Why Is There A Labor Day?

 

Welcome to the last “official” long weekend holiday of the summer!  It typically marks the closing of pools, the beginning of the school year, and the last quick vacation. But what is Labor Day really? Simply a day marking the end of summer or something more?

 Labor Day was established on June 28, 1894 and reluctantly signed into law by President Grover Cleveland, making the first Monday of each September a federal day set aside to celebrate the efforts of organized labor and the gains---financial and social--- it has made on behalf of  organized labor and the working class. Before then, there was something of  a “unofficial” day set by various unions, the date varying from place to place.

 It bears mentioning that organized labor, and those pushing for a day of recognition for organized labor were regarded as “socialist”, and indeed, they were. Most of those who belonged to labor unions were affiliated with various socialist political parties including the Socialist Party of America. Also, unions tended to become popular in jobs sectors with a history of abusing its employees such as mining, the auto industry, the garment industry, and shipping (train and cargo ships) and employed mostly immigrants and minorities.

 Later on, various other laws such as Social Security, minimum wage, 40 hour work week, child labor laws, women’s right to vote, job safety and the creation of OSHA, worker’s compensation, unemployment, and welfare were all labeled as “socialist” (or even “communist”) and vigorously opposed by Big Business.

Not long after the first Labor Day parade was held on September 5, 1882 in New York City, the New York State legislature began work to introduce a bill to formally recognize organized labor. However, it was Oregon which was first sign into law a bill establishing a day honoring labor on February 27, 1887.  Later that same year, four other states, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Colorado, and New York signed into law bills which not just acknowledged organized labor but also established them as state recognized holidays.

By 1890, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut join the growing list of states to celebrate organized labor. Four years later, 23 states  passed laws to honor working men and women. Finally, on June 28, 1894, Congress decided to get on the act, thus establishing Labor Day as an official federal holiday.

While this was a major victory for the working class, who was the first person to propose a day recognizing labor? Not surprisingly, the answer isn’t so clear cut. However, there are two individuals most often cited. The earliest records show that in 1882, Peter J. McGuire, the son of poor Irish Catholic immigrants and general secretary for the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners as well as the co-founder of the American Federation of Labor (“AFL”) first suggested setting aside a day to honor the working class.

The other contender was Matthew Maguire, another child of Irish immigrant parents. Maguire was the secretary of Local 344 of the International Association of Machinists and Blacksmiths located in Paterson, New Jersey. He made the proposal in 1882 while serving as the recording secretary of the Central Labor Union in New York. Maguire was also a New York alderman.

Additionally, the New Jersey Historical Society reported that according to an editorial in the Paterson Morning Call newspaper, “Alderman Maguire” President Cleveland should give Maguire a ”souvenir pen”.  As an aside, in 1896, Maguire ran as the vice presidential candidate for the Socialist Labor Party of America alongside the presidential candidate, Charles H. Matchett.

 Labor membership continued to growing, reaching almost 1/3 of the workforce by the end of the 1950’s, although in terms of actual numbers, it reached its highest point in 1979, hitting 29 million dues paying members. Nevertheless, union membership began its decline in the 1960s, accelerating in the 1980’s under President Ronald Reagan as companies began closing plants and exporting jobs overseas.

The once powerful public sector unions have also lost much of their clout following the infamous 1981 strike by the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO) which resulted in the firing of some 11,000 striking air traffic controllers over pay, hours, and job safety issues by President Reagan, which, among other things, prohibits public unions from striking.  

 Another reason for the decline of union membership is growing trend of “Right to Work” legislation., which stems from Section14(b) of the 1947 Taft-Harley Act which gives state the authority to prohibit mandatory union membership even in a closed (or union) shop. Under “Right to Work”, employees may elect not to join a union and thus are not required to pay union dues.

 However, these employees still benefit from any and all collective bargaining agreements, including the use of a shop steward to assist them with any employment issue. The result is a drain on union resources. Currently there are 27 "Right to Work" states which include Kentucky, Texas, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, and Indiana. 

 Today, organized labor makes up roughly 10% of the workforce or about 14.3 million workers, with public unions comprising the bulk of union membership (33%) compared to just 6% who belong to private unions. The states with the highest union membership is Hawaii with 26.5% of its workforce belonging to a union. Hawaii is followed by New York with 20% and Alaska with 17.7%.

 Education and protective services such as teachers, police, EMS, and fire have the highest percentage of union membership. Black employees are most likely to belong to a union, more so than Hispanics, Whites, Asians, or Native Americans.  Meanwhile, men are slightly more likely to belong to a union than women (10.5% to 9.5% respectively).

I guess I've always tended to support unions, employee owned workplaces. and employee initiatives. Most of my relatives belonged to unions, especially mining and railroad. I've worked primarily for several non-union companies. Most were decent, but some seriously "used and abused" their employees. 

This resulted in high employee turnover, sloppy work, very low morale, heated outbursts, and hostile work conditions amid poor management skills. In fact, they were so bad, I used them as examples in the undergraduate and graduate classes I taught. Amusingly, few of my students believed the examples were from a real---albeit unnamed---company!  

In every place I worked, I was asked by fellow employees to serve as the employee representative. I'm not sure why I was repeatedly chosen. Perhaps they thought I'd be fair and balanced or perhaps it was because I wasn't bashful about challenging authority figures. Regardless, I was always honored by the trust and confidence my fellow employees had in me to take on management.

My last position before retiring was that of "Special Coordinator to the President for Special Projects". Basically, this was an assistant vice president position which functioned similar to my previous roles as an employee/management liaison (some saw it as a “non-union shop steward”). I provided a comprehensive report to the company president and the Regional Vice President with recommendations for the improvement of company morale and productivity (in addition to my role as Senior Legal Manager).

In addition to serving on several non-profit boards, I was appointed state chairperson of a national writers union (UAW/NWU 1981) where I served for 11 years. I handled state based issues and served on the local labor council. I was elected as the National Vice Chairperson of the At Large Chapter and served on several national committees. I also liaised with several labor oriented organizations and served on the Greater Louisville Central Labor Council.

Equality and fairness in the workplace has always been a historically important union issue. Unions backed social causes like the Women's Suffrage Movement, Civil Rights, and the Chicano Movement of migrant farm workers and sharecroppers for fair wages, not to mention the Family Medical Leave Act,  and the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) which guaranteed returning military personal their old job back or paid training for a similar job in the event their earlier job or place of employment was gone. Many also unions opposed President Clinton's "NAFTA", which turned out to be a disaster for many American businesses as well as the working class.

