A Reflection on Labor Day
– Representative Carl Sciortino
A joke is making the rounds on the internet lately that goes something like this: “A CEO, a Tea Partier and a union guy were sitting at a table with a plate of a dozen cookies. The CEO takes 11 cookies and then says to the Tea Partier, ‘Watch out for that union guy — he wants your piece of cookie…'”
Reflected in this joke is a truth about our current circumstances that leaves me concerned, especially after Labor Day. The economic instability that faces many working families is being exploited or ignored. The middle class continues to shrink. Safety net programs that all of us turn to at some point in our lives, whether Medicare and Social Security or unemployment benefits or food stamps, are under attack. And we are led to believe that the salaries and benefits of our teachers and other public employees are the reason for high taxes and the struggles of everyone else.
If only it were that simple. The gap between rich and poor has grown dramatically over the past thirty years, which coincidentally reflects my generation?s entire lifetime. CEO pay has risen, corporate taxes have declined, and low and middle income families control a smaller share of national wealth while the superrich have done extraordinarily well. Some would like to believe that this is an accidental, natural phenomenon of our economy. I would suggest that this view ignores the reality of corporate influence and the sinister influence money has on the concentration of power in our democratic institutions.
I have seen many examples where well-financed individuals and corporate interests manipulate the truth in order to financially advance their own interests at the expense of the rest of the taxpaying public. Tax subsidies are provided to benefit single companies or industries in the name of job creation, but even basic efforts to make the recipient of these subsidies transparent is fought tooth and nail by their proponents. Ballot questions are paid for by single individuals or industries to change public policy in a way that sounds convincing in a sound bite, but has significant consequences for our residents. Legislation claiming to be about job creation and economic development is pushed through with nothing more than empty promises and no accountability.
A concentration of wealth in the hands of a small number of individuals, paired with corporations recognized as “persons†by court decisions that allow their unlimited spending on political campaigns and lobbying efforts, leaves every one of us vulnerable to a loss of our own power. Democratic institutions work when a “well informed citizenry†considers the merits and consequences of policies and government actions, and when every person truly has an equal vote, and thus influence, in the political process. That ideal is threatened by the growing imbalance in wealth and power.
As a legislator, I see it as my job to represent working families, not wealthy interests. I have filed House Bill 2565, which would help ensure state investments in job creation are accountable to the taxpayers and actually producing local jobs. But I believe we need people of all political stripes, or no political stripes, to recognize that our neighbors are not our enemies. False divisions among friends and family along party or ideological lines need to be put aside, and the very real and growing divide between rich and poor needs to be recognized. We all need to work together to ensure we do not waste time squabbling over crumbs while the cookies are all gobbled up by an overreaching minority.