Letter: Chipping away at wages doesn’t bode well at U.S.

Notice to Hanford workforce: Your replacements, at whatever time that happens, are unlikely to earn enough to afford the government-supported lifestyle that you presently enjoy. Since nepotism and cronyism are ubiquitous at Hanford, this may mean that it’s your own friends and family who will be unable to afford the large homes, luxurious vehicles and elaborate toys that are ordinary parts of your daily life.

America’s descent into oligarchic feudalism that started about 30 years ago probably means that a decent education, if you can manage to get one, will only enable you to achieve moderate subsistence, while those who cannot get a reasonable education will either barely survive or will provide cannon fodder for the oligarchs’ military adventures.

Public education, superior infrastructure and mediocre competition from an outside world devastated by WWII were the cornerstones of our dominance (exceptionalism?) in the world these past 70 years. A middle class based on affordable education for everyone and strong unions were major bases of our shared prosperity. These factors have all changed. We’d better take stock of where we are and where we’re heading if we hope to have any chance of continuing as the world’s alpha nation.

This story was originally published November 8, 2017 at 1:36 PM with the headline "Letter: Chipping away at wages doesn’t bode well at U.S.."