From Crimson Avenger at Defiant Thinking
Most people are familiar with the story of the French Revolution: When the poor revolted against the unfairness and wealth inequality imposed by the aristocrats, they overthrew the monarchy and beheaded more than 40,000 people, mostly clergy and noblemen, as punishment for their crimes and injustices.
The days of using a guillotine may be behind us – but the anger that led to that revolution is similar to the growing anger at economic inequality in the US today, and could lead to the same kind of unrest.
In France, there were three classes: The First Estate, made up of clergy; The Second Estate, made up of the nobility; and the Third Estate, made up of everyone else. Even though the first two Estates were made up of just 3% of the population, they owned 35% of the land, paid almost no taxes, and held virtually all the political power in the country.
Where are we in America today?
Wealth distribution
If they were around today, heads still attached, French aristocrats would be mightily impressed with the wealth accumulation of America’s rich. The top 1% of the country owns 35% of the wealth; the top 10% owns 77% of the wealth. The bottom 40% owns 0% (here).
Perhaps the best summary of where we are on wealth inequality can be found in the video below:
Tax burden
Certainly, the American rich are paying more in taxes than did their pre-revolutionary French Counterparts. But as a share of income, the American poor are carrying a much heavier burden.
When most people talk about taxes, they think of income taxes, and on that front the rich do pay quite a bit more: According to the Tax Foundation, in 2015, “The top 1 percent of taxpayers paid a higher effective income tax rate than any other group, at 27.1 percent, which is over 8 times higher than taxpayers in the bottom 50 percent (3.3 percent).”
But income taxes are just one of the dozens of kinds of taxes we’re subjected to. As A World of Possible Futures notes, we’re also paying:
- State & local income taxes
- Sales tax
- Social security & Medicare
- Property tax
- Fuel/gasoline tax
- Other taxes such as estate tax, fees, and licenses.
I have yet to find an authoritative analysis showing total tax burden on people by income level in the US. But I expect that, as a percentage of income, the poor are paying a far higher share of their income into tax coffers than are the rich.
This was borne out in England at least, where The Independent found that the wealthy are paying more in direct taxes, but far less in indirect taxes, resulting in a situation where “the poorest fifth of households paid 38.2 per cent of their income to the taxman, with the richest fifth paid just 33.6 per cent.”
Political representation
We’ve all known intuitively for some time that politicians listen to their donors, and not to their constituents. We’ve since had confirmation, both anecdotally through narratives like “The Confessions of Congressman X” and statistically through research performed by professors from Princeton and Northwestern Universities in a 2014 paper titled “Testing Theories of American Politics: Elites, Interest Groups, and Average Citizens.” In this paper, the authors reviewed 1,800 Congressional votes in which the interests of the rich were different from those of the public, and as a rule the rich won out on a consistent basis.
So where’s my revolution?
If the rich are so exponentially better off than the poor in this country – why do the poor take it? Why do they passively grumble and let it continue?
I think today’s leaders have learned some lessons from the past, which explains the following:
- Welfare state – In the France of 1789, there was no welfare state. If you were sick, you would get no doctor; if you were hungry, you starved. Today, more than half of the US population receives some kind of government benefit, including 21.3% who receive direct assistance related to poverty. Why bite the hand that feeds you?
- Drugs – Our country is awash in drugs that keep us numb. In 2014, there were 245 million prescriptions filled for opioid pain relievers. In 2015, 17.9% of adults held a diagnosis for a mental disorder, while a 2010 study found that 46.3% of children ages 13-18 had a mental disorder at some point in their young lives, and the majority of those adults and children are given prescriptions. And don’t forget the legal and illegal drugs, ranging from alcohol to heroin, that we use to self-medicate.
- Distractions – In the 1980s, marketers Al Reis and Jack Trout identified America as the world’s first overcommunicated society; that was in the days of a handful of television channels and no internet. Today we are completely enveloped in media, and continue our fascination with other distractions like sports.
I think there will be a disruption in the future, but I can’t see it coming from a domestic mass movement. Today’s Third Estate has been handled; the rich have clearly learned their lessons from the past.
The “poor” in America today live far better than the vast majority of the world. The real victims are the future generations that are being indebted to maintain today’s lifestyle.
“The “poor” in America today live far better than the vast majority of the world.”
What a total utterly Bull $hit statement. Your poor are legend & 20-30% are on food stamps ! The rest of the non 1% are mainly struggling .The USA is supposed to be the Worlds strongest & most wealthy Nation yet the levels of poverty there is totally undeniable (except by an idiot)
The main reason for the poverty is because your Godless lying War mongering Politicians who suck up to & obey the criminal Military & Industrial Complex.
