If we as a Nation have a poverty level (PDF) that encompasses nearly half the population for a family of four with less than 21,000 dollars of income a year. In most locales earning less than 40,000 dollars a year is living on the edge.
I have an assignment for everyone with a camera phone or video recorder of other means at the bottom of my diary. Even if you do not wish to read the entire body I would like you, for the sake of our Democracy, to do this assignment.
For example most rentals require renters to bring in three times the rent as a minimum before renting to that renter. Now a family of four needs at least two bedrooms to live in without interfering with our comfort levels and sense of personal space. The federal minimum is $7.25 per hour, but let us look at the lowest wage states. In Georgia and Wyoming the states with the lowest minimum wage the minimum is $5.15 an hour. $5.15 x 40= $206, $206x4= $824 per month income. $824/3=$274.67 rounding up. Now in what community in Georgia or Wyoming can a family of four find a two bedroom rental for $ 274.67 a month?
According to Apartments dot com this is the message you will get for Wyoming:
Sorry! We can't find what you're looking for...
We were unable to find listings that matched your location or other search criteria. Please search again using the following suggestions:
Suggestions:
Make sure that the city and state or ZIP are entered correctly
Search for nearby cities.
Try using less specific search criteria.
For Georgia the same website tells us there are listings for $0-100 available. But we know that these are teaser rates to lure you into looking at their product and most likely only applicable for the first month with a yearly contract for an unspecified amount over what I entered into the parameters.
The next question is, if these states have no housing available for minimum wage workers is their any wonder there is not enough family income for consumption?
From Adam Smith:
Consumption is the sole end and purpose of all production; and the interest of the producer ought to be attended to, only so far as it may be necessary for promoting that of the consumer.
If the workers can not earn enough to afford housing what can they do about their other needs? Fuel or fare to get to and from work, food, clothing, sundry items like toilet paper and dish soap; is it any wonder we are in such dire straits when income for the majority of the population is inadequate?
This is not a new phenomena, look at this quote from Mary Elizabeth Lease in 1890:
"Wall Street owns the country. It is no longer a government of the people, for the people and by the people, but a government for Wall Street, by Wall Street, and for Wall Street. The great common people of this country are slaves, and monopoly is the master...Let the bloodhounds of money who have dogged us thus far beware."
- Mary Elizabeth Lease, 1890
Capitalism as we are enacting it; little effective regulation of consumer protections, disparate wages, housing prices exceeding the wages of the majority of the population; is a failure.
From Mysociologicalimagination:
In the textbook, Karl Marx prophesized that once capitalism had run its course, the inevitable end was socialism. Marx argued that capitalism would implode because “capitalism will ultimately self-destruct…the capitalist system faces crisis of overproduction.” (“You May Ask Yourself,” p. 381)
If we apply Marx’ view of what the demise of capitalism looks like, we might imagine our current crisis: the bankruptcy of national and multinational businesses built upon the tenets of free-market capitalism and a global economy.
The growing chasm between the rich and poor in this country is another flaw of capitalism that Marx warned of. Socioeconomic class stratification in a capitalist society is a phenomenon we as Americans are familiar with: consider how U.S. taxpayer dollars were used in 2008 for Wall Street bonuses even though the financial institutions these employees worked for were sinking, and even as some of those taxpayers were earning less or had become unemployed. According to the New York State comptroller in 2008, $18.4 billion of taxpayer money, paid for the purpose of “bailing out” financial institutions, was used to pay bonuses to these institutions’ employees. The average bonus was$112,000
We have been told humans have always been lone wolves, but further study in recent years has shown something different. From Sex at Dawn reviews, my bold:
Ryan and Jethá's central contention is that human beings evolved in egalitarian groups that shared food, child care, and, often, sexual partners. Weaving together convergent, frequently overlooked evidence from anthropology, archaeology, primatology, anatomy, and psychosexuality, the authors show how far from human nature monogamy really is. Human beings everywhere and in every era have confronted the same familiar, intimate situations in surprisingly different ways. The authors expose the ancient roots of human sexuality while pointing toward a more optimistic future illuminated by our innate capacities for love, cooperation, and generosity
We have to reject the notion that we are individuals and independent of others in our society. There may be some that are truly living off the grid completely independent of others making their own clothes and food. But those that are engaging in that living situation live in a communal environment such as the Amish.
The reality is we live in social groups on the familial, neighborhood, community, city, state, national, and global levels.
We are dependent on each other, and the sooner we realize that the easier it will be to focus our efforts on correcting the inequalities that have been created in the name of profit at any cost. Do not fool yourselves, corporations and capitalism is not our friend. They have one and only one purpose, create profit; regardless if exploiting workers, being environmentally irresponsible, or skirting the law where it is not enforced, create that profit.
We engage in wars to promote these businesses:
"I spent 33 years in the Marines. Most of my time being a high-classed muscle man for Big business, for Wall Street and the bankers. In short, I was a racketeer for capitalism. I helped purify Nicaragua for the international banking house of Brown Brothers in 1909-1912. I helped make Mexico and especially Tampico safe for American oil interests in 1914. I brought light to the Dominican Republic for American sugar interests in 1916. I helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for the National City Bank boys to collect revenue in. I helped in the rape of half a dozen Central American republics for the benefit of Wall Street...."
- Smedley D. Butler (1881-1940) Major General (U.S. Marine Corps)
The bad news, nearly fifty percent of our population is below federal poverty levels, in actuality I would speculate we are experiencing 70% of the population being one paycheck away from beginning the cascade of losing everything they have earned.
This is not only our issue but a global one:
"The collapse of the global marketplace would be a traumatic event with unimaginable consequences. Yet I find it easier to imagine than the continuation of the present regime."
- George Soros
The good news we are at least 150 million people, just in the United States, and we can use those numbers to make a difference. Call the White House every day. Contact the Democratic National Committee tell them we need better Democrats;Bernie Sanders is standing up for us why are they not doing the same?
Contact corporations that are cutting jobs and jilting customers.
And do this assignment:
Statistic from the department of revenue showing almost 50% of the US population earns less than the poverty level. What steps are you going to take to make those without adequate income enjoy the freedoms outlined in the Constitution? Life (food, shelter), liberty (not working three part time jobs just to keep a roof over their head) and pursuit of happiness (insert what goal you have here.) Post this recorded reply on you tube and link it to the diary comments.
Let’s get them to show their promises to us and if and when they do/ don’t act on it we can show what they told us, their constituents, when we took the time to ask them.
I am aware you may be in a red district that has an elected official that will support big business at all costs. If their response is the fact that xyz corporation is getting a tax break to start/continue operations in your district. Ask how many jobs will be created and what the prevailing wage will be. In my experience the response is that the company will be a source of tax revenue, all the while they miss the components of their circular argument. Remember not only are we the voters, we are the reporters.
Contact info for the Senate and the House of Representatives
Update:
A portion of the commenters have the impression that most earners are in the higher wage brackets. Here is a graph showing the actual distribution. H/T to War on Error: