State of Working America

The Economic Policy Institute is a left-of-liberal think tank that publishes The State of Working America, now in its 12th edition. This 500 page, incredibly well documented tome contains a mass of information on income, wages, jobs, mobility, wealth and poverty, along with tables, charts and graphs, essentially making the argument that for the last few decades income inequality has increased, wages for working Americans have gone down, jobs have been decimated or converted to low-paying service employment, social mobility for those in the middle and lower classes has rigidified, and “the rich have gotten richer and the poor have gotten poorer,” to quote an old phrase.

The EPI also makes policy recommendations: support workers rights and union organizing, increase the minimum wage, fight against “free trade” agreements like NAFTA, increase spending on the social safety net, etc. The EPI in general and The State of Working America in particular, provide all the factual ammunition you’ll need to fight and win your arguments against your conservative, moderate, or even liberal friends, not to mention make the case for building a democratic socialist United States.

Ladies and gentlemen, the vanishing middle class

It’s a set of platitudes mouthed by all American politicians everywhere, that “the middle class is the foundation of this country’s prosperity,” that Washington “is doing everything possible to strengthen the middle class,” and that “the future looks bright for the American middle class.” Absolute hogwash! Here are a few more charts and graphs, thanks to the Business Insider:

Nothing up the sleeves of the American ruling class, except for the demise of the American middle class.

Then there’s that “recovery”…

The “jobless recovery,” the “prosperity-less economy,” the “homeless recovery;” it’s a goddamned phony economy. Here are some facts and figures, presented in easy to read graphs and charts:

USA! We’re Number One!

It’s official. The United States is #1 at creating rich people. Here’s the chart (based on this study):

The consequences of this “wealth creation” is an ever widening gap between rich and poor, the decimation of the American middle class, the potential for societal segregation, social unrest and class warfare that is exacerbated by such class dynamics. This income gap is the highest since the “Roaring 20s.”

What’s more, even prominent moderate-to-liberal individuals are beginning to see this as a problem.

Then, there’s so many other ways that the United States excels at being #1 in very bad shit. Here are the graphic representations, including the first one mentioned above:








Makes you fucking PROUD to be an American! Third World Banana Republic, here we come!