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?”

  1. Gyges,

    Good points.

    If I may, an aside:

    I have used the internet many times before making a major purchase. The research takes time but I have been able to discover several bad actors, both manufacturing and retail, and saved myself a lot of headaches. It is a great tool for consumers. Your example of tires brought this to mind as I just spent 2 weeks reading reviews, opinions, etc. before deciding which tires to buy for my truck and where to purchase them.

    Of course this has to be done because I no longer trust the word of any corporation.

  2. Original Preamble:

    “We the people of the States of New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia, do ordain, declare, and establish the following Constitution for the Government of Ourselves and our Posterity.”

    Why did it read this way? Because it is the states that are conferring the specifically enumerated powers with the consent if its people.

    The only reason they changed it was to make an emotional appeal to the masses for ratification purposes.

  3. Puzzling,

    Have you ever read Candide ? I only ask because your assumptions about markets are remarkably like Prof. Pangloss. Of course businesses would be honest, the Markets create the best of all possible outcomes.

    As for all the people that get hurt before the market eliminates bad actors, they’re stupid for believing the corporations. Never mind the inherent cognitive dissonance of simultaneously believing that corporations wouldn’t do anything that would cause their customers damage and customers would do their homework to avoid dealing with companies that cause damage to their customers. If the first were true the second couldn’t be.

    Never mind the fact that costumers are at a huge disadvantage information wise. It’s one thing to say “I would never give my business to a company that didn’t disclose everything about its products.” It’s quite another to say it when NO company discloses everything about its products. Heck, how would you even know? Do you propose that before eating out we all go to all the hospitals in a 60 mile radius and ask everyone with food poisoning “did you eat at that new Chinese place?” When we buy tires should we be expected to call up everyone that’s had an accident in the last 90 days and ask “Did you get in an accident because you lost control due to an inferior tire? No, what about the other person? Did you happen to catch the brand of that tire?”

  4. Otteray Scribe1, August 12, 2011 at 9:56 am
    ————————————————

    As much as I dislike the snark (which is a simple tool for simple, thuggish minds), and as appealing as a ‘like’ button sounds, that type of moderation will actually stifle the process of creative thought and ponderance in potential favor of ‘group think’. IMHO

    and I don’t come here so often because I am needing to be heard or am any great weight in the world….but I am learning and am not averse to standing on my own two metaphysical and mental feet.

    plus, people here tend to keep up with events in the world….:)

  5. Mike and OS,

    I kind of like it the way that it is allowed to be free flowing…maybe if it could be grouped…but nothing hidden unless the Prof says so…

  6. “Mike, over at Daily Kos, there are ratings buttons at the bottom of each comment.”

    OS,

    That was exactly what I was thinking about.

  9. SwM,

    I am experiencing the same with many teabaggers now refusing to associate their name with the Tea Party.

    I am waiting with great anticipation for he rebranding republicans are going to have to do … what will be the next “grass roots movement” …

  10. The polls reflect a backlash against the tea party. A tea party endorsement is now viewed negatively.

  11. actually, neither are in the top twenty, so the paint is the same. Also my list is also from open secrets too.

  13. SWM,

    Do you mean that Koch and Exxon can basically write 2 checks and reach the level of spending that A-Me gets in 5 and 10 dollar increments…..

  15. Wasn’t this thread about corporations affecting politics at some point.

    Let’s take a look at which organizations give money to whom:

    Top 20 Political Donors, 1989-2010
    Rank Organization Total Donations, 1989-2010 Dem % Rep %
    1 ActBlue $52,572,081 99% 0%
    2 AFSCME $45,238,103 94% 1%
    3 AT&T Inc $41,314,444 45% 54%
    4 National Assn of Realtors $39,717,410 47% 49%
    5 National Education Association $36,312,895 81% 5%
    6 Service Employees International Union $36,043,789 77% 2%
    7 American Assn for Justice $33,983,671 89% 8%
    8 Intl Brotherhood of Electrical Workers $33,476,655 97% 2%
    9 Laborers Union $31,335,267 89% 7%
    10 American Federation of Teachers $31,023,603 90% 0%
    11 Teamsters Union $30,632,309 89% 6%
    12 Carpenters & Joiners Union $30,523,437 86% 9%
    13 Communications Workers of America $29,468,934 95% 0%
    14 American Medical Association $27,431,405 39% 59%
    15 United Auto Workers $27,108,182 98% 0%
    16 United Food & Commercial Workers Union $26,788,209 93% 0%
    17 National Auto Dealers Association $26,664,992 32% 67%
    18 Machinists & Aerospace Workers Union $26,407,374 98% 1%
    19 United Parcel Service $24,505,222 37% 62%
    20 American Bankers Assn $24,190,464 39% 60%
    Average 76% 20%

    Overall, the top 20 political donors lean strongly Democrat, see the average above in the last row of the chart: 76% Democrat vs. 20% Republican.

    Note: Koch Industries ranks #87 at $9.5 million and AFSCME ranks #2 at $45.2 million.

  16. Mike, in all fairness, I must add that the Daily Kos web site has grown to the point where it has a staff, some paid and some volunteers. In order to manage a site that size, a staff is necessary. That particular web site is powered by Scoop, not WordPress. Scoop is far more flexible, but requires more maintenance and programming skills by staff.

    They also have good advertising revenue, thanks to the fact they have an average of over 700,000 hits per day. That is more than the top ten conservative blogs combined the last time I looked.

  17. GeneH:

    “Hobbes and Rousseau”

    they dont belong with Locke, I suggest you re-read them with a more critical eye. You obviously do not understand any of them. I doubt you have even read those works.

    If you did you would understand what you are saying is pure garbage. But then that has never stopped you before.

  18. Mike, over at Daily Kos, there are ratings buttons at the bottom of each comment. There is a “Recommend” button if you like the comment and a “Hide” button for disruptive, off topic or other unseemly comments. It takes two (2) hide ratings to actually send a comment to the Hidden Comments file. Only Trusted Users (TU) can hide a comment, and TUs can see the comments in the hidden column–non-TU status folks and the general public cannot. It is a big deal to hide a comment, and hide ratings are not permitted when you are just in a dispute with someone. Abuse of hide ratings will get your ratings privileges suspended by site administrators. However, make a threat of violence or an outright insult, and the comment will “disappear” into the hiddens really fast.

    By making the requirement that it takes two TU hide ratings to “disappear” a comment ensures that it it not just the opinion of one person. Last week, a comment got 425 hide ratings and no recommend votes. I think that is a record, but it was an awful comment involving a personal attack on a cancer patient.

  20. “Actually, I’d also like to see voting buttons for comments, with high negative comments collapsed.”

    Puzzling,

    I totally agree, good idea and used widely on other blogs.

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