Labor Day, 2008

MANIFESTO

And it isn't pretty.

This Labor Day finds workers in worse shape than they've been in years, according to a scorecard released today by Rutgers University.

In its first national labor scorecard, the Rutgers School of Management and Labor Relations said more than 10 percent of Americans are unemployed, discouraged from seeking work, or underemployed. That is a nearly 25-percent increase from one year earlier.

... Other sobering findings:

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

· At $6.55, the federal minimum wage is worth 40 cents less per hour, in inflation-adjusted dollars, than it was a decade ago.

One hopes that once all the nonsense over who's got more executive experience subsides, the campaigns can get down to brass tacks and discuss what's really important to Americans.