Since the recession officially set in as a grim reality of living in America and everywhere else last November; lay-offs and factory/store/company closings have been an unremarkably tired practice. Hundreds of thousands of former workers have been left unemployed throughout the world, some for first the time in their lives. What we have found ourselves in as a result of all the greed and corruption of the corporate class is an economy stifled by simple logic and as a result; thousands upon thousands turning to homeless shelters and soup kitchens to survive. 

   In July the Department of Labor placed the number of unemployed within the United States at 14.5 million. That’s roughly 9.4% of the working class, which doesn’t include individuals who are under-employed, disabled and/or discouraged workers, or essentially anyone out of work not collecting benefits. It’s a huge blind spot that has been consistently overlooked by the Department of Labor, the President and nearly everyone in a position of power to change it.  

   As if that wasn’t bad enough, there are even more stats that have been released by the Department of Labor showing more disturbing trends in the job market. In spite of our incredible-shrinking workforce, by some miracle the production of services and goods has been at an all time high. Production rose by 6.4%, but the amount being paid for the labor to produce these goods dropped by 5.8%. So, the corporations have been doing well for themselves after all. Isn’t this supposed to be Reagan’s economic wet dream? When’s the recession-relief going to make its grand entrance and buy us all a Ferrari? 

   Instead of installing clunky satellite dishes, the same jumpsuit-clad worker will be putting in solar panels, and enduring the elements for long hours for what is sure to be a far cry from a living wage. Another fail that we cannot afford to make. 

   If we can somehow do some serious soul-searching, skim the fat from the top if you will, and manage to get our shit together as a nation, there is a good chance that we could pull through somewhat unscathed. Japan, Germany and France have all declared their split with the global economic crisis and seem to be moving onto greener pastures. It was with one part business savvy, and two parts better treatment of their workers and economic stimulus packages that were actually made for the people. Spending has gone up, and they have turned to strengthening their exports for increased revenue. That was all it took, the end. Not to mention that on top of pulling out of the global recession with hardly a scratch, all of these countries have universal health care and free or affordable options for higher education.    

  It’s a wonder why we are so very far from them when you compare our financial circumstances. But it all becomes so clear that it’s rooted in our attitude towards social programs and what we hold the government accountable for. In part, it is also to be blamed on this contagious notion that we are in a mysterious post-racial grace period where progressive politics are right around the corner. And all because of the simple fact that we elected a black man to do the same dirty deeds his white predecessors have partaken in for the past hundred years. Get real folks.
  Sadly, Reaganomics doesn’t work. It's hard to imagine it ever will either. Trickle-down didn’t work during Reagan, hasn’t worked for Bush 1 or 2, and it certainly isn’t going to work now. The major flaw in this theory is that corporations have historically squeezed their workforce without mercy. Corporations have no human compassion, and for gratitude’s sake they don’t so much as toss a dime of financial relief in the direction of their weary workers. So when said workforce is abused in such a callous manner, they do what they can to survive, and with the rest of what they have left, they’ve been saving. When they save, they don’t spend on extremities and neither are the mountains of unemployed living in America. So, who’s going to save us from ourselves, the teenybopper mall rats hanging around Hollister? I don’t think so.

   As per usual, the government has been doing a helluva job providing us with a path to a more sustainable economic structure. Instead of addressing serious issues that affect the ability for normal, low-income families and individuals to survive day-to-day, Obama  spent quality time vacationing in Martha’s Vineyard, shooting the shit with Robert Wolf, the CEO of the UBS (Union Bank of Switzerland).  

    Lest we forget, here’s a short list of all the things the house and senate found to be more important to throw money at opposed to providing jobs, housing, healthcare, or quality education for the American people: Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac, JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup, Wachovia, General Motors, Chrysler, Ford, renewing expensive contracts with mercenary companies like Blackwater to kill innocent civilians in Iraq, escalating the war in the Middle East by sending more money and troops to Afghanistan, providing the Israeli government with the resources to continue building illegal settlements in the West Bank and Gaza, building unwanted military bases in Colombia and increasing its general military presence throughout South America. The list goes on.  

  “Green Jobs” that will allegedly be good for everyone. It sounds exciting  but ree-cherry to top this all off is the fact that this is still very much exploitable labor. What do people think green jobs are anyway?