From The New York Times’ Bob Herbert:
“The people suffering the most drastic employment reversals in this recession have been those who were in the lower-income groups to begin with — the young, less well-educated workers, especially black and Hispanic high school dropouts, and certain categories of service workers, such as food preparers and building cleaners. Blue-collar workers were also hammered, especially those in the construction industry.
This is not to say that the middle class has not been hurt badly by the recession. It has been. In last year’s fourth quarter, the group with household incomes of $40,000 to $49,000 had a jobless rate of 9 percent, close to the disastrous national average. The $50,000 to $59,000 group had a 7.8 percent jobless rate, and households earning $60,000 to $75,000 had a jobless rate of 6.4 percent.
The point here is that those in the lower-income groups are in a much, much deeper hole than the general commentary on the recession would lead people to believe. And none of the policy prescriptions being offered by the administration or the leaders of either party in Congress would in any way substantially alleviate the plight of those groups.”
Steve Austin’s response (With Apologies to Martin Niemoller):
Initially, it was worst for the minorities, and I didn’t speak up, because I wasn’t a minority.
Then it was bad for the young people, and I didn’t speak up, because I wasn’t a young person.
Then the middle class suffered, and I didn’t speak up, because I wasn’t middle class.
Then I lost my job, and by that time there was no one left to help me.—-
Folks, this is peak oil and it’s coming after us.
read the truth here: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/09/opinion/09herbert.html
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