I like labor unrest, its fun to watch and reminds me of the Tom and preacher Casy's I becomes We dialogue in the Grapes of Wrath. It is unlikely though we'll see rallying around labors cause from most Americans. I don't have an explanation for the ongoing disconnect in perceptions of the stagnation of the middle and lower classes and the prosperity afforded the top 1%. One may be the narrative of the American dream keeps people from criticizing the rich because theres a chance they may become part of the elite. With the current labor disputes this manifests itself as non- union workers and skilled professionals expressing their anger at their situation with the unionized workers and not the robber barons they work for. Getting mad at the unionized state workers for having health benefits and pensions one doesn't receive leads to rooting against the worker. Why doesn't anger lead to introspection and organization, demanding fair compensation from ones employer. In general people don't seem to think this way, some graphs and statistics from Mother Jones bear the dissidence from perceptions and reality bear this out.
http://motherjones.com/politics/2011/02/income-inequality-in-america-chart-graph
A few Choice examples ( Click to get a clearer image )
Payroll tax is only paid on the first $100,000 or so of payroll income. It is paid by the middle class and the poor.
People think they are better off than they are.
And income disparity has gone up and up and up.
And income disparity has gone up and up and up.
