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Guest Post: America: Why Aren't You Protesting
Submitted by Andrew Smolski of OilPrice.com
America: Why Aren't You Protesting
As noted by Richard Heinberg on June 22nd, 2011, the media has lacked
the ability to connect the economic situations in the Middle East and
their uprisings to what is happening in Europe. I would avoid the word
“Revolution” in the case of the Middle Eastern uprisings, seeing as no
dramatic systemic changes have taken place, only the ousting of
dictators. Same as I would avoid the words of social upheaval in the
case of European protests, which have been quite calm and only demanding
to maintain the social safety nets produced through years of labor
struggle. Rather, the odd occurrence is the ostensibly quiet population
of the United States who are in many cases having the same economic
problems and austerity based government solutions. This is a place where
the media does want to ask the public the question, “Why aren’t you
protesting?”
Effectively in the United States the labor movement has been
dismantled over 30 years through multiple policies, the main one being
“Right-to-Work” laws, which have left only 6.9% of private sector
workers in unions, and 36.2% of public sector workers in unions. This
has correlated as well to a 30 year stagnation in wages, which has
barely kept pace with inflation, leaving many with the option of
accumulating debt buttressed by a free flowing credit policy. That
points to a problem when consumer spending accounts anywhere from
40%-70% of the economy (whether or not you wish to count government
spending which is done through the aggregation of taxes from said
consumers). Even if the low end number of 40% is the truth of the
matter, it is large stake in the economy and plays a disproportionate
role in the health of the economy as a whole.
The importance of wage and debt is linked to the economy having a
large consumer component, which is basically like the gas to the engine,
it keeps things in motion. According to the Federal Reserve, Household
Debt is far greater than disposable income, basically at a ratio where
consumers are maxed out. Connect this with the Weltanschauung (world
outlook) of consumers at the moment, according to the Rasmussen Consumer
Index, 61% of the US population see the economy as getting worse.
Basically, you have a massive Molotov cocktail being thrown at the
economy. The wage trend is not reversing, as noted by Paul Craig Roberts
and Shadow Government Statistics, new jobs are typically in non-value
added labor (service economy), with an industrial sector shedding jobs
as they are outsourced to countries with cheaper labor and laxer
regulations (or harsher authoritarian regimes).
When unemployment is calculated correctly it stands nearer to 16-17%,
and high-value labor is not returning to employ most of these people,
but only the non-value added labor. Without wages and jobs, how is 40%
(roughly 5.9 trillion dollars) of 14.7 trillion dollars going to be
maintained. Possibly through Citigroup’s idea of a Plutonomy, where the
economy services only 20% of the population. However, wouldn’t that lead
to political instability in a country that in a form stabilizes the
world economy through dollar supremacy and also US treasury bonds (one
of the safest investments).
With all this being the trend, and each recession taking longer to
reach normal employment levels, where is the social reaction in the
United States in comparison to Europe and the Middle East, which were
experiencing (and still are) similar situations. A large part of the
blame can be laid at the feet of the media who have downplayed protests
calling for stimulus and national reinvestment from the grassroots and
economists such as Paul Krugman, Josepsh Stiglitz, Robert Reich, and
Mike Whitney. Stimulus having the point of proper regulations (neither
over or under-regulated, but well regulated), and bringing back
value-added jobs which maintain the advancement in Science &
Technology. At the same time the media has overrated the Tea Party
movement which has been calling for the implementation of the same
policies which have been followed since Regean.
These were bad solutions to growth stagnation at the end of the 70’s
and still are in the present. Cutting taxes and eviscerating regulation
produced large mountains of government debt and has not increased the
number of middle class workers (rather decreased that number). Those
people, Tea Partiers and so-called Conservatives, do not understand the
first thing about economics and are just rabid ideologues spouting words
that make semiotics professors mouths’ water. But, not all the blame
can be placed on the media, it also is a lack of political will on the
part of the politicians, and large propaganda campaigns by corporate
America. What has happened is a corporatization of American politics,
especially after Citizens United case, but even before, as rampant
individualism and greed have taken root into the American culture in a
corrosive manner.