Unions are said to have created the middle class, which may very well be true, but it's not been all wine and roses. If you look at countries with no or weak unions, you tend to find a weak middle class and widespread poverty. Of course, that isn’t to say unions are the answer to every social or economic problem, nor are unions always applicable to every job sector, but they aren’t the villain they are often made out to be by Big Business.

Additionally, unions have faced a lot of problems over the years, externally and internally. One of which is their refusal to think outside of the box, or to be more accurate, outside of the hip pocket of the Democratic Party which, like the Republicans, greedily serves Wall Street, leaving unions to “manage” the employees on behalf of management rather than represent them.

Union leadership has consistently failed to protect the best interests of its members by not making the major parties or candidates compete for their support. Labor must look elsewhere, even if it means forming its own political party (did you know that we're the only industrial nation---and one of the few nations period--- without a Labor party?) or face eventual extinction. It’s not a question of “if”, but “when”.

So, as you and yours do whatever you do on this last long weekend of the summer, take a moment to remember what Labor Day is all about---the working class of America.

Thank you for reading "Another Opinion", the Op/Ed blog page for the "militant middle".  Here at "A/O" we truly value our readers. At A/O we seek the facts as they exist, not partisan talking points.  We hope you find our articles informative and engaging. Comments are welcome, provided they are not vulgar, insulting or demeaning.  Another Opinion is offered without charge and is directed toward all independent and free-thinking individuals. We ask, however, that you "like" us on whatever platform you found us on in order to keep our articles available for free to others. Lastly, in order to keep costs down, we depend on passive marketing, and therefore, depend on our readers to please forward our posts along. Below you will find links to the sources we used in writing this article. Thank you. 

 

Labor Day

History of Labor Day

Right To Work—What It Is And More Importantly, What It Isn’t?

Labor unions in the United States

Unions, Workers, And Wages At The Peak Of The AmericanLabor Movement

US labor union membership slips in 2024 to record low

Right to Work

The Consequences Of Reagan Breaking The 1981 Air TrafficControllers Strike

Matthew Maguire

Charles H. Matchett

Peter J. McGuire

AFL-CIO: Peter J. McGuire

Socialist Labor Party of America

 

 

 

The Reckoning: Taking Back the American Dream

The Greek philosopher, Plato, said in his two famous political works, "The Republic" and "Laws", that unchecked economic inequality was a principal reason for the fall of democracies and the rise of demagogues.

But as History has repeatedly shown it's not only democracies, but nearly every form of government which will eventually collapse under the weight of economic inequality, which typically brings about political failure, from the ancient empires of Sumer and Babylon to Pharaonic Egypt, Rome, and up to modern times.   

Today, economists and political scientists are looking at the strain that climate change, rising prices and taxes, population migration, aging populations, crumbling infrastructures, rising public and private debt, public apathy, and failing school systems as symptoms of an increasingly unstable United States and Western Europe. Even China, India, and other nations along the Pacific Rim are seeing cracks in their economies as monies are diverted more and more to critical services.

The gap in quality of life between the top 20% and the remaining 80% has grown along every measurable statistic for the last 30 years. The cost of an average house has risen approximately 817% between 1970 and 2024, which is higher than the average rate of inflation (4.19% for housing compared to an overall inflation rate of 3.94%), All items, excluding food, rose 627% between 1967 and 2024. 

Using data from the Center For Economic and Policy Research (CEPR), between February 2020 and November 2023, average wages rose 19.4%. For individuals in production and non-supervisory roles, 21.9%, while for high demand non-technical positions such as hotel and restaurant workers, their wage shot up 31.6% (note that these jobs represent 80% of the job market). While an average increase in wages of 19.4% is pretty good, the Consumer Price Index, which measures the overall change of prices, went up 18.8% for the same period. 

Starting with the COVID pandemic in 2020 and continuing through November of the following year, the price of food jumped 24.7%, exceeding the average growth of wages by 5.3%.  So, if you're seeing the content of your grocery cart getting smaller while the amount at the checkout counter getting higher, it's not your imagination or because you're unnecessarily splurging. For instance, the price of a loaf of bread has increased 28.8% since the pandemic while the cost of eggs have jumped 24.7%. 

While the consumption of red meat has been steadily declining, it still remains a staple for many U.S. households. Since COVID-19, the price of beef went up 30.3%, with the highest jump in price occurring in 2020 during the peak of the lockdown. Interestingly, the cost for chicken rose by the same percentage (driven up, in part, by the arrival of the "Bird Flu"). Milk, another staple found in most homes, saw a 20.4% increase per gallon. The good news (if there is any), is that the prices of milk and milk related products (such as cottage cheese, sour cream, and butter) are showing signs of stabilizing and in some instances, even dropping.   

As an aside, most Americans tend to struggle with their weight. Americans are notoriously overweight according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which say that one in three Americans are over their optimal weight. Just over one in three men (or about 34.1%) are considered obese while about one in four women (27.5%) are "chubby" while 42.4% of both genders are considered seriously overweight. This, of course, is part of the reason for the explosion in diabetes and heart disease. 

While some individuals are overweight due to genetic or other medical conditions, most are tubby due to their lifestyle. One common recommendation from physicians to deal with our weight problem is a combination of regular exercise and adopting a healthy diet. However, the NIH reports that the cost of many diet suggested foods, such as vegetables, fruits, and oils, have risen in price by an average of 17.9% since the pandemic. Ironically, Unhealthy foods have seen an increase in price of just 9%!  The single exception was the price of fast food, which rose 14.7% between 2019 - 2022.  It should be mentioned too that since 2000, the cost of medical care, including prescriptions, increased by 121.3%. 

Based on data from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the price of fruits increased 9.5% between 2021 and 2022 while the cost of fresh veggies rose by 7.9% over the same period. Even the cost of eating out has jumped in price. On average, restaurant food prices have risen 7.1%. Of course getting to and from the grocery store, local eatery, work or just about anywhere else requires a vehicle of some sort. So, what about the cost of gas?

