Christmas Day,2010...Watching The Wheels Go Round And Round

So many statistics have passed these pages from the beginning of this blog(August) and I dare say I forgot many but this blog stores them for me(and you) so I can use them as a resource in the future.I've read and coordinated a lot of information over those months and I hope it has provide some insight in Today's World.As someone approaching sixty-one,I have seen and witnessed my share of history.I know that at eighteen,America seemed to be a land of great opportunity.I remember that I had numerous employment choices living in NYC and that I just needed to point myself in a direction to follow a career path.Everyone worked at good paying jobs and the majority of eighteen year old citizens just needed to hop on the train to Manhattan to seek the economic rewards of working hard.Many had the opportunity to go to college and took that path to even greater rewards.Some were drafted into the army to fight in Viet Nam.For those who survived with reasonable damage,their future was bright as public servants,business associates or any number of service jobs in the city.Even counter culture men and women could find work on the fringes of the workplace or move to the country and survive in rural communities.

I don't have that same feeling anymore about the economic health of our country.The population of the U.S.has doubled since I was born.There seems to be a great deal of competition for jobs and an eighteen year old today can't ride the train to a good paying job like I did.Many of the jobs that payed a decent salary have vanished from the workplace(Manufacturing is under 11% of GDP).Walmart is the number two private sector employer in NYS.The "big box" stores pay about $11/hr and the average workers takes home around $250 a week.They provide health insurance but the employees can't afford the rates.Three of the top ten private employers are in financial services(large companies on Wall St.)who hire highly trained,graduate students from the best schools in the country.The competition for these very high paying jobs are also very great.The 75% of Americans who only have a high school diploma don't have a shot at the financial sector jobs that have grown from 15% to 40% of total employment in the last twenty-five years(25% who go to college get them).The 75% must seek work in the "big box" stores or be lucky enough to acquire a trade in their communities.The health care industry is the only bright spot for NYS employment.The majority of the private sector jobs in NYS are in hospitals.They hold the largest number of employees and a good percentage of the jobs pay well.Unfortunately,they are also under some strain to stay afloat due to the burdens of cost of service and the numbers of uninsured that come to their doors for care(need single payer system).Income inequality(!0% own 90% of the wealth),I feel is a significant part of the problem.Our job opportunities are a reflection of the disparity of wealth in America.When I was eighteen,over 30% of the jobs had collective bargaining as compared to under 10% today.Collective bargaining creates increased wages for all Americans.Today,many on the right want to bust the unions that are left because they are in the public sector(33% of total).They feel the public employees should be like the vast majority in the country with no collective bargaining power.They want to level a distorted playing field.The Republicans who have their high paying jobs and comfortable housing don't want others to have the same.They want more money(less taxes) to spend on themselves and  increase separation from the low paid masses.The lower and lower middle classes are in a "catch 22 " where they can't afford taxes but need them to support government programs that protect them. Unfortunately,they win votes on cultural issues,mostly from the lower classes they want separation from.

Christmas time is a reflection of the positive in the world.It is a time of peace and sharing.We need to figure out a way to extend this season throughout the year.The wealth of a country in not measured in asset accumulation but in the way we treat the most needy, those lost in the shuffle and burdened by the loss of self worth.We must create models that take us back to better times when our assets were distributed in a more equitable manner.Total GDP will rise when all of us rise financially,not just the fortunate.Opportunity for all will bring peace in the streets and in the home.Our inmates in jails will diminish and our graduate students increase as communities once again will rise with the tide of compassion.