Somethings Gotta Give

I am quite literally living on a prayer.  The price of gasoline keeps going up and with it the price of everything else.  It takes gasoline to get products to market and we can't expect the truckers to take a hit.  They have families to take care of too. 

I don't mean to whine and I know that is what this sounds like.  I'm just expressing what I see around me.

Today I went to Meideke to have new brakes put on my truck.  The mechanics were polite and pleasant but I noticed something else.  There seemed to be a sense of hopelessness about the two men I spoke with. 

Jobs are difficult to come by.  Thousands upon thousands of people are unemployed.  Managers know they have their employees in a tough place.  My son was actually told by his immediate manager to keep his mouth shut and do what he is told right or wrong.  As employees come he is a dime a dozen and easily replaced.

I came across this old poem the other day and it made me wonder, is this the way the average American worker is feeling?  He/she is certain there has got to be something better out there but have been trod upon for so long they just don't know where to begin their climb out of the deep hole they have dug themselves into.  The average American has sky high mortgage payments and credit cards that have been maxed out. 

Something's Gotta Give by Christine Kane

One of these days I'm gonna jump off that shelf
Hit that ground runnin'
At least that's what I keep telling myself
I've been sitting on the fence for way too long
Warmin' that bench as chance moves on
And believe me that isn't the way to live
And this barely getting by is really getting old
And it's hard to turn the wrench on a rusty bolt
But someday, something's gotta give.

Is the American worker literally living paycheck to paycheck?

Are they as poor as Job but not as patient?

What next?