The two things which will destroy our world as we know it, are inequality and climate change. The Freedom of Enterprise Act (FEA) being proposed by the Republicans will be against anything that alleviates climate change and inequality. In fact, EEA exempts anyone worth a billion dollars from paying taxes and from having to obey all laws, exempts for now homicide and assault.
OxFam, an international charitable organization focused on eliminating global poverty, says there are now 2,043 billionaires in the world and their fortunes grew by $762 billion in 2017 while the poorest of humanity saw no increase in their wealth.
Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos and Warren Buffett have $250 billion more than 160 million Americans. If this trend continues driving up the bargaining power of those at the top while driving down the bargaining power of those at the bottom, this will trap people in poverty and further fracture our society.
OxFam said the massive inequalities are being driven by factors that include excessive financial returns to company owners and shareholders at the expense of ordinary workers and the rest of the economy. The ability of rich people to use tax havens to evade or shield trillions of dollars from tax authorities, public policy that permits market conditions that push down wages and infringe on labor rights while extreme wealth is inherited and not earned.
Read the book “Capital” by Thomas Piketty to understand how this is coming about. The Have Nots will not stay at peace with this much longer. Just look at Greece, which has a new austerity bill the will limit the right to strike and speed-up property foreclosures. You won’t find this being reported in the news because the corporate media does not want you to know about any of this occurring, preferring to participate in the blindside of the working people.
It is time for a universal basic income and a $15 to $22 minimum wage.
Yes, they are coming for us. Workers need to have one another’s backs because no one else will. Neither the broader labor movement nor the Democratic party are prepared to meet the urgency of this moment. So it’s going to fall upon the rest of us to mount a real resistance against Trump’s authoritarian takeover. We’re going to have to get our hands dirty. I don’t care if you have a good, well-paying union job and you are in the middle class now—if you see a worker being dragged out of his workplace regardless of how skilled the job and potentially taken to another country, you should be ready to be there for that worker. When I.C.E. shows up, gather around and shame them into leaving. It has worked in other places. America is sleep walking into authoritarianism, and if there’s anyone out there who is a member of a labor union that is safe—at this point— and doesn’t think this applies to them. Understand that they just haven’t gotten to you yet. They’re coming for all of us. There are ...
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