Thom Hartmann: Are Cons Reinventing Labor Day into Billionaire's Day?

[thomhartmann]

For thirty years - Republicans have been waging a war on labor - a war on working people. And they've been incredibly successful - with unionized workers now representing just a tenth of the workforce today - when they used to make up a third of the workforce a half century. Today in America - this war on labor is picking up steam. Republican Governors like Scott Walker in Wisconsin, John Kasich in Ohio, and Chris Christie in New Jersey have launched attacks on public sector workers - trying to deny them collective bargaining rights.

Republicans are close to killing off the Post Office - throwing a half-million unionized postal workers out of a job. With the help of Conservatives in Hollywood - teachers' unions are under attack, as well. Tragically, the United States is no place to for organized labor anymore - and as a result - no place for the Middle Class, either. Which brings us to Labor Day - the reason why a lot of us had Monday off work. To Republicans - it's no longer about passing legislation to make it harder to unionize - or cutting spending so that unionized public workers get laid off - or endorsing smears against teachers' unions. They've already done all that - now it's about re-writing the history of America - ensuring the next generation doesn't even know that the United States USED to be a place where organized labor flourished.

Here's what House Majority Leader Eric Cantor tweeted on Monday - on Labor Day - in an insult to working people across our nation: "Today we celebrate those who have taken a risk, worked hard, built a business and earned their own success." In other words - according to Cantor - Labor Day isn't for workers - it's for business owners, CEOs, and executives. Never mind the fact that according to the Department of Labor - Labor Day is ACTUALLY..."dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country."

Eric Cantor and Republicans don't want you to think that we have a holiday in America for workers! That would undermine their message that this nation was built on the backs of the 1% - not the 99% of us workers - but millionaires and billionaires. So in their worldview - on Labor day we shouldn't be honoring the brick-layer, the teacher, and the garbage man...we should be honoring the Koch brothers - and Lloyd Blankfein - and even Mitt Romney! Because - after all - what these guys need on top of their fortunes - is obviously a national holiday, as well. But the bigger picture here is this: the Republican war on labor isn't just an attack on working Americans - it's an attack on the American Dream itself. Is the American Dream to be a billionaire - to make as much money as you possibly can and screw everyone else?

Is Gordon Gecko's "greed is good" the new mantra of the American Dream? Republicans think so - hence why they want to redefine Labor Day as a day for the billionaires - those guys who want to suck as much profit out of their workers as they can. But that wasn't how most Americans viewed the American Dream. Most Americans see it as a dream to just live a comfortable life. To make enough money to have a home, food on the table, a car, healthcare, a good education, a vacation every now and then, a decent retirement, and some money to pass along to your kids. Organized labor made that possible. Organized labor gave American workers a good paycheck and benefits. Organized labor made a middle class not only possible - it made a middle class thrive.

Sure - it hurts the billionaires. When unions were strong - CEOs only made about 40-times more than what their workers made. Today - they make 300-times, 1,000-times, 2,000-times what their workers make. Does that make us better off? I don't think so. Organized labor didn't promise everyone would be super rich like Mitt Romney - it promised everyone that if you just worked and kept your nose clean, you'd enjoy a comfortable American life. Without organized labor - that promise can't be kept - and more and more Americans today know it \\

So it's time to wake up - and stand up to this war on labor. Let's hope Eric Cantor and the Republicans have jumped the shark with their attempts to redefine Labor Day this year. The workers - the 99% - you and me - built America - and let's never forget it.

The Big Picture with Thom Hartmann on RT TV & FSTV "live" 9pm and 11pm check www.thomhartmann.com/tv for local listings