Fight for $Survival

A lot of brave folks walked off their jobs again today in their fight for a $15 minimum wage.  While there's still a ways to go, the workers at least have Democrats talking about it and republicans falling all over themselves to explain why it's okay for McDonald's CEO to live high on the hog while his workers can't buy basic necessities (rent, food) even when working 40 hours a week (and good luck to republicans with that one).

But it's not just a fight for minimum wage workers--it's eventually going to be a fight for all of us:

• Since 1973 our productivity is up but the median wage, in terms of buying power, has fallen $3000 a year.  We're getting a lot more done but we're getting paid less for it...and somebody's getting that money.
• Between 2000 and 2015, the percentage of corporate income devoted to workers' wages has declined by almost 7%--which means we all have lost $535 billion in wages over the past fifteen years.  Again, somebody's getting that money.
• Corporate profits since the Great Recession are up 22%, but there are still 5% less jobs than when it started.  Can I get a witness?  Somebody is getting that money.

Eventually we're all going to have to stand up to the degradation of our wages or else in the end "somebody" is going to get their desired endgame and the rest of us will all end up looking a whole hell of a lot like the poor bastards in Upton Sinclair's The Jungle.

Peace,
emaycee