From Les Misérables:
At the end of the day you’re another day older
And that’s all you can say for the life of the poor
It’s a struggle, it’s a war
And there’s nothing that anyone’s giving
One more day, standing about, what is it for?
One day less to be living.
At the end of the day you’re another day colder
And the shirt on your back doesn’t keep out the chill
And the righteous hurry past
They don’t hear the little ones crying
And the plague is coming on fast, ready to kill
One day nearer to dying!
At the end of the day there’s another day dawning
And the sun in the morning is waiting to rise
Like the waves crash on the sand
Like a storm that’ll break any second
There’s a hunger in the land
There’s a reckoning still to be reckoned
And there’s gonna be hell to pay
At the end of the day!
There is actually an American equivalent to that song:
Some people say a man is made outta mud
A poor man’s made outta muscle and blood
Muscle and blood and skin and bones
A mind that’s a-weak and a back that’s strong
You load sixteen tons, what do you get
Another day older and deeper in debt
Saint Peter don’t you call me ’cause I can’t go
I owe my soul to the company store
America is a country with two minds. On on side is the mythology that anyone can become rich with enough hard work. On the other side are the American folk songs that acknowledge that those caught in slavery, those caught in poverty will have no real opportunity to increase their income unless the system changes. There is a certain amount of truth to both sides. One side can muster up multiple stories of individuals who were immigrants and who became rich. On the other hand, there are also multiple studies of those who were born into poverty and remained there for the rest of their life, with no hope of change, despite their every attempt to change. Both philosophies have truth associated with them.
Sadly, we are often unable to acknowledge the truth that is present in both sides. It is true that some individuals do become very rich through unstinting hard work and a deep dedication to future goals. It is also equally true that most poor never ever have any realistic chance to advance. In fact, this country does not wish to acknowledge the fact that there are many poor who would be constitutionally unable to advance. If that truth were acknowledged, then there would be no excuse whatsoever for the refusal to change the minimum wage to a living wage nor the refusal to extend unemployment benefits. But, when the wages of a few becomes the excuse for suppressing the wages of the many, then we enter the area of the rich man who refused to feed Lazarus.
Yes, I understand the philosophies that lead to the rejection of an increase of the minimum wage. But, remember the Gospels on the end times. You had better hope that the philosophy you espouse does not make you one of the goats.
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