Is the Corporate Media acknowledging the death of the American Dream?
By Thom Hartmann A...
The New York Times is finally catching on to the fact that the American Dream is dead. An article running in the paper today points out the disturbing fact that the United States is one of the least socially mobile nations in the developed world. As in – it’s harder for someone born poor to become rich – or even just join the middle class throughout their life. Only 8% of Americans born in the poorest fifth of the population – ever make it to the top fifth, which is an income a bit over $100,000. The Times goes on to cite persistently high poverty rates, which “leave poor children starting especially far behind” as one of the reason for low social mobility. So much for the idea that America is a class-less society. Every day, millions of Americans are living a real life version of The Christmas Story – complete with corporate Scrooges and fully a quarter of American children living in poverty like Tiny Tim.
Comments
#2
you already know the answer to your question, so why do you even bother to ask?
Things will never change here for the better under the present system or under any system
that existed in the last 5 decades.
If you try you will have the strongest military in the history of the world against you.
Think it couldn't happen ? History proves you wrong.
#3
The battle is definitely an uphill one but to throw up our collective hands and accept the state of America today is not the answer. The many need to confront the few with the moral deficiency of their approach to governance. Corporations must be reined in and THE PEOPLE need democracy restored ...not sold to the highest bidder.
Keep tellin' it!
#4
1%ers like Mitt Romney think poverty is just one of those relative considerations. They share a numb view that poverty here in the United States would be considered a decent standard of living in most third world countries. Somehow in their little worlds this helps mask and even justifys the economic terror they callously inflict.
In their minds it's OK that Tiny Tim can't afford proper medical attention....because he still has a little food and a leaky roof over his head and that's better than a refugee camp in Africa. Nevermind that his father is working long hours to make guys like Mitt EMBARRASSINGLY RICH!
The New York Times article helps.....truth in reporting is always a good thing!
"The man who wrongly assumes every human right is secondary to his profit, those who oppose all reform will do well to remember that RUIN is inevitable if our national life brings us nothing better than swollen fortunes for the few" TR
#5
On this malicious "Corporations are people" idiocy: Anybody who defends this idea is a misanthropist and not more humane than a cannibal! Any natural person is being protected by the Constitution -- within or outside corporations. These persons don't need extra protection while acting within their corporations. If they claim to have those rights TWICE, this sounds fishy to me. They obviously try to fraud humanity -- defining down the idea of human rights. They're ridiculing, flat-out insulting the idea of humanism. This is war. Not with weapons, just with words. But I know why my tone gets harsher these days: I am fighting these malicious crazies for the idea of human rights!
Human rights have been defined, to end cruelty against human beings. A corporation has no feelings. You can't torture a corporation. You can't hurt a corporation's feelings. You cannot put it into prison. Corporations are dead, like this laptop I'm typing on. This laptop doesn't need any protection by the Constitution and same goes for any corporation. This doesn't leave the people who own corporations unprotected: They're already protected as natural persons and don't need protection twice!
The idea "corporations are people" is a fraud on humanity -- created by minds who despise and question humanity!
#6
If the New York Times finally wakes up, this makes me a bit more optimistic. Last summer I really had the feeling we had lost the fight. I heard Americans nothing but blaming Obama -- everybody sounded like FOXnews. Meanwhile the mood obviously has changed.
America has been downgraded to a developing country by Republican voters. This is terrible, but we have to forgive them and start anew. We need a decent majority for the years after 2012, so we can take America back to the First World. Above all this means EDUCATION, for any upgrading starts in our heads. We have the choice to downgrade ourselves ahead to Third World standard. Just listen to the teaparty talk: This is Third World standard. You wanna go there Americans? Do away with human rights, union rights, free media, high-quality public infrastructure? This would mean do away with First World issues and values indeed.
Over the next four years we have to start a major education offensive. The fact that we have these crazy teaparty hicks in Iowa unveils our lack of education. Or let me describe it as already being kissed by Third World standard.
The idea "corporations are people" -- a relativization of human rights -- already is Third World standard. Thanks God many Americans are beginning to see this.
#7
I agree with LegacyCost. If we just throw up our hands and say, "what's the use?", nothing will EVER change. We have a lot of really bright people on our side, and we need to get them all together and find a way to overturn Citizens United. And if we can't, we need to get the really bright people that are with us and find a way to USE Citizens United to OUR benefit. Don't get me wrong, I don't have the answer; but if our founders did it, WE can do it!
#8
Whoa, you truly sound like the personified depression!
Say, why must we have our own army against ourselves, as long as the commander and chief is President Obama? No-no-no, we can't betray ourselves as you do. If Americans vote more progressive, things WILL change. They did NOT -- that was the problem! They voted for Bush and ergo we have to face what we got out of that.
The problem is not the system, it is the voters in the system. They seem to think their votes have no severe consequences. But they have: their votes even kill people!
#9
An Alternative to Capitalism (if the people knew about it, they would demand it)
Several decades ago, Margaret Thatcher claimed: "There is no alternative". She was referring to capitalism. Today, this negative attitude still persists.
I would like to offer an alternative to capitalism for the American people to consider. Please click on the following link. It will take you to an essay titled: "Home of the Brave?" which was published by the Athenaeum Library of Philosophy:
http://evans-experientialism.freewebspace.com/steinsvold.htm
John Steinsvold
“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result."~ Albert Einstein
#10
Einstein was an extremely dysfunctional fellow.
"An alternative to capitalism"? That sounds like looking for an entirely new kind of nutrition. Forgetting all the old stuff and inventing brand-new food.
All we have to do is fight white-collar crime. There's a bunch of gangsters and monkeys running loose in America who are holding the whole system hostage.
What Thom is doing next week in Sweden is a really great idea. Why don't you pragmatically just talk about socialism? How would you adjust our system to something like that? It already exists! No, you wanna reinvent the wheel. You're done with drinking water and you're gonna create something really poisonous....
#11
Children in poverty is before all the current wealth transfer programs: Welfare, Section *, SNAPS. WIC's, free school lunch and breakfast, subsidized utilities, etc. How much more will be required? According to the US census, the two leading indicators of poverty are single female heads of households and high school dropouts. Perhaps we should look at the problem as being cultural within the communities.
#12
Give Americans a break, don't send them to war anymore. The Germans flat-out refused to go to Iraq. Remember? We were damn mad when they gave us their "nope". They downright spared their young generations for decades -- educated their youth. While we literally ran our youth into the ground. The Germans don't have that much post-traumatic disorder problems. How can we rebuild our country with so many mentally sick, depressed people?
Depressed people often raise depressed kids. Their marriages often don't function. How can their kids not be demoralized? Where should the motivation come from, to survive the long hours in school, if not from your parents? It's doggoned hard not to feel sleepy in school, if you feel nothing but low. Give your fellow Americans a break. Let them feel like human beings.
I like your idea "being cultural within communities". I made the experience this heals and motivates people.
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