Thom Hartmann: May Day - Is this the kick off of OWS spring?

[thomhartmann]

Workers of the world are uniting in a global day of action to commemorate International Workers Day. In hundreds of cities across America and around the world - in London, Barcelona, Toronto, Kuala Lampur, and Sydney - there were calls for a general strike with no working, no shopping and no banking. One thing you might have noticed in today’s rallies and marches, is that a majority of those taking part in the action are young people. That’s because they've figured out that Reaganomic austerity policies they’re pushing back against are harming them the most. According to a new study by the International Labour Organization, trickle-down austerity measures like the ones passed in Europe and by Republicans here in the United States disproportionately hit young workers the hardest. In austerity-wracked Ireland - a third of young workers are unemployed. And in austerity-hit Spain - more than half of all workers under age 25 are unemployed. And here in the United States - where Republicans have forced the President’s hand on budget cuts - including cuts to Pell grant programs - half of our nation’s recent college graduates are out of work or underemployed. If young people can’t find work out of college - then a whole generation of entrepreneurs, teachers, and engineers could be lost. For a round-up of today's action from New York City - I'm joined by Occupy participants Sarah Seltzer, Associate Editor-Alternet, and Mark Bray, Press Liaison-OWS.

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