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/eisenhower-warns-of-military-industrial-complex
Your 38 upticks only show that there are a lot more idiots than expected. Until some critical thinking emerges you’re all fucked!
Yup, US poor sure are poor. Only one big screen TV, only one Iphone, only two pair of Nikes per poor person in the States. Yup, they sure are poor.
Another fucking moron trots in. James surely needs to revisit what the fuck “poor” means.
It means not enough food, clothing or shelter. And the US poor do not fit that bill, save in exceedingly rare circumstance.
Agreed. During this debt-financed boom, all boats appear to be rising, if unevenly.
What frightens me is that I can imagine what happens when the maniacally high social mood sustaining all this comes to an end.
Scariest is that tens of millions of people have been trained to exist on the dole, becoming extremely spoiled, useless and demanding in the process.
I can imagine a future where the chronically dependent riot, and those who in past years cowered in fear, supporting any hand-out to placate the mob are, this time, so enraged that they lock in the 30-round mags of their shiny new AR15’s and drop everyone who even vaguely looks like a rioter.
Consider this:
The poorest group in the USA (excepting Native Americans, perhaps) is far wealthier than their cousins in Africa.
America’s “poor” live better than did kings in Europe 300 years ago. Yes, the 99.9%-ers are getting robbed by this monetary-financial-banking con game, but on a relative basis we’re still doing pretty damn well.
Sadly, when this debt-financed party finally ends, we’re ALL going to suffer.
Good work, CA. Interesting stuff in the links. It’ll keep me reading for a while.
EDIT – don’t know how I lost a number during copy/paste, but under “welfare state” it’s supposed to be 21.3% who receive direct assistance, not 3%…
Fixed it.
CA,
Good piece. You did a great job of putting into words something which has been running through my mind for years.
I think your summary is right on the money. You can sum it up as bread and circuses.
I often wondered what the cost of buying a home would be if you removed all of the various taxes on labour and material from the time raw materials are removed from the mountainside to the moment one takes the keys from the seller. My grandfather built a home after he came back from the war in Europe and never had a mortgage. It took him two years to build it and it was a project of course for the rest of his life (as they all are), but he never had to borrow money.
Anyways, as long as the benefits keep flowing you’ll have no revolution from the poor. If it ever does come it will come from the middle class. It won’t be over money either – it will be over politics and social issues. And a small percentage will be responsible for getting things going.
Greetings,
You are correct in that Revolutions come from the middle class whereas rioting tends to come from the poor. After all, if they were so good at organizing things then they wouldn’t be so poor.
Organized resistance will appear when those that have been living in the middle class since the Great Depression find themselves surrounded by the rioting poor. As soon as you see the middle class attempting to organize the poor to fight properly then you will know it is on.
Read “Theory and Practice of Oligarchical Collectivism” by Emanuel Goldman (George Orwell’s fictional character in his masterpiece Nineteen Eighty-Four.)
It explains in detail what you describe. Every society always has a High, a Middle and a Low. Things are stable until some day when the Middle enlists the Low to kick out the High. If they’re successful, the prior Middle becomes the High and kicks their erstwhile allies, the Low, right back to the bottom where they found them.
Only fools think Utopia is an option.
Oh it’s on just wait for the real financial shoe to drop and the EBT/WIC/section 8 go down the memory hole and heads will roll
The parasites have gotten fat on the blood of the producers.
Very good.
Don’t assume the rich really live all that much better; after say $200k per year its difficult to spend it usefully unless you’re trapped in an insane real estate area. Trying to spend the excess becomes pointless since you have no time to use that extra condo or boat. Instead, it becomes a status symbol , eg – My Greed is bigger than your Greed ! HaHaHa !
Chasing material wealth (and its synonym, “public approval” via virtue-signaling) became an obsession…and it crowded out the pursuit of spiritual wealth (which is entirely a product of internal validation, and has nothing to do with validation from other people’s envy or approval.)
The dearth of spiritual wealth is why so many people are miserable in this time of unprecedented material wealth. Even the rich are largely unhappy.
Let me see how I can say this:
What a pile of shit.
First, it is not a tax problem, it is an expenditure problem.
Second, who are these evil rich that CA alludes to? Who make up the top 1%. Well, by golly, that would be small business people, doctors, lawyers, accountants, etc. Damn those evil rich! They have worked hard and benefitted! The poor need to revolt!
