A U.S. government shutdown was narrowly avoided, but lawmakers are likely to face another battle with the agency within the next 45 days.
But what the US government spends its money on is ignored, and ironically, that’s where the focus should be.
If the government is shut down, soldiers will not get paid, and so will the lower half of the social hierarchy, especially individuals receiving government aid and social services.
The government has avoided a government shutdown, but what about the economic situation?
The autoworkers’ strike has become a hot topic in the United States, expanding to include three strikes in Detroit for the first time.
Unions and automakers remain far apart on important economic issues such as wages.
We’re not here to grab headlines. You know, this is not funny to us. We’re not here to just do that.
We’re leaving because GM and the three companies have been messing around for over seven weeks and not negotiating with us.
Sean Fein, UAW President
Folks, the UAW saved the auto industry in 2008. I made many sacrifices.
US President Joe Biden
However, automakers did not respond. Since 2013, they have earned $250 billion in profits. This means that each worker earned $1.7 million.
On the other hand, CEO salaries are exorbitant.
Ford CEO Jim Farley makes a modest $21 million a year, Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares makes $25 billion a year, and General Motors CEO Mary Barra is extremely frustrated and disappointed by the strike. He earns an annual salary of $29 million.
One impressive worker summed it up perfectly: “I think people here all over the country are just tired of companies not sharing with them or including them in their organizations.” [sic] Profit, or recognition of the effort we put into the company. ”
Between 1979 and 2022, inflation-adjusted annual wages for the top 1% of workers rose 145%, while average annual wages for the bottom 90% rose only 16%.
In the United States, the number of strikes has remained relatively unchanged, but the number of workers striking has increased from the previous year.
Around 362,000 workers were on strike by 2023, compared to 36,600 in the same period two years ago.
Job security should be a concern for Americans. Corporate bankruptcies have soared to a 13-year high. The strikers, like many other Americans, complain that their wages have not kept up with inflation.
The official U.S. inflation rate in 2023 was 3%, and wage growth was 5% above inflation.
But that doesn’t match what the average American faces when it comes to groceries, energy, transportation, travel, eating, and more.
Inflation has fallen in 2023, but it won’t reach 5% as the U.S. government has announced across the board. Perhaps that’s why poverty is increasing in the United States, with the poverty rate in 2022 being 12.4%, an increase of 4.6 percentage points from 2021.
And when it comes to food assistance, another shocking number: 41.2 million Americans, or 12.5% of the total U.S. population, received monthly SNAP benefits in fiscal year 2022.
Believe it or not, the United States makes about $6.3 trillion in revenue, and spends half of it on entitlement programs like food assistance and benefits. This doesn’t seem like a very healthy economy.
