The typical American is even poorer than his or her equivalent in
Greece. The median Australian is four times wealthier. The Canadians are
twice as wealthy. The U.S. continues to
lead the world in billionaires
(571 in 2014, with China a distant second at 190). But after decades of
financial deregulation and attacks on employee rights, Americans rank
26th in median wealth (defined as assets owned, minus debts owed for the
person on the middle rung of the wealth ladder).
All by Design
During the Cold War, our working class was the envy of the world. We
argued that our free-enterprise system, not communism, created the best
conditions for a rising standard of living for all. Indeed, there was
much to boast about. Real wages were increasing year after year.
American workers were free to go on strike and did. Most importantly,
the children of working people could climb the economic ladder—upward
mobility was real.
Today, by almost every measure, none of this is true. Not only do we
rank 26th in median wealth, we also are the most anti-employee country
in the developed world. Actually, the two go together, because rising
inequality results from our pro-Wall Street and anti-worker policies.
The
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
(OECD) ranks 43 nations by the degree of employee protection provided
by government. The 21 indicators used include such items as laws and
regulations governing unfair dismissals, notifications and protections
during mass layoffs, the use and abuse of temporary workers, and the
provision of severance based on seniority. Countries are ranked on a
scale of 0 to 6 with 6 going to those who provide the most legal
protections for employees and zero for those with the least. As the
chart below reveals, we’re second to last, meaning that we have among
the fewest regulations to protect employees—union, non-union,
management, full-time and temporary workers alike.
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