Second, is it any surprise the bottom have no wealth? Debt is not wealth. Low education, low skills, etc. do not lead to wealth.
The bottom 40% would have an upper IQ of around 90. And an average of around 85. Yup, those folks are gonna clean up in the modern economy.
They need to revolt! It is not fair they are dumb as a bag of hammers collectively and cannot create wealth for themselves. Those evil rich are the problem – taking all the money those poor deserve!
Seriously, what are you advocating, CA? Sounds a lot like socialism to me. Sounds like you want to tax the productive even more and give to the non-productive. Yes, that seems fair. Not.
The answer is to eliminate welfare. Return to family-centric society. Personal responsibility. Education. Skills. Etc.
Nope. Revolution is the answer. Tax the rich. Reward the unproductive.
What a load of shit.
Llpoh,
Look, I get that you’re a long-standing, venerated member of this site. So respect, and all that.
That said, what the everloving fuck are you talking about? Do you have reading comprehension issues? Did you hit your head on the way in?
Where did I say or infer anything you attribute to me – that the rich are evil, that we need socialism, that we should reward the unproductive?
The point of this post – and I’ll say it slowly with small words to help you out – is that the American system, where people are supposed to have a voice and a vote and have a right to pursue their dreams to the extent their talents will allow them, is dead. The game is rigged, the promises have been broken.
Do you think we have any input to the political process? We don’t.
Do you think we have a fair shot in the economic system, where corporate CEOs earn 380 times what the average (not the lowest-paid, but the average) employee makes? Where big companies outsource our jobs and bring in foreign workers (H1Bs) to undercut us here and take our jobs? Ask Disney IT workers if they feel like they got a fair shake.
We – the little guys – have been screwed over by a system rigged in favor of the ultra-rich, and there’s not a damn thing we can do about it. I’m not talking about doctors and small business people, I’m talking about Jaime Dimon, Angelo Mozilo and Jon Corzine and the politicians they own.
We have a rigged economic system and no political representation. Thomas Jefferson said that “The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.” I’m saying the reason that hasn’t happened is that the people who have been screwed over the most are the people who are dependent on the system and are too drugged-up and too distracted to act.
If you’re fine with the way things are, more power to you. I’m not. And that doesn’t mean I want socialism or to tax the rich. It means I want taxation WITH representation. And I want an economic system that doesn’t screw over the little guy. Doesn’t seem like something many would argue with, but hey, hat’s off to you for trying to twist my words into something you could rail on.
CA – you are full of shit. You talk about no revolution, and ask why not. You spend lots of time talking about the poor and how they pay a disproportionate amount of tax overall. You talk about the 1%. Which is bullshit,as I have explained who the 1% is.
Nowhere did I see you mention CEOs. But I stand to be corrected. You talked about the 1%. Did you talk about outsourcing? Not that I recall. And outsourcing is largely a lie, particularly in respect to manufacturing. The issue is automation.
Did you mention the ultra-wealthy? Again, not that I saw.
Learn to fucking write, asshole.
What you did was talk about the 1%, talk about the disparity between them and the bottom 40%, and suggest that the poor pay more taxes than the 1%, which is a damn lie no matter how you cut it.
Here is a clue, dipshit. The top 1% is 1.5 million people. And they sure as hell are not CEOs nor the ultra-wealthy. They are by and large hard-working people who raised themselves up off their own skill and hard-work.
And here is another clue. The bottom 40% are largely low-skill, low-education types that suck up enormous amounts of welfare, and in no way are net payers of tax.
Why don’t you fucking buy a clue before you post this shit. Your article entirely left the impression I commented about. Because it was inaccurate in the extreme on facts, and emphasized the points I jumped on.
By the way, the CEO compensation is indeed bullshit and is way out of all reason, but fact is 500 folks making $20 million each is a frigging flyshit blip on a $16 trillion economy. Do the math.
And you say you want a system that does not screw over the little guy. Just what system would that be? From my experience, the majority of those that get screwed over do it to themselves via debt, sloth, lack of education, drugs, alcohol, broken family. And from my experience folks that do not screw themselves over tend to do pretty well in the end. Funny how that works.
Again I looked at the article. CA talks about the 1%, then morphs into talking about “the rich” – the clear implication being -ta-da- the rich he is talking about is the 1%.
But in his comment, he really is talking about the ultra-rich. Alrighty then. And the CEOs.
I am A grade proof that education, hard-work, thrift can and does pay off.
