It is Labor Day again, the one day of the year set aside for working Americans. The other 364 days of the year are bought and paid for by the rich and affluent but for this one day those whose efforts turn the wheels of this nation are honored.
A year ago, Labor Day passed in the midst of a hard fought Presidential election. The election came down to what the majority of Americans wanted – four more years of the same or a change in direction. Change won out and President Obama began trying to level the field for America’s workers after eight years of having the deck stacked against them. His early days in office found the President mapping a new direction for America- a direction that would provide hope and encouragement for America’s working families.
However, the powers that be have launched a full scale assault on giving up the perks they enjoyed over the past eight years. The misinformation campaign has been at gigantic proportions on the President with the  talking heads of the conservative media being relentless in their attacks. While this wasn’t really expected, it has been how certain segments of working America have embraced these ideas that has been unforeseen.
Everywhere you go, you can hear working class Americans complaining about things such as the Stimulus Package that was designed to stem the tide in the massive job losses we have seen. America’s unemployment rate stands at 9.7% and those numbers are surely going to rise. In August there were 14.9 million Americans who were unemployed, compared with 7.5 million in December 2007. To add insult to injury, the productivity for America’s workers rose 19.2% from 2000 to 2007. During that same period of time wages (when adjusted for inflation) have improved on average 1.1%. Workers are raising their output, while being denied a fair share of that those gains produced.
But nowhere has the confusion over the President’s agenda for America been more misrepresented than with health care. All across America, town hall meetings are being filled with angry working class Americans screaming at their elected representatives at the top of their lungs on how they don’t want health care reform. You will not find the rich in their designer suits at these meetings. No, instead they have financed the misinformation that has pushed the very people who would benefit from health care reform to stand up and oppose it.
Let’s looks at the numbers surrounding health care. In 2007, there were 45 million Americans without health care. That is 20% of the population without any type of health care at all. From 2000 to 2007, and an additional 3.4 million children lost health care coverage by the elimination of health care benefits through their parents employer. Plus, the disparity between those at the top of the income chain and those at the bottom with employer provided health care is staggering. In 2007, of workers in the top 20% of wage earners, 86.4% were covered by employer covered health care. During the same period, only 21.9% of workers in the lowest 20% of wage earners were covered. In 2000, 68.3% of all workers under the age of 65 were covered by employer provided health care. By 2007, that number had fallen to 62.9%.
In the past ten years out of pocket expense for health care has skyrocketed. The top 1% of adults with the greatest medical cost (catastrophic illnesses) saw their out of pocket spending increase 42% from 2004 to  2007. Out of pocket expense for all adults rose on average 34% during the same period of time. So even those with employer sponsored health care have seen significant increases in their out of pocket expense. During a time when their wages have rose 1.1%, health care cost have grown on average 34%. This explains the jump in bankruptcies due to medical cost and the jump in foreclosures of employed Americans. America’s workers are being forced to choose between owning a home and affording health care. Since 1999 there has been a 119% jump in health care premiums.
So if America’s workers have been taking it on the chin when it comes to health care, why are they so opposed to health care reform? The answer is easy; being misled by the corporate health care machine. Business groups such as the National Chamber of Commerce have been dumping billions into ads and talk radio pundits to confuse the general public on health care reform.
UnitedHealth Group, Inc., the largest health provider in the United States, reported their profits doubled in the second quarter of this year. Revenues surged 79% as their membership roles fell. In addition the UnitedHealth Group prescription drug benefit unit profits grew 77% in the latest quarter. When workers lose their jobs, they also lose their health care. The lucky ones who find new employment, often are employed in situations without health care. “Every 1% rise in unemployment is somewhere around 50,000 additional lives that are added to our books,” said UnitedHealth’s CEO Stephen Helmsley.
So, these rising cost are squeezing families and providing huge profits for insurance companies. This is where the money is coming from to confuse working class Americans on the issue of health care reform. So talk radio and conservative media has been successful in brain washing the middle class into think health care reform will hurt workers. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Tennessee Congressman Jim Cooper recently told the Tennessean newspaper, "There's no Walter Cronkite anymore. There's no Huntley-Brinkley anymore. That was 28 minutes of news. Now you get 22 minutes of entertainment. And then you get all these wild Internet rumors. So I don't blame the people at all."
Since the dawn of this nation the working class has been required to fight for a fair shake in the American Dream. That battle is far from over – as a matter of fact it only gets harder. However, America’s workers have got to stop allowing those who prey on them from leading their convictions. This Labor Day, I challenge America’s workers to stop accepting the word of the talking heads and educate themselves on the issues they are facing. Workers will never get ahead until they break free from the bonds of misinformation and take a stand for justice for all workers.
John Davis |
