College of Political Knowledge

Subject:  Society/Political Philosophy

Lecture

This is a lengthy one, but it is a subject that cannot be simplified anymore than I have attempted……

My friend Quin of Quintessential Havoc (blogroll will get you to his site….visit soon and often) were having a conversation about education and social science and basically the welfare state and I said that there are two distinct classes in the US…the privileged and the non-privileged and that a person was not destined to remain in one or the other, that there was movement back and forth…..but let me explain why I feel that there is a class war starting (actually it has been going on for decades)….and for decades the division between the classes has been getting wider with each passing year….and NO one notices…..around 47% of the American people do not think that the “American Dream” is still realistic……the average salary for the average worker has gone up less than a $1000 in the last 20, maybe thirty years….while the average CEO’s pay has gone up a hundred fold in the same period….and they still say there is NO class distinction….they are wrong and it will get messy before it gets better….

First from the Newser website:

Plenty of time and space has been and will be devoted to figuring out why the income gap between the rich and poor has gotten so big in the US, writes Steven Pearlstein. Today, though, he focuses on the very real consequences: “Runaway inequality,” he writes, “undermines the unity of purpose necessary for any firm, or any nation, to thrive. People don’t work hard, take risks, and make sacrifices if they think the rewards will all flow to others.””Without a sense of shared prosperity, there can be no prosperity,” writes Pearlstein. “And given the realities of global capitalism, with its booms and busts and winner-take-all dynamic, that will require more government involvement in the economy, not less.”

The poverty rate has NOT gone below 30 million people since 1982…..this is according to the census and I am sure that there will be those that will dispute the figures and want to quote those of some obscure think tank that has an agenda and the facts would just get in the way…..and then you have this occurring in the business community…..

US corporate profits are soaring in the midst of the deepest economic slump since the Great Depression, on the basis of a ruthless policy of using mass unemployment to slash wages and heighten the exploitation of American workers. In order to make the impoverishment of the working class a permanent feature of American life, companies are hoarding vast amounts of cash rather than hiring workers and expanding output.

These are the conclusions that flow from a Wall Street Journal analysis of second-quarter 2010 corporate profits, reported in the newspaper’s Monday edition under the headline “Propelling the Profit Comeback: Retooling, Downsizing.” The article gives statistics showing that US corporate profits are surging despite stagnant and even falling revenue, sharply increasing the percentage of revenue represented by profit.

I am sorry to crap on those who cannot see that there is a divide and a widening divide in the classes in the US…..but the economy is NOT about getting people back to work….but rather to improve the position of those who buy stocks….and before some mental midget tells us that a lot of Americans own stock…they do….but it is through a fund of some sort and that is who is getting wealthy off this slowdown in the economy…that the suckers that trust them….

This from the Newser website again………

American companies are sitting on record piles of cash right now, but instead of spending it to hire more workers or increase productivity, most are choosing to buy back huge quantities of their own stock, the Washington Post reports. This year firms have announced $273 billion in buybacks, more than five times last year’s figure. “They don’t know what they want to do with all the cash they’re sitting on,” explains one researcher.

And the US Congress is NOT helping either…..

The latest jobs bill from Senate Democrats – a plan to punish firms that ship jobs overseas – failed to clear a key procedural hurdle Tuesday after even some Democrats complained that the measure would hamper the ability of U.S. companies to compete in foreign markets.

Four Democrats and Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.) voted with a united Republican caucus to block the bill, which was crafted to address the 9.6 percent unemployment rate in the run-up to November’s midterm elections. On a vote of 53 to 45, the measure failed to garner the 60 votes needed to overcome a GOP filibuster.  (Thanx to Lori Montgomery of WaPo for the thoughts above)

All this is fueling the grow divide….there is cash out there for the companies to use to help end this recession….but they do not want the recession to end….thus the working stiffs are being used in an attempt to further the accumulation of wealth…..now there is NOTHING wrong with that….but these people owe something to the society that created them and their wealth…

This could degenerate into a new call for class warfare….Eventually the working class will realize that instead of comparing themselves with the lower paid co-workers they need to focus on their ever shrinking pay as compared to the CEOs and the like with multi million dollar bonuses and salaries……I know that scares the sh*t out of most people….but failing to see the problem approaching is a sure way to get your pee-pee spanked…..

Recently, the GOP held up benefits for the unemployed and refused to help 9/11 responders with their medical problems all because it would be too expensive….but yet they will do all necessary to help the wealthy keep more of their money….some will say it is not about class but money….but is that not what a class warfare is basically about?

I know most pundits will not acknowledge the class war (and yes there is a class war) because they would have to go against the corporate interests of their handlers and in doing so would jeopardize their million dollar contracts….so these people will continue to refuse to acknowledge the character of the class structure in the US….everyday they report just how well the economy is doing….actually it is the markets doing well…..all else sucks…the economy is NOT doing well when there is 17% real unemployment….and by all means keep voting for those who do NOT have your best interests at heart and eventually you will join those on unemployment……if that happens….you most likely deserve it!