It’s Been A Busy Week Of Protests In America: Teachers, Pensions, Minimum Wage…
Detroit is bankrupt, Chicago just layed off 2,100 teachers, and California Wal-Mart workers are on strike. Across the U.S., a growing number of Americans are fed up with low pay and spending cuts that are touted as a panacea for budget deficit and years of overspending by American cities.
The rollbacks occur as Congress appears unwilling to raise the minimum wage, a decision that living-wage advocates say would put more money in the pockets of low-wage workers and stimulate the economy. With little impetus to raise the minimum wage to $10.10, a proposal now supported by 80 percent of Americans, congressional ratings have plummeted to an abysmal 15.8 percent approval, according to an aggregation of national polling averages published by Real Clear Politics.
Bipartisan austerity marches on
It has been a busy week of protests across the U.S., as public-sector workers are reeling from cuts to pensions and mass firings in Midwestern cities.
In Detroit, Judge Steven Rhodes declared that the bankruptcy proceedings could continue in the Motor City, allowing Republican Gov. Rick Snyder’s appointed emergency managers to slash pensions and benefits for the city’s public workers.
It’s elicited a small but growing resistance from city workers who are now suddenly scrambling to plan for retirement with few options available to them.
“They are aiming to take our police and fire pensions,” said Darryl Brown, a 12-year veteran of the city’s fire department, adding that if he retired today he’d get $300 a month.
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