My dad was a proud union member, now retired. He bought a home, cars, and raised a mess of kids...

[hunter]

... I stood with him as a kid on strike lines. I stapled signs to sticks.

Where did that world go?

Here's what I demand of any first world nation:

1. Living wages. Our U.S.A. "minimum" wage ought to be at least $16(2013) an hour

2. A national single-payer health plan and subsidized housing too. For anyone a place to "be" ought to be a right as long as they need it. Safe shelter, food, medical care, it's all yours simply because you are a human being. That's what civilization is all about.

3. Strong labor regulations. Any employer who abuses employees ("undocumented" or not) goes directly to jail. They do not pass "GO," they do not collect $200. And fuck their corporate shareholders too.

4. Generous unemployment, welfare, disability benefits, and government jobs that compete directly with the crappiest "private sector" jobs out there. Every last person should have the power to tell a rotten boss, "Take this job and shove it!" without any fear of homelessness, starvation, or going without appropriate and necessary medical care.

The U.S.A. is not a first world nation. Most of our workers live in fear, even if they don't quite know it and vote Republican and think Ronald Reagan was a great President.

I'd like to live in a nation that respected labor. The U.S.A. is not such a place. Our "Labor Day" is a cruel farce.

[Thinkingabout]

1. Thank you for your post, totally agree with you, itvwas some hard times walking a picket line but

We knew we would be rewarded. I am still in hopes the blue collar workers will rise again, make a liveable wages and treated well. We thrived and we worked hard. Happy Labor Day to our union members.

[orpupilofnature57]

2. +1000 !!!!

[Cha]

3. We keep fighting for it.. that's how we get to

be that Nation.

I don't think it's a "farce". yes, we still have a long way to go, but we don't give up.

[northoftheborder]

4. k&r a trillion

[lpbk2713]

5. The GOP and the RW AM Radio Hatemongers made Org Labor the Bad Guys.

See how easy it is to manipulate the willfully ignorant?

We've got some work to do. We've got to restore
the faith Americans once had in the Labor Movement.

[reformist2]

6. Amen. People are starting to realize life in the richest country in the world shouldn't be like this

[doc03]

7. Union wages and benefits converted the middle class into

Republicans. Look at who votes Republican, older white people in the suburbs. The younger generation just doesn't want to fight. I saw it myself in several strikes, we would go out on strike and the younger guys would want to return to work after they missed one paycheck.

[Warpy]

9. Bracket creep turned them into Republicans

The progressive tax system had never been indexed to inflation and as inflation persisted year after year, people found the percentage of their income going up until they were paying the same rates that the upper middle class had been paying 40 years earlier. The burden on the working and middle classes was completely unfair because Congress has never really understood that inflation is built into any fiat currency and has never indexed wages or taxes.

Republicans have done one thing, they've reduced the built in inflation, something that makes rich men very happy, but has just about killed working people who have watched their purchasing power decline year after year for 40 years.

[doc03]

13. You can believe this or not but we would go on strike

and there would be members show up at the union hall with shutoff notices from their utility companies. There were people that actually quit paying their bills months ahead of a strike and would have the union pay their bills. Most of these people were union officers or the ones that sucked up to the union officers. The 9 out of 10 of ua rank and file just lost all respect for our leadership, we would clean house and nothing would ever change..

[hunter]

14. Ohio sucks.

Are you working to fix it?

[Warpy]

25. Some people are just grabbers

and you find them in all classes.

However, it took bracket creep to get them to vote for Reagan.

[OrwellwasRight]

30. That's not exactly right.

Average people are not being taxed too much. That is a right wing talking point. The tax code used to be far more progressive, with may more brackets that all got consolidated into a single top bracket. So no one is currently what used to be the top rates.

It's the fact that wages are flat--not taxes being too high--that is preventing workers from "moving up in the world" they way workers used to. Virtually all wage gains in the last 20 years have gone to the top 10% of earners.

[Warpy]

34. People saw the percentage of their income taken by taxes rise

every time that income went up as inflation did. This ate into their purchasing power. Is this so very hard to understand?

http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/bracket_creep

Everybody was getting nailed by it from busboys and dishwashers up through the executive class.

This is what killed the progressive income tax, they had stupidly failed to index it to inflation.

This is why people were suckered by Reagan and his "flatter, fairer income tax, you can send it in on a postcard."

[OrwellwasRight]

35. Why do people always go to the "stupidity" argument?

I understand the words that are coming off your keybaord. I just DISAGREE with them. I don't learn my political and policy views from wikipedia.

People did not see "the percentage of their income taken by taxes rise every time their income went up." Only the new part of the income gets taxed at the higher rate, so everyone still makes more money when they make more money. The higher rate doesn't apply to their whole income--so the vast majority of their income is taxed the SAME (barring a raise that more than doubles your prior income). Is there anything you don't understand about that? I won't assume so, unlike you.

BY THE WAY, wages have largely been stagnant since about 1990, and inflation has remained low. Minimum wages haven't even kept up with inflation, so the argument doesn't hold.

