Tag: Working Class

Why The Hate?

I am sure that if you watch or read news reports you have been subject to the attacks on labor unions…..they have been blamed for every bad economic trend in this country……from expensive cars to problems in the schools to voter fraud to….well pick an issue and some mental midget will blame it on unions……..and all the misinformation has been used by red states to want to make their states right-to-work states (anyone who thinks that is a good idea then Google Mississippi stats)…….

If you work for a living then unions have help get you should horrible things as…….8 hour day, overtime, 40 hour week…..workmen’s comp……on and on……..

Union membership is at a 97-year low in America, with just 11.3% of workers belonging to one. Because you’re probably not one of them, you probably don’t care about this low point—but you should, writes Eric Liu in Time. Not only do unions lift wages for their members, they also lift wages for the rest of us “by creating a higher prevailing wage,” Liu writes. “The presence of unions sets off a wage race to the top. Their absence sets off a race to the bottom.” But most Americans don’t see it that way—rather, many see unions “as special interests seeking special privileges, often on the taxpayer’s dime.” But consider this: Workers in unions are making a better wage, and are thus less likely to rely on government assistance. “The weakness of labor is everyone’s problem—and its revival everyone’s opportunity.” Click for Liu’s full column.

Before someone thinks they have me pegged….let me say….while I believe that unions have done more good than harm….I do not like the bureaucratic structure….to my thinking the head of a union should make only 20% more than its highest paid member….but as long as we have this sort of set up….unions will be nothing more than expensive lobbyists…..

I realize that most Americans will buy into the BS spread about unions….all I can say is all that wanted to be a right-to-work state…….welcome to low ages and crap jobs……and then it may be too late to remedy the situation…….what’s the old saying, “crap in, crap out”……

Is The Working Class Disappearing–Revisited

For decades we old fart leftists have been warning the workers of the US to watch their backs and all that time we were being silly and unrealistic….how do you feel now?

First of all the Middle Class is the Working Class for it is they that create all products and wealth….so if speaking about the Working Class makes you uncomfortable….then by all means call them what they are…The Middle Class!

I know….some will say that I harp a bit…..others will say that I am fixated on the Middle Class/Working Class….well that part is true….even the cowards in Congress will acknowledge the importance of the Middle Class…..both sides have very different ideas that , they say, will strengthen the Middle Class….but the truth is that neither side is doing anything to save the middle class….quite the opposite.

And because of their non-actions the middle class is slowly disappearing….I know I have said this all before…..and I know….NO ONE is listening…especially the cowards we have elected…..amd thanx to Michael Synder of blacklistednews.com…..he has saved me a ton to research…..I know…you want proof!

#1 In 1980, 52 percent of all jobs in the United States were middle income jobs.  Today, only 42 percent of all jobs are middle income jobs.

#2 Back in 1980, less than 30% of all jobs in the United States were low income jobs.  Today, more than 40% of all jobs in the United States are low income jobs.

#3 Only 63.5 percent of all men in the United States had a job last month. According to Bloomberg, that figure is “just slightly above the December 2009 nadir of 63.3%. These are the lowest numbers since 1948.”

#4 In 1969, 95 percent of all men between the ages of 25 and 54 had a job.  Last month, only 81.2 percent of men in that age group had a job.

#5 According to one recent survey, 64 percent of Americans would be forced to borrow money if they had an unexpected expense of $1000.

#6 The wealthiest 1% of all Americans now control 40 percent of all the wealth in this country.

#7 The poorest 50% of all Americans now control just 2.5% of all the wealth in this country.

#8 The wealthiest 1% of all Americans now own over 50% of all the stocks and bonds.

#9 According to the Washington Post, the average yearly income of the bottom 90 percent of all U.S. income earners is just $31,244.

#10 The average yearly income of the top 0.1% of all U.S. income earners is 5.6 million dollars.

#11 Between 1969 and 2009, the median wages earned by American men between the ages of 30 and 50 dropped by 27 percent after you account for inflation.

#12Only the top 5 percent of all U.S. households have earned enough additional income to match the rise in housing costs since 1975.

#13 During this economic downturn, employee compensation in the United States has been the lowest that it has been relative to gross domestic productin over 50 years.

#14 According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, health care costs accounted for just 9.5% of all personal consumption back in 1980.  Today they account for approximately 16.3%.

#15 Total credit card debt in the United States is now more than 8 times larger than it was just 30 years ago.

