The Perfect Storm That Threatens American Democracy

[IDemo]

Robert Reich
Posted: October 18, 2010 08:36 PM

It's a perfect storm. And I'm not talking about the impending dangers facing Democrats. I'm talking about the dangers facing our democracy.

First, income in America is now more concentrated in fewer hands than it's been in 80 years. Almost a quarter of total income generated in the United States is going to the top 1 percent of Americans.

The top one-tenth of one percent of Americans now earn as much as the bottom 120 million of us.

Who are these people? With the exception of a few entrepreneurs like Bill Gates, they're top executives of big corporations and Wall Street, hedge fund managers, and private equity managers. They include the Koch brothers, whose wealth increased by billions last year, and who are now funding tea party candidates across the nation.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-reich/the-perfect-storm_1_b_767387.html

[RKP5637]

1. Sometimes I wonder if the pendulum has swung too far. Americans have been

asleep at the wheel for years... This crap started in the 80's and has never stopped, but too many stick their heads in the sand...

[clarence swinney]

12. True

read below my distribution of wealth + income

I want to fight. I want to march

for my kids

[virgogal]

2. Democrats,Republicans,and everything else. A very

interesting list.

http://www.forbes.com/wealth/forbes-400?boxes=listschannellists#p_1_s_arank_-1_

[unorthodox]

8. Walmart

Look at all the Waltons in the top 10 of that list! Making billions selling cheap crap to poor Americans.

[clarence swinney]

13. wal mart

80% sales from China
40% imports from USA owned multinational firms

[WCGreen]

3. It's really because we are being bought off by trinkets...

IPods, Glitzy Phones, HDTV, Facey Book....

All this stuff distracts people who should be worried about their economic situation...

And the fact that most of the media is long on entertainment and short on anything else.

[applegrove]

5. Exactly.

[Art_from_Ark]

6. iPods can be very useful

and iTunes lets me hear my hometown radio station from the other side of the world. There is much political talk on that station these days, and I am glad to be able to listen to candidates discussing local issues.

[txlibdem]

18. Don't forget sports and reality tv... ... ... n/t

[young_at_heart]

4. We're losing our democracy to a different system. It's called plutocracy.

He's right and this seventy-one year old feels very, very sad.

[clarence swinney]

11. 86 Outside 68 Inside

very very sad for my children and grandkids

This is tragic time. 120M must revolt.

[RKP5637]

7. Many Americans will sleep through it all and then say WTF when far too late IMO. n/t

[txlibdem]

9. That's why I'm starting up a co-operative living village

When we're all out of jobs with no homes and no more money in the bank you're right, we'll be screwed with nowhere to run.

I'm starting up a village now. I'm looking for others who can see the growing danger(s) and know that there is safety in numbers.

Why own a washer/dryer when you use them only 4 or 5 hours a week? Let the co-op buy it and you use it for free.

Why own a million other things that you will honestly not use that much? Let the co-op own those things and you use it for free.

Some people wouldn't mind sharing a car, co-op will buy one and we all share it. Others need a car (or feel they do). Ok. Go ahead and buy your own and have it only for yourself. The village isn't going to force you to save. Freedom is shared, too.

The co-op village let's you save on the things you want or don't mind sharing. Like a riding lawn mower. Or power tools. Or a power washer, etc. Going a little farther, we all contribute $20 a month for solar panels and share the savings on our electricity bill.

Who will stand with me to build a common cause effort that will save us all money.

[clarence swinney]

14. Great

Fantastic idea

[clarence swinney]

10. Third World Distribution Income + Wealth

1945 to 1981
Each Percentilc increased in Income and Wealth almost evenly
Unions fought Corp. for Fair distribtion of profits.

Since 1980
20 years 3 Conservative Presidents
18 years Conservative Senate
12 years Conservative House
6 years total control

1980
1% owned 20% Total Financial Wealth
1% got 10% Total Individual Income
1980-1% owned 36% Total Financial Wealth
(80% Increase--Reagan 60% Tax Cut + Market Growth)

1980-2009--1% Income increased by 281%
Middle Class increased by 25% or below rate of inflation

2001-2009=-1% got 67% of Total Income growth
90% got 10%

2009--1% (1.3M)owned 43% Total Financial Wealth
80% or (120M) owned 7%

2000-2010 was final and largest chapter in Rape of Middle Class.

Two Laws--1999 Repeal Glass Steagall--Local bank depsosits now on Wall Street
Few Huge banks own 80%
S&L local Housing Lender Gone.
Reagan + Bush Tax Cuts for 1%

2000 Financial Modezrnization Bill horror story results
Freed Investment Gamblers to invent many new techniques to Gamble.
Rich Investment Money rushed in a frenzy to get in on new Gambling Game
Easy. Quick. Big Bets. Billions.
No asset involved. No Value added. Just one gambler betting another gambler.
Much Much Much bigger than NYSE.

RESULT--
Dow was 11,720 in 2000---now at 11,200--ten years later
S&P lost 30% of value
KICKER----31,000 net new jobs were created.
Before 2000 creation of new CASINO DERIVATIVE OF AMERICA we got 237,000 per month.
31,00 is worst since Hoover. $$$$$$$$ rushed to new Casino. Exciitng. New toys.

Rich money went into Gambling.
Not investing in creating new industries, expanding current businesses and creating new jobs
Unemploy 9%. Creation of 31,00 left us 69,000 per month short of covering just new entries.
Had we just covered new etries today unemploy 5-6%.

Since 1980 Republicans (90% responsible not D) have created a Third World Distribution of Income-Wealth

It will be tough getting equality back.
Few million Rich own Wall Street and major Corporations that ship jobs overseas
Own Major Media
Own Banks
Own Congress
Own White House

Do not own 120,000,00 Workers who have gotten big big big screwing

IT WILL TAKE A WORKER REVOLUTION IN OUR STREETS.
comment welcome at [email protected]
olduglymeanhonest mad mad mad very mad

[txlibdem]

15. They own everything, EXCEPT the 300 million of us who are getting screwed every day by their greed

Well said.

The wealthy and the corporations think they have us beaten down so much that they have won the war. They will find out one of these days that they only won a single battle. The class warfare that they have been waging against us was not started by us. We did not start this war -- but we damn well are going to finish it!

Sleep well behind your walls and hired guns, wealthy man. Sleep well.

[Doctor_J]

20. You don't think they own a lot of the 300 million?

The teabaggers are bought and paid for, as is everyone who listens to hate radio all day long.

[fasttense]

16. None of this will stop until Americans get out and protest like the French. n/t

[txlibdem]

17. Nothing will change by protesting

The RNC, the G20, practically the entire Bush presidency. Protest after protest after protest. And the end result was nothing changed at all.

I agree that we need to be taking to the streets, not to chant "hell no we won't go" but to take down the Capitalist ponzi scheme. We need to take justice to the people who have stolen and committed fraud against the American public. We need to take justice to the murderer CEOs who set up the system so men, women and children are kicked off their health insurance or life saving procedures are denied. Please explain to me just how it's different to sign a document that ultimately kills people versus pulling a trigger.

Take to the streets people. Take over the corporations and put their leaders in jail -- where they belong.

[Doctor_J]

19. Too late for that

If you read about the bogus elections, media collusion, teabagger sponsorship, Citizens United and the corruption of the courts... it's not too hard to figure out that carrying signs is a lost cause. We are at the point where we are going to either live like serfs & peons, or spill some serious blue blood. The koch brothers, the criminals on the Supreme Court, and media whores are not going to stop until they're dead. It remains to be seen how and when that happens

[awoke_in_2003]

21. the collapse of empire. nt.