The United States is not a democracy and has not had a capitalist economy for a very long time. Gore Vidal and Noam Chomsky have been saying this since the 1970s but many people chose not to listen, and look at where we are now.
Our friends south of the border live in a corporatist republic where government, regardless of party affiliation, works hand in hand with big corporations, who pocket as much of the profits as they can, and ship them off-shore to avoid paying taxes. Neither have much responsibility towards their citizens or their consumers. The citizen/consumer, in turn, feels alienated, disenfranchised, and without hope for change. This only reinforces the status quo, both politically and economically.
The U.S. economy is starting to show the symptoms of years of deregulation, mergers, outsourcing, and downsizing. The virtual eradication of the manufacturing sector in favour of a "service" based economy that does not produce anything of concrete value has annihilated their account balance. Their over-reliance on credit has sunk them irreversibly in debt, largely to China, Japan, South Korea and Saudi Arabia.
The problem we are seeing because of these self-inflicted policies is being exacerbated by the widening gap between rich and poor. By concentrating the vast majority of the wealth in the hands of so few, the economic base of consumers in a large market is effectively wiped out.
Consumers are broke, out of a job or working for a hideously low wage, and their homes are being repossessed. Their credit cards are maxed out and they can't get another mortgage. Their taxes pay for corporate bailouts and weapons, against the wishes of the vast majority.
The plummeting standards in education provide for a huge pool of ignorant, malleable citizens, which is very convenient when in a state of permanent war, but does not make for a strong body politic.
My point is, how long is it going to take people to realize this is not the way we want to live? How long are people going to sit by until they realize our outdated systems do not work?. Balance and clear-headed thinking are needed. Government has to stop treating its citizens like children, and the citizens, for their part, must take a larger part of the decision making process for the greater good. Citizen participation is essential.
Remember that we are the government, we are the economy, we are the nation.
We do not get the government we deserve, we get the government that we are willing to tolerate.
Our friends south of the border live in a corporatist republic where government, regardless of party affiliation, works hand in hand with big corporations, who pocket as much of the profits as they can, and ship them off-shore to avoid paying taxes. Neither have much responsibility towards their citizens or their consumers. The citizen/consumer, in turn, feels alienated, disenfranchised, and without hope for change. This only reinforces the status quo, both politically and economically.
The U.S. economy is starting to show the symptoms of years of deregulation, mergers, outsourcing, and downsizing. The virtual eradication of the manufacturing sector in favour of a "service" based economy that does not produce anything of concrete value has annihilated their account balance. Their over-reliance on credit has sunk them irreversibly in debt, largely to China, Japan, South Korea and Saudi Arabia.
The problem we are seeing because of these self-inflicted policies is being exacerbated by the widening gap between rich and poor. By concentrating the vast majority of the wealth in the hands of so few, the economic base of consumers in a large market is effectively wiped out.
Consumers are broke, out of a job or working for a hideously low wage, and their homes are being repossessed. Their credit cards are maxed out and they can't get another mortgage. Their taxes pay for corporate bailouts and weapons, against the wishes of the vast majority.
The plummeting standards in education provide for a huge pool of ignorant, malleable citizens, which is very convenient when in a state of permanent war, but does not make for a strong body politic.
My point is, how long is it going to take people to realize this is not the way we want to live? How long are people going to sit by until they realize our outdated systems do not work?. Balance and clear-headed thinking are needed. Government has to stop treating its citizens like children, and the citizens, for their part, must take a larger part of the decision making process for the greater good. Citizen participation is essential.
Remember that we are the government, we are the economy, we are the nation.
We do not get the government we deserve, we get the government that we are willing to tolerate.
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