#16 There are fewer payroll jobs in the United States today than there were back in 2000 even though we have added 30 million people to the population since then.

#17 Since the year 2000, we have lost approximately 10% of our middle class jobs.  In the year 2000 there were about 72 million middle class jobs in the United States but today there are only about 65 million middle class jobs.

#18 The competition for even the most basic jobs has become absolutely brutal.  Approximately 7 percent of all those that apply to get into Harvard are accepted.  At a recent “National Hiring Day” held by McDonald’s only about 6.2 percent of the one million Americans that applied for a job were hired.

#19 It now takes the average unemployed worker in America about 40 weeksto find a new job.

#20 According to a report released in February from the National Employment Law Project, higher wage industries are accounting for 40 percent of the job losses in America but only 14 percent of the job growth.  Lower wage industries are accounting for just 23 percent of the job losses but 49 percent of the job growth.

#21 Half of all American workers now earn $505 or less per week.

#22 The cost of college tuition in the United States has gone up by over 900 percent since 1978.

#23 In the United States today, there are more than 100,000 janitors andmore than 317,000 waiters and waitresses that have college degrees.

#2417 million college graduates are doing jobs that do not even require a college degree.

#25 According to one recent survey, 36 percent of Americans say that they don’t contribute anything at all to retirement savings.

#26 Back in 1965, only one out of every 50 Americans was on Medicaid.  Today, one out of every 6 Americans is on Medicaid.

#27 As 2007 began, there were 26 million Americans on food stamps.  Today, there are more than 45 million Americans on food stamps, which is a new all-time record.

#28 The number of Americans on food stamps has increased 74% since 2007.

#29 Today, one out of every four American children is on food stamps.

#30 In 1980, just 11.7% of all personal income came from government transfer payments.  Today, 18.4% of all personal income comes from government transfer payments.

#31 The number of Americans that are going to food pantries and soup kitchens has increased by 46% since 2006.

#32One out of every six elderly Americans now lives below the federal poverty line.

#33 In the United States, over 20 percent of all children are now living in poverty.  In the UK and in France that figure is well under 10 percent.

#34 According to the Federal Reserve, the richest one percent of all Americans have a greater net worth than the bottom 90 percent combined.

As they say…”the proof is in the pudding”…….so use these pages to find out the truth….the Middle Class is disappearing and if you are unfortunate enough to be a part of it…..then future is not looking as bright as it was back in 1980…..and there is more news on this situation……

Downward mobility is rampant in the US, with a third of Americans who grew up in the middle class falling out of it as adults, according to a new Pew Study (pdf). “A middle-class upbringing does not guarantee the same status over the course of a lifetime,” the report reads. Those who weren’t married, hadn’t gotten a college degree, or used drugs were especially likely to fall down the income ladder, the Washington Post observes. The report focused on people who were 39-44 years old between 2004 and 2006, meaning it doesn’t take into account any post-financial crisis hardships. It defined middle-class as between the 30th and 70th percentile in income distribution. Looking along race and gender lines, researchers found that black men were twice as likely as white to be downwardly mobile, with nearly 40% falling. There was no similar gap between white and Hispanic men, or between women of different races.

And then there is this analysis from American Dream………

Sorry to break this to you, but the future for most Americans is going to be pretty crappy.  Unless you are independently wealthy, the chances are good that you will have a low paying job, that you will be drowning in a sea of bad debts and that you will have to go on government assistance at some point.  Most American families are completely dependent on their jobs for income, and right now good jobs are disappearing at a frightening pace.  Over the last couple of decades, millions of high paying manufacturing jobs have been shipped out of the country and they are being replaced by low paying service jobs.  Small business creation is being absolutely crushed by the federal government, and millions of illegal immigrants have been allowed in to the country and they are now competing for the limited number of jobs that are still available.  The vast majority of the money and the vast majority of the power in this country are now in the hands of either the big corporations or the government.  Together, the big corporations and the government are absolutely crushing everyone else.  If you are not part of the “privileged class”, there is a good chance that your job is serving them.  Perhaps you are bringing them lunch or cutting their hair or stocking shelves for them. Once upon a time, America was “the land of opportunity”, but now that has all changed.  Tomorrow morning, millions of Americans will get up and go to pathetic, low paying jobs and millions of others will wonder why they can’t find anyone to hire them.  Sadly, if nothing is done to reverse the long-term trends that are destroying our economy, the number of “working poor” is going to continue to increase.