But no, it is the system that is to blame for what is happening to the poor. Nosirree – it cannot be the bad decisions those folks make, and the failure to take personally responsibility. Nope. That is not it. It is the fault of the evil 1% who pay the taxes – the small businesspeople, the professionals, etc.,
You raise a couple of fair points about my inexact writing, but you’re still (purposefully?) missing the bigger picture.
Maybe I should have talked about the .01% rather than the 1%, talked in terms of the ultra-wealthy or powerful (though it’s hard to find stats on a subjective term rather than an actual percentage). Or maybe talked about the bloodsucking rich representing the FIRE economy who produce nothing but skim off the top. Fine, you got me there.
But your claim that the 1% are all honest hardworking Horatio Algers and those at the lower rungs are solely responsible for their place in life is bullshit. Those in power use their influence to rig the game to benefit themselves in ways that hurt those below them. That’s admittedly a second example of inexact writing: Talking about the poor having no political representation without expounding. So let me expound.
Think for example how those in power want as much immigration as possible. Who does that help? Business owners who get cheaper labor. Who does it hurt? The poor, who face the depressed wages and higher unemployment that comes with a larger labor pool.
Who wants H1B? Tech companies who want to pay less for tech staff. Who does it hurt? The coders and engineers who can’t compete on wages.
Who wants to give China Most Favored Nation status? Big businesses that benefit from wage and environmental arbitrage to lower production costs. US workers lose again.
So I stand by the premise of the article: That the most powerful (perhaps incorrectly presented here as the wealthiest, though the overlap is undoubtedly considerable) accumulate wealth and power and rig the game in ways that hurt the poor, and there’s not a damn thing the poor can do about it. And as Gerald Celente says, when you’ve lost everything and have nothing to lose, you lose it.
A followup thought on whether those in the 40% brought it on themselves through poor lifestyle choices. Maybe, maybe not. Think about the epidemic of meth and opioid use in rural areas. Did they have an opportunity to get good jobs but instead decided to pursue a life of drug use? Or are they doing drugs because there’s nothing there but poverty and despair? A good cause-and-effect analysis is in order.
CA – the debt people carry says a lot about this. Look up the stats. Also, how many “poor” have big screen TVs, new cars, Igizmos, etc.
Look at our illustrious Admin for an example of what to do: works hard, saves, gets his kids through school, is educated, avoids debt.
Not everyone can be smart. But everyone can take responsibility and do the best with what they have.
But the fact is, very few do that.
One more thing – this type article should generate huge numbers of comments. That it does not is disappointing. It goes to the heart of many issues.
I appreciate CA taking the time and effort to post it. Many thanks to him.
And thanks to you for pushing back – the only way to temper your steel is to run it through a crucible. I enjoyed it.
CA – we are likely not very far off in general position.
Re the 1%, you are wrong. As I pointed out, that is 1.5 million people. The very vast majority of them are as I have described – small business people and professionals. They earned what they have.
Re the other things – of course you are largely correct.
But my belief is that the biggest issue is that personal responsibility has disappeared from the world. You talk about a system. Not me. I talk about the fact that people can still do well if they assume responsibility for their lives – work hard, spend less than they earn, avoid debt, get educated and skilled, focus on family.
That still works. How many folks do you know that are educated, hard- working, thrifty, believe in family etc., that are poor? As for me, I struggle to think of anyone I know that fits the bill. Anyone I know who is poor largely made their own bed of nails.
People can work hard, get skills and education, save, avoid debt, etc.
Can they change the system? Not likely.
CA, what I would add to your article is that a single industry is behind most of the corruption in society and government:
The banking industry.
Manufacturers, mining/ materials extraction, oil/coal/gas production and the rest of what is viewed as big business does include corporations and individuals who participate in the “electoral investment” game via political contributions in return for favorable regulations and legislation, but…..
The entire structure of what we view as the system favors banking. The central bank and its subsidiary investment banks and commercial banks have a solid grip on the government via the monetary system where worthless scrip and electronic “money” creation give the banking industry the power to create money out of thin air and to use it to control government and through government to control the economy, other industries and society.
I think you’re exactly right Ed. The moneychangers are behind most of the world’s problems – we wouldn’t have such a huge and powerful military industrial complex if it wasn’t for the profits to be made on war for example. Fix the financial system and you’ll fix a lot of other things in the process.
Ed gets the gold star. The real enemy is the debt based monetary system. Llpoh and CA’s exchange is divide and rule in action. Wasted words.
Your points are just as well made without the pointless cursing.
No fucking way.
Fuckin’ A!
