Yes! Tubulent times could be ahead for America.
96%
No! The growing wealth imbalance just don't matter.
4%
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Thom's Blog Is On the Move
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Hello All
Thom's blog in this space and moving to a new home.
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From Unequal Protection, 2nd Edition:
"If you wonder why and when giant corporations got the power to reign supreme over us, here’s the story."
From The Thom Hartmann Reader:
"With the ever-growing influence of corporate CEOs and their right-wing allies in all aspects of American life, Hartmann’s work is more relevant than ever. Throughout his career, Hartmann has spoken compellingly about the value of people-centered democracy and the challenges that millions of ordinary Americans face today as a result of a dogma dedicated to putting profit above all else. This collection is a rousing call for Americans to work together and put people first again."
Who are the 5 % who voted NO ? Yikes We are in worse shape than I even thought
Democracy is currently experiencing it's death throws. I think this struggle will be a threefold issue, first, Progressives will be attacked by Government, The Rich, & The radical right/Tea Partiers. second, News agncies will destort the issues and information to blame the progressives as the radicals. The democratic party move move further right, and eventually the middle class will completely disappear, and Thomas Jefferson & Orwell will be proven correct.
Each of us needs to serve as examples for a more authentic society. The struggles between political parties is so severe that little or no communication exists between them. With a dominant Corporatocracy running both parties, especially evident in the RepubliCON party, the scene is set for a GREED versus NEED societal mush and the conflicts therefrom.
I propose that we need to go partyless and to have term limits in all political offices as two ways to attend to the GREED-NEED dicotomy.
To put the appropriate sting into this partyless system, term limits installed at all levels of political life (Federal, State, Local) would do wonders to bring a level of participation in Democracy that does not now exist. Imagine what it would be like if an elected congressperson did not, from day one, look to the next election, but was performing as if this were the last term, which it would be. In this scheme, there would be no pensions for the one term politician in congress or the presidency, applying the one term rule, and those elected for their one term would, at long last, be in this for the service to his/ her country. The economy for the non-pensioned politician would, in itself, save millions for tax-payers. In this brave appropriate world, the same one term limit would also apply to justices, supreme or otherwise, who would be elected by the people and not appointed for life. Real change requires a new reality that is based on a participatory democracy which goes way, way beyond anything that now exists.Sooner than later, 85% of all issues would be voted on by the population of all voters, thus emphasizing real Democracy at work. The Presidential revolving committee serving as The President, would only be advisory and would take its issues to the voting public. I dream of a better America in so many ways and look to that betterment with enthusiasm.
I voted yes, but I'm not sure. I think there are a lot of people like me, who some days just feel so beaten down, who've been out of a job for so long (over five years in my case), that if it hasn't happened by now, will it ever?
I believe wealth inequality in America is hurdling our nation toward civil unrest. It appears that we are in danger of losing a large swath of the middle class if we haven't already done so but I am particularly concerned about the segments of American population that are on the fringe -- groups who are especially vulnerable are the elderly, children, uneducated minorities, felons, physically and mentally disabled, homeless, the incarcerated -- if history gives us any insight into the future, these groups will bear the brunt of the turbulent times ahead and some may even be blamed and used as scape goats
The people currently in power are aware of what they wre doing and will continue the "bread an circuses" or "Walmart and cable" sufficiently to keep things from going that far.
And by the way did
Zbigniew Brezinski really misuse the word hurdling??? It should be hurtling, no?
The Republicans are "INTENTIONALLY" collapsing America, and it should be obvious to anyone willing to open their eyes. They were 100% responsible for the criminal financial partial collapse of America in 2008, and they are now attacking everything that matters to the people, as they give tax cuts to the rich and corporations. If they win the election in 2012, they will quickly finish america off.
My question is, why are the American people not rebelling against this Republican attack on the people including the seniors. Is no one going to stop these "EVIL" people. Are the American people really going to give the power back to the people who are intentionally collapsing America? I just cant believe my eyes.
Is the reality that the United States has now become a naked Oligarchy leading us towards Civil Unrest? Only a fool who has been robbed blind and who plays by the rules only to find that playing by rules means nothing when the game is rigged would NOT engage in civil unrest. I don't think the question is whether or not we are headed for civil unrest...that's a given...the better question would be are we heading towards a full-blown violent revolution. And to that question I would guess that we are.
@dianhow They are paid right wing trolls who visit progressive sites and attempt to show that there is a contingency of average income Americans who actually believe right wing mumbo jumbo. Thom's boards are chalked full of these shills.
Dr. Brezinski is absolutely correct. The veneer of civilization is thinner than most people realize and the Republicans are working hard at making it even thinner.
The last civil war was fought over what? The nice answer is "to end slavery" and is correct from the moral perspective. However there are enough historians that acknowledge the war was fought over competing economic philosophies (to use the cheap labor of free people in factories over using slaves on yesterday's equivalent of factory-farms) to have resonance with where we stand today. Meaning the brink on which we stand today.
The monied interests were denied the cheapest form of labor — slaves — by that last war, and are mightily struggling to put the next best thing in place: We the Peasants. This 30+ year long effort by the monied elites is an attempt to end democracy and replace it with a new corporate fuedal state (literally a variance of Fascism, by definition). And they are very nearly there. They, as a class, are acting so boldly (re: WI, MI, VA, etc.) because they know how close to their goal they are already.
The majority of WTP needs to wake up to that fact, and maybe we are starting to wake up. Civil unrest will surely follow that waking if our elected representatives do not start heeding our plight and act on our behalf in defense of our way of governing.