Another Great Depression?

The last time that wealth was so concentrated at the top was back in the
1920's, when Republicans controlled all branches of government.  The
result was the biggest economic Depression in American history, which
culminated in the stock market crash of 1929.  We are in the same
situation again, Republicans, today, in 2003, also control all 3
branches of government, and they are up to their same old tricks, the
best example of which is Bush's draconian tax cuts, most of which went
to the richest 1%.     
              
Abel Malcolm
http://www.bushrecall.com
______
     
From: http://www.inequality.org/goinggoingfr.html  
          
The Collapse of the Middle Class --- by Congressman Bernie Sanders.   
                 
THE CORPORATE MEDIA doesn't talk about it much, but the United States is
rapidly on its way to becoming three separate nations.  First, there are
a small number of incredibly wealthy people who own and control more and
more of our country.  Second, there is a shrinking middle class in which
ordinary people are, in most instances, working longer hours for lower
wages and benefits.  Third, an increasing number of Americans are living
in abject poverty - going hungry and sleeping out on the streets. 
               
There has always been a wealthy elite in this country, and there has
always been a gap between the rich and the poor.  But the disparities in
wealth and income that currently exist in this country have not been
seen in over a hundred years. Today, the richest one percent own more
wealth than the bottom ninety-five percent, and the CEOs of large
corporations earn more than 500 times what their average employees make.
The nation's 13,000 wealthiest families, 1/100th of one percent of the
population, receive almost as much income as the poorest 20 million
families in America. 
           
While the rich get richer and receive huge tax breaks from the White
House, the middle class is struggling to keep its head above water.  The
unemployment rate rose to a nine-year high of 6.4 percent in June, 2003.
There are now 9.4 million unemployed, up more than 3 million since just
before Bush became President.  Since March 2001, we have lost over 2.7
million jobs in the private sector, including two million decent-paying
manufacturing jobs - ten percent of our manufacturing sector.
Frighteningly, the hemorrhaging of decent paying jobs is now moving into
the white-collar sector.  Forrester Research Inc. predicts that at least
3.3 million information technology jobs will be lost to low-wage
countries by 2015 with the expansion of digitization, the internet and
high-speed data networks. 
              
But understanding the pain and anxiety of the middle class requires
going beyond the unemployment numbers.  There are tens of millions of
fully employed Americans who today earn, in inflation-adjusted dollars,
less money than they received 30 years ago.  In 1973, private-sector
workers in the United States were paid on average $9.08 an hour.  Today,
in real wages, they are paid $8.33 per hour - more than 8 percent lower.
Manufacturing jobs that once paid a living wage are now being done in
China, Mexico and other low-wage countries as corporate America ships
its plants abroad. 
            
With Wal-Mart replacing General Motors as our largest employer, many
workers in the service economy not only earn low wages but also receive
minimal benefits. Further, as the cost of health insurance and
prescription drugs soar, more and more employers are forcing workers to
assume a greater percentage of their health care costs.  It is not
uncommon now that increases in health care costs surpass the wage
increases that workers receive - leaving them even further behind.  With
the support of the Bush Administration many companies are also reducing
the pensions they promised to their older workers - threatening the
retirement security of millions of Americans. 
            
One of the manifestations of the collapse of the middle class is the
increased number of hours that Americans are now forced to work in order
to pay the bills. Today, the average American employee works, by far,
the longest hours of any worker in the industrialized world. 
            
And the situation is getting worse. According to statistics from the
International Labor Organization the average American last year worked
1,978 hours, up from 1,942 hours in 1990 - an increase of almost a week
of work.  We are now putting more hours into our work than at any time
since the 1920s. 
Sixty-five years after the formal establishment of the 40-hour work week
under the Fair Labor Standards Act, almost 40% of Americans now work
more than 50 hours a week. 
            
And if the middle class is having it tough, what about the 33 million
people in our society who are living in poverty, up 1.3 million in the
past two years?  What about the 11 million trying to make it on a
pathetic minimum wage of $5.15 an hour? What about the 42 million who
lack any health insurance? What about the 3.5 million people who will
experience homelessness in this year, 1.3 million of them children?
What about the elderly who can't afford the outrageously high cost of
the prescription drugs they need? What about the veterans who are on VA
waiting lists for their health care? 
             
This country needs to radically rethink our national priorities.  The
middle class is the backbone of America and it cannot be allowed to
disintegrate.  We need to revitalize American democracy, and create a
political climate where government makes decisions which reflect the
needs of all the people, and not just wealthy campaign contributors. We
need to see the middle class expand, not collapse. 
        
September 4, 2003 
       
Bernie Sanders of Vermont is the only Independent in the U.S. House of
Representatives. 
     
http://www.inequality.org/goinggoingfr.html 

"In the end, through the long ages of our quest for light, it will be
found that truth is still mightier than the sword":

Gen. Douglas MacArthur (Graduated from West Point at the top of his
class, then served brilliantly in WW1, WW2 & the Korean war)

Educate yourself and go to these links: 

http://www.buzzflash.com & http://www.moveon.org &
http://www.veteransforpeace.org & http://www.salon.com &
http://www.huppi.com/kangaroo/LiberalFAQ.htm &
http://www.barbrastreisand.com