Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle: Muckraking the Meat-Packing Industry. Upton Sinclair wrote The Jungle to expose the appalling working conditions in the meat-packing industry. His description of diseased, rotten, and contaminated meat shocked the public and led to new federal food safety laws.
Banana Republicans are putting us back in the jungle.
‘Never seen anything remotely this bad’: Economic experts floored by worst jobs report in history
“Been writing up these job reports for 3 decades and I’ve never seen anything remotely this bad,” economist Jared Bernstein wrote. “Payrolls down 20.5 million. Almost a decade of job gains wiped out in 2 months. Unemployment spiked to 14.7% & all of this in a system with the weakest safety net of all advanced economies.”
When I was about to graduate from high school, a group came and gave a pep talk about becoming a meat packer….. back then it was a high paying job compared to most anything else that didn’t require a college degree…. so I investigated and found out that you work in near freezing temps and most cutters that lasted any period of time were missing hand parts…. As the Brits say… I gave it a miss…. I like my hand parts,,,,,
As I was growing up in the 50’s and 60’s in, among other places, Sioux City, Iowa, there were three meat packing plants essentially across the tracks from the Sioux City Auditorium where the Sioux City Symphony and extravaganzas such as the Ice Capades performed. The packing plants as well as the stockyards provided a certain “ambiance” to the area which I remember well(it also was where the three story “Goodwill Store” stood (I think it was – might have been “Salvation Army” – one of the only places I knew that sold old “National Geographic” magazines – so I remember the area well.
I also remember that the counselors at the high schools used to warn us that, without a good education, working there would be our fate, which was enough to scare mot of us into studying extra hard!
And, of course, that was decades before the packing plants became Trumpian Death Traps, though I do understand they don’t smell quite as bad, now, since the meat abattoirs have decentralized.
At last count, Trump and the GOP senators and GOP representatives have over 300 adult children and grandchildren in total. Showing their commitment, these noble patriots should have these descendants go to work on the line in meatpacking plants – and also promise if they get sick or die that the employer will not be liable.
lobo1939 almost 4 years ago
Reminds me of Bertolt Brecht’s “St Joan of the Stockyards.”
All the dinosaurs feared the T-Rex almost 4 years ago
The truth is brutal…
Radish the wordsmith almost 4 years ago
Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle: Muckraking the Meat-Packing Industry. Upton Sinclair wrote The Jungle to expose the appalling working conditions in the meat-packing industry. His description of diseased, rotten, and contaminated meat shocked the public and led to new federal food safety laws.
Banana Republicans are putting us back in the jungle.
Radish the wordsmith almost 4 years ago
‘Never seen anything remotely this bad’: Economic experts floored by worst jobs report in history
“Been writing up these job reports for 3 decades and I’ve never seen anything remotely this bad,” economist Jared Bernstein wrote. “Payrolls down 20.5 million. Almost a decade of job gains wiped out in 2 months. Unemployment spiked to 14.7% & all of this in a system with the weakest safety net of all advanced economies.”
https://www.rawstory.com/2020/05/never-seen-anything-remotely-this-bad-economic-experts-floored-by-worst-jobs-report-in-history/
Latinos need to stop voting for murderous Trump.
Pickled Pete almost 4 years ago
The slaughterers becoming the slaughtered.
wyneaux almost 4 years ago
When I was about to graduate from high school, a group came and gave a pep talk about becoming a meat packer….. back then it was a high paying job compared to most anything else that didn’t require a college degree…. so I investigated and found out that you work in near freezing temps and most cutters that lasted any period of time were missing hand parts…. As the Brits say… I gave it a miss…. I like my hand parts,,,,,
wellis1947 Premium Member almost 4 years ago
As I was growing up in the 50’s and 60’s in, among other places, Sioux City, Iowa, there were three meat packing plants essentially across the tracks from the Sioux City Auditorium where the Sioux City Symphony and extravaganzas such as the Ice Capades performed. The packing plants as well as the stockyards provided a certain “ambiance” to the area which I remember well(it also was where the three story “Goodwill Store” stood (I think it was – might have been “Salvation Army” – one of the only places I knew that sold old “National Geographic” magazines – so I remember the area well.
I also remember that the counselors at the high schools used to warn us that, without a good education, working there would be our fate, which was enough to scare mot of us into studying extra hard!
And, of course, that was decades before the packing plants became Trumpian Death Traps, though I do understand they don’t smell quite as bad, now, since the meat abattoirs have decentralized.
ruthkando almost 4 years ago
Thank you, Lalo; this is powerful !
MDMom almost 4 years ago
https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/08/politics/trump-fox-coronavirus-michael-flynn/index.html
thelordthygod666 almost 4 years ago
At last count, Trump and the GOP senators and GOP representatives have over 300 adult children and grandchildren in total. Showing their commitment, these noble patriots should have these descendants go to work on the line in meatpacking plants – and also promise if they get sick or die that the employer will not be liable.
kipeticolas almost 4 years ago
I am glad that this cartoon made my stomach heave. I am not dead yet. Thank you.
sevaar777 almost 4 years ago
Ain’t unbridled capitalism grand? /s
For a Just and Peaceful World almost 4 years ago
Google: Obama says White House response to coronavirus has been ‘absolute chaotic disaster’