Forum Post: Inclusiveness in a Worker Movement
Posted 4 years ago on Sept. 21, 2020, 11:35 a.m. EST by elf3
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Until we create an inclusive strong worker movement where no one is left pulling the cart then our country will continue to polarize and breed resentment towards "the other". If the top 5 percent of earners is deducted from the equation, we are not so far apart as a nation. In fact more than 50 percent of Americans earn less than $30,000 per year. The working class is holding the weight of an economy where corporations and the rich skirt taxes and have decimated our middle class workers who are expected to lift up others with little upward mobility of our own. This can only cause resentment and further division. If we are going to say we need educational or housing opportunities paid for by our working class - then the working class should absolutely be able to participate in the things we pay for: so we must make them accessible and UNIVERSAL. Health care, education, and a leg up must be accessible to all - dividing access to what should be universal to only those who qualify or need it the most - is creating a system where only some pay, and only some have access to basic needs and upward mobility, or safety nets. While I agree the playing field has been innately stacked - approaching the solution in this way doesn't change the fact that our system is not currently benefiting those who contribute nor being funded by the wealthy top five percent - but by a working class which are not members of that club. If we continue to lump in the working class with the top one to five percent - the disconnect it's creating by those who in fact don't have it easy and calls for them to sacrifice more and more to aid others - is not opening them to the plight of others but further causing resentment and closing them off. The focus needs to be on rebuilding our working class - which is the majority of us together - and creating a benefit for that contribution. Humans are almost born recognizing when something is not fair (even young children) so of course paying in more and more to a system which offers little to nothing in return (unless you are very poor or of a specific group) is going to cause people to become angry. We can keep going back to the points in history when it all began - or we can deal with the system in front of us. The system in front of us has been designed by Wall Street and neo-liberal neo con trickle down doctrine which I guess now means the middle class empties their pockets and has no mobility while trickling down what extra they don't actually have to aid the growing poverty caused by the greed of passive income privilege.
If I'm having difficulty putting my own kids to college (in theory) or I've never been able to afford college myself or had time to go - why would I be ok contributing more taxes which help other people or other people's children go to college on free grants or subsidized funds? I now have even less money to help my own kids or I have to work even more or a second job. Would I have a problem contributing to a universal system - one from which my own kids would also benefit - no. Same goes for healthcare. So I think some of the rhetoric of late, has ignored this situation. Do I want all kids to have opportunity medical care and upward mobility - absolutely. (But not at the expense of my own children's opportunity or frankly my own) or my own time with family (ie working more while making less). This is why Trump is pulling in the working class voters in spite of the fact that he is simultaneously the cause of the problem. Because he acknowledges the situation and difficulty they face. Albeit he is only pretending to hear them. The democratic party has become tone deaf in this regard. I don't think anyone is excited to help others before they are helped themselves. And the middle class is not doing well. Even those who are are facing complete and total instability. Jobs are constantly downsizing and the working landscape continues to be destroyed by automation and outsourcing, gigging, and job stacking (what used to be 5 jobs rolled into one). The loss of pensions and 401k's, no more retirement. Everything is a fear filled uncertain shit show. The mood of America is reflecting this. People are becoming meaner, ruder, and more anxious. We are losing not just jobs but things that did make America great. Door holding, politeness, relaxation, confidence in the future, people being caring and friendly to one another. Those things are valuable too. Americans are full of STRESS now. Full of stress, resentment, and anger. And we are turning it on each other instead of those (and the system they made) to blame. And if I think my wages which haven't kept up with inflation are going to be further stripped down or stripped away - I'm going to get angry, I'm going to ask who is causing this, and I'm going to battle back. (I'm not talking about the top percents, I'm talking about working class). And they'd be right to be upset.
Why aren't Democrats focusing on making corporations pay a fair share both to workers and the tax systems. Why are they instead focused on attacking the already stripped down wages of the working class. The answer in my view is they are backed by the SAME entities as Trump and BOTH parties are doing everything they can to protect Wall Street.
Why do Democrats REFUSE to protect and promote private worker unions?
The middle class pays for EVERYTHING. And Democrats alongside Republicans seem happy to continue to let them.
Democrats are making promises to the poor they can't keep. They can't keep them because the middle class is the one funding it all. The middle class is under attack. The funds aren't going to be there after corporate America is through with them.
We must write laws which force corporations to contribute a fair percentage of profits to workers. We must have unions. Unions are the great equalizer which ensures workers benefit from the labor and wealth they create.
I also believe we need to have price setting of our resources to keep corporations from gauging us. Why do we pay more for our phone bills than heat? I don't know anyone who doesn't think cable costs too much. And don't even get me started on housing and landlords. Baby boomers had rent control Millenials - RENT CONTROL - before you were born. Imagine that? An apartment that is cheaper than a mortgage that enables one to save for the American Dream - yep it was standard.
Gen x remembers. That's why they disappeared us.
Flat tax - no deductions no offshoring?
Move to Amend. Re-write the tax codes - tax Wall Street. Publicly fund elections. Create a fair playing system by which small business can compete. Disband monopolies. Re-instate net neutrality.