America's middle class disappearing

The comedian George Carlin has a routine about particular phrases that create confusion and hide from us the reality of what we're actually seeing, doing or eating. For instance, Carlin asks, what is a "jumbo shrimp" or a "semi-boneless ham?" In other words, shrimp can be either big or large and ham either does or does not have bones in it. I think some in Washington, D.C., are watching Carlin's routines, particularly when it comes to the issue of protecting the rights of workingmen and women. It's a common practice in Washington to name a law one thing when in fact it's designed to do something entirely different. Nothing could be truer then the so-called "Bill of Rights" for workers. This bill has done more to restrict workingmen and women from joining unions and strip away hard-fought rights and concessions for working families than any other legislation in recent memory. This "Bill of Rights" measure, combined with the rush to outsource American jobs, means that union membership in America has steadily declined to a level now estimated at less than 8 percent in the private sector. It cannot be said often enough that the middle class in the United States was built on the backs and with the sweat and tears of workingmen and women. If we continue to outsource their jobs and price their health care so high they can no longer afford to have it, the middle class that supports our nation will most assuredly evaporate into history. And then where will we be? Chip Gerrity, President, NJIBEW - Daily Journal, January 10, 2007