'There Should Be a March on Washington for All of Us Over 60 Who Will Never Get a Job Again'

[LiberalArkie]

By Thomas Geoghegan / The New Press

The following is an excerpt from the new book Only One Thing Can Save Us by Thomas Geoghegan (The New Press, 2016):

“So, do you think ‘labor’ will ever come back?”

As a union-side lawyer I hate when people ask that question as if it’s my problem and not theirs. You’d think with tears in our eyes we’d embrace each other and say: “My God, what should we do?” It’s a question now not of bringing back “labor” but of bringing back the middle class. And neither you nor I have done enough on that.

In 40 years as a labor lawyer, I’ve yet to figure it out—and now? “You and I are done,” said Ed, who’s my age. “It’s up to younger people to figure it out.”

Well, I’m not done. With my 401(k), I have to keep going.

Snip

http://www.alternet.org/books/raising-minimum-wage-just-starting-point-building-serious-labor-movement

[angstlessk]

1. Not so much a 'march' then a 'limp'

Over 60? probably over 50...since there are so many young people willing to work just about any job for poverty pay.

[GummyBearz]

16. Yea... the time for that march was about 30 fucking years ago when they were 30 years old

NOW they want to march against policies started by Reagan and all that came after?? They elected those who destroyed the future for anyone under the age of 40. They are a little late to the party. They can march to hell and leave us to clean up the mess they made on earth

[leftinportland]

18. This 63 year old

voted for none of that and have been fighting against the Reagan legacy for the last 30 years. Where have you been...glad you decided to join us.

[GummyBearz]

38. Thank you for your individual effort

But your generation really fucked mine up economically. For the last 30 years I have been learning about how this happened. Thanks for asking

[leftinportland]

49. Blaming an entire generation for today's problems is soooo wrong headed.

Continue to do so will put you in the looser column. Boomers are no more responsible for the 30 years of Reagonomics than my parent's generation are responsible for the Cold War. Generational politics gets us nowhere.

[GummyBearz]

59. hahaha

You can't blame people for the government they chose!!!

Just let us less than 40 somethings clean up the mess that was made. Please.

[leftinportland]

67. Don't trust anyone over 30

Becomes the new don't trust anyone over 40...now I'm laughing. When you fail to save us who will your children blame. Your generational politics will get you nowhere.

[GummyBearz]

68. Don't sweat it

Not being able to afford children is another side affect of the economic policies from the generation that came before me.

[kacekwl]

94. Doing a great job so far.

.......waiting......

[Jackie Wilson Said]

101. You clean it up by reversing reaganomics and embracing democratic socialism

But what you dont do is throw it all away because your candidate didnt get the nomination.

[Jesus Malverde]

23. Not only that but they cooed and marveled at the cheap goods from China.

Building up colossus' like Walmart.

Wasn't Hillary on the board of that prederatory, offshoring, anti American worker corporation.

Years ago Walmart was considered Awesome. Those who called out the damage they were doing to main street were marginalized as "anti globalist".

[Enthusiast]

28. Massive plus one!

[SheilaT]

54. Even now many people here justify shopping at WalMart

because things are supposedly cheaper there. Not necessarily true. Two or three times recently I've had the opportunity to compare prices at either WalMart and another store, or Sam's Club and another store. In the latter case it was buying ingredients to make spaghetti for 150 (homeless shelter), and it was about 25% cheaper at the Albertson's, rather than at Sam's Club. Even I was astounded at how great was the difference.

[Jesus Malverde]

57. I understand shopping there if you have to.

The quality I think has gone down hill. As the cost of Chinese labor went up the goods just got crapier and crapier.

Something I heard that really surprised me. Costco had a bad quarter, Walmart had a good quarter which they attributed to higher prescription prices. It never crossed my mind that a retailer would benefit from big pharma price increases.

[SheilaT]

60. If there is literally no other store within fifty miles or so, then I'd understand.

And while that is the case for some people, it's simply not true for most.

I have been told that the quality of things like clothing is truly crappy at WalMart. I've also read that some suppliers make the really cheap fall apart stuff for Wally World, and send better stuff to other places.

While I'm not about to tell people they need to spend ninety bucks on a pair of jeans, they can do better than they think they can in places other than WalMart. As I keep on pointing out, the only price comparisons I've done lately WalMart is more expensive.