And yet there are those that do not see an attack on the Middle Class or that there is any danger of it disappearing……and yes….you were warned but you chose to turn a deaf ear…………If you do not fight, then you will lose………Are there any thoughts now?

please…..WILL YOU LISTEN NOW!

Blame It On The Unions

With the revolution, so to speak, that has been festering in Wisconsin and now moved onto other states, the unions are being blamed for everything from the election of a president to e coli…..of course this is NOTHING new….conservs have been doing this for a very long time….almost since the beginning back in the early 20th century…..

Any one that has read Info Ink for any length of time knows that I am a labor supporter but not necessarily a supporter of unions, as we know them today.  Yes, I think that labor should be lead by a separate party, if you will……but NOT an AFL-CIO type of organization……why?  It is too bureaucratic and too top-centric (if that is a word)….this was not the fault of the members but rather a labor leader back in the day, named Gompers who believed economic power was more to his liking than political power…..

If you are a worker, either union or non, there is a lot you can blame on the unions…..a whole litany of issues that conservs have seldom been in favor of in the past and most notably in the present……

  1. Weekends
  2. All Breaks at Work, including your Lunch Breaks
  3. Paid Vacation
  4. FMLA
  5. Sick Leave
  6. Social Security
  7. Minimum Wage
  8. Civil Rights Act/Title VII (Prohibits Employer Discrimination)
  9. 8-Hour Work Day
  10. Overtime Pay
  11. Child Labor Laws
  12. Occupational Safety & Health Act (OSHA)
  13. 40 Hour Work Week
  14. Worker’s Compensation (Worker’s Comp)
  15. Unemployment Insurance
  16. Pensions
  17. Workplace Safety Standards and Regulations
  18. Employer Health Care Insurance
  19. Collective Bargaining Rights for Employees
  20. Wrongful Termination Laws
  21. Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967
  22. Whistleblower Protection Laws
  23. Employee Polygraph Protect Act (Prohibits Employer from using a lie detector test on an employee)
  24. Veteran’s Employment and Training Services (VETS)
  25. Compensation increases and Evaluations (Raises)
  26. Sexual Harassment Laws
  27. Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA)
  28. Holiday Pay
  29. Employer Dental, Life, and Vision Insurance
  30. Privacy Rights
  31. Pregnancy and Parental Leave
  32. Military Leave
  33. The Right to Strike
  34. Public Education for Children
  35. Equal Pay Acts of 1963 & 2011 (Requires employers pay men and women equally for the same amount of work)
  36. Laws Ending Sweatshops in the United States

(Thanx to bigcorporationusa.blogspot for the list)

The next time you hear one of your potential reps telling you all about the evils of unions ask them about some of the things on the list and ask why they are so hated……so on Labor Day if you want to remember those in the Labor movement and thank them for the rights and benefits you have today….for without their work your life would be considerably more miserable than you think you have it.

Enjoy your day of fun, food and family…..see you tomorrow…….

Are Things As Bad As They Seem?

The partisanship…..the extremism……lack of respect…….the out right lies…….the misinformation (and yes, it is different from lies)…….and it all comes down to the American voter….YOU voted for morons and now you are paying the price for that vote…..I know, what could be so bad we might get lower taxes and balanced budget and spending controls….what could be so bad?

Glad you asked!  While you were bobbing and weaving through the political shit slinging….the middle class suffers…….while you were thumping your chest about “Obamacare” or Planned Parenthood or NPR…..while you were being lead down a alternative road, which by the way, has NO place to go…it is a DEAD END!……the working class is being attacked and systematically being wipe out…..Where’s my proof of what I say?

Sorry to say, next year it may all get worse……(but that is another post….coming soon)…….

BLN.com writer Micheal Synder has a really good look at this situation……..

#1 Only 58 percent of Americans have a job right now.

#2 Only 56 percent of Americans are currently covered by employer-provided health insurance.

#3 The median yearly wage in the United States is $26,261.

#4 The average American household is carrying $75,600 in debt.

#5Only the top 5 percent of U.S. households have earned enough additional income to match the rise in housing costs since 1975.

#6 At this point, American families are approximately 7.7 trillion dollars poorer than they were back in early 2007.

#7 The poorest 50% of all Americans now own just 2.5% of all the wealth in the United States.

#8 According to one study, approximately 21 percent of all children in the United States were living below the poverty line in 2010.

#9 Today, there are more than 44 million Americans on food stamps, and nearly half of them are children.