Under President Donald Trump, the average price of gasoline ranged from a high of $2.81 a gallon in 2018 to a low of 2.26 in 2020 (equaling President Obama's low in 2016). Under President Joe Biden, gas was $3.10 a gallon for regular in 2021 and rose to a high of $4.06 for a gallon in 2022. This is higher than the three previous presidents, Trump, Obama, and George W. Bush. However, in looking at the broader picture, from 2020 through the end of 2023, gas prices have risen by a astonishing 30.4%, thus outpacing wage growth for all but a few.

Despite the increase the cost of living for practically everything, not everyone is feeling the pinch. According to a recent study, conducted on behalf of Bank of America in 2024, roughly 30% of American households are living paycheck to paycheck (a similar study reported by CNN put that percentage at 35%). Another 20% or so percent can't afford to miss anymore than one paycheck before their financial house of cards begin to fold.  

What's meant by the expression "living paycheck to paycheck"? According to the Bank of America study, living "paycheck to paycheck" means spending 90% or more of your income strictly on necessities such as rent/house payments, food, utilities, or medical bills. 27% of all Americans have no money in savings. 27% of those over 50 years of age are in the same boat. On top of that, 40% of Americans have less than $1000 set aside for emergencies according to the American Bankers Association. Of that, 49% have $500 or less available while 36% said they have just $100 for emergencies (and yet, we can afford to send $64.1 billion dollars to prop up the Zelensky regime in Ukraine to fight a war that we encouraged). 

So, while the average American struggles to keep a food on the table and roof over their head (13.7% of Americans are food insecure while 14% of Americans have experienced homelessness at some point), the federal government lets approximately $92 billion dollars in corporate welfare annually slid by. Corporate welfare includes tax credits, give backs, preferable regulatory treatment, no bid contracts and automatic contract renewals, debt write-offs, deep discounts, bailouts, low or no interest loans, public grants, public-private partnerships (public money financed ventures), subsidies, and more.   

 From 1980 through 2021, the level of income for the Top 1% rose by 574%. For the Bottom 20%, it was just a paltry 31%. For the Top 0.01%, their wealth grew 832%. The Top 1%---about 12,000 households--- are 139 times richer the Bottom 20%. According to the Organization of Economic Co-Operative Development (OECD), a international economic and social policy forum, the United States has one of worse levels of income inequality among its 100 nation members. 

In 1971, 61% of American families made up the Middle Class. Today, that percentage ranges from 46% to 55% and declining. 50 million Americans now fall below the poverty threshold, and yet the federal government is doing little to stop the millions of illegal immigrants, the majority of whom falling into the poverty category, into the United States. Of course, we can't forget that women, on average, still earn just 82% of what men earn despite being mandated by federal legislation. 

One other factor to look at is the wage inequality between CEOs and their employees. In 1965, the average CEO made roughly 21 times that of their employees, which sounds reasonable. As of 2023, that percentage is 290 times more than their employees (there are 58 companies where that ratio is 1000 to one).. To put it another way, between 1978 and 2023, the pay of the average worker (wage and benefits) rose by 24%. Over that same time period, pay and benefits for CEOs and senior officers went up 1085%. The median pay for a CEO in 2023 was $16.3 million dollars according to a report published by the Associated Press (the data was comprised by Equilar). 

Can the United States continue with this level of income inequality? Ever since the decline of organized labor in the late 1950's, the income ratio between the working class and corporate leadership has been expanding, in part because the composition of their compensation package has changed to include more stock options and performance incentives. 

Meanwhile, similar types of incentives for employees have been reduced or cut, not to mention wage and/or benefits through so-called "voluntary give backs" out of fear that their jobs would be eliminated or the facility closed and sent overseas. Is this cost cutting measures to protect the business's profitability or merely a form of extortion? 

Since 1967, the Middle Class has been on a downward spiral, nearly matching the decline in public union membership. This decline of the union rank and file has meant a decline of union and non-union bargaining power and political clout which by extension, has directly affected the Middle Class. A strong working class, union or not, tends to mean a vibrant and financially healthy Middle Class. 

As mentioned at the beginning of this article, economic instability, coupled with public apathy, demagoguery and a well educated citizenry are a greater factor in the fall of democracies as well as empires, second only to severe and sustained climate events, than all other reasons. We have those in spades. 

Right now, we're facing not only extreme income inequality, but a strain on the economic elasticity of our social safety net, made all the worse by an defacto invasion, albeit non-military (at least at this point) of hoards of poor, largely poorly educated people who are interestedly solely in economic opportunities with no desire to contribute to their new homeland .

A people seeking to migrate or seek refuge will adopt to their new homeland's values and traditions. They will adapt to the laws and find ways to contribute. They will pay for public services through taxes. They will learn their adopted country's language.

 An invading army will do none of these things. Their objective is to supplant everything they can by any means available. They'll establish exclusive enclaves, turning them into semi-automatous zones of occupation, daring their hosts to enter. They will pervert the laws of their hosts. They will plead for tolerance when their numbers are small but offer none when there number have grown. 

Distrust in the government and media are at all time highs and have been that way for decades. Mediocrity at all levels of society, especially politics, are accepted as the norm. Excellence is often mocked if not actively discouraged. Herd mentality is the rule. 

The good news to all this is that there's a growing resistance to the ruling Status Quo. People are walking away from the Corporate imposed partisanship.  People are not just questioning so-called "authority", they're challenging it. The scripted narrative is no longer accepted. 69% of the public has little or no trust in the corporate media.

Increasingly, we're waking up to being played by the ruling class. The approval rating of Congress is laughable 17% We're refusing to accept the artificial divisions they want us to play. It's time we stop playing by their rules and start working to build a society which can benefit everyone. Not by mandating equal outcomes, but by ensuring equal opportunities. We need a society that our Founding Fathers would be proud of.   

 Thank you for reading "Another Opinion", the Op/Ed blog page for the "militant middle".  Here at "A/O" we truly value our readers. At A/O we seek the facts as they exist, not partisan talking points.  We hope you found our articles informative and engaging. Comments are welcome, provided they are not vulgar, insulting or demeaning.  Another Opinion is offered without charge and is directed toward all independent and free thinking individuals. We do ask, however, that you be sure to "like" us on whatever site you found us on in order to keep our articles available for others, and that you please pass our post along. Below you will find links to the sources we used in writing this article. Thank you. 

Average Gas Prices Under The Past Four Presidents

Wages and Prices: Who Is Keeping Up with What? 

