Congress and the president aren't going to do one jack shit thing about it, despite the OWS protests. That's because they believe in the neoliberal idea that a huge number of unemployed SHOULD drive down those wages and salaries to be competitive with the third world and never mind those countries have a cheaper cost of living:
The age group most severely impacted consists of workers between the ages of 45 and 59, 48 percent of whom have been devastated. Close behind are laid-off workers aged 30 to 44, 43 percent of whom have been devastated by the crisis.
An indication of the toll—economic, social and psychological—of the slump on the unemployed is given by the responses to questions concerning the experiences of workers in the different categories. Eighteen percent of “recovering” workers sold possessions to make ends meet; 41 percent of those in a middle category called “downsized” sold possessions, as did 66 percent of those “devastated” by the crisis. Large percentages in each of these categories borrowed money from family or friends, including half of those “recovering” and two-thirds of those “devastated.”
Those surveyed commonly cut back on medical visits and reduced spending on food “so much it affects daily life.” In all of the categories, excluding the 7 percent who had “made it back,” a majority of respondents reported “strain in family relations,” including 60 percent of the downsized workers and 79 percent of the devastated workers.
When you have to watch every stinking penny you make, it's pretty goddamned sad. Meanwhile, the people who fired me are doing just fine, thank you, with fat retirement payouts and cushy principal jobs.
Life sure as hell isn't fair. Or just.
The Rutgers report is here.
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