#10According to Newsweek, close to 20 percent of all American men between the ages of 25 and 54 do not have a job at the moment.

Not one of those points shows that the Middle Class will ever recovery….this whole situation is making a two class system….”haves and have nots”  (sorry, but it is a good term)……..

In closing, something to think about…….under Pelosi the House introduced 200+ bills..,..under the leadership of Boehner it has issued 12….even if they work the asses off the Reps….the best it could do is about 50….remind me again what we pay these guys and gals to do!

Is There A Serfdom In Our Future?

Weiner’s weiner is gone!  Can we now return to the act of running a country into the ground?

Do you remember your history lessons?  Remember the term serf?  Let me help your memory a bit…..a serf is the lowest individual of society that is required to perform labor in return for certain legal or customary rights or a person in bondage or servitude.  I bring all this up….why?

The way the economy is going with all the greed and deceit that corporations are using on the average person…we could be looking at an updated form of serfdom.  In short, we are once again becoming peasants.  And now I bet that you are asking just what am I going on about, right?

How about a simple definition of indentured servitude…….servants could not marry without the permission of their owner, were subject to physical punishment, and saw their obligation to labor enforced by the courts. To ensure uninterrupted work by the female servants, the law lengthened the term of their indenture if they became pregnant. But unlike slaves, servants could look forward to a release from bondage. If they survived their period of labor, servants would receive a payment known as “freedom dues” and become free members of society.   One could buy and sell indentured servants’ contracts, and the right to their labor would change hands, but not the person as a piece of property.  (Does that silly to you as it does to me?)

Basically, it is more acceptable form of slavery!

Think not?  Today we have massive debates about marriage, who can and cannot do the deed…..we have legislation that is making it difficult for workers to get a fair shake from corporations and governments…..courts are siding with the special interests over the needs and desires of the people, especially the working majority…..we see women looked upon as the lower end of the worker population…..and finally we have the takeovers of one company over another and the workers used as a bargaining chip….workers at the mercy of capital and greed…..

There is even a push to repeal child labor laws……

business trade associations, employer groups, reactionary
Republican politicians and Tea Party activists to urge severe weakening of
the state laws, and, ultimately, of the federal law. They agree with Supreme
Court Justice Clarence Thomas that the child labor laws are unconstitutional
for a variety of obscure legal reasons. They’ve begun their legal attacks on
state laws with the laws in Maine and Missouri.

Basically, we have a growing updated form of serfdom and indentured servitude….and thanx to the Congress and the politicians it will continue to get worse for the worker……and eventually…our children.  I realize that it is a bit of a stretch but look at the economy and the jobs picture in the US or the GOP and its attacks on the working class or the Middle class,  if you prefer……the worker is becoming a tool of diminishing value or a serf……

I know that there will be people who think is fantasy and just a shot at capitalism……Well, I guess it is…in a way…..But just in case you do not see the working class disappearing….take a look at this Business Insider website…..

Without an abundance of good jobs, the middle class in the United States is going to shrivel up and die.  Right now, rampant unemployment is absolutely killing communities all over America.

Click here to see the signs >

The economy and the economic situation is not looking good for those in the working class or the middle class, if you will……it is NOT too late, but that deadline is quickly approaching….

The Ever Present….”US”!

Holy crap!  Is it just me or is the use of the word “us” getting to be a bit much and awfully irritating?  The media is full of people that know what the “us” want or need…..they are full of the compassion for the middle class and the working “man”….if all that is true and I doubt that any of it is genuine, then why is the middle class disappearing and the bloat politicians in Washington are aiding in the destruction of the middle class?

You know where I am coming from on this….you all have heard the excessive use of “us” and “the people” and “Main Street America” and that is a good thing if they get off their collective butts and actually do something about the deterioration….but they DO NOTHING!  They stroll up to the nearest microphone and make their day’s talking points issued by which ever party they pretend to represent…..it is all so much double speak….yes Irene….they LIE…..if they were telling the truth more would be done to control the events that are eating up the middle class and turning them basically into “indentured servants”.

We as a collective body keep voting for the richest, most insincere individuals…that say whatever it takes to get you to the polls and vote….they blow smoke up the butts of the electorate knowing good damn well that they have NO intention of changing things…..their sole purpose is to make enough noise so that the media fixates on them which in turn heightens their street cred back home….and all the while homes are lost, jobs are lost and people go hungry……and then we cannot understand why Washington is so dysfunctional…..