Healthy Food Prices Increased More Than The Prices of Unhealthy Options during the Covid-19 Pandemic...

Nearly Half Have less than $500 in Savings

Survey: One in Four Americans Have Less than $1000 in Savings

The typical CEO makes nearly 200 times more than their workers

   

A Nation Out of Balance: Wealth Inequality in America

Did you know that the top 400 richest individuals in America are worth a combined $4.5 trillion dollars? Of those, the top four are worth about $1.9 trillion dollars. Do you think you have what it takes? Just to make it into the top 400 you'll need a minimum net worth of $300 billion dollars. In addition, the top 20 are worth 30% more than they were this time last year. So, who are these modern day descendents of King Midas?

The top five wealthiest individuals are Elon Musk ($180b) at the top, followed by Jeff Bezos ($114b), Bill Gates (135.8b), Larry Ellison ($119.5b), and Mark Zuckerberg ($117.5). Zuckerberg is also the youngest at 39. Warren Buffet is the 7th richest person and Charles Koch ($54.2b), the villain of liberals everywhere, is 17th. Julia Koch ($54.2b), widow of Charles' brother, David, is 18th, making her one of the wealthiest women in the world.  

As an aside, these are the richest individuals in America. Globally, Bernard Arnault of France is the second wealthiest person, behind Musk with a net worth of roughly $174 billion. The balance of the list is the same, making the top 9 out of 10 richest Americans.

Meanwhile, Michael Bloomberg ($69b), the bane of conservatives, is actually much richer, clocking in at 10th place.  Of course, these figures are approximate. By the time it took just to type the figures, they already grew several hundred thousands of dollars. And for those who like to gloat, former President, Donald Trump, is no longer among the top 400 wealthiest. According to Forbes, "The Donald's" wealth has dropped from $3.2 billion to $2.6 billion. While that puts him about $300 million dollars shy of the top 400, I doubt Melania is having to clip coupons.

But what about us ordinary Americans? How do we stack up? As of 2022, the "official" poverty rate in the United States was 11.5% or around 37.9 million people. The number of children living in poverty as of 2022 was 12.4%, up from 5.2% in 2021. However, the actual poverty rate of Americans is much higher, especially when you consider that 49% of Americans are dependent in some matter on government services. That translates to roughly $1.19 trillion dollars or 20% of the federal budget.   

Historically it's been the middle class which has provided the economic and social structure to society. The middle class provides the overall stability which keeps capitalist democracies afloat. Ideally, a society should have a relatively small upper class and a small lower class with a large center. However, that's not the case anymore.

In 1971, 61% of Americans were middle class. By 2021, it was just over 49%.  To make matters worse, those in the upper third of the middle class dropped significantly to middle income while many of those previously in middle portion either remained the same or dropped into the lower middle class, thus making the lower middle class the largest of all the economic classes.

Minorities, which had struggled for decades to reach a middle or upper middle class lifestyle (reaching their zenith in the 1980's) have dropped to middle or lower middle income. The decline of the middle class coincided with the closure of factories and exportation of good paying, and mostly union jobs overseas in the name of improving shareholder profitability and staving off corporate raiders.  

The decline of the middle also coincided with growth of the lower class which increased to 25% of the population (some studies put the figure closer to 29%). Of that 13% were classified as "working poor" while 12% were defined as "underclass". Note that none of this takes into consideration those who are under employed or have simply given up looking for employment.

I should also mention that the rate of homelessness has also grown along with the decline of the middle class. Currently 22% of the homeless are categorized as "chronic", meaning they are unable to be find regular shelter. 5% of the homeless have children with them (defined as those under age 25).  6% of the homeless are veterans. The majority of homeless, 21.5%, are men. 13.3% are women.  

When we take a look at wages, the situation becomes more dire. As of 2022, the average company CEO made a whooping 670 times more than the average employee---not the lowest paid employee mind you, but the middle income earning employee. That means for every dollar the average employee earns, the CEO gets $670. In 2021, that ratio was 399-to-1. By 1989, it was 59-to-1, and in 1965 CEO's made $29 dollars for every dollar the average employee made. 

Between 1979 and 2022, the pay of senior company executives went up 1209.02% while the average worker's compensation went up 15.3%. It's worth noting that since 1975, prices overall have increased by 361.41%, or to rephrase it by saying that it would take $5.72 in 2022 to buy the same amount a dollar in 1975 would. Thus when adjusted for inflation, the purchasing power of a dollar relative the rise in wages, which helps to explain, at least partially, the decline of the middle class.

When we look at the situation globally, the picture is much the same. The upper 10% take home 52% of the income while the poorest 50% has just 8%. In terms of overall wealth, the top 10% control 85% of all wealth while the bottom 90% control 15% with the poorest segment owning a mere 2%. The top 1% control 50% of the world's wealth.  

Compare that with the U.S. where, according to the Federal Reserve, as of 2021, the top 1% controlled 32.3% of the total wealth while the bottom 50% controlled just 2.5%. As of the end of the second quarter of 2023, the Federal Reserve said that the top 10% control 69% of the total wealth while the lowest 50% had just 2.5%. The top 1% controlled just over 1/4 of the total wealth in the U.S..  

Globally speaking, the United States has the fifth worse level of income inequality out of the top 35 industrialized nations. Only Bulgaria, Turkey, Mexico, and Costa Rica were worse off. The U.S. also still had the highest disparity between CEOs and workers by a large margin. The next closest was Switzerland where the wage disparity between CEO's and workers was 148%, followed by Germany at 147% and Spain at 127%.

As an aside, it should be pointed out that the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to the growing wage disparity since senior executives continued to receive their full compensation while the majority of the workforce was at home receiving next to nothing beyond unemployment and a couple of small government handouts (aka "stimulus checks").  

Also don't forget about their considerable investments in pharmaceuticals,  healthcare, and medical research. During the pandemic, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, and six other billionaires made $360 billion dollars during the deadly outbreak. 

From March 5, 2020 through March 5, 2021, the height of the pandemic, Elon Musk's wealth increased by $118 billion dollars. Jeff Bezos saw an increase of $58 billion while Larry Paige and Sergey Brin saw their wealth grow by $33 and $32 billion dollars respectively. Mark Zuckerberg's portfolio increased by $29 billion, while Larry Ellison's grew by $28 billion. Bill Gate's financial worth blossomed by $24 billion. Two other billionaires, Steve Ballmer and Michael Dell saw their wealth grow by $23 billion and $18 billion. Money begets money, and they have a lot of money to beget! 

