Posted at 11:08 PM PST
Howdy, Pardners…
A month ago, the most important political issue in the universe was health care. Somewhere along the line, President Obama, the Democrats, and the progressives realized that continuing with this issue was useless… they were beating a long-dead horse. So “jobs” became the new most important political issue in the universe.
The issue resonates strongly with the underclasses and the paycheck-to-paycheck middle classes, because they’re the ones who have taken the brunt of the de-industrialization of America.
The financial speculators, multi-national Corporations, and mercantile oligarchy haven’t really noticed this problem, because to be quite honest; they don’t see what the problem is. The stock market is rising, the Corporations are making profits, and the members of the mercantile oligarchy are buying new McMansions. They live in a bubble that doesn’t include those who have to work two or three jobs just to get by.
The gap between the rich and the poor is widening, and the masses are starting to dimly notice that things might not be exactly right.
Unfortunately, the working classes have been thoroughly indoctrinated to believe that if left alone (if government regulations are removed), the rich will suddenly become compassionate human beings, and that the invisible hand of the market will balance everything out. They’ve been told that it’s the labor unions and big government that have caused their problems.
Yes, yes, yes… They hold their belief that the “Free Market Economy” is on par with patriotism and Christianity.
This is bullshit. There is absolutely NOTHING in history that supports this delusional propaganda. In fact, history proves time and again that increased ruthlessness and a lack of compassion are the direct results of giving rich people more money.
There was a time when they might have noticed, but America is no longer the only mass consumer nation in the world. Places like India, Russia, and China are slowly being turned into consumer cultures and that emerging and horrifically large market dwarfs anything that Americans can provide. In short, they don’t need an American market to support their profits.
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So our workers cry out… “When will industry come back to America?”
Ah, the sad truth…..
Industrial jobs didn’t leave America. They just moved into countries that were “business friendly” (no labor or tax regulations) and populated by millions of poor desperate people who live in cardboard shacks… and who are willing to work in any job… in any conditions, for any pay.
Get it? Sure you do.
Industry will come back to America when America has millions of poor desperate people who live in cardboard shacks… and who willing to work in any job… in any conditions, for any pay. They will come back when the large portion of our American population actually considers illegally entering Mexico for better job opportunities… jobs generally provided by American Corporations with industrial jobs located in Mexico.
It’s not a conspiracy, and it’s not personal. It’s just business.
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It’s all ugly. Right now, the government is subsidizing “green” industries here in America. These industries don’t really provide that many real jobs, and as soon as the government stops the subsidies, the involved Corporations will move their manufacturing jobs overseas. Again, it’s just business.
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What can we do? To be honest, I don’t know. As an historian, I see it only as another evolution in the relationship between governments and citizens… management and workers. Chaos once worked. Aristocracy and nobility worked well with feudalism. Slaves were a profitable work force for hundreds of years. Communism failed. Unrestrained capitalism crushed workers during the Industrial age. After WWI, the labor movement made great strides, but were finally demolished under the Reagan administration. Real wages have either stagnated or dropped in the past three decades.
America has gone from an agrarian economy, to a manufacturing economy, to… finally… a service economy.
Servants for the members of the oligarchy.
A mercantile oligarchy, whose only goal is to create a poor desperate pool of workers.
This is the world we leave to our children and grandchildren.
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There might be one move that might at least forestall this slide into third-world status, and that would be to create a market for American made, Union made, consumer products. I mean, the members of the oligarchy might be heartless and cruel, but they aren’t stupid. If they see a profitable market for American made, Union made, products… they’ll move their assembly lines back to America.
But that isn’t going to happen. That would require millions of Americans to stop buying cheap crap that was made by desperate foreign workers. It would require them to pay more for, or god forbid, do without their cheap plastic crap. Just ain’t gonna happen.
They’d rather vote for Sarah Palin and hope for a fucking miracle.
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Good luck with all that. By the way, did you know that the Republicans are floating a bill that would eliminate Medicare and privatized Social Security? Yup, the poor just aren’t becoming poor enough… fast enough.
Have a day.
Riley
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