I did used to shop there, back in the 1990s. All I ever bought was clothing for my two young children. It was okay, just casual stuff that they'd outgrow soon enough. But over time the store got shabbier and dirtier, and I didn't think that even for clothing they'd outgrow it was worth it. So I simply stopped going, and have never resumed.

[Silver_Witch]

71. No on should step one foot in WalMart

I personally have not shopped at WalMart for 25 years. My friends and family know how I feel as well!!! My Republican sister gave me a Christmas present and gloated about how she got it at WalMart and there was nothing I could do about it and she got her present back with a VERY rude comment.

Costco is better and they pay their employees well with benefits and are closed on many holidays so their employees can enjoy life!!

[Stonepounder]

74. Personally, I hate Wal-Mart.

I would never set foot in any of their stores if possible. I go to Wal-Mart for one thing and one thing only and that is insulin and hypodermics for our two diabetic dogs. Their insulin is about 1/3 the cost of getting it anywhere else and their hypodermics are about 1/2 the cost. Other than that I won't go to Wal-Mart for anything.

We shopped around and even our pharmacy told us to go to Wal-Mart. They evidently buy their insulin by the tank car load and it works just fine for the dogs. When you are on a fixed income, the difference between $75.00 and $25.00 a bottle for insulin and $40.00 for a box of syringes and $22.00 a box every three weeks is significant. But that's it. I won't buy anything else there.

[Enthusiast]

27. Who is this 'they'? I'm 63, I voted against Reagan twice and against Bush the first twice.

And against Bush the second twice, for that matter. I always voted for what I considered to be good congressional Democrats here in Ohio too.

I complained incessantly about Reagan and his policies. He cost me my job.

[GummyBearz]

37. I give you my thanks

Individual efforts shouldn't be forgotten. The politicians chosen by your generation really fucked it up for the rest of us though

[Enthusiast]

39. Remember, there were lots of older voters not of my generation at the time.

Falwell called them the Moral Majority. They voted for Reagan.

[edhopper]

50. And your generation has given us G W Bush

and the current GOP Congress and Governors.

How have they been for America?

[GummyBearz]

58. Wrong

The highest demographic that voted for GWB in 2000 was those between the ages of 30-49. Which are now between the ages of 46 and 65. (I suppose the current 46 year olds can have a break in this discussion as they couldn't have voted for Reagan the first time). Thank you sir, may I have another?

[Hulk]

83. If I remember correctly the demographic of 18 - 29 year olds flat didn't vote

The generation that had the most to gain didn't even bother showing up at the polls. You can blame those that did show up for the lousy politicians that got jobs, the 35% of eligible voters, but while you're at the blame game how about a little of that blame for those that didn't even bother to go vote..... the very same challenge we have even today. Those with the most to gain are too damn busy to vote and make a difference

[passiveporcupine]

97. You are on a democratic site

Do you really think a lot of democrats voted for Reagan and Bush?

[pangaia]

80. May I suggest you stop blaming an entire generation

or generations for your/my/everybody's problems.

Blame those who actually voted for the worst of the choices. I would suggest very few people here ever voted for Reagan or either Bushes....or Nixon, for that matter..

The problem is more complex than this, of course. Most of us did, like lemmings, vote for Clinton twice.. But, let's lay the blame where it is mostly due.

[GummyBearz]

82. I thinly covered that in the post you just replied to

Individual efforts shouldn't be forgotten and most people here probably voted against the worst of the worst. Still history is what it is. The generation who democratically elected reagan is responsible for reagan.

[redwitch]

52. Ditto.

Plus, I have kids that are dealing with it too. And they have the added bonus of worrying about how their parents are going to get through their old age. Been working and voting my whole life for the betterment of ALL OF US. No one is more sad and pissed off that it seems to not matter.

[Laser102]

79. Agreed.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

56. Boomers were the LEAST likely demographic to vote for Reagan

He was elected by the World War II/Depression generation and their parents, and in 1984, when I was teaching on the college level, the students (the youngest of whom would have been born in 1966, so GenX) were going around wearing Reagan buttons.

This was in spite of the fact that Reagan had cut back on all forms of college aid except ROTC.

[kcr]

66. Wait a minute. 1966 was the very beginning of Gen-X.

They were 18 at the time, so there wouldn't have been too many Gen- xers walking around on your campus then. Don't go fobbing Reagan off on us!