The ever expanding wealth inequality has effectively created a two tier society both in the United States and abroad. The middle class has historically been the glue which held capitalist democracies together. Even during feudal times, it was the well-to-do peasant class which helped prop up the monarchies. The middle class has provided an incentive for the lower classes to try to achieve economically and socially while providing a social barrier for the upper classes.

It has been said that the middle class is the only thing protecting the rich from being murdered by the poor. However, if the middle class no longer has as much to protect, then there is no reason it shouldn't make common cause with the lower class which has happened previously in history. If that should occur, there would be a complete upheaval in society.

The choice, therefore, that we all must accept is either fundamental and real change in how society functions economically and politically, including possibly a defacto cap on individual wealth and a minimum corporate tax, or face a real threat of more radical changes at home and globally.

There is no longer a middle ground. Attempts by politicians or the corporate media to divert our attention with another "crisis de jure" or even their blatant refusal to protect their financial interests just aren't going to cut it anymore. It's past time that we took charge of this country again.  

In addition to the links below which explain the statistics mentioned above in greater detail, I've also include two short videos below which illustrate what we've discussed more entertainingly. We hope you enjoy them and will let us know what you think about the decline of the middle class and bifurcation of society politically and economically.

 

Video: Wealth Inequality in America: Visualizedfor 2023 (13:19)

Humphrey Yang

Video: Wealth Inequality in America (6;23)

politizane

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List of wealthiest Americans by net worth

 

Donald Trump drops from the Forbes 400 list of richest Americans. Here's what changed

For most U.S. workers, real wages have barely budged fordecades

Wage gap between CEOs and US workers jumped 670-to-1 lastyear, study finds

These charts show the growing income inequality between the world's richest and poorest

OCED: Income Inequality

State of Homelessness: 2023 Edition

Living the (Broken) American Dream: Rebuilding the Middle Class

The middle class in the United States is in serious trouble. The aggregate earnings of the middle class has been in decline since 1970. The same goes for those at the lower end of the economic ladder while the upper 10% have seen a steady rise in their wealth. Even with 59.8% of two parent families both holding down full time jobs, it's not enough.

It used to be that a high school education was enough to guarantee you a comfortable living, usually in some blue collar job, a high school diploma nowadays would barely get you  beyond an entry level position somewhere. Even a four year college degree is no assurance of middle class lifestyle.

Of course, most of the good paying blue collar jobs have been exported overseas where corporations can exploit the need for jobs at any price while avoiding those pesky unions and OSHA requirements. Where for every opening there are literally thousands waiting in line to be hired.

It doesn't help that the quality of public schools have significantly declined over the decades to the point where many graduates have the academic equivalent of an eighth grade education.  America was ranked 11th of 79 countries in science.  While we ranked 30th in math,  the top five ranked countries in math were all Asian. But, we're still tops when it comes to basketball!

A typical college graduate with four year bachelor degree hit the street looking for a job with an average debt of over 30,000. For a professional degree, like from medical or law school, the average debt is around $250,000 and $160,000 respectively.  It takes the average college graduate 21 years to pay off their college loan debt. 

The downside is that a substantial minority chose majors with little or no job demand, leaving them stuck with a huge financial burden and no way to pay it off. These and other graduates are now wanting taxpayers to pick up the tab  under the misleading term of "forgiving" or "canceling" their academic debt. Why? We didn't pick their major. We didn't sign their loan papers or accept responsibility for their debt. That's their responsibility. It's called being an adult. 

But it doesn't end there. With all the additional expenses of simply "living"  amid rising prices and stagnate wages, the average American household debt is $101,915 as of the end of 2022. The total national household debt is $17 trillion dollars as of the end of the first quarter of 2023. That effectively makes the majority of Americans literally indentured serfs. They are literally working to pay off a debt owed to someone else, which is almost always a corporation.

As an aside, 60% of Americans are living from paycheck to paycheck, including 49% of those with an income of over $100,000 along with 70% of millennials, and it looks like Gen Z is trending the same way.  30% of Americans have enough money in savings to cover an emergency for no more than 30 days. 22% have no financial safety net which includes 27% of those 59 and older. 

Once they find a job, it's worth noting that wage inequality between genders remains a problem. Women are still earning, on average, just 82% of every dollar their male counterpart earns, which makes me curious about those who "identify" as transgender in the workplace. I wonder if they're going to be satisfied with their reality of their smaller paychecks?

Meanwhile, those at the top of the corporate ladder seem to be doing just fine. The CEO-to-worker compensation ratio was 399-to-1 as of 2021. That means that for every dollar a average employee earns, a top executive will get $399.  From 2010 through 2021, wages grew by 31%, which sounds pretty good. However, thanks to the rate of inflation, wages have lost on average 4.5% of their purchasing power.

As if that's not bad enough, the top richest 1% own twice as much as the bottom 99% of the entire world's population! To put it another way, they've acquired over half of all the new wealth created over the last decade while the poorest half own just 0.75% of the wealth.  

In the United States, the top 1% own over one third of the nation's total wealth. Did I hear someone say "let them eat McDonalds"? Meanwhile the bottom 90% control just 30.2% of the wealth. In 2021, the top one percent's wealth grew by $6.5 trillion dollars...just in that one year! Their total stock portfolios were worth $23 trillion dollars.

As wealth increasingly becomes concentrated in the hands of fewer and fewer individuals and their corporations, so too does their political power. There have already been several academic studies showing America's shift to a government of, by, and for the oligarchy (or kleptocracy if you prefer). Wall Street's mega corporations now so controls Washington that we've become a defacto neo-fascist corporatocracy. 

It shouldn't need pointing out, but we've also become a surveillance state thanks to the knee jerk reaction of Congress following 9/11 and its failure to read or comprehend the "Patriot Act" in 2001. We need wonder no more how or why the Germans succumbed to Hitler and the Nazis following the passage of the "Enabling Act" by members of the Reichstag on the heels of Reichstag fire in 1933.  