The load of shit is the government and businesses that allow and hire illegals and the tax burden is piled on those who do not have the wear with all to fight back . The collusion that wiped out industries that paid a better wage and the media bull shit that down plays Union scale wages and talks up a 17 dollar an hour job . Don’t play boat guy I worked industry and contracting from 1973 to 2013 and know the game business and government have played on all of us . It had to be deliberate the question is what is the end game or did the greedy fucks playing the circle jerk from Wall Street to K-Street to Capitol Street and round and round they go as they rig the game . I think the olagarchy in real control of America has overplayed their collective hands now what ?
Boatguy – what collusion would that be?
I have been in manufacturing my entire life. Not to blow my own horn, but I am an expert in the field. I have run many large facilities, and my own company. And I never knew of collusion of any kind. Ever.
What happened to manufacturing jobs? Automation happened. Productivity happened. In 1950 50% of all workers worked in mfg. Today it is around 10%. But here is the deal – gdp produced by mfg is largely unchanged. How is that possible? Because each worker produces vastly more product.
I have run union plants. The unions cut their own throats, aided by piss-poor management, by demanding, and getting wages and bennies that were unsustainable. Compounding the situation is the declining numbers of workers required. So more competition for fewer jobs. And guess what that creates? Well, that would be lower wages. And of course there was that little issue of global competition.
Not everything is a conspiracy- some things are simply as they seem.
Just for a bit of clarity, if manufacturing had remained at 50% of the workforce, that would mean 80 million manufacturing workers today in the US. I believe the current number is around 13 million.
The US did not ship 65 million manufacturing jobs overseas. Automation and increased productivity did them in.
At most the US lost a few million jobs to China – perhaps 2 million, maybe as many as 4 million. Significant numbers, yes. But they are going anyway, within the next ten years or so. Manufacturing is dead as an employer and provider of good paying jobs, and nothing is bringing it back.
Llpoh,with you on most points but automation is not the whole problem by any means. to deny collusion between the money and politicians is to be purposefully blind. Just because we are paranoid doesn’t mean they aren’t out to get us.
I agree with automation has an impact, but outsourcing does have a significant effect.
According to a report on outsourcing by Working America, “Manufacturing employment collapsed from a high of 19.5 million workers in June 1979 to 11.5 workers in December 2009, a drop of 8 million workers over 30 years. Between August 2000 and February 2004, manufacturing jobs were lost for a stunning 43 consecutive months—the longest such stretch since the Great Depression.”
Manufacturing plants have also declined sharply in the last decade, shrinking by more than 51,000 plants, or 12.5 percent, between 1998 and 2008. These stable, middle-class jobs have been the driving force of the U.S. economy for decades and theses losses have done considerable damage to communities across the country.
From 1978 – 2007, Textile and Garment manufacturing took the biggest hits losing 67% and 78% respectively; Primary metals was next with a loss of 59%. Those plants are gone elsewhere and are not coming back.
BTW, what kind of math are we using where 35% and 77% balance out?
“1% of the country owns 35% of the wealth; the top 10% owns 77% of the wealth.”
I’m not clear on the problem – the top 1% are included in the top 10%. You could also say it as “the top 1% of the country owns 35% of the wealth; the next wealthiest 9% own an additional 42%.”
Tony – seriously, I explained this.
Once again – manufacturing becomes approximately 2.5 to 5% more efficient each year. That means if I need 100 people to make 100 widgets this year I will only need say 97 next year.
In ten years you talk about plants declining in number by 12.5% in a decade. No shit. See above as to why.
You talk about workrrs falling from 19.5 million to 11.5 million workers in thirty years. No shit. See above as to why.
Here – do this. Multiply 19.5 by .975 thirty times and see what you get, then get back to me. It will be a much smaller number.
Currently, the US runs a mfg trade deficit of around $400 billion per year. With that number, you can estimate the number of jobs lost overseas. Some were outsourced. The vast majority were simply lost to global competition and US thirst or cheap shit.
$400 billion means something like $100 billion in labour. Say each mfg employee is worth $100k all up. That means ONLY one million jobs if you bring bak ALL of the mfg trade deficit. Say it is $50k per job (it is not) then it would be 2 million jobs.
Out of the equivalent of 75 million lost since 1950.
Seriously, the issue is not outsourcing. That is a minor irritant. The issue is that mfg is automating steadily. And will keep doing so.
And it is why Trump will NEVER bring jobs back. By the time he could do so, automation will have eliminated more than he can ever bring back.