What I am saying is that we tax ourselves FAR LESS than we should. People just think it is more because the far right tells them they are taxed more. Keep repeating the meme if you want to.

It's my right to disagree with anti-tax propaganda.

[Warpy]

37. Wages were allowed to fall far behind inflation

starting with the OPEC oil shocks in the early to mid 70s. The PTB were able to blame labor instead of OPEC for that inflation.

Wages have been in trouble far longer than 20 years, in other words. Even with the wage increases, inflation was eroding purchasing power and so were the taxes that rose along with it as working class people started to edge into brackets that had been reserved for the upper middle class 40 years previously.

This is why they were suckers for Reagan. The GOP was successful in blaming labor for inflation and taxes for lower purchasing power, the former a total fabrication and the latter with a grain of truth. Reagan promised and delivered 3 separate across the board 10% tax cuts, something people thought was going to do them some good but which delivered pennies for working people and thousands for plutocrats.

Higher incomes didn't make them turn Republican, in other words. Taxes that crept higher year after year as their purchasing power fell is what made them turn Republican in 1980.

[OrwellwasRight]

40. Your argument doesn't make sense.

Either wages didn't keep up with inflation (which is correct) or they didn't (which is incorrect).

You are argue both: you say inflation raised wages so much people crept into higher tax brackets AND you argue wages didn't keep pace with inflation, meaning no one crept into a higher tax bracket because no one's wages rose. You can't have it both ways.

As I argue, even when people do get a raise (regardless of the level of inflation), they don't feel "overtaxed" because they continue to get more in take home pay then they did before the raise even if the new income is taxed at a higher rate than the old income. The net result is more money in your pocket regardless of the top rate of your tax.

THERFORE, no one is overtaxed or feels overtaxed. Many people are under-incomed. I will NEVER agree with your right wing meme about people feeling overtaxed.

As to real wages not rising, that part is true. But lowering taxes doesn't fix that.

Taking power form corporations and allowing workers to reassert their power fixes that. That's what unions are for.

Anyone who voted for Reagan, or who followed him on any issues, taxes or otherwise, was an idiot. If they didn't see it at the time, I hope they do in retrospect.

[Warpy]

43. Wages didn't keep up with inflation

The increased dollar amount was inadequate to preserve buying power but was entirely adequate to increase the percentage of income taxes owed.

We're talking about why working people got SUCKERED. This is how and why. If you're still failing to understand it, I suggest you find the very good articles on Wiki about how the whole mess arose and how people were desperate enough to trust a corporate pitchman with a simpleton's understanding of economics with running the country.

[OrwellwasRight]

48. I don't fail to understand. Once more: I Disagree.

Are we clear? I disagree. I think it is a stupid argument. And anyone who voted for Reagan because of it was stupid. If wages not keeping up with inflation affects your purchasing power, not your taxes. If you don't understand that, I suggest you stop reading right wing memes.

[SoCalDem]

38. and instead of pay raises, millions of people got plastic credit cards

and continued to live the same lifestyle they were accustomed to, with debt instead of raised pay scale..

And of course, pensions were traded in for Casino 401-ks..

[Warpy]

44. Exactly, as purchasing power fell and taxes increased

people used debt to maintain their lifestyles, a double whammy to the middle class, the service on the debt added to the increased deficit in their purchasing power.

[Warpy]

8. Don't forget subsidized childcare and paid maternity leave

Women work, too, you know.

[hunter]

12. Yep, it ought to go both ways.

I was the stay-at-home dad. We had some rough times. Fortunately my wife's work was supportive. Bringing our babies to work was never a problem. As a male I'm utterly worthless for breast feeding. But I can work nights, even if I hate it.

[Scuba]

10. Where did it go, indeed?

[Omaha Steve]

11. Excellent

K&R!

[abelenkpe]

15. K&R

[upi402]

16. Republicans support NAFTA & GATT and bust unions

But so do Democrats now.

So...

[obxhead]

19. Not now, but always have.

Remember who signed NAFTA into law.

[Phlem]

17. Actually on #1

I forget if it was Suzy Orman or some other financial adviser, calculated a $20 + dollar an hour as a minimum wage, which sounded about right given for other factors like buying insurance, retirement, etc.....

I like you list and it's damn well spot on.



-p

[obxhead]

18. The minimum wage simply needs to be eliminated.

Replace it with a maximum wage. No person shall make more than 25 times the lowest paid worker.

[SunSeeker]

20. Hell yes! If Australia has all that, why the fuck can't we?! nt

[Triana]

21. My Dad was a Union member (UAW). He had decent wages. Was able to save.

He had a generous retirement and healthcare (besides just Medicare) till the day he died. He had money to pay off his home, buy a few cars over the years and a motor home. He loved to travel and was able to afford to do a little bit of that (2-3 major trips over 25 years or so).

He wasn't rich by any means but due to the fact that he belonged to a UNION all during his working years and could collectively bargain to have all those things, was able to provide a decent life for himself and his family, retire and die with dignity, leaving a few dollars for his kids.

