Income inequality has been escalating in this country since around 1980 and continues to get worse. Manufacturing jobs have been disappearing since the late 1970s, and the jobs that have “replaced” them have been substandard. The US labor union movement has done nothing to counter this, and as a result, the percentage of the unionized workforce is below 10%. Our national debt is over $39 TRILLION. Our “leaders” have no solutions for working people, whether they be Democrat or Republican, or leaders of the labor movement.
In addition, Donald Trump has now initiated a war in Iran, even though the Iranians posed no credible threat to the US. He wants our sons and daughters to do the dirty work for Israel. Led by fools and liars, our troops may be heading into a war that is likely to produce a high level of casualties.
The situation requires some fresh thinking if we are to try to change it. This talk will try to clear up the fake underbrush about our situation so we can concentrate on the future.
Kim Scipes, PhD, is a Professor Emeritus of Sociology at Purdue University Northwest in Westville, IN, and a former industrial printer. His latest book, Unions, Race, and Popular Democracy: Building a Progressive Labor Movement, will be published in August 2026 by Cornell University Press. For a list of his over 300 publications, most linked to the original article, see his website at https://www.pnw.edu/
