Hi Brad,
>I didn't say they should thank the government, I said that we should
>defend (and extend) the things the government does rather than
>embrace Ehrenreich's alternative--join in the attack on the crappy
>government, let the Republicans dominate national politics, and spend
>time on "squats, cooperatives of various kinds, community currency
>projects..."
But BE doesn't want the Republicans to dominate national politics. She wants a positive alternative to the Dems which progressives can embrace. Maybe I need to read her more carefully, but that's what I've perceived from her writing.
And the further I get into her book (I'm through Chapter 2 now), the clearer it becomes that mentioning government programs would detract from her project. She's describing the world of low-wage work as she experiences it, and the government doesn't factor very heavily in her life (at least so far).
And frankly, it's hard to see how extending the good things governement does would significantly change the lives of the people she encountered. The thing which makes their lives difficult - physically demanding low-wage labor - is not something the government can do anything about without major structural changes to the economy. Raising the minimum wage by $1 an hour wouldn't directly help many of them since they already earn more than the minimum. Universal health care (something the Dems couldn't deliver even when they did control the gov't) would certainly help, but it wouldn't change their social status or the fact that they have trouble affording adequate housing or enough food.
I obviously share BE's skepticism of government being able rescue the working poor. Maybe its possible. I just don't see it happening.