Thoughts on Labor Day

When you ask people what the most prosperous time in our country was, they typically say the 50’s or 60’s.  In the 50’s and 60’s more than 30% of our nation’s workers belonged to unions, corporate taxes were 91% for those with incomes over $200,000, the US enjoyed a trade surplus and the economy was humming.

Our economy was strongest when General Motors was the number one private employer, not it’s either Walmart or Amazon.  When you take all those $60,000 per year auto assembler jobs out of the economy and replace them with $20,000 per year Walmart/Amazon jobs you lose $40,000 in economic stimulus and income taxes.  People earn less and buy less and the lost revenues from income taxes affects our school districts, infrastructure, first responders etc. 

Today only 10% of the nation’s workers belong to unions, good manufacturing jobs have been outsourced, forcing American workers to compete with third world nation’s paying pennies per hour, many of whom employ children and ignore the environment, trade deficits are soaring and corporate profits are at near all-time highs.  

If we want a strong economy, we need to go back to a nation that builds things again.  We need labor laws that protect a workers’ right to organize.  We need to elect politicians that understand and respect the role labor unions play in our economy and write and support laws that protect all workers.  

Folks the best way to celebrate Labor Day is to remember

Buy American or BYE America!