Last week I wrote a post in which I urged Elizabeth Warren
and/or Bernie Sanders to run for president because I had just paid my rent and
barely had enough money left over to make it to my next paycheck, even though I
work full time.
Well, I made it to my next paycheck (on less than $20 a
day, I might add), paid my utility bills and a few credit cards, and was left
with barely enough money to get through the week again!
When someone working full time has to worry about how he’s
going to survive until his next paycheck, there’s something seriously wrong
with this country. And I’m not even talking about fast food or retail workers,
here. I’m talking about someone with a white collar position, something that
used to be known as a good job.
This past weekend I had a one-hour phone conversation with
my brother. Even though we come from opposite ends of the political
spectrum—I’m a liberal Democrat and my brother is an Independent (although his
views tend to skew Republican)—we both agreed that the middle class is getting
screwed.
Thing didn’t get this way by accident, they were legislated by rich people and organizations in order to maintain
their positions of power.
What do you think Obamacare is? A law written by the
healthcare industry for its own benefit.
Similarly, in perhaps an even more egregious example,
Citibank wrote the Wall Street giveaway that was approved by Congress as part
of the budget last year.1
And, of course, it’s not just the healthcare industry and
banks that write their own laws. Every
industry has lobbyists on Capitol Hill who write laws and then submit them to
Congress for approval.
Meanwhile, unions—the only organizations working on behalf
of the other 99% of Americans—have become
nearly nonexistent.
Just recently, Wisconsin became the 25th state
to pass a “right to work law,” a piece of legislation that weakens unions.2
Additionally, whatever’s left of the so-called “safety net”
we have in this country—from unemployment insurance to food stamps—has been
decimated by Republicans.
This is why we need Elizabeth Warren and/or Bernie Sanders
to run for president. Because the American middle class is becoming the
American poor.
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