Just heard this today. I'm sure its not new here, but explains me.
We Can't Make It Here Anymore - by James Mcmurtry comes across just a bit more angry than I am, but not much.
Many have dedicated their lives and careers to maintaining a social safety net, an elevated platform for any who have worked hard but have still fallen through the cracks. So i don't consider myself special,but having personally found the gapping wholes in the "safety net" my perspective has been changed. More self indulgence below the fold.
Yes, we should all get as much formal education as possible and more importantly, learn how to learn. But ask yourself:
- If the garbage guy had a PHD, would your city pay him that much more and could you and your city do without the garbage guy.
- Some of the people who made that road at the end of your driveway do have BAs, I know, we sent them to work. They didn't get paid anymore for their sheepskins, but you still have a nice street and you'll want them to come back and fix it someday.
- In the next 12 hours or so you'll be flushing your toilet, when you do, try to imagine all the people who dug the trenches, laid the pipe, built and maintain the treatment plant. You'll definitely want those people back if any part of that system breaks with age.
The Corpy solution is to privatize and de-unionize those jobs. Bring in sub-minimum wage guest workers when needed, maximize profits for the shareholders and themselves, then pass-on the smallest possible tax savings to you. It's the Wal-Mart way.
So what's this have to do with politics?
I know that George W. didn't cause all this downward slide for the working stiffs, but he "green lighted" the corpy mentality and got out of the way. The result is a booming economy for the investor class and a jobless (or McJob increase) for all of us down here. And its not going to get better with any corporate sponsored candidate from EITHER side. The class and economic check-and-balance system needs to be restored before the Canooks start thinking aboot erecting a barrier on their side of the border.(I don't have enough savings left to make it to China and I won't be DiFi's house boy)