Another side of the new economy. If these trends hold, "there's gonna be trouble."
Arthur Cordell Ninety percent of young white male workers now doing worse than they would have 20 years ago The promise of upward mobility - a centerpiece of the American dream, which fosters the notion that anyone can get ahead with hard work - may have disappeared with the 20th century. "With the kinds of declines in hourly wages that we find here, it is a bit of a puzzle why there has been so little public outcry. One reason may be that people are working more hours and there are more women in the work force now. The net result is that total household income levels have held steady, but it takes more effort to bring in the same income. This kind of new economy may preserve living standards, but it is not family friendly. As it sucks more and more resources out of the home, we are seeing rising stress on families, and declining time for being with children." Morris said such factors as the decline of labor unions and the increased trends of downsizing and outsourcing by businesses has produced a climate in which the American economy is producing more low-paying jobs than high-end ones. "The service industry produces a lot of low-wage jobs and we are churning them out," she said. "The No. 1 job for projected growth in the coming years is cashier. As a result we can now make things cheaper here, but we are beginning to lose our middle class. And many more Americans work to live, not live to work." entire article at: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2002-02/uow-npo022002.php
