Congress vs. the Working Man
September 6, 2012
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In an editorial published this week in the New York Daily News, UCubed Executive Director Rick Sloan examines the optics as well as the irony of celebrating Labor Day in the midst of a recession and places blame for the ongoing crisis squarely at the feet of the GOP.
“Let’s be brutally honest about who’s to blame for this legislative quagmire: the Republican Party,” says Sloan in Congress vs. the Working Man. “Blaming the GOP, as I’m doing here, isn’t politicking or partisanship. It’s the unavoidable conclusion from a steely-eyed assessment of the facts.
“Republicans recklessly keep pushing policies that would increase the tax burden on lower- and middle-income earners — while at the same time financing expensive initiatives that are little more than corporate welfare for financial elites. And the GOP has repeatedly stymied Democrats’ efforts to stimulate domestic job creation,” said Sloan.
While unemployment continues to fester, evidence is emerging that the quality of existing jobs is decreasing. A new report from the Center for Economic and Policy Research finds that the slice of Americans with a “good job” — defined as paying at least $37,000 annually (inflation-adjusted) with some limited health and retirement benefits — dropped from 27.4 percent to 24.6 percent between 1979 and 2010.
“Republicans think no one is noticing their two-faced approach to the jobless. But they’re wrong — the unemployed have figured it out. Along with working Americans, they are driving down the approval ratings for Congress,” said Sloan. “The big surprise of the upcoming election may be just how many unemployed and underemployed Americans come out to vote. They could hand the GOP a stinging defeat.”
Click here to read the full editorial.