You cannot do the math on union wages that’s obvious ! The the parts machined in china are 90% cheaper but the man making and selling them to you don’t pay the tax for your streets schools police and fire . The union scale wage elavated many working people into tax paying system supporting middle class and attitudes like yours is why our countries jobs were exported . Automation took its toll but not to the degree even H1 visas have inflicted ! If union demands are so ridiculous , what about police and fireman unions that’s ok ! Again your shit is stuff but that union scale workers shit is shit . Remember that when the next bridge fails or your town has to lay off police as MS13 knocks on your door . That police union ask for ridiculous demands 20 year retirement affordable health insurance and top shelf safety gear . Sounds like fair working conditions for good trained people . Something America shows distain for
Now
Boar guy – are you really saying the pensions for police are reasonable?
Are you really saying 65000 HB1 visas a year have had more of an impact than the loss to automation in manufacturing of 60 MILLION employees.
Alrighty then.
Not exactly but it is all intertwined illegals and visas destroying high level entry level construction and tech jobs and contractors profiting from their illegal or low pay status . Politicians allowing and supporting our businesses to relocate out of the country and a federal reserve money system working with Wall Street /K-Street/Capitol Street and local governments playing like all is well as millions of jobs that supplied the tax base for our society go poof while our Washington DC clowns scurry about like cats covering up shit and borrowing to the moon and back . To say it was a conspiracy is a stretch but it was a slippery slope that too many found irrestible to do the slide and now it’s probably to late . As for pensions , many are ridiculous but most were designed to give working people breathing room for a few years before they die . Now it’s gone for most but those left out are still expected to pa a tax for a priviliged group and should you refuse to pay : members of that group will line up from law enforcement to court employees to CRUSH YOUR FACE
Here is another thing. I am calling bullshit on the “pay a higher rate of tax” crap. Deduct the welfare payments the bottom 40% pay from th taxes they pay. Then tell me how much tax they actually pay. Seeing as we are guessing, my guess is zero.
Take away SS, SSDA, foodstamps, medicare, medicaid, etc., ad naseum. They collect more welfare than they pay in tax.
Another stark difference between USA 2017 and France 1789 is that in France 1789 the wealthy owned tangible productive assets, primarily land. Another “productive asset” might be a ship for looting abroad. Now the “wealthy” mostly own digits in electronic accounts, and shares in enterprises with (in the aggregate) diminishing or negative returns.
Even landowners today struggle for positive returns. Farmers and ranchers can own thousands or tens of thousands of acres and still be in debt even after receiving government subsidies.
A single calorie of food takes ten fossil-fuel calories to produce, on average in the US. This is not a positive-return scenario in either the short or the long term.
Without even getting into the “value” of Tesla or Snapchat… intelligent persons can easily see most of this “wealth” overhang as being entirely fictitious, I hope. Modern economists have been (through willful ignorance) disinterested in sussing out the difference between consumption and production, and the majority of assets (not just Debt Assets, although most assets are “owned” through Debt) are either current or potential liabilities.
First off, nobody “produces” oil. If I could change one thing about economic and political discourse it would be to call things by their proper name. When we extract oil, we just burn it up running around doing entirely un-productive things, for the most part. Most realms of human endeavor are based on consumption, not production.
To further this injury, our ideas of “production” are culturally manipulated. Building a road is not productive.. transplanting a kidney is not productive.. writing a book or blog is not productive.. etc., etc. (A road can enhance distribution of production, but in and of itself it is a sunk cost, and will continue to bleed resources in required ongoing maintenance.)
All of the mal-investments in complex infrastructure designed to consume without producing are going to be shown as such sooner (now) rather than later. This is a global situation without political blame and without political recourse. It’s a universal scenario.
Perhaps the most disturbing statistic is the decline in middle class inflation adjusted wages, along with record middle class family net worth decline since 1997. A greater real decline than during the Great Depression. As goes the middle class goes the aggregate US economy.
Further, all nations with this level of difference between the poor and the few wealthy results in revolt – one way or another. France was an exceptionally bloody affair lasting 70 years before a semblance of stability returned.
Yet in the case of the USA, as the world’s biggest military machine ever (including Rome), our collapse will be when or creditors cease purchasing our debt. I believe that occured over a year ago when China quit bidding on new US government debt. The FED then picked up the excess and went full bore “monetization” or wild money printing without cause (in simpler terms), buying our own debt and partly hiding the real scenario of US insolvency.
Waiting for the other shoe to drop….As history repeats, or at least rhymes.
