Labor Day salute

Today is Labor Day. While the day is rooted in the union movement of the late 1800s, today it is as much about anyone who works hard to earn a paycheck.

It is a day which should honor those men and women who get up every day and go to work, who work hard, who pay taxes because they have to, who contribute to our society in a very positive way.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are approximately 248 million Americans employed — roughly about 70 percent of the population. There are nearly 10 million unemployed and another 90 million who are not in the labor force.

Labor Day was established in the late 1800s. It’s initial beginning was in New York state, but it was the state of Oregon which passed the first law establishing Labor Day. In 1928, Congress passed a law making the first Monday in September of each year a legal holiday known as Labor Day.

We cannot say enough of the contributions to this nation by hard working men and women. They are the backbone of everything good and without their contributions, this nation would crumble.

Every working man and woman contributes to programs that assist those who can’t or don’t work. That program is call taxation and as much as we don’t like taxes, they are what make life better for those less fortunate.

Today, we far too often hear politicians speaking of how they are going to help those who do not pay taxes, who live off of others paying taxes, but far too little about those who work hard every day. It is those people who should be the focus of our leaders and those leaders should be doing all they can to give a hand up to those not working, not a hand out.

The working men and women deserve everyone’s respect. Unless you go to work every day, take care of yourself or a family, you don’t know how hard it is to hold a full-time job.

We salute all those who earn a paycheck, whether they are in a union or not.