YOU……I say that again….YOU….are responsible for the condition of American politics and the condition of the economy that is nibbling at your ass….that is right…YOU are responsible….makes NO difference if you think you are a Repub or a Dem….they both are humping you…..and humping HARD….and what do you do?  Smile and vote for the con men over and over….why?  YOU are afraid of real change!  You listen to the spam bots that keep you shivering under your kitchen table….you allow them to tell you what you want to hear and NEVER demand information that you NEED to hear……

And yes….I know this is falling on deaf ears…..but someone had to say it!  If want the country to improve then find a way to remove the bloated, self-absorbed people that you now have representing you….you CANNOT win the battle of life with these people at the command positions…..it is that SIMPLE!

And please…you Dems STOP calling yourselves Progressive…you are NOT!

The Best Thing That Could Happen

Warning:  This post will have language that some readers may find offensive.  Read at your own risk!

I am sure that during this season of silly slogans and lying a/holes you have heard the buzz from the Right about the possibility of a raise in the retirement age to help offset the problems that some think the Social Security system has built into it.  The deficit is out of control, or so we are told daily by Repubs and their paid mouthpieces….and the only way to avoid a Greece like meltdown is for the American people to work longer and harder….this my friend is a piece of shit!

France is trying this and the result is anything but mild……this from a piece in wsws.org written by Alex Lantier…..

Workers and students are protesting Sarkozy’s planned two-year increase in the retirement age, with a corresponding increase in the pay-in period, contained in a pension “reform” bill passed by lawmakers despite overwhelming popular opposition. Polls show 71 percent of the population support strike activity against the cuts.

The expansion of the strikes and protests, far from being spearheaded by the unions, is being carried out overwhelmingly at the initiative of the workers themselves. In the face of this rising confrontation, prominent union officials are indicating that, once the bill is passed by the Senate, they will scale back or seek to end the strikes and protests.  (shows whose side the unions are really on)

At least the French are not rolling over and playing dead for the government….okay this action may be extreme but at least they are doing something to show the pricks in office that they will not stand for the continuing fucking of the working people.

The US is serving the special interests…….special interests and big business get favor after favor and are treated like the Golden Child, while the middle class gets zilch!  And then the Tea Party, the movement of the people (not now!….where is their outrage over the mistreatment of the middle class?  Easy answer…it is controlled by big business and special interests…regardless of what the paid spokespeople say…you know those  like Beck and Palin and Limbaugh and FOX News…….if you work hard then be prepared for the fucking coming and it will hurt!

Have you bothered to notice that most conservs blame the working class for all the problems that the country is having….it is SS fault…it is the unemployment benefits….it is the roads….it is Medicare….it is…well you get the point…..ALWAYS it is those who actually work that are the drag on the economy….nothing about the dick suckers on Wall Street that have done NOTHING but destroy the industrial base in this country….but yet they are somehow held up as the creme de la creme of America…..it you smell something offensive…it is the massive pile of horseshit they are force feeding to the American people…..how does it taste, douche bag?

Americans need to grow nuts and do something similar.  Instead of waiting every couple of years and voting for the carbon copy asshole with some cute slogans and NO real plans……

Why should the American worker get fucked constantly while the pricks in the corporation get massive bonuses and the government holds their hands and assist their failing companies?  Why should Americans put there retirement on hold while those dickheads on Wall Street have to give up NOTHING to save the country from financial ruin?

Why not make the retirement age 85 or 90 that way the poor bastards can work until they drop dead…and the government gets to keep all the cash to help bail out the scum bags on Wall Street?

The French workers are pushing the envelope a bit, but at least they will go down fighting for their right to retire on their terms and will not let the government continuously fuck the working class out of their right to retire and enjoy what is left of their lives……

If the American people are stupid enough, and it appears they are, to elect these motherfuckers, then they deserve everything they get and all their bitching will just help me laugh a little louder………..go ahead….piss away your chance at a real good retirement…one that you can actually enjoy…..go ahead sit on your collective fat asses and lose all that you have worked for at the hands of the buttfuckers you elect…….if you want to call me a socialist or a communist then by all means shoot your wad….I have been called worse by much better people……

By all means……vote your anger!  Vote for the crop of mental midgets that have the media all a twitter……..vote for the goddamn boneheads that would not know good government if it bit them in the ass……By all means….vote your anger!  And sit back and watch how pissed up you can make this country…..by all means….vote your damn anger!

