28 April 2015

Joblessness, Repression, Inequality, and Despair: Striking at the Root of the Problem


I was struck by this today. It was so pointed that I initially thought it was a hoax.

When we hear President Obama and the Congress publicly admitting their egregious top down stimulus and political policy errors in the service of Big Money, then we will know that reform is nearer to hand.
 
Serving the one percent is one of the few bipartisan efforts of the greedy and corrupt Washington.

But do not hold your breath for it.  They know.   But they are two faced, and caught in a credibility trap.

How meaningful that the rich and powerful are celebrating their success at the Michael Milken Conference today. Milken!

And the President was cheerleading the Trans-Pacific Trade Agreement with Japan PM Abe at the White House.

When the time comes for a banquet of consequences they will all say, 'Who could have seen this coming?"

Orioles COO John Angelos offers eye-opening perspective on Baltimore protests
By Ted Berg
April 27, 2015

Brett, speaking only for myself, I agree with your point that the principle of peaceful, non-violent protest and the observance of the rule of law is of utmost importance in any society. MLK, Gandhi, Mandela and all great opposition leaders throughout history have always preached this precept. Further, it is critical that in any democracy, investigation must be completed and due process must be honored before any government or police members are judged responsible.

That said, my greater source of personal concern, outrage and sympathy beyond this particular case is focused neither upon one night’s property damage nor upon the acts, but is focused rather upon the past four-decade period during which an American political elite have shipped middle class and working class jobs away from Baltimore and cities and towns around the U.S. to third-world dictatorships like China and others, plunged tens of millions of good, hard-working Americans into economic devastation, and then followed that action around the nation by diminishing every American’s civil rights protections in order to control an unfairly impoverished population living under an ever-declining standard of living and suffering at the butt end of an ever-more militarized and aggressive surveillance state.

The innocent working families of all backgrounds whose lives and dreams have been cut short by excessive violence, surveillance, and other abuses of the Bill of Rights by government pay the true price, and ultimate price, and one that far exceeds the importance of any kids’ game played tonight, or ever, at Camden Yards. We need to keep in mind people are suffering and dying around the U.S., and while we are thankful no one was injured at Camden Yards, there is a far bigger picture for poor Americans in Baltimore and everywhere who don’t have jobs and are losing economic civil and legal rights, and this makes inconvenience at a ballgame irrelevant in light of the needless suffering government is inflicting upon ordinary Americans.

This is from USA Today.