That’s the sentiment recently expressed by my
son. Many, however, have expressed that same sentiment. I have had no success
getting across to my son or others that what they believe is simply not true.
The fact is that the rich owe their wealth to
those who work for them, and of whom purchase their goods and services. Without
the people who work for them, they wouldn’t be able to provide the goods and
services needed to continue in business. Equally, without businesses to employ
them, workers wouldn’t be able to earn the income necessary to buy the goods
and services they produce.
Furthermore, the rich owe a certain amount of gratitude to workers, who for the
most part pay for, through taxes, the infrastructure and continued maintenance costs
necessary to own a business.
And, the ugly fact is that historically the rich have taken advantage of
workers. If it were not for workers forming labor unions and fighting for labor
laws to regulate working conditions, the rich business owners would continue their
egregious abuses of their workers today.
Over the years, unions have spearheaded movements to secure legislation that mandated
workplace safety and health protections. We all can thank working people, not
rich people, for the commonplace benefits of today: health insurance,
retirement plans, work breaks, weekends off, holiday pay, paid vacations, overtime
pay, unemployment insurance, family and medical leave. We are indebted to yesteryear’s
workers for ending the egregious labor abuses of the rich.
For example, “in 1881, the
first national convention of the American Federation of Labor [passed] a
resolution calling on states to ban children under 14 from all gainful
employment.” That led to the 1938 Fair Labor Standards Act, which for the
first time federally regulated child labor. That further led to International
Labor Standards, which established worldwide standards for child labor and
other workplace issues.
So, no one should be misled by right wing ideologues who spiel the rhetoric
that essentially means we should be grateful to the businesses that provide us
work.
It has been the workers of yesteryear while facing extraordinary hardships
formed unions and demanded from the rich workplaces that didn’t jeopardize the health
or wellbeing of their workers. They are the folks, not the rich, who are
responsible for the quality of life you and your family enjoy today.
It’s the sentiment, If It Were Not For Rich People, I Would Not Have A Job,
that prior to the labor movement motivated workers out of fear to accept their
lot in life by sticking with a work-life that was draining life from them.
Copyright © 2014 Horatio Green
