Dear Editor,
In a recent Oxfam study on worker wellbeing, the U.S. came in last of the 38 countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The countries in the OECD include not only Western European countries, Canada, and the U.S., but also Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Australia, Poland, Hungary, Turkey, Israel, Chile, Columbia, Costa Rica, and Mexico.
Since most of us are workers, this is a big deal. Most people thought the U.S. was at the top; why is it at the bottom?
For at least the last 40 years, the U.S. has steadily decreased worker’s rights, and increased protections for large corporations. Safety standards have also dropped, because OSHA has experienced repeated funding cuts. Unions have been undermined, so that workers have no voice. Taxes for the rich have decreased, while taxes for rest of us have gone up. Most of our representatives in Washington act like they believe that the wellbeing of the people of the country is not the business of government. Some state directly that taking care of people is not what they are about, and supporting the military and the wealthy and attacking marginalized people is the proper role of government. As a result of this, we have increased poverty, increased homelessness, and many people working long hours and still not making enough money to get by on.
Even people in our country who seem to be doing well are often one illness or injury away from becoming homeless.
Is this why the CDC says life expectancy is dropping in the U.S., and why it is below most industrialized countries?
If you are a worker and aren’t in the top 20% financially, does how you vote affect your personal quality of life and the lives of the people in your community in a positive or negative way? Are you okay with being on the bottom in terms of worker wellbeing?
If you want more information on this study, go to
www.prospect.org/labor/2023-06-26-were-number-one-oxfam-worker-survey/?.
Sincerely,
Norman Emmons
Charlestown, N.H.