Ralph makes and important point: "many individuals experienced economic woes..." I don't believe either party was addressing the economic issues that affected ordinary Americans. I think the Dems (and the traditional Repubs as well) failed miserably to respond to the issues of struggling Americans, or even explain why government is of va…
Ralph makes and important point: "many individuals experienced economic woes..." I don't believe either party was addressing the economic issues that affected ordinary Americans. I think the Dems (and the traditional Repubs as well) failed miserably to respond to the issues of struggling Americans, or even explain why government is of value. But the non-traditional, circus show, appealed crudely to those concerns and won the election of 2016. If the country can ever be returned to its "norms" it seems essential that the needs of working people must be vigorously addressed. Corporate money-lords and wealthy donors have controlled which political issues are addressed and they do not care about workers. They care about profits. To imagine that it took 20 years to even have a $15 an hour federal wage PROPOSED by a President is a good indicator of how one-sided our politics have been and why so many don't trust the government to do the very thing that allows ordinary people to thrive.
And even if the Biden/Harris administration is able to shepherd the $15/hr federal minimum through both houses, $15/hr is no longer a living wage in many parts of the country. Let's say take-home at that wage is about $1900/mo. In my small city, it's hard to find even a studio apartment for under $1,000. That leaves $900 for food, transportation, clothing, health care, utilities. A single person might be able to do it, but anyone with children can't. Certainly, it isn't possible to save at that rate.
Ralph makes and important point: "many individuals experienced economic woes..." I don't believe either party was addressing the economic issues that affected ordinary Americans. I think the Dems (and the traditional Repubs as well) failed miserably to respond to the issues of struggling Americans, or even explain why government is of value. But the non-traditional, circus show, appealed crudely to those concerns and won the election of 2016. If the country can ever be returned to its "norms" it seems essential that the needs of working people must be vigorously addressed. Corporate money-lords and wealthy donors have controlled which political issues are addressed and they do not care about workers. They care about profits. To imagine that it took 20 years to even have a $15 an hour federal wage PROPOSED by a President is a good indicator of how one-sided our politics have been and why so many don't trust the government to do the very thing that allows ordinary people to thrive.
And even if the Biden/Harris administration is able to shepherd the $15/hr federal minimum through both houses, $15/hr is no longer a living wage in many parts of the country. Let's say take-home at that wage is about $1900/mo. In my small city, it's hard to find even a studio apartment for under $1,000. That leaves $900 for food, transportation, clothing, health care, utilities. A single person might be able to do it, but anyone with children can't. Certainly, it isn't possible to save at that rate.
...and still it took 20 and it's only "proposal"! And if enacted it won't be a living wage! Exactly.