The real battle of the Middle Class

Many years ago, one of my first jobs was in Human Resources as a temp at General Motors in Argentina.
This was in 1975 during the last Presidency of the Perons. I remember vividly that my boss would send me to get the workers that had either been late without a notice, sick with no justification or had been reprimanded by their foremen.
I made lots of enemies. I was very naive, not that that has changed much. I also became friends with the heads of the union, or at least the representatives at the factory, as I would many times go and talk to them about different workers that were having problems.
I was very opinionated regarding how I felt about unions and workers. I am still very opinionated but my views have changed. I assume they changed because I am getting older, but I think the reason they have changed the most is because I have seen in my 25 years in the U.S. how corporations, and particularly the top 1% of the population (in wealth) have demonized and have tried to bust unions.
Many people say that unions have been a major factor to the creation of the largest middle class in history by negotiating decent salaries for its workers and by benefiting indirectly to the people who were not unionized.
Two friends of mine were openly discussing their views on why they held different political views. They were doing it in a civil, cordial and primarily affectionate way, putting their differences aside and letting their friendship play the key thing that united them. I was able to appreciate both their positions, and going back in time, relate to where both of them came from. To a big section of Argentina Peron was a demon, and his legacy in all its derivatives has been nothing to brag about. To the rest Peron and his “disciples” have been a God sent. A good friend of mine once said “that a terrorist to some people could be a freedom fighter to others”. It comes down to what crystal you are viewing it with. 1973 to 1976 were difficult years in Argentina, just like the period that came after, between 1976 and 1983.
But this blog is not about Argentina, back then or today, it’s about where the middle in the United States is heading to.
We have had 30 years of stagnant wages for the middle class, with part of it shifting into the poverty level, while the top 2% have seen their incomes skyrocket. This country has been exporting jobs to China, India, Mexico and many other nations. That has put a tremendous amount of pressure on salaries. We have seen the devastation of pensions, savings, 401k, housing values and, that has just made matters worse.
In the election of 2008 we saw a mix of campaign financing between the wealthy and the unions taking opposite sides. After the Citizens United poor decision from this Supreme Court we saw a bullying of the wealthy in the last election with people like the Koch brothers buying elections across the country, with wealthy organizations being the top 7 donors out of 10 in the last election.
Now, as if the being the top 7 was not enough, the top 1% have decided that they want to wipe out completely their competition, the unions, who came in 8th, 9th and 10th and donors in the last election, and the way to do that is busting state unions across the country. This has nothing to do with state budgets, and more to do with pay back for those wealthy donors. We are seeing it in Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana and Ohio. In Ohio we have a governor who has already said, and proved with the choices he’s made in his cabinet, that he does not have any respect in minorities. He will pass legislation that will destroy the rights of state employees (teachers, firefighters, police officers), by taking away their right to collective bargaining. This is not just salaries that they want to cap. As I said earlier, it is the way of weakening the opposition by cutting the last bastion that the Democratic Party has behind it.
If they are successful it will be the almost certain elimination of the middle class in this country as we know it, the lowering of the standard of living, the elimination of legislation and regulations that have kept this country’s water and air safe. We will have a two class system, like other impoverished nations have, with the top 1 or 2% keeping everything at the expense of the rest of us, and shoving down the throat of the country their values, their views and their ideology. As it is today the top 2% earn more than the bottom 50%.