NWO feudalism is the objective of the Globalists. Most people won’t be around to see this if the commandments/goals written on the Georgia Guidestones, a faux Stonehenge, are fulfilled: a world population of 500,000,000 is one of them. They want culling of the herd, so accept the branding, vaccinations, and feed and head for the stockyards.
ragnar,
Government debt that you owe yourself and which is denominated in your own currency, is something like your left pocket owing your right pocket.
It is ledger mechanics. If you pay interest on one pocket, it goes into the other. So, public debt of this kind is not that important.
look at Japan, they have been doing this for the past 20 years, and will continue to do so, due to their demographics. The US will follow the same course, so, you don’t have to worry, for at least another 20 years, if ever.
At some point, governments will just decide to have a debt jubilee, and start the whole game all over.
This kind of Leftist DRIVEL belongs on HuffPo.
Wealth…no, make that SUCCESS ENVY.
In America most CAN succeed, if they try and are lucky.
ANY other comparison of America with 1789 France is Leftist RESENTMENT and EMBITTERMENT.
Kauf – but, but, but – it is the system! Not the debt I carry! Not that I am dumb as a rock and do not know the difference between a hammer and a shovel! Not the lack of skills and education I have! Not the fact I cannot read, write, or speak English or do even basic math! It is the system holding me back! Not that I smoke and drink and do drugs and piss my money away! It is the system keeping me poor!
The system sucks. But people screw themselves far more.
LLPOH is a dumbass.
Seriously. WTF.
Anyone with a IQ over 70 can figure out there is a income/wealth gap. Anyone with some ability to think critically can figure out the federal reserve system is a banking conspiracy/cabal/whatever designed to impoverish everyone but the banks and the large corporations which depend on it.
The “debt” is built into the system via the central bank/treasury/commercial bank scheme.
Those who get the “money” first or “create the money out of thin air” are at an advantage vs everyone else.
Sure lots of hard working people are “rich” aka doctors, business owners etc. But the WEALTHY aka the Rockefellers, Rothschilds, etc own everything and control everything of strategic value including the government, large corporations, etc.
So income inequality is real and so is WEALTH inequality.
To suggest the system is not rigged is ignorant.
Competition is Sin – John D. Rockefeller .. find out why he said that and maybe you will learn about the real power, geopolitics and WEALTH in the world.
I will close in true TBP fashion.
GFYS
Guess it is easier for you to blame the system than take responsibility for your own lack of success. Yawn.
i believe most of our lack of jobs is due to automation. i started out as a draftsman and spent about half of my career doing machine tool modification and machine tool automation. back in the day, a machine tool was a tool for a skilled man. my job was to redo the mechanicals on these machines so that computers could run them. it was only possible because of AC stepper motors. we would take the DC motors which required a skilled operator to get a precision job and throw them into the scrap pile. replace them with AC steppers which would break up one revolution of the motor into hundreds of small increments. the computer could then count the increments and know exactly where the machine tool was and therefore what it needed to do next.
one example was in ultra precision lens. it could take up to 3 years to produce a perfect one with machinists doing the skilled operations. once it was computerized, a machine could produce it in 1 day. of course the costs to redesign the machine and mostly the electronic redesign was pretty expensive at first. now, it is as common as dirt.
The Bankers’ Manifesto of 1892
We must proceed with caution and guard every move made, for the lower order of people are already showing signs of restless commotion. Prudence will therefore show a policy of apparently yielding to the popular will until our plans are so far consummated that we can declare our designs without fear of any organized resistance. The Farmers Alliance and Knights of Labor Organizations in the United States should be watched carefully by our trusted men, and we must take immediate steps to control these organizations in our interest or disrupt them.
At the coming Omaha Convention to be held July 4th (1892), our men must attend and direct its movement, or else there will be set on foot such antagonism as may require force to overcome. This at the present time would be premature. We are not yet ready for such a crisis.
Capital must protect itself in every possible manner through combination (conspiracy) and legislation. The courts must be called to our aid, debts must be collected, bonds and mortgages foreclosed as rapidly as possible.
When through the process of law, the common people have lost their homes [i.e. the growing millions of “homeless people” in our societies today] they will be more tractable and easily governed through the influence of the strong arm of government applied to a central power of imperial wealth under the control of the leading financiers. People without homes will not quarrel with their leaders.
History repeats itself in regular cycles [i.e. there is no “New Normal”]. This truth is well known among our principal men who are engaging in forming an imperialism of the world. While they are doing this, the people must be kept in a state of political antagonism.
The question of tariff reform must be urged through the organization of the Democratic Party, and the question of protection with the reciprocity must be forced to view through the Republican Party.
