Beat your swords, yo, it's Labor Day!

Greetings [imaginary] blog readers.

Unfortunately, there isn't much to celebrate this labor day. The US economy is in shambles; the world economy looks tumultuous; and overall, our nefarious enemy - Capital - maintains its ideological monopoly over most governmental leaders. (Alas, the only bright spot is that if McCain wins the general election come November, economic collapse is almost certain, and thus, a resulting communist utopia will be just around the bend).

So I thought I would share the latest Labor Scorecard compliments of Rutgers University:

Employment

• Today, more than 10 percent of Americans are unemployed, discouraged from seeking work, or underemployed, a nearly 25-percent increase (24.2 percent) from one year earlier.

• More than a half million Americans (530,000) have been subject to mass layoffs in the last year, a growth of nearly 5 percent, but a lower rate than five and 10 years ago.

• Over the last eight years, the percent of workers who are working part time who would prefer to be in full-time jobs has gone up over 72 percent.

• The percentage of Americans working more than 48 hours/week has been steadily declining, to the latest figure of 17.8 percent.

• Unemployment rates are highest for blacks and Hispanics/Latinos, and their increases in the past year have been greater than the increases for whites.

Earnings and Wealth

• Despite a significant increase in the Federal minimum wage that went into effect in 2008, it is still lower in real terms than a decade ago.

• The median weekly earnings for American workers have not grown in real terms over the last eight years.

• Pay inequality is high and continues to increase, while wealth inequality is high but fairly stable.

• Significant earnings disparities persist but have closed somewhat for women, blacks, and Hispanics/Latinos.

You can read the full article here: http://news.rutgers.edu/medrel/news-releases/2008/09/rutgers-labor-scorec-20080829

And for those of you who think Rutgers data is biased, it primarily comes from the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.

So Work, my beleaguered comrades! Roll up your sleeves, pull yourself up by your socks, and stop your whining. It's time to spend more time away from your loved ones, exert your energy for the benefit of some capitalist entrepreneur, and put your faith in the power of 'democracy' to make things better.

Enjoy your brief respite. Tomorrow it begins again.