Let’s hear it for Martin Mull……..”It’s hard to decide if TV makes morons out of everyone, or if it mirrors Americans who really are morons to begin with.”  (could explain the popularity of  Jackass, Dancing with the stars and all other reality TV and the Tea Party)

Afterword:  If you were offended, then tough shit….you were warned!

One Small Step

This is a small step in the direction to protect the working poor, who by the way, are the only people who use these service…..about time they stepped up and did a little protection……

Starting Thursday, the state no longer will allow payday-loan operators to set interest rates as high as 460 percent annually. A 10-year-old law that allowed them to charge above the 36 percent annual rate cap imposed on other lenders, such as banks, will expire.

Miller said that to stay in business, many payday lenders likely will offer auto-title loans, which can generate annual returns of up to 204 percent, according to state law. The Center for Responsible Lending said more than 200 payday stores in Arizona have received auto-title loan licenses in the past two years, as it became more apparent payday licensing would end. Some payday lenders also will continue to offer check-cashing services.

Arizona will become the 16th state to impose an interest-rate cap on payday loans, according to the Center for Responsible Lending in Durham, N.C., which tracks payday-loan operations across the country. At least six other states are looking at imposing restrictions.

It is about time that state legislators pay attention to the workings of the social vulture, that make billions off the lives of the working poor.  My state has NOT yet made an attempt to isolate these predators….but I believe it is coming as soon as we flush the toilet known as the Barbour governorship and his massive protection of ALL businesses, even the vultures in the pay day loan scams.

Someone Mentioned This Before

Remember back in the day, the early days of the primary season, when John Edwards constantly talked about the existence of 2 Americas.  One was the world of the wealthy and the other was the reality of the working class.  I believe everyone scoffed at him for suggesting this premise.  But right now, he looks like a profit, with the situation that has developed in the last month or so.

Look at the bailout!  Who does it help the most?  Now look at those who oppose it the most.  In case you have missed it, it is two different sectors of the American people.  I believe that we could call it two different classes.  If we do call them two different classes, would that not be the same as saying two different Americas?

Many seem afraid to address this turn.  Why?  To admit it would be admitting that there are inequalities that exist in this country.  Even the Dems who profess to be the voice of the middle class seem to be afraid to admit to the inequalities that exist.  They look for cute little slogans to say something without actually saying it.

Appears that Edwards had it right all along.  The people are starting to see that the two Americas are a fact and they are the pawns being used to sure up the economy and bailout the wealthy.

Is The Working Class Disappearing?

The idea of the ‘crisis of the working class subject’ takes the analysis one step further, saying in effect that class consciousness has declined to such a degree that the overwhelming majority of working class people have no consciousness of themselves as part of a class that has its own interests other than those of the ruling class; using Lukacs’ distinction the working class is a “class in itself” but no longer a “class for itself”.

The idea that the working class is no longer a “class for itself” is an exaggeration, but like most caricatures is based on aspects of reality that workers have to identify and integrate into their strategy and tactics. Consciousness, especially mass consciousness, is a dynamic factor that is subject to change and sometimes, in periods of crisis, is subject to abrupt shifts. So any attempt to capture and interpret mass working class consciousness is likely to be partial and one-sided. Before we get into the detail of that we have to say something about the changing structure of the working class.

John Major in 1996 argued that “we are all middle class now” – in other words working class living standards have risen to such a degree that the difference with middle class people have become blurred. However Cumbria University academic Phillip Bond has recently argued the precise opposite – the ‘middle classes’ are being forced into the working class.

“The facts are astounding. Contrary to the delusions of the free-market fundamentalists, the Reagan revolution has come at a great cost to the working and middle classes. In the US, the top one per cent have seen a 78 per cent increase in their share of national income since 1979 with the bottom 80 per cent of the population experiencing a 15 per cent fall.

Wage earners have coped with this structural shift by taking on unprecedented levels of debt, working more and asking their partners to join the workforce. Family life has suffered; children see less of their parents than at any time in the last 100 years and since nobody has any time, civic life has virtually vanished.

Class consciousness may have declined in Western countries, but a decline does not denote an absence. To truly become a ‘class for itself’ the working class, has not just to fight for its immediate interests but to fight for an historical alternative.

So my answer is–NO!  The working class is not disappearing, it is however, in a coma.  The current economic crisis may be the jolt needed to bring them out of the vegetative state.