Top 1%'s Share of 2010 Income Gains Amount to 93% in U.S.

In 2010, the first year of recovery following the painful job-destroying recession of 2007-2009, the top 1% received 93% of all U.S. income gains during the year.  Which means the bottom 99% of the population is left to fight over the remaining seven percent.  The decline of unions has helped spur the decline, as well as tax policy and stock gains by the rich.  Not suprisingly, more Americans are falling into poverty and cannot even afford to eat.  It is very clear that income inequality caused the recession and correcting it is the only way towards recovery. 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/05/1-percent-income-inequality_n_1321008.html

Romney: Private Sector Should Have Bailed Out Carmakers, But Bain Didn't Invest (for 2/21/12)

Mitt Romney thought that the private sector should have bailed out GM and Chrysler to save the American auto industry in 2009.  Romney thought those companies should have been liquidated, not reorganized in bankruptcy proceedings.  No private investors, not even Bain Capital, stepped up and provided the needed capital.  While Romney was not at Bain when this happened, the knowledge he gained there should have told him that investors would not step up and bail them out.  But, the Obama Administration went ahead and bailed out them out.  Romney surely wanted to break the unions and make the Detroit's auto workers take deep cuts in any bailout of the industry.  He would not care about the damage it does to Detroit's economy. This will make many voters, especially those in Detroit, reconsider Romney's private sector experience as a strength of his.  If the private sector does not step up and hire unemployed Americans, it makes the public suspicious of any candidate who touts his private sector experience.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/02/21/1066929/-Mitt-Romney-says-auto-bailout-should-have-come-from-the-private-sector-But-Bain-refused-to-invest-?via=siderecent

Scott Walker Will Not Use Foreclosure Settlement Funds for Homeowners (For 2/12/12)

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker will not use his State's allocated funds from the February 9th national foreclosure settlement of $26 billion to to help homeowners owing more than their home's value on fraudulent mortgages. The settlement is a penalty that mortgage lenders will pay for fraudulent practices. Wisconsin will receive $140 million, with $31.6 million going directly to Wisconsin State Government, which will use $25.6 million of it to balance its budget and the remainder to be determined later. Walker previously criticized this practice of using these one-time funds to balance his State's budget. He also said his controversial budget repair bill passed last year to bust unions was the key to the State's budget problems. http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2012/02/10/422744/walker-settlement-budget/

New Hampshire GOP Proposes Ending Lunch Breaks (For 2/10/12)

Two New Hampshire legislators, J.R. Hoell and Kyle Jones, proposed legislation to end lunch breaks for all workers in their State. Hoell thinks this creates too much confusion for seasonal employers with shorter shifts. Jones is 20 years old, has experience working at Burger King, and foolishly says it is a commonsense practice that does not need to be legislated. He knows little about labor relations as writers, unions, and labor advocates are in an unending war against business lobbyists to stop worker abuse since businesses do not care about their workers as they get as much profit as possible for business owners. The pursuit of profit has driven businesses to pay workers poorly, deny them needed safety or health protections, and even fail to pay for injuries incurred on the job. Middle-class workers do not want to wonder on a daily basis what dumb laws like this one that ignorant and uneducated legislators are making. http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/02/10/1063446/-Lunch-Break-You-Don-t-Need-No-Stinking-Lunch-Break-or-Republicans-Propose-the-Darnedest-things-?via=spotlight

Internet Shopping Workers Treated Badly (for 12/24/11)

Companies selling products, including items bought as Christmas gifts, over the Internet treat their workers very poorly. They often work 12-hour shifts five days in a row, face verbal abuse for not keeping pace with customers' orders, and cannot form unions. Amazon.com workers fainted in the stifling heat last summer at its warehouse in Breinigville, Pennsylvania. http://www.alternet.org/economy/153556/the_nasty_truth_about_the_online_retailers_you_probably_used_for_your_holiday_shopping/?page=entire

Exploitation of Port Truck Drivers by Banks (for 12/12/11)

Port truck drivers are treated, at an 82% rate, as independent contractors not employees. Goldman Sachs is a 50 percent owner of SSA Marine, an operator of four Long Beach, California port terminals. This operator has had safety problems as one worker was pinned to death between two trucks and another was nearly crushed to death by a cargo container. New companies drove unionized companies out of business and sold their trucks to their drivers to further exploit them. Everyday these drivers must pay for truck leases, sign new contracts, and inspect their vehicles, for which they are liable for damages. They get paid by the load, not an hourly wage, and do not receive benefits. Contract workers are often not covered by workplace health and safety laws.
http://www.alternet.org/occupywallst/153393/how_goldman_sachs_and_other_companies_exploit_port_truck_drivers_%E2%80%94_occupy_protesters_plan_to_shut_down_west_coast_ports_in_protest?page=entire