And that is as it SHOULD be for all of us.

[hunter]

26. Yes.

My dad recently had a terrifying encounter with cancer.

It did not kill him, it did not bankrupt him. He and my mom continue to live in their small dream home in the forest.

That's the way things ought to be.

We won't always be able to deal with medical problems but everyone ought to be able to live with dignity when they retire.

[Triana]

27. Hope your dad continues to be OK.

People who get sick should not have to fear losing their home, savings, and bankruptcy. Putting people in that situation is just immoral. It's SO wrong.

[Kablooie]

23. All those wages are being vacuumed up by the super rich so there's little left for everyone else.

It seems a simple concept.
There is essentially a limited amount of money to go around.
The more cash the super rich grab hold of and lock away, the less there is for everyone else so wages drop.

The Fed can create more cash but that new cash is also designed to be sucked into the super rich accounts so it does little good for the rest of us.

[busterbrown]

24. And who should pay for this?

It’s even hard to be sarcastic with this subject...

Unions become the bad guys...Teachers? Post Office Workers? Firemen? WTF is going on?

[OrwellwasRight]

28. I don't know if it is a farce so much

as a reminder of:

1) how far we have to go; and

2) that this sin't too much to ask for!

[MissDeeds]

29. Great post

Labor made this country, pure and simple. I cannot support anyone who does not support working men and women, and the unions.

[mstinamotorcity2]

31. Sounds like a plan!!!!!

We seem to have become a Nation that has just plain lost respect for humanity. Yes people can take care of themselves. But as we learn better shouldn't we do better?? We have learned that if a person makes 12.25 per hour they could rise above the poverty level. that's for a single person. It doesn't say anything about extras, just basic needs. Food, clothing and shelter. With health care for all. you could get an even start in America. At what point did we become the Nation that advocates for people to go hungry.??? Tell Americans with citizenships that are four and five generations of blood, sweat, and tears, that they deserve to be poor. Where wealthy Bankers, and Lenders can literally rob the Taxpayers by pocketing and losing all of their hard earned pensions, homes, retirement funds, jobs, and the middle, and working class way of life.

It just truly messed up when you have just a few people who want all the fucking marbles. Do they realize when they have them all there will be no one who will want to play with them. which forces them to play with themselves??? When is enough, Enough ?
I remember when then President Ronald Reagan and his cronies were standing in front of a bank of microphones saying Uniions were bad. And a puglet in the background shouting " down with unions." And Ronald Reagan firing Patco members. And knew it was something cold on the way. Even when planes were falling out the sky he didn't give a fuck. This has been a Country that has always prided itself in Free Labor.; If they can't have it here, they will take your jobs where they can damn near get it FREE. Like China, as Mitt Rmoney says has these factories with beds right on the work site so workers can take a rest. He was touring a forced labor camp and acted as if he was at a state of the art facility. And they say who is acting like they have a sense of Entitlement????? How is Queen Anne doing???? " Its our turn "

[kairos12]

32. That is a great list

[liberal N proud]

33. The current state of lobor is compliments of the Reagan policies.

[Bunnahabhain]

36. My father was a union member

I was a child of his old age. He retired in 1971, a year after I was born, and died when I was six in 1976. He had zero equity, a mortgage on the house, no savings...the only thing he left us was a small pension. Enough to keep us off the streets but not out of poverty.

Being in a union is not/was not a mythical thing.

[B Calm]

39. When my dad retired from GM, he made more than I did working

full time for a non union company.

[Arugula Latte]

41. We're heading out of First World territory rapidly. Thanks, Reagan!

[felix_numinous]

42. Unions are only necessary because of abuse

First people have to admit conditions are actually abusive, you know; sweatshops, flesh peddling, child labor, extended hours, no vacations, racist policies--and shrinking wages.

It is ABUSE, not 'hard economic times' or 'a recession'--it is a robbery by the owners, who if not checked by an equal and opposite force, will become addicted to greed and power--and they will just keep on taking, and taking, and taking. It can get worse.

Labor unions are like encounter groups for the owners who are addicted to power--their arbitrators are like therapists who make them listen to the voices of the people they abused--so they can stop denying and overcome THEIR ADDICTION.


Not just 'Union, Yes' anymore--it's:

'Union DUH!'

[Bunnahabhain]

45. You are aware unions in the US have a significant history of racism?

I say this as you mentioned "racist policies." Many unions were explicitly racist. A very prime area of study, if you are interested in understanding this, would be railroad unions. They treated both African Americans and Chinese Americans very poorly. Here is a paper I recently read that deals with racism against African Americans by the unions serving the railroads: http://www.law.gmu.edu/assets/files/publications/working_papers/00-40.pdf

[felix_numinous]

46. Thanks you are right!

You can see I am an idealist, I imagine a system where everyone is represented

[Bunnahabhain]

47. Me too.

[hunter]

49. We live in a racist society.

Tell it to Cesar Chavez.