The Last American Working Class Hero

As we dig out of this brutal recession, it seems the unemployment numbers are the new baseline. Although the poor always suffer, it's the hard working middle class that are the true casuaities this time. Who really cares that the unemployment rates are falling, if everyone is making chump change. Most of the jobs being added pay less than 24 thousand dollars a year, and even though wall street has never made more money, they continue to strip jobs, for even more. The carpenters I used to employ for my framing companies averaged over 20 dollars an hour. My lead carpenters could make as much as 250 dollars a day. It was the same for the other trades, masons, electricans, cabnet makers, ect. The trades who had finally made it to a point, where they could take care of their own. Drive a nice vehicle, take a vacation, dinner and a movie, a part of the good life. Where maybe, if the wife worked too, they could by a house, even send the kids to college. Now with thoes wages cut almost in half, the big builders will never give it up. Not that 800 dollars a week was great money, but it was enough to be a part of life. Those skilled hard working tradesmen deserve nothing less. Now with home building finally picking up, there is a shortage of skilled workers. The baby boomers, like myself, are growing older, and the young are not interested in working so hard, for so little. Instead of letting supply and demand, bring the wages back from the brink, President Obama and Congress, to the glee of the big builders, and other fat cats, have chosen instead to expand the guest workers program, as they say, to do the "unskilled jobs Americans won't do". We've heard this before, but this time their going after our skilled middle class jobs. Without the unions the last bastion for the working class, that are failing, due to continued assalts at ever turn, by big business and now goverment led erosion of powers, like the recent roll back of collective bargaining rights for unions by governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin, the skilled proud American working class heroes, will be a thing of the past. Instead of being part of the solution, they will be part of the problam, with their 12 dollar an hour wage. The division between rich and poor, have and have nots, will widen yet again. Food stamps, federal assistance, subsidised housing, free school meals for their children, goverment health care.What the hell are we doing? Everyone can't go to college. Construction Was the one place an American, who wanted to learn and work hard could still shine. Now they can only struggle, as we outsource their jobs with cheap labor from other countries. Welcome to America.