And this Gen-xer who was nowhere near old enough to vote then, distinctly remember my Boomer parents voting for Reagan.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

76. I'm not saying NO boomers voted for Reagan

but yes, the 18-year-olds on campus thought he was cool, and really, even the 22-year-olds had far different experiences than the early and mid boomers. Born in 1962, they would have little or no memory of the Civil Rights movement or the Free Speech Movement or the Kennedy assassination and only childhood memories of the Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King assassinations or the campus anti-war demonstrations or the race riots of the late 1960s. Early and mid boomers lived through these events as teenagers and young adults, which is a whole different perspective.

With Reagan cutting almost all student aid except ROTC, there was a huge contingent of ROTC students on the campus I was teaching at in 1984, and they were mostly dutiful little Cold Warriors.

[puffy socks]

77. I'm a gen Xer

here to say I remember the politics of the 80s and they were pushing all of the problems off on the government and lots of people bought into it .
We did not have the Internet we had to depend on mainstream media just as our parents did.
I will not participate in the generation blaming. There are too many who have fought all along the way for us and if we divide ourselves again it's a sure way to lose.

[abelenkpe]

2. Over 50 more accurate.

Of course when health care is tied to employment hiring older workers is a risk. Hiring workers with family, a risk. Big part of why we need single payer.

[Eleanors38]

4. What I was thinking.

[Wounded Bear]

10. First thing that came to my mind...

I was one of them, looking for work in my late 50's. Managed to hang on for early retirement at 62. Cost me almost $1000/month.

[Delphinus]

99. And I am rethinking

early retirement because of the difference in what I would receive. However, I'm making so little that it doesn't really even pay me to work.

[Wounded Bear]

104. It's basically where I was at...

and to top it off, I was killing myself, doing warehouse and factory work better suited to guys 20 years junior to me.

Decided I couldn't hold out and just did it.

[noiretextatique]

65. +1000 At 57

I think SS disability may be my best career option.

[hunter]

3. This isn't France.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10141466133

If we had any sense here in the U.S.A we'd be lowering the retirement age and cutting the normal work week to 35 hours so that young people can find good work paying at least a living wage.

But that would make our oligarchs sad and wealthy people would have to pay more taxes.

[mrmpa]

7. Retirement for those under 65 is..........

social security disability. Ain't that a shame. I have Medicaid, I'm 59. My insurer wrote me a letter and stated that I should contact a non-profit that they have contracted with, to apply for disability.

I do have several health issues that added up will with an 85% probability allow me to collect. I contacted the agency, have applied, the contact person, told me, that because of my age and disabilities, he sees no problem in receiving disability.

I've been making a concerted effort to find work for the last 6 years, and except for a minimum wage job (that got me sick, I'm allergic to mold & the office was full of it), I lasted 3 months & a job in the gig economy I can't even get an interview. My age & my Masters Degree keeps me out of employment.

So yes, the retirement age needs to be lowered and social security taxes should be collected on all wages, this will keep it afloat, & the US needs to pay back to social security the money it has borrowed.

[Enthusiast]

32. Huge +1!

[kerry-is-my-prez]

63. Yikes! Are they saying you are overqualified because of your Masters Degree? I have one too.

If so, scary.

[mrmpa]

64. It is scary.............

my masters is only 10 years old. So an assumption is that I'm in my mid 30's. But I went back to school in my 40's for this degree. So I have over 30 years work experience, employers don't want that. They're afraid of what they have to pay. They want kids in their 20's who will accept a lower pay, whose ass they can work off.

Two weeks ago I talked to an HR guy, if I sent him my app, and clearances (position is in a school) para professional at $11 an hour subbing, he could get me in by the end of the week.

Did what he asked, plus I've called him 3 times, with no reply. I'm guessing the school district he wanted to place me in, did not want someone with a masters for this job.

I've given up.

[kerry-is-my-prez]

103. And then we end up owning all that money in student loans. I live in Florida so they think people

in their 50-60s are considered "young." There's not a lot of respect for people in their 20's, actually, especially in my field, social work. Clients would rather work with an older person.

[JDPriestly]

9. Right!

[ReRe]

11. Might get some more ideas...

... from this recent documentary:

http://www.wheretoinvadenext.com

[Enthusiast]

31. Huge +1!

[Silver_Witch]

73. This^^^

Exactly. Been saying this for a few years!!!

[4139]

5. 61 doing entry level lead generation, the stuff my sons friends did as summer jobs

[malaise]

6. We start our own businesses and hire

ourselves - lots of us have a vast array of skills and training.

Boycott all businesses and services that don't hire 60+ people.

