Opening the Hartford Courant on Friday (yes, I still do look at the paper version every once in a while), there was a nice big photo and article about another survey about the "mood" of American workers. I’m always a little leary of such articles, only for the presumption that "American workers" are a homogeneous group.
But, then I saw that a friend and former colleague, Glenn Dowd of Day Pitney, was featured prominently about the survey in a detailed interview. So, I put aside my healthy skepticism because I knew this wasn’t just "another" survey article. And sure enough, its a good Q&A. Glenn’s as straightforward and down-to-earth in the interview as he is in person, with some terrific insights and conclusions to draw from the survey.
The thrust of the interview, which focuses on the connection to the Presidential campaign is as follows:
Q: What is the most significant finding of the survey?
A: It’s clear that the top issues that Americans are interested in are the ability of folks to earn a living wage, keeping jobs from being outsourced and providing health care.
If you look at each of the [presidential] candidate’s websites, they make an effort to address these topics. Each of the candidates has a detailed health care plan. The assumption is that we are going to see some legislation addressing health care.
In terms of a living wage, we always have the age-old question, is it simply a matter of raising the minimum wage, or is there some alternative plan that is the answer: tax credits, investing in education or other economic stimulus measures to try to promote the growth of better-paying jobs?
So, do yourself a favor and check out the article. And congrats to Glenn on such a nice piece.