The rich get richer and income inequality in America continues to grow in 2013. The wage situation improved from 2012, but it's still pretty bad. The median wage was $28,031.02 in 2013 a paltry 1.9% increase from 2012. While the ratio of median wage to average wage improved, the 110 super rich are now earning 2595 times more than average workers.
Enslaved through trade, That seems to be the agenda with trade agreements these days. Over and over again national law, the common good is overwritten through bad trade deals. Wikileaks has exposed yet another horror from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement being negotiated. It seems freedom loving, Democratic United States is leading the charge to ensure life saving drugs are not affordable for most people.
Conservatives have been well known for bad-mouthing our European ancestors — especially the French 1 — calling them "socialists" and whatever other insults they can think of to hurl at them 2.
If for no other reason, the Republican party's ABSOLUTE REFUSAL to raise the federal minimum wage should be the best reason for why the GOP should lose the 2016 congressional elections. Republican voters (who might earn more) should understand that, by setting the ground floor for the lowest federally mandated minimum wage, that also puts great pressure on their employers to raise their wages as well. How can their bosses explain to a factory worker in Tennessee (or elsewhere) that McDonalds employees are earning more than they are?
After the Great Recession had officially began (but prior to the stock market crash of 2008/09) George W. Bush responded to the early signs of economic trouble with a "helicopter drop" in the form of lump sum tax rebates to wage earners to help stimulate the economy. They were provided for in the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008, with support from both the Democrats and the Republicans. The bill was signed into law on February 13, 2008.
Walmart is at it again, slashing benefits for their workers. This time Walmart will deny health insurance to employees working less than 30 hours a week. That's about 28,000 Walmart workers. Walmart isn't alone in throwing part-time workers under the healthcare bus as Target, Home Depot, Walgreens and Trader Joe’s. have already denied healthcare coverage for their workers.
How much would you pay for a year of life? It seems Big Pharma has figured that number out and are charging over $100,000 a year for life saving Cancer drugs. Yes, surprise, surprise, the more dire the disease, the more the great for profit pharmaceutical industry is charging for the cure. In 2012 alone, of the 12 cancer drugs approved by the FDA, 11 cost over $100,000.
In a speech yesterday at Northwestern University, President Obama said, "American manufacturing has added more than 700,000 new jobs." But since Obama first took office in 2009, we've actually had a NET LOSS of 400,000 manufacturing jobs.
According to a new report, ever since Bill Clinton granted permanent normal trade relations to China, the U.S has lost over 64,000 manufacturing firms and at least 5.8 million manufacturing jobs.
Something strange is happening to familiar American companies: Burger King has become Canadian, Pfizer seems to be trying to be British, and Walgreens has backed away from becoming Swiss only because of the outcry over their plan for a new nationality. Seeing what our companies are willing to do to escape paying income tax, people are beginning to wonder about how American our American companies are.
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