[dembotoz]

21. that is exactly what i did

best and pretty much only real option i had

actually when it is your only option it really is your best option

there is a whole shitload of us out there

[malaise]

25. Mom always told us to find one thing we did well and really liked that was not our planned

Last edited Thu May 26, 2016, 09:22 PM - Edit history (1)

profession and keep it in our pocket for the day we need a job we really love.

[a la izquierda]

95. I'm starting yoga teacher training for that very purpose...

plus working on my photography and writing.

[malaise]

96. Makes sense

We have to look after ourselves.

[Algernon Moncrieff]

29. I have a job, but I'm laying the foundation for self employment in my field if need-be

Not for now -- but possibly for 5-10 years down the road, and an insurance policy if things go bad sooner.

[malaise]

30. Only way to go

[padfun]

8. As a socialist,

I decided to work for socialist programs (Government) and now have a pension and full health care. I think anyone who really wants to work now day can, just check your local and state governments. And we have hundreds of jobs available right now. Yes, you will have to go through a three month process, but it is worth it in the end.

I got my first socialist job when I was 43 and before that, I worked in Right to Work (for less) states such as Arizona. And at 40 had nothing to look forward to. That is when I decided to look for a socialist job.

So get out there and find a job that will help you when you are older. I am 61 and will be retiring with a decent pension at 64. My redneck brothers are in their late 50's and early 60's and none of them have anything to look forward to except their Social Security payments.

[jtuck004]

12. Might have something to reckon with if you add in all those 30, 40 and 50 who are in the

same boat, and just don't know it yet.

'Cause , for many, their ship has sailed too.

[clarice]

13. Old lives matter? nt

[Fumesucker]

15. Gray lives matter...

[OxQQme]

14. Crowd source a national fleet of buses

as most in their latter years probably couldn't afford a trip with lodging to DC.
Maybe set up a new Hooverville.
Camp fires or LED tent lights at night could be seen from satellite.
Show the world.
I'm solely reliant on SS at 75.
I'd go.

[cliffordu]

17. I'm 64...

If I wasn't working as a bicycle courier for Postmates id be starving to death.

I currently live in an old RV in a freinds driveway in PDX because the rent here is beyond anything I can afford.

[ErikJ]

20. Im living in my RV in PDX for free.

Boondock every night for the past 3 weeks after moving out of my house. Im really loving it surprisingly. Im getting solar soon and hope to be totally self-sufficient while travelling across the country. Except for gas that is.

[Ferd Berfel]

19. Great idea

I'm 66 and this shit started for me in my early 50's. I was an IT Tech Manager from '76-2005

I work at Home Depot now to $10/hr . I still apply for for office type jobs when I find them. Haven't had an interview for a decent job since 2005.

I'll probably be stuck with this shitty min wage job til I can't lift things any more.

Hey, Thanks! Before..... I was only depressed



BTW: Question - Will Clinton improve this situation or make it worse?

[Auggie]

34. Nothing will change IMO ...

Though if the TTP passes I'd expect it to get worse.

[Baobab]

46. TiSA is the globalized services one..

TPP likely wont have much in the way of services.

The subcontracting works both ways. Some Americans may end up with jobs in places like India.

[frankieallen]

36. 30 years experience in IT and you couldn't get an interview in 11 years?? Wow

That sucks

[AnnieBW]

40. If you're over 30 in the IT field

You're too old to teach new skillz. Don't you know that? That's why I tell my husband to keep his mouth shut about how old he is (53).

[frankieallen]

44. Crap, I wish you didn't tell me that, I'm 52 in July and I just completed company paid

Virtualization training. I didn't know I was wasting my time until you told me!

[WillowTree]

61. Not necessarily true.

I'm in IT and I landed my job when I was 57. It depends on the company and its culture.

I work for a company that most here on DU probably detest, but it has a better corporate culture and much better working conditions than most places I've ever seen in over 40 years I the workforce.

[Ferd Berfel]

86. It depends on your skillset

and the company culture. Technologies come and go.

It's important to stay close to the bleeding edge. But if you fall off the track for any reason for even short lengths of time, you will not be allowed to get retrained. They will hire a 25 yr old long before they hire a 60 yr old.

If you landed an new job in a new company at 57 - consider yourself damned lucky. This is not the norm today

[WillowTree]

90. Oh yeah. I do realize that I got lucky.

And I wish similar good fortune to others.

[Ferd Berfel]

41. One thing is that unless you're immersed in it

on a daily basis, it's really hard to keep up these days. It's moving too fast.

