steady decline

The Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) is finely coming under fire
by Congress. This was reported today in the

Washington Post.

Now many people may not be aware what CAFTA is, or what the ramifications
would be if it comes into being, so I would like to give you my opinion on the
matter.

One thing we have noticed in the last couple of decades is a steady decline
in the number of manufacturing jobs in the United States. Drive through any
Midwest suburb and you will see a landscape riddled with boarded up factories
and crumbling down industries. No longer do we have the security of a factory
job that our fathers retired from.

This is also leading to the downfall of organized labor. As matter of fact it
is fading so fast that it is terrifying. The labor of this country does not have
a solid voice behind it any longer. That should scare any American worker.
People ask why the country has gotten so bad. Why do we see such things as an
increase in school shootings, increase in drug and alcohol abuse, or an increase
in poverty? Well it is simple. The day of the 40 hour work week is over. No
longer to men and women have time to be parents. Instead children are left along
longer to entertain themselves. For a middle class family to survive, both
parents must work 40+ hours a week. This not only hurts the children but the
marriage. Adults become engrossed in their careers and lose focus of the
important things such as family.