Thanks to the Supreme Court's 2010 "Citizens United" blunder, Big Money literally owns the Democratic and Republican parties. They not only underwrite the two parties and their political candidates, they've pushed the cost of running for office almost entirely out of reach of the average citizen, thus making politics the virtual domain of the very rich.

Congress isn't about "the business of the people" as Speaker Nancy Pelosi so caustically said following the January 6th protest, as corporate lobbyists now routinely write or help draft legislation and advise legislators on how to vote on which bills.

Consider this too. Millionaires, who make up just three percent of the total U.S. population, overwhelmingly control all three branches of government, including the Presidency, regardless of party affiliation. Middle and working class office holders have never dominated any branch of the federal government and are increasingly becoming rare at the state level.

Members of the Supreme Court together are worth an estimated $24 million dollars, and at least six of the nine Justices are multimillionaires. Even most federal judge positions are occupied by individuals who are at least in the top 5% financially. Of course, these positions come with their wealthy and powerful connections, making it even more difficult for the ordinary American to get a fair shake.

So, regardless of whether you vote Democrat or Republican, the wealthy win. It's just a matter of whether it's the blue corporate clique and their agenda or the red corporate clique and their agenda.

So, where does all this leave us? Historically, it's been the middle class which has held democracies together. The Founders  envisioned  the United States as a nation of  yeomen farmers and small businessmen. Ideally, a democratic society should be shaped like two inverted diamonds---narrow at the top and bottom and wide in the center with a relatively few at the top and bottom with the majority of individuals located somewhere in the middle.

Of course, that's not what we have today. The United States used to be a majority middle class country. In 1971, over 61% of the nation was middle class. Today, just under half are. The lower middle class comprise approximately 25% of the population with another 25% making up the working poor and perpetual unemployed. In 2022 just 11.3% of workers were unionized. In 1960 it was almost one third of the country--31.9%. By 1975 it was 26.3% as technology replaced some workers and employers began sending other jobs overseas.  

America also used to be the place where someone could start from scratch, start a business, and through hard work make their way up into the middle class. It was part of the "American Dream". It's what many newly arrived immigrants hoped for. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the "American Dream" may now be just that---a dream.

 20% of all new businesses fail within their first two years of operation. 45% within their first five years, and 65% within ten years. Just 25% survive beyond that. The main reasons? A lack of cash flow, poor management, a lack of organization, and inadequate marketing.   

When a society's economic system becomes unbalanced and where wealth and power are concentrated in the hands of small minority, social unrest is almost always the result, be it revolutions, civil wars, coups, or whatever. This is especially true when approval levels drop below 55% for any length of time, again, such as in the United States. 

Currently, Congress has an approval rating of just 20%, or to put it another way, a disapproval rating of 76% with 4% having no opinion. In fact, the last time Congress had a positive approval rating over 50% was 2001---22 years ago!

As an aside, 77% of those surveyed said that the current members of Congress should not be reelected again, and yet thanks to corporate funding and partisan gerrymandering, some 95% of them will be reelected.  The Supreme Court has an approval rating of roughly 40% and 66% of Americans have little or no confidence in the mainstream media to provide fair, honest and balanced news.

This is what a broken political  and economic system looks like, especially if you're one of few Americans clinging on to their middle class status. Rising prices, stagnant wages, the widest income disparity of any industrialized nation, poor healthcare (we're ranked 21st in the world with the highest infant mortality rating of any developed nation), a underperforming educational system.

 At 76, our life expectancy is among the worse of any industrialized nation, coming in 40th in the world. In Japan it's 84. We have the world's highest national debt rate at $31.4 trillion. To put it another way, our national debt exceeds the next four countries---China, Japan, France, and Italy---combined, which as most economist will agree, is unsustainable, and yet we spend more on the military than the next ten nations combined.

Is there anything the American middle class can do? Maybe. Although the United States is in decline, perhaps terminally, we can still alter the existing political system to make it more responsive to the needs of its citizens and get corporate money and control out of politics.

We can bring jobs sent overseas back home or penalize those who don't. Let's make it more expensive to ship jobs overseas than to build it here. We can raise the tax rates on the wealthiest individuals and impose a minimum tax on big businesses. No more mega corporations earning more than some countries paying zero federal taxes or billionaires paying less taxes than fast food store manager.

We can increase our investment in R&D projects and cut the red tape on new businesses, especially in the area of technology. We can---and must---improve our education and healthcare. We need to reduce our military budget to free up more money for social services and infrastructure.  We need to put focus on all Americans, not just an elite few, and that means rebuilding the middle class once again.

 

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Average American Household Debt in 2023: Facts and Figures

Average Student Loan Debt

U.S. Education Rankings Are Falling Behind the Rest of theWorld

 

Two Working Parent Households 2023: A Look at the Statistics

How the American Middle Class Has Changed in the Past FiveDecades

At Least 6 Supreme Court Justices Are Multimillionaires,Report Reveils

These 19 Fortune 100 Companies Paid Next To Nothing---orNothing At All---in Taxes in 2021

 

 

 

Are We "Spartacus"?

 

Spartacus. A name which has inspired down through the ages. For some, the inspiration was fear of a possible rebellion, be it of strikers from a specific industry or the working class as a whole who had grown sick and tired of the empty promises and platitudes made by factory owners or party bosses. 

For others, the name of Spartacus inspired hope. It showed that, united, the people could challenge the oppression leveled by the powers that be. The famous French philosopher Voltaire said that the rebellion led by Spartacus, also known as the "Third Servile War" (73 BCE - 71 BCE) was "the only just war in history".  Perhaps it was.

The name of Spartacus has been used repeatedly as a rallying cry against injustice and oppression, be it against working conditions, wages, or discrimination based on everything from age, gender, religion and so forth. It was called upon during the fight for voting rights by the Suffragettes during the first quarter of the 20th Century just as often as it was around by unions as they began taking shape in the latter half of the 19th.

The mythos inspired by the name of Spartacus has been used in pro-democracy revolts opposing authoritarian governments such as the 1848 uprising in Imperial Germany, the Paris "Commune" of 1871, the Russian Revolution of 1917, and the second German Revolution of 1919 as well as the "Color Revolutions" of Eastern Europe  and  the "Arab Spring"  uprisings in the first decade of the 21st Century.  

I bring up the topic of "Spartacus" after having read of short but very informative article by Gavin J. Maziarz of Gettysburg College, published in August 2022 in "The Gettysburg Historical Journal" (Volume 21 Article 1) about the rebel leader on the second anniversary of the January 6th protest in Washington in 2021.

