There was a time when “smaller government” existed; the idea of trickle down economics was a superior success giving titans of industry such as Andrew Carnegie, JP Morgan and John D. Rockefeller the ability to make riches never before seen by any man and influence in government that we can only wish our wealthiest billionaires to have.  This led of course to great prosperity among the middle class.  <sarcasm/>  And by prosperity – I mean…a terrible nightmare.

The beauty of “smaller government” at work – PBS has the history on Andrew Carnegie in a time where regulations really didn’t exist – HERE:

“The life of a 19th-century steel worker was grueling. Twelve-hour shifts, seven days a week. Carnegie gave his workers a single holiday-the Fourth of July; for the rest of the year they worked like draft animals. “Hard! I guess it’s hard,” said a laborer at the Homestead mill. “I lost forty pounds the first three months I came into this business. It sweats the life out of a man. I often drink two buckets of water during twelve hours; the sweat drips through my sleeves, and runs down my legs and fills my shoes.”

For many the work went without a break; others managed to find a few minutes here and there. “We stop only the time it takes to oil the engine,” a stop of three to five minutes, said William McQuade, a plate-mill worker in 1893. “While they are oiling they eat, at least some of the boys, some of them; a great many of them in the mill do not carry anything to eat at all, because they haven’t got time to eat.

The demanding conditions sapped the life from workers. “You don’t notice any old men here,” said a Homestead laborer in 1894. “The long hours, the strain, and the sudden changes of temperature use a man up.” Sociologist John A. Fitch called it “old age at forty.”

For his trouble, the average worker in 1890 received about 10 dollars a week, just above the poverty line of 500 dollars a year. It took the wages of nearly 4,000 steelworkers to match the earnings of Andrew Carnegie.”

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