Laboring Reality

Wasn't it nice of them?  I mean all of the papers this past weekend providing such a detailed overview of the plight of the American worker.  What with Labor Day and all I guess the media decided that it wouldn't be too much to have a few articles about the condition of the working class here in the good ole US of A.   

A good example was the piece by Hubert B. Herring in the Sunday NY Times.  It provided the almost comical comparison of what the average teacher makes and what the average CEO of a Fortune 500 company makes.  Mr. Herring provided us with the fact that the CEO makes in one day what the average teacher does in one year!  Mr. Herring does note that it is the teachers who provide the captains of industry with educated workers.  New flash!  Young children are much more than potential workers.

Preceding the long weekend was the Dupont announcement that they were cutting back on pensions for workers. After 2007 new employees will not be eligible for any pension or health care or life insurance after retirement. All of this so that the shareholders will receive an expected 3 cents increase per share.

When are the workers of the world going to see the light?  We are working harder, working longer hours and not taking vacations.  We are plugged in, accessible 24/7, on line while we are towing it.  And for what?  We are making less money, carrying more debt and for those of us fortunate enough to have a home, we are borrowing against our castle in an attempt to make ends meet.

It is all connected.  Until workers get a larger slice of the pie commensurate with their productivity they will not have the "peace of mind" to worry about the state of the environment, even though it is in their best interest to do so. When they are so concerned about putting food on the table, keeping the utility bill paid and getting medical attention for their 7-year old's asthma condition, they will never do anything about global warming.

It is a sorry state of affairs when the CEO of a Fortune 500 company makes more in one day then a teacher does in one year.  Who has the most responsibility for investing in the future of this country? If this isn't an indictment against our present capitalistic system I don't know what is.

So the next time you read about the plutocracy and their wealthy contributors remember that all  of that wealth is made on the backs of the working class.  A working class who will not be able to enter the privileged ranks of the 1%, no matter how many "up by the boot straps" stories they are fed.  A working class that will continue to pay the way for rich and greedy, until they decide enough is really enough.