The country has been strip mined by the owner class for the last 40 years. Part of the reason they get away with it is they’ve gotten middle/upper middle class people to blame and be fearful of poor people.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kxuBhemD3nk

Spot on

I think the older generations will be surprised by the younger people's revolt against that system and I hope we'll see a strong reversal of that trend towards a reinvigorated middle class and buoyed lower class.

Sounds like Bernie Sanders talking points. Let me ask. Does "reinvigorated" and "buoyed" also mean casting off the ridiculous notion that new high school graduates should shun true skilled professions like machinist, mechanic, electrician, welder, plumber, etc, and should instead invest years of their life (and six figures of debt) to pursue a worthless degree in sociology and communications?

I don't think the "rich people are evil" crowd is preaching that...though they should.

Why is this political? You aren’t what you are worth, it’s what you negotiate. As a Union, it’s a collective whole and for DL, they have to deal with all the pilots. It’s not a left vs right thing, it’s called capitalism. I’ve yet to fly with a Democrat at DL, and I DO NOT talk politics until the other pilot brings it up.

Regardless, it’s supply and demand economics. DL pilots are the supply force, and currently the air travel demand is high.

Don’t confuse that into a left socialist or communist agenda. It’s not political, it works on a market economy. That, In itself, is how America has been the most prosperous country in recent times. Historically, forgetting a free economy, has a 100% fail rate everywhere else. So if you want to forget history, you simple doom yourself to a similar outcome.

We are outliers in the “union” trade as we are highly compensated employees, yet unionized. Unions tend to be democrats by vote, but tend to also be middle class earners with huge numbers on low profit margins. Other industries lost the “highly compensated” aspect due to, guess what- the market. The market for skill set. Pilots don’t just pop up in a few months, it’s a pipeline of time that cannot be “shortened” in present day.

That means when times are good, we are doing well, this is one of those times. If/when the tides turn, the pendulum swings. That’s airline life.

Here ends the civics and fundamental economics lesson..

Back to the previously scheduled programming.

My post that SF was originally replying to was more about the angst that I see every time the non-cons get a pay raise. Every time they get a pay raise there is overblown angst on SM and even in the cockpit. I once had a Captain beside himself about them getting a raise (for doing nothing!!!) and how it's a "slap in the face!" I'm thinking to myself, we're in negotiations and we're still months from the amendable date! It's ridiculous and embarrassing to see attitudes like that.

I'm one of the middle-30 somethings you're mentioning. Trust me, there are things I don't like and want to see changed. However, you won't see me angry over the non-cons getting amounts to barely more than a yearly cost of living adjustment.

Any kid smart enough to finish highschool probably won't be satisfied performing blue collar tasks. Last century's middle class job is this century's subsistence labor. Fortunately, the dropout rates are around 30% so there should be plenty of mechanics and such. Six figure debt is a small price to pay for the chance at a decent career.

It depends on a lot of course, but I know a few non college graduates who own their own blue collar business, making great money and deriving a lot of satisfaction from the craftsmanship and leadership of the workers they hire.

See any interview with Mike Rowe. The disdain for blue collar work is part of the scam, this myth that only a college degree will enable career success (always accompanied by a lot of debt to cover costs that increase by three times the inflation rate every year...but hey how else will you be able to build a rock climbing wall and pay a hefty sum to the newly minted "Vice Chancellor for Diversity.")

Hey I am a college grad, as nearly all of us on this forum are. I love college and a lot of what it offers. In many fields it truly is the necessary first step to a broader career. However I feel that many universities have lost their way (NOT teaching undergrads is sometimes an advertised perk when colleges get into bidding wars for elite faculty...huh?). And college, especially immediately after high school graduation, is not for everyone.

I don't know why the younger generations are taking the blame for the things their parents did? My parents had shop class, drivers Ed, woodworking in high school. They determined, not me, that it was a waste of resources and wanted their kids to only have college prep courses. I didn't ask for the school to get rid of it. I didn't teach myself to put all my eggs in the college basket, that was the boomers. Literally, when I was in middle School, you could major in basket weaving and make $70k a year.

The boomers have gutted the public education system and blame the youth of today for daring to follow in their footsteps at they encouraged.

I don't know what school you went to but my son is a senior in high school and they have all of these classes. He has taken automotive repair two of his four years of high school and knows more about cars than I ever hope to.