Spring Break
Shifting the Focus
A New Economic Agenda for the Working Class
Ali Kelley '09
Issue date: 11/3/08 Section: Opinion
Between 2002 and 2006, the incomes of the wealthiest 1% of Americans increased over 50%. Yet at the same time, the poverty rate actually increased. Wages have stagnated and slipped, prices have escalated, and saving has become increasingly difficult. Many Americans are struggling to sustain their lifestyles as the costs of education, healthcare, and basic necessities, like food and gas, continue to outpace inflation. So far, nearly 760,000 jobs have disappeared this year, and the personal savings rate is at its lowest since the Great Depression. The recent collapse of Wall Street has exacerbated an already dismal economic situation and, even after the passage of the "bailout" bill, is sure to bring lasting and widespread devastation.
These and other economic issues highlight the need for sincere and significant changes in our attitudes, policies, and rhetoric. The progressive values of economic security, broad based prosperity, and equal opportunity are necessary to repair our economy and restore our faith in the federal government.
At the Democratic Convention in Denver this summer, the Obama campaign released a comprehensive "Plan to Support Working Women and Families" at a public roundtable discussion. The plan lists three main goals: strengthening economic security for women and families, improving upon the "work/family" balance, and ensuring the health of American families. At the event, co-hosts Michelle Obama and Joe Biden were joined by four female governors and four working class women from different parts of the country, each of whom had been selected on account of her personality and her plight (one young woman was the sole breadwinner for and caregiver to an adolescent sister with cerebral palsy and a mother with heart failure; another had been suddenly widowed and left to raise her five children alone, on one income).
All of the women were composed and poignant, but one in particular won the admiration of Senator Biden, who at the end of the talk put his arm around her and whispered something in her ear. He, like everyone else in the audience, must have been awed by her extraordinary work ethic. For the past several decades, Leisha Kiel has worked no less than two jobs at a time in order to support her family. Her longstanding job with the Denver office of the Department of Defense has provided Leisha with benefits unattainable to most, but nonetheless, she exemplifies the present struggles of America's working class.
These and other economic issues highlight the need for sincere and significant changes in our attitudes, policies, and rhetoric. The progressive values of economic security, broad based prosperity, and equal opportunity are necessary to repair our economy and restore our faith in the federal government.
At the Democratic Convention in Denver this summer, the Obama campaign released a comprehensive "Plan to Support Working Women and Families" at a public roundtable discussion. The plan lists three main goals: strengthening economic security for women and families, improving upon the "work/family" balance, and ensuring the health of American families. At the event, co-hosts Michelle Obama and Joe Biden were joined by four female governors and four working class women from different parts of the country, each of whom had been selected on account of her personality and her plight (one young woman was the sole breadwinner for and caregiver to an adolescent sister with cerebral palsy and a mother with heart failure; another had been suddenly widowed and left to raise her five children alone, on one income).
All of the women were composed and poignant, but one in particular won the admiration of Senator Biden, who at the end of the talk put his arm around her and whispered something in her ear. He, like everyone else in the audience, must have been awed by her extraordinary work ethic. For the past several decades, Leisha Kiel has worked no less than two jobs at a time in order to support her family. Her longstanding job with the Denver office of the Department of Defense has provided Leisha with benefits unattainable to most, but nonetheless, she exemplifies the present struggles of America's working class.
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working guy
posted 12/09/08 @ 4:44 PM EST
The work ethic of more than a few citizens needs to get better before anything will work. A strong work ethic should be a standard in any successful nation. (Continued…)
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