The article, entitled "The Spartacus Rebellion, More than a Slave Revolt" deals with more than with Spartacus as leader of the Third Servile War (along with Crixus, Castus, Gannicus, Oenomaus) and the successful escape of 70 gladiators and ordinary slaves out of an original 200 who attempted to break out from the ludus or gladiatorial school of Lentulus Batiatus. 

The article, which is only about ten pages long, discusses the modern political implications of the revolt, albeit primarily in Marxian terms, within the context of today's political collapse. To be sure, one doesn't need to be a Marxist to understand the implications of a revolt against an oppressive political system by those at or near the bottom of the social ladder. 

As an aside, did you know that globally, the top 1% owns 46% of the world's total wealth? To put it another way, the world's top 1% owns as much wealth globally as the bottom 90%.

In fact, given that CEOs make approximately 324 times that of an average worker or the fact that the top 1% control more wealth than the middle 60%, it's a wonder something hasn't happened already. The implications of a lower and middle class revolt in light of this should be obvious, especially in light of mass looting and arson under the label of "peaceful protests" by Antifa and BLM when Trump was elected and following the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. One could even include the January 6th protest and brief occupation of the House by some of those on the extreme political Right.

Poll after poll has for decades reflected the public's distrust and dislike of Congress, the Presidency, and even the Judicial system. America has morphed from a democratic or Constitutional Republic into a neo-fascist Corporatocracy run by the aforementioned 1%.  Citizens are forced to bear more and more of the tax burden while corporate lobbyists write laws for the benefit of an elite few.  

Corporate interests own both political parties, underwrite their campaigns while ensuring Independents (the nation's largest political bloc) and third parties are kept out of the "People's House" as former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi refers to the House of Representatives. The media serves the ruling oligarchy as their propaganda arm, controlling nearly everything we read, watch, or hear (just five mega corporations own 95+% of all media outlets).

The revolt by Spartacus was about an attempt by a few to reclaim the freedoms taken from them by an all powerful state. Although they shook Rome to the core, defeating two professional legions and several cohorts in the process, the rebels ultimately loss. Of those not killed, around 6000 survivors were crucified along the length of the Appian Way from the city of Capua to the gates of Rome itself. A distance of some 120 miles which serves as a reminder that freedom isn't free and once loss, is difficult at best to obtain again.

You'll find a link to Mr. Maziarz's article below. We hope you will check it out. I think you'll agree that given the political climate of the world in general and the United States in particular, we could use more individuals with the drive and vision of a Spartacus.

The Spartacus Rebellion, More Than a Slave Revolt

If you want to know more about this article's topic, please check out the links below. If you enjoyed the article, please consider passing it along to others and don't forget to subscribe. It's free! Lastly please be sure to "like" us on whatever platform you use to read anotheropinionblog.com. It helps with the algorithms and keeps our articles in circulation. Thank you! 

The top 1% officially have more money than the whole middleclass

Top 1% of U.S. Earners Now Hold More Wealth Than All of theMiddle Class

Global Inequality

Oxfam says wealth of richest 1% equal to other 99%

CEOs Made 324 Times More Than Their Median Workers In 2021,Union Report Finds

CEOs average pay was 324 times higher than employees: report

 

Where Has Our Middle Class Gone?

When our Founding Father's sat down and tried to create a new country, what they had in mind was a nation of "yeoman farmers and shopkeepers"; basically, a country of the middle class. It's a matter of history and economics that nation's with a strong middle class are the most stable.

These countries have the highest quality of life. Their citizens are typically the happiest and their governments are stable. They are well educated. They are the most innovative. Unlike nations in Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, and parts of Asia which never really developed a strong middle class, those with a large strong middle class are, frankly, the most successful.

The central problem with Communist countries is, ironically, they are all "equal" (some are more "equal" than others). Karl Marx introduced the Communist mantra "Each according to their needs", which implied that everyone would be equal economically. Therefore, the state owned everything and allocated it as it saw fit.What's more "equal" than that?

Under Communism, there's no private property, no Wall Street, no banks, no family run businesses. Nada. The state doles out whatever it said you needed. Which, on one hand, was kinda nice, especially if you were lazy. It meant that you got paid the same as the other bloke without doing all the work.

Everyone gets a similar small apartment, which you typically share with another family (or two), including the bathroom and kitchen. You get the same bare minimum healthcare. You may get lucky and receive the medicine or surgery you need, which is often scarce. And you get to stand in the same lines and stare at the same empty shelves.

Of course, quotas were imposed, but all that did was just produced low quality products. Naturally, those in government got more. They also got better accommodations and access to a slightly better availability and selection of food or other items from government only stores.

The result was a lack of incentive. A lack of motivation. Why try if it doesn't benefit me or my family? Of course, that translates into a lower quality of life for everyone (except the ruling class). It creates a society with a certain dullness; a sterility to society. At least everyone could share the same misery equally.

In non-Communist countries which never developed a vibrant middle class, like those found in parts of Asia, Africa, Middle East or Latin America, were due typically to backward (and often brutal) authoritarian regimes, be they tribal, a monarchy, theocratic, or those with a facade of a democracy.  

The reasons they failed to develop a broad middle class are various, but usually the result of an imposed restriction on who can and can't be educated; high taxes on the masses; a lack of investment in the civil infrastructure; restricted land or business ownership; restrictions in who can or can't vote, and so forth.

As stated above, these are countries which are controlled warlords or autocrats. Many use tribal, religious, or partisan connections to gain and keep power (which is usually maintained through fear and violence).  These countries are almost always as corrupt as they are poor. Not surprising, they are usually dependent on foreign handouts to keep the corruption going, with the citizenry getting literally crumbs.

America, whether by design, fluke, or divine intervention, came into being as mankind's greatest hope to rise above the much of poverty and ignorance which has been the historical norm. Here, you could own property, start a business, get an education, and believe whatever you wanted to believe.

Not even the most progressive country in Europe or Asia could boost of the same opportunities. There was no social, caste, or class restrictions. You didn't have to ascribe to a state religion. Innovation was rewarded. It was even possible to hold elective office. If you were determined and willing to work hard, there was nothing you couldn't accomplish.

