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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsPaul Krugman- Better Pay Now
By PAUL KRUGMAN
Tis the season to be jolly or, at any rate, to spend a lot of time in shopping malls. It is also, traditionally, a time to reflect on the plight of those less fortunate than oneself for example, the person on the other side of that cash register.
The last few decades have been tough for many American workers, but especially hard on those employed in retail trade a category that includes both the sales clerks at your local Walmart and the staff at your local McDonalds. Despite the lingering effects of the financial crisis, America is a much richer country than it was 40 years ago. But the inflation-adjusted wages of nonsupervisory workers in retail trade who werent particularly well paid to begin with have fallen almost 30 percent since 1973.
So can anything be done to help these workers, many of whom depend on food stamps if they can get them to feed their families, and who depend on Medicaid again, if they can get it to provide essential health care? Yes. We can preserve and expand food stamps, not slash the program the way Republicans want. We can make health reform work, despite right-wing efforts to undermine the program.
And we can raise the minimum wage.
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http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/02/opinion/krugman-better-pay-now.html
pampango
(24,692 posts)health reform work, despite right-wing efforts to undermine the program.
And we can raise the minimum wage."
Scuba
(53,475 posts)Enthusiast
(50,983 posts)n2doc
(47,953 posts)The relevant one is: Economic Benefits to the 1% of various stimulus provisions.
And the numbers would be inverted. The rich could not care less about food stamps and other things they don't use, but love love love things like the Bush Tax Cuts and capital gains tax cuts.
daleanime
(17,796 posts)today my coworkers were complaining about the dismal state of our infrastructure... before lauding how wonderful Republicons are and how stupid eeevil big government is.
Folks this shit is hopelessly endemic to our country. Part of me says I better start packing now before our country literally crumbles on top of us.
Ian_rd
(2,124 posts)It feels to me like we've reached the height of the current pendulum swing to the right and now it's just started swinging back.
The lies used by the 1% to convince many Americans to screw themselves in favor of the rich are becoming increasingly untenable and expensive. Even right wingers are seeing it, and that's why they seem so much angrier now than before. They're clinging to shit they know is wrong and see it crumbling around them.