I wish someone could offer me some suggestion or whiff of hope that the things I’m so desperately concerned about could be corrected…or that we were at least heading in the right direction…but the more I read, the more concerned I become…
The national unemployment rate stands at a horrifying 9.8%. But unemployment is 15.7% among high-school dropouts, and an astonishing 42% of all unemployed workers have been jobless for more than six months. At press time, Congress appeared poised to pass a package of tax cuts that offers 19% of its benefits to the richest 1% of taxpayers.
Real average hourly earnings (excluding fringe benefits) now stand roughly at 1974 levels. Yes, that’s right, no real increase in over 35 years. That is an astounding, dismaying and profoundly a historical development.
I just don’t see how any of this turns out well in even the short run….someone please tell me I’m wrong…..
Using history as a guide, it won’t turn out well. There are going to be some major problems over the next several years or decades unless some of this reverses. It won’t reverse unless some of us step up and join forces. It won’t reverse if we keep trying to change the system using the same old tactics.
If you want to do something about it, send me an email. I have some specific ideas how we can make a difference, and taking the banks on is a good start.