Congress, Justice, Politics, Society

Is An Economic Revolution Possible in the United States?

Respectfully Submitted by Lawrence Rafferty-Guest Blogger

 

After the news over the past few months about the global uprisings against tyrannical and non-responsive governments, I have pondered why the United States has not had more people in the street protesting the economic inequality that we are facing here at home? 

We have seen uprisings in Egypt, Libya, Spain, Greece and many more places, but at best we have seen large numbers in Wisconsin and Ohio protesting about State governments trying to remove collective bargaining rights away from state employees.  One group of dedicated and non-violent protesters is especially interesting to me since they have taken to the streets and they have stayed there to press their fight.  It is a group in Spain called the Indignados.  They are camped out in various areas of Spain in an attempt to draw the country’s and the world’s attention to what they see as the Spanish government’s attempts to cater to the bankers and not to Main Street.

“Thursday night Madrid’s city centre offered a glimpse of what Western democracies have become, as thousands of unarmed nonviolent civilians with their hands up in the air shouting “these are our weapons” and “this is a dictatorship” were beaten by police commandos in full riot gear. This event was the culmination of a month of intense mobilizations across the country by the popular movement known as the ‘Indignados’. People, whom despite being ignored by the government have made their voices heard, as banking cartels, European bureaucrats, rating agencies and the country’s elites continue in their frantic push to sell-off Spain’s remaining public wealth, and persist in the implementation of drastic cuts to the welfare state.  The ‘Indignados’ are fully aware of the fact that their government does not represent them, whenever they congregate they shout that loud and clear. They know that only popular unity will salvage them from the train wreck, which complicit speculators and politicians have created, and as they read the financial news, they know things can only get worse. When the EU announced today that the economic crisis is no longer restricted to the Euro-zone periphery countries, people in the movement understood that this could only mean bad news for them.” Truthout

Now, we have had some Tea Party protests, but their numbers were paltry in comparison to the Spanish protests.  The numbers in Wisconsin and Ohio were the closest to the Spain numbers, but those protesters were not met with wide-spread beatings at the hands of the government and police and they are still not camping out in Madison and Columbus as they are in Madrid.

Would protestors in the United States ever commit to a continuing protest for months in Washington, D.C.?  These Indignados in Spain, are continuing to protest what they see as government attempts to balance their budgets on the backs of the poor and the middle class.  Why haven’t we seen tent cities springing up in Washington, D.C. and in state capitals across the country?  Many progressives and liberals have claimed that Washington is working only for the bankers and Wall Street barons, so why aren’t our streets filled with dedicated people who are willing to nonviolently protest against the Rich getting richer, while the middle class and poor seem to get poorer?  Is the claim of rising inequality between the rich and poor true?

Where is the evidence that the income disparity is growing in the United States? … “in dollar terms, the rich are still getting richer, and the poor are falling further behind them.  The income gap between the richest and poorest Americans grew last year to its largest margin ever, a stark divide as Democrats and Republicans spar over whether to extend Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthy.  The top-earning 20 percent of Americans – those making more than $100,000 each year – received 49.4 percent of all income generated in the U.S., compared with the 3.4 percent made by the bottom 20 percent of earners, those who fell below the poverty line, according to the new figures. That ratio of 14.5-to-1 was an increase from 13.6 in 2008 and nearly double a low of 7.69 in 1968.At the top, the wealthiest 5 percent of Americans, who earn more than $180,000, added slightly to their annual incomes last year, the data  show. Families at the $50,000 median level slipped lower.” Huffington Post

With those depressing numbers, why haven’t American “Indignados” taken over Washington, D.C. like their Spanish counterparts did in Madrid?  Are Americans just too lazy or indifferent to their plight?  Have they given up being able to make a real difference in Washington? Why aren’t you and I there in Washington pressing our claims for economic equality?  Finally, what will it take for the American poor and jobless to stand up and say, enough is enough?  Maybe you have the answer for these American Indignados!

