Where have All the broad Shoulders Gone? Or, Labor Day in a Kleptocracy

Informed Comment by Juan Cole | Sep. 7, 2009 (Opinion)

(Blog Post) Now Americans have convinced themselves that we don't have a working class. Everybody is middle class, even those who make minimum wage in the fast food industry, or those who are kept as part-timers so that the store (I'm looking at you, Walmart) doesn't have to enroll them in a health care program. The closest we get to celebrating the workers who built this country is when we talk about "working families," an odd locution, since aside from the idle rich ... Full Story »

Posted by Kaizar Campwala - via NewsRack (Afghanistan), Informed Comment

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3.3

by Kaizar Campwala - Sep. 7, 2009

If we repealed the law making corporations a person and if we constrained all corporations that do the bulk of their business in the US to pay taxes here, there would be ... More »

Kaizar posted this story.

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4.6

by Judith Bello - Sep. 13, 2009

Juan's take on affairs is insightful, and shows a perspective not covered at all in the main stream. This makes his work 'balanced' in the sense that it balances the so called balanced coverage that obscures the truth of what the real affect of events on people is.

I agree with Juan that workers rights are being undermined in a context where ordinary people are more and more irrelevant to the definition of success or health of the country. I have had a personal insight about the idea that Americans think of themselves as 'Middle Class' rather than 'Working Class' I realized at some point that it makes it very difficult for us to bond as workers despite the fact that we are workers and have little control over our work opportunities as such.

Now Americans have convinced themselves that we don’t have a working class. Everybody is middle class, even those who make minimum wage in the fast food industry, or ... More »

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