Corporations are crushing America and Americans

I spoke to a woman, the manager of a "dollar store", this morning.

Turns out she was alone in the entire store.

Whenever I find that the case--that a person is working a retail store, anywhere, all by themselves--I am invariably stunned. All it would take is one person, walking in the door, seeing the situation and realizing what a vulnerable situation it is for that worker, male or female, and how it could be exploited, however illegally or worse.

She and I started up a conversation. Turns out she's the manager, apparently. I told her I emphasized.

It got worse.

She said it really was bad.

Not only was she working alone, vulnerable and really, potentially dangerous as that was and is, she also had to get and keep the stocking up, of course, all by herself, the entire time.

Then she'd have to also wait on the customers, of course, and keep them happy.

And then there was the watching for shoplifters.

She added that she had a monthly inventory coming up in just a day or two so that pressure was also on.

Then there was the pay. 

$7.25 an hour.

Then there was the fact, as though that isn't enough, that she was there, alone, for 6 hours.

Added to all that is that she couldn't step away during all that to go to the bathroom.


This is what we've come to in America.

Business is in control. It's all about profit.  And profits.  Forget the people.   Forget that $7.25 isn't even a true working wage. Nowhere close to it.  How do you make only $7.25 an hour and still keep up a car and a good, safe place to live and keep food on the table?  It can't be done.  Not in America.

This was a dollar store but it's widespread across companies in this country.

I've written before how 24 Hour Fitness hires far more people than they need but all at far less than a full 40 hour work week so they don't have to pay health care and/or other benefits.  And the starting pay there?  In the neighborhood of $9 per hour.  It's not much.  Not enough, again, to make a good, true living.

We've known about Walmart and how they do this and how horrible that all is. My point is, it's far more widespread than just that one very large company.

The companies, businessmen and corporations are in control.  And it's crushing America.  It's crushing Americans. It's shrinking the middle class, quickly, thoroughly and effectively.

The Supreme Court, just this week, made a few more rulings, too, supporting the companies and corporations over the people, over the workers and individuals. Justice John Roberts and his Right Wing cohorts have been and are still being very effective in ruling, time and again, for the wealthy, for the rich, for the corporations and companies, repeatedly.  It's very disheartening.

If you've got money and a company behind you, you have it made.

You and me?

We're screwed.

We simply HAVE to start the push to end campaign contributions.

We have to end the big, ugly, corrupting influence of the money from the wealthy and corporations that, at present, own our government representatives and their legislation and so, our laws and finally, our government.

It's the only way we'll get our country back for the people.