A quick glance at the historical record shows that when the elites
begin to siphon off more and more of the surplus, social movements were
typically the norm. This creates instability and opens doors to collapse
of power and markets, the internal structure of a nation. The new
rulers are the multi-nationals, and they are not nationalist. As they
exist without borders, they are not worried about political or economic
instability in a single country.
The new rulers do not have any real party affiliation, and neither
party adheres to the political philosophy they claim, they are all
corporatists now. And this is the fundamental reason why America is so
silent. The people are behind history, they are standing in the trashed
piled high by the Angel of History, which always progresses forward, not
understanding their old paradigm does not operate properly anymore.
They do not believe a government is meant to regulate an economy, that
is for the markets. Yet they want a government, just not to impinge on
their right to be greedy at all costs.
What then is left to this government that has no purpose within the economic sector?
Militarism and policing, which has never been good for a government
to occupy all it’s time with. The other function has been for the
government to siphon money through taxes (by having one of the highest
corporate tax rates which can be avoided with a legion of lawyers), into
corporations. This is shown by the revelations about GE. GE had
American profits of $5.1 billion, paid 0% in taxes, and received a tax
benefit of $3.2 billion, but I am almost certain it is using roads,
electric and water systems, and other American taxpayer produced
resources free of charge. So, yes Americans are going the Tea Party
route, because they do not trust government, not recognizing that the
line between Governments and Corporations have been obliterated over the
last 30 years.
What does all this mean for political and economic stability in the U.S.?
It looks like a long brimstone filled road, unless somebody can grow a
pair to start making a proper political discourse in that beacon of
light on a hill, that republic from 1776. There are many people who are
shareholders and need to recognize that collapse economically in the US,
means a collapse in their portfolio. And stakeholders as well need to
recognize that it is their tax dollars being turned into profits (money
begetting money) rather than value-added goods and infrastructure
development. These are the last people with any clout, because obviously
the rap line is the only mantra left in the US, “Money Talks, Bullshit
Walks.”
Otherwise as the system deteriorates even further, massive protests
will happen, but with a narcissistic victim hood component where people
are finding someone else to blame, ultimately not accepting
responsibility for misunderstanding or being blatantly ignorant about
the link between politics and economics. With money moving freely around
the world, markets will react as markets like to react, dropping dollar
supremacy, moving investments to other countries with a better “order”,
and leaving a highly militarized and narcissistically angry society
holding nothing but guns and their broken dreams.
By. Andrew Smolski
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Amerika's democracy,
every four years choose between two piles of shit
in the meantime...
Proles are sedated with cheap beer, pornography & lottery (1984)
Because they've got us all scared about our credit score. Get arrested and it'll inadvertantly affect your auto/home/life/health insurance, your interest rate or even ability to have a credit card or two, etc. Plus, we're busy. And until it (unemployment) hits you personally, you just keep your head down.
But, when it comes - and come it will, it will be just like a dam breaking. Sudden, violent, and utterly astounding in terms of its destructive appetite. And its too hot right now - maybe next week....gotta go, millions on welfare are depending on me.
Is it time for me to do anything?
Lumpen Prolitariet
Rap News #7 - America Revolts
http://www.youtube.com/watch?annotation_id=annotation_5170&v=b66u-mzfBPE
Why?
We are a very fortunate society. Lavashly rich compared to most around the globe. Creating an patient apathy as we sit back and watch things unwind.
I believe this is a false apathy, however.
Should the country default and some major financial calamity occur wiping out everyone's savings, investments, etc. I think you'd see an incredibly motivated force that will plunge this country into a significantly greater level of chaos than you see in any country currently experiencing a revolt. It will be deadly and take years to settle out.
the truth is our government can wait for us to get restless. They have all the exotic weapons (microwaves, noise machines, tasers, bean bag shotguns, mace, tear gas, rubber bullets, baton beating, water guns) at their disposal along with the city, county and state police force who love to beat meat besides their wives.
