Issue
We Currently live in the richest country in the history of the world. However that means little because much of that wealth is controlled by a tiny handful of individuals, the top 1%
Due to the failed policies of Reaganomics, wealth and income inequality in this County has never been so clear.
The reality is that since the mid-1980s, there has been an enormous transfer of wealth from the middle class and the poor to the wealthiest people in this country.
Since then, CEO compensation has grown by an average of 900%. In the same time frame, workers’ compensation has risen only a dismal 9% despite workers’ productivity increasing almost 70%.
There is something profoundly wrong when one family owns more wealth than the bottom 130 million Americans.
Even within the working class of America we see wealth inequality, Women today make 78 cents for every dollar that men make. African Americans men make 73 cents to the dollar compared to their white counterparts and Latino men make only 69 cents to the dollar.
We must fight the corporate greed and bring back our working class.
Solution
◦ Increasing the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $15 an hour by 2020.
◦ Fighting for pay equity by signing the Paycheck Fairness Act into law.
◦ Making it easier for workers to join unions by fighting for the Employee Free Choice Act. One of the most significant reasons for the 40-year decline in the middle class is that the rights of workers to collectively bargain for better wages and benefits have been severely undermined.
◦ Supporting our local businesses and family farms. Small businesses create jobs, corporations consolidate.