I was successfully reorged out (initially) right after Y2k - big influx of H1B at the time (1998 forward) getting ready for Y2k so they had plenty of bodies around but I also got myself pigeon holed in IBM mid-range (AS/400-iSeries) which was going away at the time so I missed opportunities to shift laterally into other technologies (SAP or Wintel for example)

Now it's impossible. No one is going to hire a 66 yr old that has been out of the loop for so long = career change. But then no one hires anyone who is in their sixties for anything let alone entry level.........except fucking minimum wage jobs, like Home Depot.

THis is all why I support Bernie and $15 - Clinton will be status quo IF WE'RE LUCKY

[k8conant]

53. The longer I don't have a decent job the harder it get to get a decent job:

I've been looking since 2005 for a computer programmer job (I was 56 then--will turn 67 next month). I get contacted by recruiters and am continually asked how recent my experience is, as if I forget everything. (I have continued learning with my own company and am very versatile and a quick learner--but who cares? I'm old).

I did get a gig working on the 2010 Decennial Census for 5 months. I worked as a grocery cashier for 2-1/2 years. I do used book price lookups (in 4 or 5 languages) sometimes for a local online bookseller. I have applied for about 10 federal jobs (I retired on disability from IRS in 1994, but had to fight until 2002 all the way to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit to actually get my annuity because the IRS lied and breached a settlement agreement).

[maveric]

22. I'll March!

Been out of work for four years. Fast-Food won't even hire me.

[Ferd Berfel]

42. I hate to suggest this but

Home Depot will be happy to take advantage of your situation...for $9-10/hr depending on your location

[leftyladyfrommo]

81. Not only do companies now not want any older workers

they also don't want people with too much education. They are looking for company puppets not people that can think for themselves.

I think companies just don't want older workers period. None of the people I know were ever able to even get an interview let alone a job.

Remember the book the woman wrote about working low wage jobs? It was called Nickeled and Dimed, I think. She went out and worked those jobs and then wrote a book about it. Well, she also wrote a book about trying to find a job in the corporate world. She thought it would take a couple of months to find work and then she could write a book about the work atmosphere.

Well, she never could even get an interview. And she did everything you are supposed to do. She had coaches to tell her how to dress and how to do resumes and get job interviews. She went to job fairs. She tried everything. She sent out hundreds of resumes. She adjusted her resumes for each job. The only 2 job offers she got in about 9 months were Mary Kay Cosmetics and Aflac Insurance. Both of those jobs required a sizable down payment from her for supplies and whatever and they were both totally commission.

And this was a woman in her 50's I think but she said she looked like she was in her forties. She had tons of writing experience.

So if you can't find a job don't get depressed. It's not you. You are fine. You just have to find a way to start your own business.

[Ferd Berfel]

85. Starting you're own biz isnt' the answer either

It's a great way to go if you can pull it off, but, It's a gamble. How many can afford to gamble with what little savings they might have? It's usually take a nest egg ($$) to get anything off the ground that is strong enough to pay your bills. It also takes time. I've been a wage-slave my entire life. I'm just not wired for the skill-set required to start/run a business.

[leftyladyfrommo]

88. I just have my own pet sitting business

I am the business. My only expenses are advertising and gas.

I don't make a whole lot but along with my SS it pays the bills

[Ferd Berfel]

89. good on ya!

[johnsolaris]

24. fired

Hi,

I was fired from my job when I was 56 and I have worked only part time since that time. My former industry, Broadcasting/Radio has underwent waves of automation & lost 75% of jobs due to Republican deregulation. It is time to get rid of the Ronnie Rayguns legacy put Democrats back in control of Congress & the Whitehouse.

[1939]

33. I guess I don't understand

how is deregulation of radio responsible for job killing automation?

[Octafish]

45. Concentrated ownership allowed one Corp to own most of a town's broadcasters.

In Detroit, the tee vee and radio stations each had news rooms, each had production facilities, each had sales staffs, etc. when deregulation came, they consolidated and consolidated until there are just a couple of major players.

Then they started to import content from New York. Less and less use local talent. Now even CBS Radio, which owns half a dozen stations in Detroit, is selling its licenses: Not enough profit.

[1939]

47. When I was growing up in Detroit

the Detroit News owned WWJ-AM and Channel 4 WWJ-TV (and that was back in the 1940s).

