the rise of the flat and the fall

check out the title of this graph, a graph that is currently appearing in yabo murdoch's wall street journal, on the highly respected, yet devil may conservative care op-ed pages.

now, look at that fucking graph. does that, in any way to you, as a normal, rational, cognitive human being, look like a graph of "Rising Government Unions"? or indeed, like a graph of rising anything, at all? of course not. cognitive human beings see flat. and they seeing declining.  not oddly, like many of their lives.  Since 1980, when the Reagan trigger spiked public union affiliation per capita, it has remained roughly constant.

now, we must understand the rheumy eyes that see the truth in title of that chart. for what they really see is that the gap between the decline and the flat is growing.  this is "the rise."  insidious, isn't it?

if the welfare of any american worker is not in decline, it therefore must be on the rise.  a koch switch would flip any non-negative labour metric to decline.  if you are not succumbing to the real thing Koch agenda, you are merely someone who has not been beaten down yet.

thanks, rupert.  don't know that it's gonna fly, though.