Outsourcing and Declining Wages: The Duped American Worker

It is now clear that the accelerated shifting overseas of technical and white-collar jobs undercuts upward mobility for American workers. Politicians, pundits and even some economist are now having second thoughts about free trade-agreements that protect the rights of investors but not the rights of labor. Conservatives have since before the days of Ronald Reagan continued to echo the same refrain: Government is the enemy of the people. This has lead to three decades of eroding government regulation in favor of an unfettered free market rule which ultimately brought the nation to the brink of financial collapse.

Labor unions have been weakened while manufacturing jobs have gone abroad. The educational system is failing while teachers and their unions are being demonized. Outsourcing jobs, harassing labor unions, repealing safety regulations, and undercutting benefits: all of which became the order of the day during the Reagan-Bush era. And now approaching midterm elections we stand poised to put he same players with the same strategy back into the game.

To those players the free market means having free reign to advance their interest at the expense of consumers and workers, the people. It’s been shown time again Wall Street, bankers, and corporations’ only concern is the bottom line. Their self-serving policies have proven disastrous to the economy, the environment, and the American middle class. The very same conservatives who favor tax cuts for the wealthy oppose extending unemployment benefits for the long term unemployed. Yet many Americans continue to vote against their own interest unknowingly lied to and manipulated by the top wealthy 3% who use their money to control the media and the message.

One-third of American workers say they would join a union if they had a chance, and over half support collective bargaining. Yet only 13 percent are union members because existing law make it difficult. Meanwhile companies like Wal-Mart paying low wages thrive and expand abroad. Once one of the most effective lobbying machines was that of organized labor, but unions too have not faired well under conservative domination. Government is not the enemy but the wealthy conservatives who use the media to misinform and mislead American voters.

It is absolutely essential American workers make their elected officials accountable to them and not special interests lobbyists. We are at a cross road and Americans must show solidarity if we want a government for the people and by the people not corporate interest. Government is not the enemy. Corporate greed is.