Millions More To Lose Jobs

For the last eight years, the Bush administration has in economic policies that hurt American workers. They have fought unionization, allowed corporations to ship millions of jobs overseas and until recently successfully blocked a minimum wage hike (which had the effect of keeping all wages depressed). As the cost of living has steadily risen, American workers have been put in a bind.

The corporations loved the policies of the Bush administration (at least until recently). It removed the regulations they thought were restricting them, and allowed them to only think short-term. As long as their stock went up nothing else mattered, because the only important thing was letting executives and major stockholders get rich quick. But these short-sighted policies have now come home to roost and the bottom has fallen out of the stock market.

But it won't be the rich who'll be hurt by the current economic troubles. They've already made their bundle, and if they have to give up their positions, it'll be cushioned with golden parachutes. No, the people hurt by our faltering economy will be the ordinary American workers.

The current rate of employment has already jumped to about 6.5%. That's the good news. The bad news is that economists expect the unemployment rate to at least get to 8%. That translates into about 2.3 million more unemployed workers, and that's a minimum figure. That will happen even if our incoming president does all the right things.

That's not as bad as things got during the Great Depression when 1 out of every four workers was without a job. But we have to remember that the 6.5% doesn't count many unemployed people who's benefits have run out, or who have given up. It also doesn't count those working part-time because they can't find a full-time job. Add these people in, and we're already over 8% and heading for 10%.

Then we have the problem of the Big Three American automakers. If even one of them goes out of business, the economic effect will reverberate throughout our society and affect far more jobs than just in the auto industry. We may not be at the Great Depression level yet, but the possibility exists that we could get there.

Thanks Republicans, for buying into Reagan's ridiculous "trickle down" theory! Bush I was right when he called it "voodoo economics", and the sacrificial goats are the American workers.