Submitted by Lawrence Rafferty-Guest Blogger

447 thoughts on “Is An Economic Revolution Possible in the United States?”

  2. Gyges, I have been sitting here enjoying an authentic New Orleans praline from the Cafe du Monde.

    Since we are talking fermented beverages, have you ever tried authentic moonshine? Junior Johnson, the legendary NASCAR driver has a legal product out called Midnight Moon. It is made from his old Daddy’s recipe, which he got from HIS Daddy. Seriously, an old family recipe. Junior Johnson may be back in town soon for a nearby NASCAR race weekend, and if he does he will probably stop by the local package store and autograph bottles. Last year I went over there, but by the time I got there, they had sold out. Midnight Moon is actually rather smooth, although I prefer Jack Daniels if I drink the hard stuff.

  6. I’m not the one evading here, kderosa. You’ve been running away from me for two days now. And now you’re all over the place because you can’t defend that you just came out against democracy based on the idea it wasn’t enacted by unanimous consent. The answer to your question is May 14 to September 17, 1787 culminating in Articles Congress sending the Constitution to the states for ratification. Many of the states, such as Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Virginia dropped or lowered standards to vote in order to increase the voting roles for this important decision. The last of the original colonial states to ratify the Constitution was Rhode Island on May 29, 1790.

    Seriously, get a grown ups argument.

    ROFLMAO

  7. @Gyges, actually despite the gamesmanship and multitude of topics, the discussion is civil and somewhat productive (if you can ignore GeneH’s comments) which is a major improvement.

  8. Oh good, we’re back to this. Those sure were a nice four days. I mean, I could look at the “recent comments” and see as many as 6 different topics, all with different people commenting. Now we’re back to “are too,” “are not.”

    So here’s my proposal, every time we start drifting away from actually having a discussion and towards parallel monolog’s somebody changes the topic to some weird piece of arcanum: tonight’s theme is obscure fermented beverages.

    I’ve made Kvas (my favorite description is: Sour Bread drink), but haven’t found anyone to make the famous “Chewed Corn Beer” of South American fame.

    OS, I think you owe me for humoring you with the haggis thing. Your turn.

  10. @bdaman, guess who made these statements:

    “As to your ideas concerning equity? I don’t take anything a proven propagandist says seriously. Neither should anyone else not aligned with your agenda.”

    “No one takes either of you seriously around here. Neither the regulars nor the vast majority of the readers. You make convenient object lessons to teach off of, but as persuasive speakers the truth is that you both really do suck.”

  13. @AY

    “You still have not provided information that Schwartz is valid”

    I don’t need to, it speaks for itself. As do, rafflaw’s Mother Jones articles. You know that, you are also an attorney.

    Also, rafflaw, hasn’t asked a question, he merely made a statement.

    “Then OS’s”

    He did not direct a question to me, he merely extended a general invitation.

    “then mine”

    You merely made a series of statements.

  15. Sorry, kderosa. Still laughing. Why don’t you move that goal post again though after re-reading Locke, Hobbes and Rousseau though. That just adds to the humor.

  16. Focus KD, Focus….You still have not provided information that Schwartz is valid….You are an Attorney? Argue your point…I believe raffs question needs answering first…. Then OS’s then mine….Build on your expertise and show us your brilliance rather than your conjectured truths…..I was going to major in Anti-Trust Law….but took the more psychopathic avenue and ended up doing divorces and criminal law and appeals….Sometimes by the end it was difficult to tell the difference, who was the original criminal….and sometimes attorneys aided and abetted the same clients….unwittingly….

  17. @GeneH,

    You have failed to justify why anyone has a duty to obey the law on the basis of the “consent of the governed.” Exactly how and when “We the People” consented to obey the laws of the land?

    I suspect you are laughing because to deflect from the fact that you can’t.

    Would that make him Gene is Laughing 🙂

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