This morning I read in the Chicago Sun-Times that "the share of male workers with good jobs, defined as those with health care, retirement benefits, and wages that add up to at least 60 percent of the median household income, dropped from 46.5% in 1979 to 31.3% in 2008." I was shocked and appalled. The median household income in the U.S. was just over $50,000 in 2007. This means that less than 1/3 of all employed men in the U.S. make at least $30,000/year and have health care benefits and a retirement program.
Let me expand on that thought. If a man is making less than $30,000/year, and he does not have health care benefits or a retirement plan, it is very unlikely that he will A) be able to afford health care on his own, or B) be able to afford to put money into an IRA or other retirement plan after bills. Suffice it to say that most of those men who are married have spouses who also work. In all likelihood they still do not meet the median income measure at $50,000, have a formal health care plan for their family, or have a voluntary retirement plan beyond Social Security. This is the documented case for over 2/3 of American men.
Where has the middle class gone? Well let's look at some facts. The approximate percentage of American men with at least a B.A. degree is 30%. What we are talking about here is the fact that the percentage of men with "good jobs" is just about equal to the percentage of men with college degrees. That is to say that "good jobs" to be had without a college degree are practically non-existent. The age of the man with a high school diploma and a factory job that paid a middle class wage are gone. The middle class is shrinking. More families are struggling. We are in danger of becoming like those third world nations where a few wealthy people live a good life, but huge numbers of people live in dangerous poverty in slums. (See Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela, Mexico, or Colombia.)
Part of the problem is that the profit impulse has sent large numbers of those factory jobs overseas where companies can get the job done for a lot less money. Part of the problem is that we do not value simple labor and pay for it in a reasonable fashion. Part of the problem is that we do not value education enough in American to invest in it in a way that gives appropriate skills to all. Part of the problem is that the portion of the population with a good life is just plain greedy and they will not invest their windfall, via taxation, philanthropy, or other such to see to it that the population on the lower end of the spectrum is taken care of. (Kind of a "I got mine. Get your own, kind of mentality.)
Truthfully, 90% of the income in this country is in the hands of 10% of the people, and 8% are middle class people like myself. 2% are disgustingly wealthy beyond belief and actually hold the majority of that 90% of the income. And all of this that I am talking about has not even factored in things like race and ethnicity. All of the above is more or less true for white people. Can you imagine how skewed the income and good life statistics are for African-Americans or Mexican-Americans?
I'm not sure what the answer is to this problem. I do know that A) we have to develop some jobs that pay a reasonable wage, with benefits for those without a college degree B) those who do not go to college need to get some training beyond high school C) we need to redevelop industries at home instead of shipping them all overseas (We cannot support a nation that is based on the service sector.) D) the leadership of our nation in Washington D.C. and various state capitals needs to put together a brain trust to address this problem. Mr. Obama, you said, "Yes we can." Now let's see those words put into action. Nothing less than the American way of life is at risk.
No comments:
Post a Comment