I have seen the enemy

and it ain't us

The genius of the neoliberal agenda is it's ability to turn it's victims against each other. The people who build the things we need or provide the services we require are with few exceptions hurting, drowning in debt just to survive.

Our kids are forced into debt slavery as well, vying for an education that if lucky allows them to marginally service that debt upon graduation

Be we blue collar or white, unionized or not, in the public sector or private we are in the same boat, however they have played us all off against each other. Instead of joining in common cause we accuse each other of being greedy of asking for too much.

We have been convinced that taxes are the problem not the wage suppression supported by our own governments which has caused us to fall so far behind. Taxes that pay for the services we need, that keep tuition affordable for our children.

If our wages had kept pace with inflation and productivity, taxes wouldn't be the issue they are today.

The only way out of this morass is by banding together in common cause, when our neighbor hurts so do we. No one should have to work for a wage that doesn't allow them to adequately house, feed and clothe their family. When we permit this to happen we harm ourselves, in many ways, some tangible, some intangible. 

By allowing corporations and the governments that support them to force people into poverty employment we aid in the suppression of our own wages, we put a greater strain on our healthcare system. Poverty is one of the major causes of illness.

The media and our own governments wish us to believe all this is inevitable, that we need to adjust to this "new norm" Well don't believe them, we got here through policy choices and we can effect positive change in the same manner.

With every major party currently in the thralls of neoliberalism the task is daunting but not impossible. First we need to identify the real enemy and it isn't the person toiling for survival.

We will win this fight one small victory at a time and it seems to me the first battle we need to win besides unity would be to make sure everyone who works for a living earns an income that allows him or her to thrive, not merely subsist.