The class divide is creating a class warfare that is pitting your children against the rich children, who will have more money, better healthcare, education, food, housing, entertainment, vacations and finding a rich, well-educated mate than their poorer cohorts. If the rich should run afoul of the law, they can hire the best attorneys and not have to rely on court appointed attorneys.
HBO had a documentary by Marc Levin called “Class Divide” which looked at this phenomenon with the perfect example — 10th Avenue and 26th Street — which showed an elite school, called Avenues, on one side of the street, and on the other side was the public housing development, Chelsea-Elliot Houses, home to 2,500 people, most from the working poor.
Now, the “Used to be Middle Class” children and their families are facing a similar situation as the government looks to cut funding to education, Social Security, Medicare/Medicaid, unemployment, disability insurance, government aide programs, geography and housing assistance and affordability. The federal government is raising interest rates in both 2018 and 2019. The poor are already encumbered by huge debt. U.S. households will be forced to pay higher interest on their debt. The final straw that breaks the back of the Middle Class.
Most troublesome is that this leaves people with less money for current spending, which could push the economy into a recession and put inequity on steroids and perpetuate social problems like substance abuse, obesity, diabetes and declining school performance, and much, much more.
What we will end up with are two classes, and this will not turn out well, especially if there is no way for each class to have a government which will represent all of us and not just the very rich who can buy local, state and federal politicians who are destroying the poor’s last bastion of hope — unions. In favor of corporations, elected officials are passing right to work laws, weakening labor laws and eliminating members from having to pay dues, which are used for unions’ collective bargaining efforts. This issue is now awaiting a decision from the U.S. Supreme Court.
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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