By thus dividing the voters, we can get them to expend their energies fighting over questions of no importance to us, except as teachers to the common herd. Thus, by discrete action, we can secure all that has been so generously planned and successfully accomplished.
With some googling I found that the top 1% as of 2013 was a household income just shy of $400k. It did mention in pricey enclaves that # goes up, i.e. $660k in Connecticut. Still, overall it doesn’t take a becoming a Fortune 500 CEO to get into that realm. Shit, I have some close friends that are in that bracket and they work as an engineer and a director at a major company. Good jobs for sure but not anything that is unreachable with some hard work and determination. Their home is nice but nothing Robin Leach would’ve showcased and they drive modest non-luxury vehicles.
The video is catchy but it pulls in people prone to class envy. Even the hated 0.01% who do really peddle influence, look at how they made their money. Bill Gates sold a product. Right place at the right time for sure, but he wasn’t born with it. Jeff Bezos built the Wal-Mart of the internet. If you don’t want him to be rich stop buying shit on Amazon. Warren Buffett is someone I personally can’t stand but nobody has said he’s a shitty investor. Mark Zuckerfucker is a first class ass and I don’t use Facebook but he did come up with the idea and for that I give him credit. Point is none of these people were born into some aristocracy like the French had in 1789. Everyone in America has a shot at being there. Unlikely but it is possible. In France you were fucked unless you were born into the nobility, etc.
It may be ridiculous and destructive but go to any American slum and the kids all think their way out is becoming a pro-athlete. The American Dream is alive and well.
Just a comment regarding police pensions:
these 20 year, $100,000 plus deals with no member contribution in CA are non sustainable.
I worked that job for 10 years, in my State : 8% mandatory employee contribution pre-tax, at 25 years you would get 50% of your last three years of earnings/averaged. So for a $48,000 cop, that is $24,000 (taxed)…and our average departmental retiree lived to age 59. Not such a great deal.
My wife’s teacher’s pension (if she ever sees dime one) is more lucrative than my pension (promise) from a Fortune 50 corporation. That difference was a mistake, a political ploy to promise vast deferred compensation in return for political support from public employee unions.
When all these promises of future cash flows (including my private pension) collapse, I sincerely wonder what will happen. We cannot have the entire 80th to 99th percentiles collapse to poverty without a social catastrophe.
It is not the 1 percent; it’s the 0.001 percent. Also, the struggle is not between labor and capitalism, but between labor and USURY.
If I build a tractor and wish to rent it, I should be able to do so.
If I sell that tractor and wish to rent the cash proceeds, I should be able to do so.
If I write $500 on little pieces of paper and lend them out, it’s counterfeiting (a crime.) If I did so and CHARGE INTEREST on the loan, it’s CRIME^2.
CRIME^2 is the main business of our banking system. The only people who should be able to create credit are producers, and only for the purpose (and brief duration) of lending the next firm in line for their product “money” (credit) to facilitate the product’s movement through the time-structure of production on its way to final sale.
This is (I think) what Antal Fekete calls the “Real Bills Doctrine.” It would GUT the power of bankers.
Late here. Probably wasting time commenting.
1. People with IQ’s below about 100 are going to have a difficult time being productive going forward. Any job that can be automated WILL be automated out of existence. And that cutoff point might be 130, not 100. That promises crazy times.
2. People with IQ’s below 100 are good at reproduction. Since IQ is at least 75-80% genetic, their kids will be no more prone to success than are they….but all VOTE. (IDIOCRACY IS A DOCUMENTARY.)
3. Dishonest money is the tool destroying most people now. Creating purchasing power from nowhere, lending it and charging interest on it is openly ridiculous.
4. We have the system we have because it is WHAT PEOPLE WANT. People have desired to LIVE BEYOND THEIR PRODUCTIVE CAPACITY for my entire life. Our money was not made DISHONEST in a smoke-filled room, out of sight. No one cleaned political house when silver was removed from coins in 1964. No one batted an eye when Nixon completed the divorce of money and commodity in 1971. Everyone has celebrated the the last 35 years as asset prices skyrocketed, electronic toys proliferated and an “anything goes” attitude was written into LAW.
We get the system to which our neighbors consent. Want to blame someone? Ask yourself if you, too, consented to all this.
All of us expect massive future cash flows (Social Security programs, free medical care and a social safety net that is deep and broad.) There is NOT A CHANCE IN HELL that it can be delivered. The math is simply unworkable.
That reality will eventually dawn on the herd. All hell will break loose when it does.