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Now, welcome to the award-winning BestOfAleft podcast with clips today from AJ Plus, the Tom

Hartman program, the majority report, the talk poverty radio, backstory, the David Packman

show, Democracy Now, the Young Church, and activism from the Fight for 15 campaign.

Is the United States still the land of opportunity? Honestly, not anymore, because the American

dream relies on the one thing this country is killing, the middle class.

Being middle class today means you earn between 40 and $122,000 a year, depending on where

you live. You're not poor, but nor are you rich. You're getting by. Back in the 1960s,

more half of American households were middle class, but that middle class has been shrinking

ever since. Today, the median income is less than it was in 1989.

For the cost of living, of course, keeps going up. In just the last 15 years, the cost

of housing, healthcare, childcare, and college have all skyrocketed. That means people are

working longer hours for less pay just to keep the lights on. How has it gotten to this?

Let's start with unions. Those organizations that workers belong to so they don't get

screwed by management. The United States has historically had some of the strongest unions,

but in the last 30 years, membership has no side. Back in the 1950s, more than a third

of private sector workers belong to a union. Today, that number stands at 7%. Check out

the share of income the middle class takes home compared to union membership. Weaker unions,

weaker middle class. Without bargaining power, it's no wonder that the federal minimum wage

has also fallen. So what happened? A defining moment was in 1981 when 13,000 air traffic

controllers went on strike. President Ronald Reagan responded by firing them, all of

...