Economic inequality, an issue that is often neglected or trivialized in the United States, is a real and growing problem.
As the upper class continues to climb the ladder of prosperity, the lower class continues to fall downward, with a once-bustling middle class slowly but surely following suit.
Whether economic deregulation, globalization, political greed or some combination of the aforementioned are to blame, the bare-bone reality of the situation is that the prosperity of working class Americans is disappearing rapidly and little is being done to stop it.
This makes the passage of the Indiana right-to-work bill so incredibly perplexing.
While Republicans in the Statehouse are celebrating the bill, which exempts workers from paying obligatory union dues, as a victory for workers’ rights and liberties, one can’t help but question whom the real benefactors of this bill will be.
The bill’s supporters would say that workers deserve to decide whether they’d like to participate in unions.
They might even say that not allowing workers to opt out of their dues is unconstitutional.
However, unions that seek to give the employees and families of the working class a say in the burgeoning political machine rely upon their members’ dues to do their work.
While the current generations that feel strongly connected to their unions will probably continue to participate and pay dues, with time, it’s likely that many will chose to opt out and keep their dues money in their own pockets.
Why would a young man working in a manufacturing plant struggling to make ends meet pay into a union if he could use that money to pay bills, especially if he knows that he can still reap the benefits of union lobbyists fighting for his interests without donating to them directly?
When unions don’t have the right to make dues mandatory and obligatory, there is little incentive for members to continue paying them.
This is especially true when their benefits are not immediately tangible and seem less pressing than say, paying for weekly groceries or a hefty medical co-pay.
It’s becoming more and more difficult for any non-wealthy American to achieve the American Dream of owning a house and car, sending their children to college and having a bit left to live comfortably.
The passage and popularity of bills such as right-to-work will only further expedite the growing gap between the rich and poor in this country.
The hypocrisy of the matter is that while those on the right bemoan the big bad unions, they’re often supporting tax breaks, cuts and loopholes for the wealthiest among us — further increasing economic inequality.
They do so because they laud the upper class as job creators while ironically demonizing the unions of the working class as job killers and often (effectively) convince their audience that any sort of measures taken on behalf of the middle or lower classes is socialism.
It’s time that the rhetoric be exposed for the empty, classist sham that it is and the working class be restored to its former rightful place of dignity and respect in the United States.
It’s time that all Americans are given the fair chance to pursue the humble dreams they seek once more.
It’s time that we say yes to unions and no to politicians who seek solely to promote the causes of the most well-off among us at the expense of everyone else, all in the name of a value we hold so dear: freedom.
— kabeasle@indiana.edu
