Money is the fuel of the capitalist system, but if money is loaded into a boat and most of it is loaded to one side, the boat will capsize and sink. For the boat to float the money must be at least a little evenly spread out just to keep it afloat and if it does not even out then the boat will list to one side and just go in circles.
Wage inequality is a perfect example of a listing boating ready to sink the economy. Wage inequality promotes austerity that sinks the boat even quicker. The $15 to $18 an hour minimum wage along with a free education to the bachelor’s level could rectify and keep the capitalist system afloat. If this would come about we then could start training our workers like our union construction trades have done. Each trade has their own four-to-five-year apprenticeship training programs.
Then they become a journeyman worker, such as sheet metal, plumber, carpenters, iron workers, electricians, heavy equipment and construction, among others. This should start in high school to junior college and corporations should have their factories where the workers are, like used to happen during the steel mills and auto industries days.
It should be up to the corporations to train and then fit their work needs with the workers, which would give the inner cities hope. This could be done like Germany does it. The technology companies need thousands of workers. Microsoft says it has 6,000 vacancies and they want to export jobs on import workers. This can be seen two ways, either Microsoft doesn’t want to hire and pay a living wage to American workers and instead wants to import cheaper workers or our education system is so fouled up we are not properly educating and preparing our youth.
Corporations like Microsoft could and should set up schools in our underserved cities here in the U.S. We need more vocational educational classes and higher wages for our minimum wage workers, and we need to change our drug laws. These changes must be made worldwide and it is the wage slaves who will have to force this to happen or the capitalist ship will sink. Then everyone will lose—the oligarchies as well as the proletarians.
It will be them against us and fought in the streets worldwide and who will win? Or will we all lose? Just like the time to change damage to the climate is running out, so too is the time for the workers.
I hope that I am wrong, but what I see at this time is our unions are going to be in the fight of their existence. This is the most perilous time of our life. The life we had is threatened like never before. Unions are the largest organized group of people who can save our country if things keep going the way they are heading at this time. We need to all stand together for power, but we each must prepare and plan to take care of ourselves and our families. We can fight the big fight and not be distracted by worry about things that can and should already be taken care of. For instance, stashing at least one month’s pay and at least a month or even a year’s worth of food, whether the food is staples (pasta, rice, canned goods) and meat or chicken in the freezer. Keep your vehicles' tanks full and if possible a gas can full. It’s in your best interest to also save money for house or rent payments plus extra. This is not new thinking for us old trade workers who had to prepare when...
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