Unions didn't price their workers out of jobs... greedy corporations bought enough politicians to get them to allow them to offshore production, but still be allowed to charge full market price in the American markets.

Look at the garment industry. In the 70's, the majority of clothes worn by Americans were MADE by Americans, in America. Since NAFTA, the industry has basically collapsed, and 90%+ of all the clothes worn by Americans are made by wage slaves in other countries. Once upon a time, there used to be trade tariff's, to allow American workers to compete with overseas workers while still living in the MUCH more expensive USA.

Largely gone...

Unions didn't price them out of a job. Their livelihoods were sold out from under them in the name of corporate profits.

Wage inequality is the biggest pressing problem facing us, these days. No country is as armed and volatile as we are, if you discount some African lawless areas. Sooner or later, we wake up to how we have had our futures sold out from under us by greedy corporations, and we are living harder lives with less prospects than our grandparents. And what do we do? The laws limiting corporate influence in Washington have all been gutted, and unions have had their power stripped from them by 30 years of political skulduggery.

Look at how many BILLIONS are spent on political process these days. You think that's affordable by some Wal-Mart worker paid so poorly they work 40hrs a week and still fall under the poverty line? Politics has been sold to the wealthy, and they control the news (or what passes for 'news' these days), education budgets (plenty of studies show, the dumber you are, the more you are likely to vote for measures that actually HURT you, like tax cuts for the rich!), and the laws that protect them from punishment when their wild gambling on futures and bubble stocks destroy our future...

The mad thing about the whole issue is, ask any Tea Party nut about when they thought this country WAS great, they'll tell you the 60's and 70's... But those are the years when regulation of corporations was at its highest, when tarrifs protected their jobs, when their unions were allowed to negotiate with management with enough clout to not be a straw puppet. Taxes were higher, immigration was freer, and there were STRINGENT regulations preventing corporate money from corrupting politics.

They remember them as great because that was the last time the middle class got wealthier at about the same pace as the rich (and poor). A rising tide is supposed to lift ALL boats. Since then money has influenced politics to the point of absurdity (corporations have the same rights as PEOPLE? The day they kill one for murdering someone will be the day that is true!), and we have witnessed the largest migration of money from the poor and middle class to the ultra wealthy in this nation's history (the Wal-Mart heirs make the Carnegies look like po' folk!), and we are all still sitting around going how GREAT it all is.

You can find exceptions to any generality... Sure, there's the odd good employer. Heck, there are some very generous drug dealers, and Hitler liked Eva Braun! But there's no denying this shift in the wealth and power base in America.

Unless you only watch Fox, LOL