Detroit vs. Wall Street: The Trillion Dollar Class War

Now, with Washington politicians demanding that auto makers jettison their legacy obligations and cut wages, many in the ‘elite’ classes gleefully anticipate the complete annihilation of the remnants of the hard-won, historically unprecedented, social contract between employer and employee. With an estimated 3 million jobs at stake, this could mean the extinction of the remaining middle class wage earner and pensioner.  

The devolution of the middle class coincided with the financialization and securitizaton of the economy, as money handling became more esteemed than making things. Free trade coincided with the announcement of the Dow Jones Industrial Average at the beginning of every evening news broadcast.

Now, the middle class is vanishing, facilitated by politicians who have enabled the death of unions, rewarded outsourcing, passed free trade agreements, annually increased the numbers of H1-B visas, deregulated the securities and banking industries, actively laying the groundwork for declining incomes and endlessly repetitive financial scandals.

If Congress decides to cut loose one of the last of the major U.S. manufacturers it could have enormous consequences for national security, not to mention the well being of millions of Americans.  As our elected champions hand trillions of taxpayer dollars, without challenge or conditions, to a grossly negligent financial sector, it will signal a final chapter in a class war lost by those in the middle. 

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