Middle Class Bleeds Profit
The following outtakes are from The Undeclared War on America’s Middle Class by Thom Hartmann. I strongly advise anyone concerned about the subject to read the entire article.
In a 2005 article in the Chicago Tribune, reporters Stephen Franklin and Barbara Rose introduce us to Muyiwa Jaiyeola. Jaiyeola, who is 33 years old, works a 40-hour week as a salesman at a Sears store, then works another 20 hours in the stockroom of a Gap store in downtown Chicago. When Jaiyeola pulled two all-night shifts at his stockroom job in late August, he was able to sleep only two hours in the afternoon, then two more in the morning before going back to his sales job.
This is life in America for over a quarter of the work force today.
Cons argue that we have to choose between having high wages and having low prices. They are wrong.
Take the case of Wal-Mart. According to the United Food and Commercial Workers union (UFCW), Wal-Mart could pay each employee a dollar more per hour if the company increased its prices by a half penny per dollar. For example, a $2 pair of socks would then cost $2.01. This minimal increase would add up to $1,800 annually for each employee.
But it doesn’t happen because Wal-Mart wants to squeeze every possible bit of profit out at the expense of their workers. The economy remains strong at the expense of American labor, but they are not rewarded for their hard work.
Instead, this short-sighted strategy will eventually suck the life out of America. While most of us carry on blissfully unaware of what is happening, or assuming that the ship will somehow right itself, other economic powerhouses, such as China, are already arising to take our place.
Vote for change, not complacency. We must change course soon.
