We gotta take the bastards down

With a tip of the hat to the Dropkick Murphy's ("Take 'Em Down") for today's post title on this fine--and have I ever mentioned, my favorite holiday?--Labor Day....

While there is indeed much to be thankful to Labor Unions for--the weekend, employer provided healthcare, an end to child labor, higher wages, vacation pay, sick pay--there is still a strong need for them to fight the ills we still face:

1.  The middle class is sinking fast:  In 1971 61% of Americans were defined as middle class (income between $39,000 and $118,000); today that number has dropped to 51%.  In 1970, 62% of earned income went to the middle class, and 29% to the wealthy.  Today those numbers are 45% for the middle class and 46% for the wealthy.  Who else but labor unions will fight for more money for us?
2.  The middle class is losing hope:  85% of people who consider themselves middle class say it's getting harder to maintain their standard of living (never mind actually increasing their net worth).  In the last ten years, the number of middle class people who think their kids will be better off has decreased from 51% to 43%.  The number who think their kids will be worse off has increased from 19% to 26%.  Anybody think corporations or the wealthy are going to give the middle class a shoulder to lean on or a leg up on better wages?
3.  The (republican) man who would be Vice President has devised a budget that would cut food stamps, gut Medicaid, end Medicare as we know it, and significantly reduce Pell Grants to needy students--just for starters.  Who else is going to stand up for the poor and the elderly?  Wall Street?  Hedge Fund Managers?  Corporate CEOs?  Fuck no--it's Labor Unions, you know.

Robert Kennedy once said, "Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance."

And that's exactly what Labor Unions do--for all of us.

Peace,
emaycee