Tuesday, September 11, 2018

“Living on a Prayer” from Paycheck to Paycheck (with apologies to Bon Jovi)





In the last few weeks, I have been working on the publication of my newest novel Meet Me at Moonlight Beach; however, during this time, the topics for my Metaphor Café Blog have been piling up. So in the interest of time and brevity, here is what I’ve been reading about that old political slogan “It’s the the economy, Stupid”:

First, let’s talk jobs, specifically the jobs at the Carrier plant. The NY Times business section of 8/12/18 did an in depth story on those folks who have still have their jobs. Remember, Indiana gave tax credits to Carrier (due to Pence’s appeal as its former governor) in return for keeping some of the jobs that were going to be outsourced to Mexico. Most jobs were still heading south. One might think those who still have jobs would be happy. 

Truth be told, “…the factory which Mr. Trump is credited with saving is plagued with rising absenteeism and low moral.”  Writer Nelson Schwartz concluded, “Instead, employees share a looming sense that a factory shutdown is inevitable—that Carrier has merely postponed the closing until a more politically opportune time.” 

This is despite growing demand for air conditioners for the company. “No one feels secure or hopeful…’People still don’t trust Carrier,’ said Paul Roeli, who has worked there for 19 years.”


Generally speaking, blue collar workers see a tad more in their pay but inflation is eating that away and with the trade wars starting to have impact in the coming months, the workers are the most likely to feel the brunt; meanwhile, the shareholders keep seeing their profits rise…for now.


Second, let’s discuss the wage gap and the difference between the haves and the have-not-so-much folks. Steven Brill’s newest book is chock full of data about how my generation has rigged economic growth for ourselves. (Well, not all of my generation, but hear me out.) For example, in 1975 the average CEO pay was 1.2M and the worker pay was 46K; in 2016 it’s 15M for the CEO team and 53K for the worker bees. 

So in 40+ years, worker pay has risen microscopically, and I do not need to tell you that insurance coverage has gotten worse, inflation has zoomed up and up. Needless to say, even though the job situation in terms of having a job under President Obama and Trump has improved, nobody on the ground floor has much hope of seeing the American Dream that some in my generation have inherited.


Brill concludes “The result is a divided America. On one side the protected few—the winners—who don’t need government for much and even have a stake in sabotaging the government’s responsibility to all its citizens. For them, the new broken America works fine….” They have private schools, gated communities, private security, and the gold standard of medical care with the insurance coverage that few can afford. So they say, who needs government—Obamacare, public schools, etc.?


And Brill points out that it’s likely to stay that way since the cost of running for higher office has risen with 6.4B spent per election cycle overall. So the interests of the average Joe or Josie working paycheck to paycheck depends on, as Tennessee Williams once wrote, “The kindness of strangers.”


Yes, in 2008 all hell broke loose economically for the Bush administration and the thousands upon thousands of folks who lost their jobs, their homes, and their dreams in the Great Recession. And, yes, President Obama steadied the ship in his eight years in office. That is a fact. Even the anti-Obama folks cannot argue that the USA was on the verge of financial disaster, and it was averted—but not without pain and decades of suffering.



Beware those who now feel that the economy is “just doing great”—chances are, it is for some, but for a far larger audience and their children…not so much. A steady hand will be needed at the helm to keep America from harm’s way. I could say more…and I will, but sometimes one has to accept the reality, acknowledge the truth, and set a course for more “domestic tranquility”…

I am confident that “Yes, We Still Can.”

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