The newspaper and radio advertising is way down (and that is not caused by deregulation). They are combining advertising sales staff in self defense. As you note, it is the lack of profit in radio (especially AM) that is driving the "leaner and meaner" station model.

An engineer now has to just flip switches instead of having a whole bunch of them constantly twisting dials to keep the station signal properly tuned. That is automation and not deregulation.

How many TV stations does Detroit now have? When I was a kid, we had channel 2 WJBK-CBS,, channel 4 WWJ-NBC, and channel 7 WXYZ-ABC. We thought we had died and gone to heaven when channel 9 CKLW-Windsor came on line.What are there now, about ten or twelve?

The radio dial in Detroit seems to be a lot more crowded now than it was in 1950 (when Detroit had 1.8 million people living there).

[k8conant]

55. I haven't lived in the Detroit area since 1983 but

check here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_television_stations_in_Michigan

[1939]

69. Problem is that

other than local news, most stations do not have original programming so there are not a lot of production positions. You don't have the Soupy Sales or Wixie's Wonderland shows any more.

Same thing goes with radio, instead of having station employees talk all day, the engineer just throws a switch and gives you a talk show feed from outside.

[LiberalCatholic]

26. Every major change in this country

Happened when people marched. It's time to take to the streets again.

[Enthusiast]

35. Yup.

[HughBeaumont]

102. Er . . . Iraq War on line 1.

[smirkymonkey]

43. K&R

[KG]

48. expect no help or even acknowledgement of the problem from the dem party

[Dont call me Shirley]

51. Not only 60somethings, but also 50somethings especially women.

[kerry-is-my-prez]

62. Good idea! It should be Sanders/Clinton supporters, Indys, Repubs. Everyone should be involved.

That's the only way this will get solved. Don't make it a "party" issue but a people power issue.

[hellraiser69]

70. We had a rally in D.C. on April 14th !

Not many knew it because MSM doesn't cover worker or senior issues, but over 3000 of us showed up at stopped cuts to our earned pensions.

[Helen Borg]

75. So, what are these people suppose to do?

Just kill themselves?

[Laser102]

78. Those who are forced to look for work at that age break my heart. What's wrong with us?

[StarzGuy]

84. I didn't realize it at the time that I was one paycheck away from disaster...

...one paycheck and major illnesses led to my demise. I once was a middle class member with a job that payed the bills. I am not saying that my employment did much more. After all back in 1978 with my first teaching contract I earned a whooping $10,400 while my roommate ended up with a great IBM contract at least 3 times more than I was about to earn. Yet, we both had the same level of education, both of us earned our Master's Degree, his an MBA, mine Educational Administration.

I never made enough to put away for retirement until way too late. After 35 years of teaching (never was able to land an administration job) I ended up disabled. I lost my home and had to use what little I had put away to survive until my disability was approved, nearly 9 months after I became disabled and had to retire. No income during the 9 month waiting period.

Now, with no additional savings and no prospect of ever reentering the work force I can't even make it through a month without having an overdrawn checking account. After rent, utilities and car payment there is virtually little money left for other basic like food, medicine, prescriptions, etc. Now, even St Mary's Food Bank have income limits. I am just a bit over the limit so I no longer qualify for food assistance.

The article speaks to me more accurately than you can imagine. The future is bleak for average persons in the US regardless who is elected president.

[Delphinus]

100. I am sorry.

[LittleGirl]

87. My two brothers are in the same boat

I haven't worked in a decade and my 58 yr old brother got laid off 6 months ago because he was too expensive and too old. My younger brother 54 has had the same job for 33+ yrs and lost his life time health care benefit when the company sold out underneath him. This is our family nightmare and it freaking sucks. We all worked hard all of our lives and the corporations have taken advantage of us.

[lakeguy]

91. drop the retirement age to 60 or even 55...

we are more than double as productive in worker units compared to the 60/70s when we worked 40 hours a week for the same (inflation adjusted) pay. drop the work week to 20 hours for the same pay or decrease the retirement age. then all the young and jobless can step in and start getting experience instead of living on food stamps/welfare (we pay) or going to jail for stealing (we also pay, 50k per year cost). and all that worry about deflation would vanish.

raise the tax on brackets for those earning 250k+ per year, and even more so on those earning more than 1 mil per year. problem solved.

[Phlem]

92. Amen!

and Fuck Yea!

[kacekwl]

93. Love to join you

but absolutely no way to get there.

[Boomerproud]

98. Will the bus ride to DC be free?

Otherwise I can't afford to go.