With a new government in town, now is the time for big changes, which will get people thinking about good things instead of trying to destroy our democracy. Healthcare or Medicare should be for all, climate change has to be addressed and minimum wage of at least $24 to keep up with inflation or implementation of a universal basic income of $2,000 to supplement people’s incomes and stimulate the economy.
This needs to be done now for by 2040 or sooner the 2.7 million truck drivers will be replaced by driverless trucks, and it will be up to the civilians to stay out of the way of these driverless vehicles, according to a recent NPR story. Vending machines are already taking the place of some stops and self-check-out lanes are taking the place of cashiers. Two million jobs were lost in human resources, finance and information technology and new research software means a single lawyer can now do the work of five hundred lawyers. There are fewer secretaries, file clerks, telephone operators, travel agents and bank tellers.
With all these jobs lost, we may find our people unemployed or underemployed, working part time on zero-hour contracts, working in a gig economy with very little spending power, no matter what happens to the job market.
This is not new. The Romans used to give free bread to its poor people. It was a way to keep people’s minds busy and their bellies full to prevent any sort of uprising.
Today, we could use the same thing to start rebuilding our country. We need to close the gap between the rich and poor, and we have to show the people something good or they will destroy our country. Changing things for the majority of people will go a long way saving this country, affordable housing, enough money to more than live on, healthcare coverage, jobs and reining in the lax environmental laws that Trump implemented for his corporate cronies.
Unions’ long game is to get all union contracts to expire on the same day nationwide. The United Auto Workers combines contracts ends on April 28, 2028. This could then result in a mass national strike starting on May Day beeginning that year. This could then put enormous pressure on employers, but also on lawmakers. It’s the muscle and sweat of the workers that keeps this country great, not the individual company or corporations. This May Day strike would be the time to change the workers’ world for the better by negotiating for a 32-hour week with the same pay, and the U.S. adopts a healthcare for all with no out of pocket costs. This would also help the employers as they would no longer have to provide healthcare. By striking, the UAW won same pay for new workers, all UAW contracts will end on the same date, a 25-percent pay increase, a cost of living adjustments, a guaranteed right to strike over potential plant closures, and also the right to vote to unionize through the card che
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