree?

PEACOAT (speaking from tree): Y-y-you said th-th-the “S” word!

SWEATER: See, this is exactly the sort of thing I’m talking about.

Posted in Barry's favorites, Economic cartoons |

The Day They Outsourced Fun

Cartoon by Barry

Posted in Economic cartoons |

How Republicans Fight The Minimum Wage

Cartoon by Barry

Posted in Economic cartoons, Labor rights & Unions |

The Boy Who Cried “Bankruptcy”

Cartoon by Barry

Posted in Economic cartoons, Environmental cartoons |

Cloned Pets & The Deficit

Cartoon by Barry

Posted in Economic cartoons |

Stop Them Before They Help Again

Cartoon by Barry

Posted in Economic cartoons, Labor rights & Unions |

Will No One Take Pity On Our Poor, Suffering Major Corporations?

Cartoon by Barry

Posted in Economic cartoons |

The Reasons For High CEO Pay

Cartoon by Barry

Posted in Economic cartoons, Labor rights & Unions |

Free Market Man in “Health Care Adventure”

Cartoon by Barry

Originally published in Dollars and Sense. A tip of the pen to Ezra Klein’s blog, my favorite health care policy blog.

Posted in Barry's favorites, Economic cartoons, Health care |

Minimum Wage In Theory And Practice

Cartoon by Barry

Posted in Economic cartoons, Labor rights & Unions |