General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsDon’t Tell Us It’s Not a Class War
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/02/25-5Published on Saturday, February 25, 2012 by the Globe and Mail (Canada)
Dont Tell Us Its Not a Class War
by Gerald Caplan
The entire world seems to be one huge advertisement for The Shock Doctrine. Naomi Klein showed in her revelatory book how the corporate-political-military-media complex exploits crises to further impose their harsh right-wing agenda even when they themselves created the crisis. In a sane world, the economic meltdown and deep recession of the past four years would have led at minimum to stringent regulation of financiers and speculators plus programs to assist their victims. But in this world, you have to be nuts to believe in a sane world.
In reality, everything thats happened in the past several years has gone to further empower and enrich the 1 per cent (or maybe the 5 per cent) at the expense of the rest of us. Look anywhere you want. What else does the universal demand for austerity programs mean? What else does the sudden concerted attack on public sector workers mean? What else does the intransigent line taken by multinational corporations against their unions mean? What else does the demand for right-to-work laws mean? What else does the widespread attack on seniors pensions mean?
Look at poor Greece. Ms. Klein could have invented it as a pure case study for her thesis. Big economic problems, its true. So how do you fix them? As a Greek journalist wrote matter-of-factly in The New York Times, the latest bailout program imposed by the IMF, the European Union and the European Central Bank almost guarantees recession. And this will be on top of the punishment that had already been inflicted on the 99 per cent, including deep cuts to private-sector wages, layoffs in the civil service and significant reductions in health and social security.
.....
Finally, in the United States, where the President is hysterically accused of inciting class war every time he hiccups, the old pinko has just announced that he wants to lower the top corporate tax rates significantly. Take that, you greedy 1 per cent!
© 2012 Gerald Caplan
Angry Dragon
(36,693 posts)And people are dying
xchrom
(108,903 posts)snappyturtle
(14,656 posts)problem and I don't think the 1% is going to quit until the
99% is all living in tents or under bridges.
bvar22
(39,909 posts)..but those healthy enough to work will pay rent to live in Company Housing,
shop at the Company Stores, and any "recreation" will be at Company facilities and closely monitored for the right attitudes. The cost for these privileges will be slightly more than your paycheck, so you will ALWAYS be in debt to The Company. Behavior WILL be monitored by the Company. If you don't "behave" according to Company Policy, you will be kicked out and blacklisted, and THEN you will be forced to live under bridges with the Old Folks and handicapped.
For a preview, see China.
Transportation will be in strictly monitored Company vehicles, and no "for pleasure" traveling will be allowed for the Working Class, who won't b able to afford the gas anyway.