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
Kderosa,
That the Federal government is empowered by the states is not a fiction. It’s the basic structure of the document.
@GeneH
Denial is not a river in Egypt, Geno.
kd The unions also hand out sample ballots.
Health Care Law Individual Mandate Ruled Unconstitutional By Appeals Court
“What Congress cannot do under the Commerce Clause is mandate that individuals enter into contracts with private insurance companies for the purchase of an expensive product from the time they are born until the time they die,” the opinion said.
Hey, I remember somebody saying something like that…er, um…I think that was me.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/12/health-care-law-individual-mandate-ruling_n_925507.html
Somewhere in the distance, a small dog barks.
@GeneH,
Your argument, such that it is, speaks for itself.
Keep on proving my points for me, it saves me a lot of time.
@Roco, AY and SwM
Exxon + Kochs = $19.8 m
Afsme = $45.2 m (228% of E&K)
Then I added up all the top union Dem donors that contributed more than $19m and got $475.7m (15 unions). And compared it to the top Rep donors which was 1 at $22.9m. So I throw in E&K for another $19.8m. And wouldn’t you know it. Big Labor contributes 11 times as much to the Dems as the the Top Rep Donors plus E&K do.
I hope the Dems stay bought at that price.
Sorry, kderosa. Still not taking anything you say seriously let alone your idea of “redemption”. Get back to us when you can display a level of basic competence greater than a 1L.
Swarthmore Mom:
did you notice the amount? $333,300 or there abouts. that is three hundred thousand dollars. the carpenters union gave twice that much to the democrats.
Give me a break.
@Bob, Esq.
“Why did it read this way? Because it is the states that are conferring the specifically enumerated powers with the consent if its people.”
That just moves the consent issue down to the state level. And even if the preamble had remained in that form, that fiction would have come to an end with the 17th amendement anyway.
@GeneH
Thanks for playing along. Maybe you’ll redeem yourself next time.
Swarthmore mom1, August 12, 2011 at 11:33 am
http://www.opensecrets.org/overview/topcontribs.php This list paints a different picture. Koch brothers and Exxon Mobile gave 95% of their contributions to republicans.
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I wonder the corporations need to chase power when that $$$$ could be applied to effect a more healthy change in the environment….
Also, regarding the NEED for oversight, the stellar records of Corporations and Manufacturers to self-police and responsibly re-imburse or to pay damages to those who are harmed by their practices. The co-operation is inversely relational to the cost to the firm/business, etc.
…and far too often attempts are made to cover up rather than prevent further escalation of damage.
but I guess that’s good for TV….
Blouise me too, but to what purpose and what good can come of it? And I don’t think there is anything wrong with you from what I have read, there is little escape from either ‘spin’ or outright misrepresentation these days….the more eyes the better if you ask me!
Woosty’s still a Cat,
There’s probably something wrong with me, but the more they try to hide information or spin it, the more intrigued I become. I probably, over the course of 2 weeks, spent 50 some hours researching tires … first the manufacturer and then the retailer.
Healthcare … tell me about it …
kderosa:
they give that much money and they cant produce a bought democratic party government? They must be pretty lame.
Hell the Kochs are donating 9.5 million and some unions are donating 20 million plus? And the Kochs are influencing government? They have a 20 to 1 or more disadvantage in donations and they are running government?
Are these people kidding? The Kochs run a good, profitable business. Apparently they dont need the government favors, er protection, the others do.
ROFLMAO
Blouise1, August 12, 2011 at 12:54 pm
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“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.”
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Moi aussie, but it has become increasingly difficult to get good and rliable information. And when you add Corporate entities involved with Healthcare, Law, Banking…it is impossible to find information and yet these are some of the most effecting and necessary ‘purchases’ that can be provided.
It’s also very interesting to note the rapid rise and need for entities such as ‘Reputation Defender’ etc.
The more people need information to protect themselves and thier interests, the more obstacles seem to pop up…..
Gyges,
I didn’t mean to imply that you were … as I said, it was an aside.
The fun in the research is finding all those same postings which usually leads me to X-ing out that particular manufacturer or retailer. The other fun part is happening upon the small manufacturer or retailer who has their own little website and discovering their product has very high ratings on consumers’ sites. I bought a jungle gym from a small company in New Mexico and the quality is superb plus the guy enclosed his cell phone number just in case I had trouble assembling the thing. I have had several similar experiences. My point is that the internet has brought a wave of accountability to corporations that they have never experienced before and put some real control into the hands of consumers who know how to use it.
Roco,
Actually you can’t properly understand the social contract without having read all three. Your boy kderosa has clearly read none of them. It’s nice to see you’ve chosen to go back to the children’s table too.
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kderosa,
I’m sorry, but you’ve really demonstrated that not only are you not to be taken seriously, you’re not even worth addressing beyond dismissal.
re: hide buttons, etc.
Haven’t we had this discussion before … at least twice since I’ve been here with a previous discussion, before my time, referenced?
I’m not in favor of any form of censorship other than what the blog owner determines is necessary. Sometimes I like to fight with the bad-actors, sometimes I like to ridicule them, sometimes I will even get serious with them … mostly I ignore them. It’s really simple to do.
Quite frankly, I would miss them and the choices their presence brings to the table.
Well hat was a botched editing job. “It’s an especially unrealistic expectation considering how much…”
Blouise,
Of course I’m not blindly advocating trust. Just pointing out the absurdity of suggesting that your average person has the ability to do the research necessary for every purchase is a little silly. Also, If your experience was anything like mine, you probably noticed at least one or two reviews of tires on different sites that were word for word matches. I’d hate to be the PR intern that had to go and do that job.
Especially considering how much food we consume, and from what a wide variety of sources (heck, if you can find out every step along the distribution line for the ingredients in one meal, I’ll be amazed).