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Sept 2, 2003 The United States is becoming just like Mexico the land of the very rich and the poor. There is no middle class anymore in this country. This fact is blatantly pointed out in Op/Ed section of todays Labor Day edition of the Arizona Republic with the headline Prosperity was born at Ford and died at Wal-Mart. It was there (in Highland Park, Michigan) in 1913 that Henry Ford opened his Model-T plant and announced he would pay his workers a stunning five dollars a day, on the revolutionary theory that men who built the cars should make enough money to buy them Before long, Detroit became the American city with the highest rate of home ownership during the first half of the 20th century. In the post WWII period the distinction shifted to Los Angeles where vast housing tracts spread up around burgeoning aerospace industries. So, in 2003 where are the housing booms for the current generation of working class Americans? Not around factories anymore, thats for sure, because in the past four years, the U.S, has lost nearly one in nine manufacturing jobs as the plants move overseas in search of cheaper labor. Now, enter Wal-Mart which has become the nations largest employer and sets the standards for working-class America with 3,200 outlets and sales revenue of $245 billion last year. The company doesnt pay its workers affectionately termed associates - enough money to buy decent cars let alone homes. According to a study by Forbes magazine, Wal-Mart employees earn an average hourly wage of $7.50 an hour which comes to about $18,000 a year. I personally know two Wal-Mart greeters, both of them past retirement age, who stand at the entrances to smile at the incoming customers and answer questions, shifting from one foot to the other waiting for their break so they can sit down, for a lousy $7.50 and hour with no chance for advancement or overtime as they are limited to 36 hours per week. Yes, there are some Wal-Mart employees who get ahead with the company. You see them in TV commercials telling about the wonderful Wal-Mart life and its employment opportunities. They are the store managers. One of the managers at Sams Club, Wal-Marts membership club, is running for a seat on the local city council. The Wal-Mart execs like to see their upper-management people in politics. Wal-Mart and the other big box outlets like Target, Home Depot, Lowes, etc. have succeeded in putting the middle class shop owner out of business one by one they are closing their doors. One that was founded in 1926, starting out as a furniture, hardware store and nursery was forced to convert strictly to a furniture outlet a few years ago is closing its doors this month after 77 years in business on the main street of my town. The mom and pop corner store is no more, leaving a few specialty shops with primarily craft items that cater to tourists and artsy locals the corporation giants dont want to bother with. New homes are going up at outrageous prices that only the newly rich can afford to make the equally outrageous monthly payments while the lower income, everyday Americans and families, if they havent been to buy a home the past, are destined to be apartment and mobile home dwellers for the rest of their lives. I expect there will be no increase in income for us social security and annuity recipients at the end of the year while the cost of living rises. Someone is going to have to pay for Georges War and Peace in Iraq, and its us - the American taxpayer. What has happened to the American dream when everyday the rich are getting richer and the poor dont have a chance of getting anywhere unless they become sports figures, politicians, movie/ TV stars, or win the lottery? ------------ About the author: Bobbie Hart ONeill is a retired print media journalist, CSU-Sacramento, 74, with 40 years experience in the field. She has worked as a reporter, feature writer, columnist, public relations writer, magazine/newsletter editor and publisher. She is currently a freelance writer residing in Yuma, Arizona and has published a childrens book, written three screenplays and a novel. In addition, she is interested in civic affairs, politics, current events, ethnology and animals. Email Bobbie: bobbieo@digitaldune.net Comment on this column in the forum. Tell a friend about this site! ------------ |
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