Labor Day Parade

“This Labor Day, when kids are getting ready for school and private end-of-summer backyard barbecues have replaced communal solidarity, long-term unemployment is at an 80-year high, not seen since the worst of the 1930s Great Depression. At least 30 million Americans are jobless, or have been forced into part-time work or have given up looking for work altogether. At the same time, there’s an almost-Marxist downward pressure on employed workers’ wages due to freezes and wage cuts even at companies with healthy profits. Standard & Poor’s 500 index has surged 34% compared to last year, and companies are sitting on $1.8tn in cash.”