All of this was made possible because we were a Constitutional or democratic Republic of "yeoman farmers and shopkeepers". America's success was built on and by its broad middle class. But, what happened? Where is the middle class today?

Beginning in the 1970's, America's middle class has been on the decline. Meanwhile, the nation's wealth has been increasingly concentrated into the hands of fewer and fewer individuals and corporations, whose grasp has spread out across the globe.

The top 1% controls twice the wealth of the bottom 90%.  Just eight billionaires control more wealth than 50% of the world's population. Three of them---Jeff Bezos, Bill Gate and Elon Musk---are wealthier than the bottom 50+ percent of Americans. That's over 160 million Americans.

As most of us already know, we are no longer a Constitutional Republic, though we still pretend to be the way ancient Romans did under the early decades of the Caesarian dictatorships. We are a defacto Corporatocracy, which is a merger or close partnership between government and big business, and tends to be neo-fascist. So close is Big Business and the government that it's sometimes difficult, if not impossible, to see where one stops and the other begins.

This Corporatocracy doesn't exist on its own. Like every governing system, it has managers---very rich manager. These managers are called Oligarchs (though some prefer the name "plutocrats" or "kleptocrats", it's all the same), and they literally own the government. While some members of Congress, the Presidency, the Judicial system, and bureaucracy which keeps things functioning may be a part of the Oligarchy, all of them in some way work for it. It's kind of a modern take on feudalism. 

Hirlings on behalf of the Oligarchs, known as lobbyists, write the laws (which is why there appears to be one set for us and another for the rich). The Oligarchs dictate foreign and domestic policy. They decide on whether we to go to war or not, who are latest ally or enemy is, and they own the media which they use to manipulate our opinions. They provide us with the same "bread and circus" the Caesars of old did, but on a whole other scale.

In fact, almost everyone in Congress is a millionaire. Many are multi-millionaires. The ruling Oligarchs have made it virtually impossible for the average citizen to participate in the political process thanks to Citizens United which allows nearly unlimited corporate donations while capping us; partisan gerrymandering; and the absence of term limits, not to mention a fair amount of nepotism among with super wealthy.

What made America great was its middle class, which has been in decline for the last 50 or so years as I said earlier. A recent report shows that the wealthiest top 10% now owns 70% of all the nation's wealth. That's more than the middle and lower classes combined!

According to the OECD (Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development), more than half of the world's industrial nations have a larger and more vibrant middle class than the United States. The top 1% own more than at any other time in our nation's history. For that matter, the top 10% has never had it so good either, while the bottom 50% has never owned less or had a higher percentage of debt.

When we look at income inequality, it shows a similar picture. Between 2009 and 2019, the bottom 90% saw their wages increase by just 8.7% while wages for the top 1% increased 20.4%. As an aside, the top .01% saw their incomes increase by 30.2% for the same period. What about working more?

From 1979 to 2019, worker productivity went up by 72%. Nevertheless, hourly wages increased just 17% over the same period, which is almost negligible. The hourly wage ratio between the average employee and CEOs is $830 to $1. Since 1985, Wall Street bonuses increased 1,217% .

It's worth noting that union membership comprises just 6% of the total workforce (it's highest in public sector jobs). Today, union's seem more interested in keeping workers on the production line and off picket line. The days of activism unions, which brought about so many positive changes, are long gone. Unions today largely serve the interests of management, leaving the average employee on their own.

During the last 19 months of the COVID pandemic, the rich got richer. How much richer? 62% richer, or to put it into dollars, they got $2.1 trillion dollars richer. Before the pandemic, there were 614 billionaires. Now there are 745, and practically all of them pay less income tax than the average American.

One of the hallmarks of a strong middle class, and a strong economy is a well educated work force. But, as readers of A/O know from previous articles, America is consistently ranked toward the bottom of industrialized nations when it comes to math and science (which is dominated by mostly Asian countries).

In math, we averaged a score of 478, which was below the OECD average of 489. Countries like Singapore, Macao, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Japan all made up the top five. In science, we did a little better with a score of 502 compared to a OECD average of 489, but again, failed to crack the top echelon held by Singapore, Macao, Estonia, Japan, and Finland. So why is that a big deal?

Education is the key to not just productivity, but to innovation and future economic growth. A well educated workforce attracts businesses with above average paying jobs. That brings a greater tax base which improves the infrastructure, provides more social services, and attracts more businesses, and so forth. It also encourages innovation, which creates new industries, new businesses, and new jobs.

In terms of healthcare, we were once the world's leading nation. Now we're 27th. We also have one of lower life expectancies of any industrial nation too (26th out of 35 OECD nations).  In terms of quality of life, we are again ranked in the lower tiers, often behind Europe and especially the Scandinavian countries.

 In the area of "social progress", we're 28th. Norway ranks first. In terms of freedom, we're ranked 17th according to the Cato Institute's "Human Freedom Index", and labeled as a "flawed democracy" per the Democracy Index while New Zealand and Switzerland were ranked one and two in the world.

The one thing we do seem to excel at is war. We spent $725 billion dollar in 2020 on national defense, not including what is outsourced, or what we spend on intelligence or national security. We spent more money on just defense than the 11 largest economies...combined, including China and Russia.

Approximately 11% of our national budget goes to the military along with half of all discretionary spending. Remember that the military, industrial, and technology contractors also make up a large portion of the ruling Oligarchy.

However, while that's a lot, we spend the bulk of our nearly $4 trillion dollar budget on social services. 73% to be exact, which includes Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare, Veteran benefits, healthcare, and education. We also spend another 6% to service the interest of our national debt.

So, what can we do about it? Obviously a Corporatocracy run by an Oligarchy isn't what our Founder's had in mind for this country. We must come together again as a united nation. If we don't, we risk splintering into factions, and that will give the ruling Oligarchs the excuse they need to declare martial law and turn our nation into a police state. 

The elites eagerly await the day when they can proclaim "Novus ordo seclorum"---"a new order of the ages", but we must embrace another motto, "E Pluribus Unum"---"out of many one".  We must restore our nation's middle class, and with it, our Republic.  Want to know more? Check out the links below.               

Determining Where U.S. Ranks in Education

 

The U.S. Education Rankings Are Falling Behind The Rest ofthe World

Income Inequality

The US Is Officially A Banana Republic

U.S. Defense Spending Compared To Other Countries

Announcing the 2020 Social Progress Index