Bill Scher: All In The Same Sinking Boat

[marmar]

from OurFuture.org:



All In The Same Sinking Boat
By Bill Scher

July 3rd, 2008 - 10:10am ET


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A disturbing but sadly predictable jobs report was released today by the Department of Labor: 62,000 jobs lost in June, 438,000 jobs lost during the past 6 months.

This is no limited recession. The New York Times observed that: "June’s job losses affected a range of industries, including banks, construction companies, manufacturing firms and car dealerships. Janitors and administrative workers were the hardest hit, with about 70,000 workers losing their jobs last month alone. Temp agencies lost 30,000 jobs."

Pain continues to trickle up, as those still working are also suffering under the weight of recession. NYT notes "employers are cutting hours for their full-time employees and shrinking salaries." USA Today reports, "Wages are lagging inflation as gasoline, energy and food prices surge."

But this is not a brief bump in the road, a mere cyclical dip that will be quickly forgotten. Weak job growth, flat wages and rising costs have been the hallmark of this eight-year conservative era.

Refusing to invest in modernizing our infrastructure. Suffocating the burgeoning clean energy industry, while keeping America hooked on increasingly expensive oil. Continuing a failed global trade strategy at the behest of multinational corporations. Neglecting to exercise oversight over the mortgage and financial industries. Saddling the next generation with burdensome debt.

The destructive results of these conservative policies is plain for all to see. Because the pain is felt by all.

UPDATE: Apparently it's worse than even I thought. The Onion News Network reports: "Bush Tours America To Survey Damage Caused By His Disastrous Presidency". Watch it: http://www.ourfuture.org/blog-entry/all-same-sinking-boat

[tanyev]

1. Norah Jones - Sinking Soon

We're an oyster cracker on the stew,
And the honey in the tea,
We're the sugar cubes, one lump or two,
In the black coffee,
The golden crust on an apple pie,
That shines in the sun at noon,
We're a wheel of cheese high in the sky,
But we're gonna be sinkin' soon.

In a boat that's built of sticks and hay,
We drifted from the shore,
With a captain who's too proud to say,
That he dropped the oar,
Now a tiny hole has sprung a leak,
In this cheap pontoon,
Now the hull has started growing weak,
And we're gonna be sinkin' soon.

We're gonna be
Sinkin' soon,
We're gonna be
Sinkin' soon,
Everybody hold your breath 'cause,
We're gonna be sinkin' soon