Memorial Day weekend is an appropriate time to remember not only those who have given their lives in support of this country’s ideals, but also how hard the rest of us need to fight to make those ideals a reality. Most Americans are earning less than they did three decades ago, adjusted for inflation, while a comparative few have more income, wealth, and political power than ever, and their money is engulfing our democracy. Meanwhile, America has the largest government-funded jobs program of any country in the world. It’s called the military (including military contractors). Without it, our jobless rate would be far higher and median wage even lower. But it’s a jobs program that’s planning and fighting wars rather than rebuilding the nation’s battered schools and crumbling infrastructure. What of the future? Like jobs in the rest of the economy, military-industrial jobs are rapidly being supplanted by high technology – in this case, drones, computers, and experts in cyber-warfare. Which means years from now Americas military-industrial jobs program will be far smaller. Hopefully, though, we wont need to rely on it. Well have overcome the power and privilege that has distorted America, and reclaimed the ideals of equal opportunity and vibrant democracy that generations of Americans have fought to protect. What do you think we should be celebrating this Memorial Day weekend?
Posted on: Mon, 26 May 2014 17:17:46 +0000
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