Common Sense, Sold Seperately

Just yesterday I was reading an article stating the ranks of poor people have swelled to a record 46.2 million nearly 1 in 6 Americans  and the number without health insurance has reached 49.9 million, the most in more than two decades.

Then, I ran across the chart below and I decided… “Its time.”

At some point we have come face to face with reality, or as President Obama calls it “Common Sense.”

Since the “demand” for jobs are soaring at a all-time high, most people would fear strikes or boycotts to grab the attention of Company’s and CEO’s because they’re likely to lose their jobs. For the record, below is a list of common “strike’s” that have been used  throughout history, some legal, some illegal:

• Wildcat strikeA strike that is not authorized by the union that represents the employees. Although not illegal under law, wildcat strikes ordinarily constitute a violation of an existing collective bargaining agreement.
• WalkoutAn unannounced refusal to perform work. A walkout may be spontaneous or planned in advance and kept secret. If the employees’ conduct is an irresponsible or indefensible method of accomplishing their goals, a walkout is illegal. In other situations courts may rule that the employees have a good reason to strike.
• SlowdownAn intermittent work stoppage by employees who remain on the job. Slowdowns are illegal because they give the employees an unfair bargaining advantage by making it impossible for the employer to plan for production by the workforce. An employer may discharge an employee for a work slowdown.
• Sitdown strikeA strike in which employees stop working and refuse to leave the employer’s premises. Sitdown strikes helped unions organize workers in the automobile industry in the 1930s but are now rare. They are illegal under most circumstances.
• Whipsaw strikeA work stoppage against a single member of a bargaining unit composed of several employers. Whipsaw strikes are legal and are used by unions to bring added pressure against the employer who experiences not only the strike but also competition from the employers who have not been struck. Employers may respond by locking out employees of all facilities that belong to members of the bargaining unit. Whipsaw strikes have commonly been used in the automobile industry.
• Sympathy strike A work stoppage designed to provide Aid and Comfort to a related union engaged in an employment dispute. Although sympathy strikes are not illegal, unions can relinquish the right to use this tactic in a Collective Bargainingagreement.
• Jurisdictional strike A strike that arises from a dispute over which Labor Union is entitled to represent the employees. Jurisdictional strikes are unlawful under federal labor laws because the argument is between unions and not between a union and the employer.

Then there’s the boycott, which are normally considered a one-time affair designed to correct an outstanding single wrong. When extended for a long period of time, or as part of an overall program of awareness-raising or reforms to laws or regimes, a boycott is part of moral purchasing.

At this point I think the economical issue’s now requires our secondary line of defense, The Federal Government, which we will see more intervention soon, hopefully. My issue is, im almost certain that economical researchers seen this coming 10-15 years ago after forecasting and projecting the statistics so “what happened?” Were they told to manipulate the data to make it “sound good” before publishing or what? Then, my question targets “why wasn’t there more strikes concerning the benefits and pay from workers for job security years ago?” When employment rates are low, company’s are more likely to listen and compromise with employees (because there is little room for new employment, and they risk losing quality workers).

As a hard-working, law-abiding citizen I think the best option for the people right now is to hang in there despite this becoming a hard lesson learned for the lower and middle class people or according to the chart below 70% of US Population.

The Satisfied Middle has everything but money; their comparatively modest incomes have not muted their sunny outlooks or overall satisfaction with their lives. This group is disproportionately old and disproportionately young; middle-aged adults are relatively scarce in the Satisfied Middle. They make up a quarter of the middle class. By Richard Morin, Senior Editor, Pew Research Center

From another perspective, lets mention educational attainment. Among middle-class Americans with college degrees, 75% percent say they’re “comfortably” middle class or even moving up; 25% percent are struggling. But among those without a college degree, this poll for “ABC World News With Diane Sawyer” finds that about twice as many, 49% percent, are fighting to hold their place. Whatever your case may be, always strive to put your self in the best position for success.