Ed. Republican notions of trickle down might be fine if we were living in a colonial era. Victorian era England and mid 2oth century America added great value to the raw materials and low skilled labor the ruling powers took from their colonial subjects. Today, however, the world has a global economy and ultimately the wealth of a nation will depend on the productivity and purchasing power of its middle class. A menial job in the US as a burger flipper may draw a bigger slary than one in China, but paying $8.50 for Edna to flip burgers hurts our overall ability to make money.
The obvious bad example is of another great colonial power. Leaving aside Republican fantasies about Star Wars, the Soviet Union really fell to an onslaught of Chevies, VWs and Toyotas. I am not smart enough to know how to change this, but some things are obvious. If we do not invest in infrastructure and education, our ability to create opportunities, our national productivity will fall.
On April 19 McDonald’s declared National Hiring Day, encouraging people across the country to apply for a job. The restaurant chain reported that it received one million applicants for open positions, which resulted in 62,000 people gaining employment. Another 900,000 plus were turned down.
A McDonald’s spokeswoman said the company had planned to hire only 50,000 new employees. But the intense demand prompted it to take on an additional 24% in staff.