After they beat the living shit out of you for protesting, they'll charge you with something ridiculous. You'll might be left disabled and with a criminal record. You'll never get a decent job. You'll be a marked man. And that's the optimistic version! Believe me....I KNOW this from experience.
The only thing that will stop them is numbers. Massive amounts of bodies fully prepared for peaceful civil disobedience.
I'll start a list of protestor wannabees. Just let me know....(wink, wink)
>> The only thing that will stop them is numbers. Massive amounts of bodies fully prepared for peaceful civil disobedience.
Wrong, the only thing that will stop them are numbers of RIFLEMEN. Until you see bullets flying and dead cops all over the streets you are not going to see change.
Peaceful civil disobedience only works in civilized nations. When the shit hits the fan here, the police state will NOT be civilized about it.
well Rhino civil disobedience does work,
the bigger the crowd the better
violence just gives the government an excuse to hit back
read up on Ghandi, or if you don't have time, watch the movie
Gandhi went down with a bullet in his stomach.
So obviously he did something to inspire violence.
There is not a single example in nature of non-violent protest. It is a decadent, uniquely religious, form of denial of reality.
When Ghandi was asked what would happen if he were dealing with Hitler, he spoke plainly. "We would lose." But then added a world class WTF in the form of "but eventually we would win." Yeah right.
I never met a corpse who was concerned about victory.
I don't really understand the question. Which side would I protest? I hate the government, but I also hate the unions, probably hate them even more, in fact. I grew up in a union household. My dad had disputes with them all the time. There were death threats and he got into some fights with various union members. Frankly, I would never join a union or support a union after that experience. They can all eat a dick.
Chemtrails must be working.....
...Excellent.!!!!
Aside from the media hype obummer phony debit ceiling crisis, protest for something that matters. American service personal returning from wars in foreign lands in boxes, fighting for something they themselves might not understand, now that is something to protest.
in fact Americans should be protesting their elected governments ongoing entanglements in foreign wars to protect oil. I cannot believe it has been allowed this long. 30 years ago I waited for the government draft to select my number and heading me to Vietnam, or headed myself to Canada, in the meantime I burned a draft card, picked up a sign and marched too the capital steps. Where is the outrage?, Where the f--k is it?
We're too occupied. Think about the number of different things most people had to do then--without 200 cable channels, ipods, home theater, computers and internet (which itself connects us to the wonders of social media, internet dating, video games, blogs like ZH, virtually endless content.) I watched three or four movies from the early-mid 70's last week and was reminded. By modern standards, it was "primitive." They didn't even have cell phones--they had to go hunting for a phone to make a call. Think about what that was like.
We've been wired, man. Welcome to the information age.
When I really remember that world I used to live in back then, it strikes me that I--literally--process 10,000 more data per day than I used to.
We may look like slugs, but we're exhausted by the pace of life together with the variety of personally compelling activities that consume us.
Protesting? Let me make this clear. All you need are 1000. At that number you can burn any city to ash.
Protesting is for children, war requires heros. All heros end up dead.
Protest? As in on the street? Not without money and organization.
Somethings require planning and money. Protesting is one of them got a BBQ? An army walks on its stomach. So does a crowd.
If you want a revolution you need food. Food means BBQ.
double post
I appreciate the thoughts here, but I think standing on the street corner with a sign bearing a cleverly phrased vitriolic slogan is about as useless of a protest as not paying your taxes. [Note: I'm assuming that when you say 'protest' you mean people angry and out in the streets.]
In order to undermine our current adversary, I believe we must be much sneakier and much more unified than ever before. Think about something along the lines of project mayhem. You get those tea-party-people out there; half of them have no idea of what is spewing from their mouths. You can forget about asking them to come up with a congruent direction for their movement.
The very concept of what protesting means needs to be updated and understood by all who would participate before we (the people) can do anything meaningful with respect to changing the paradigm.
Disclaimer: dear big brother, I am in no way advocating any type of action that could be considered by you or other authorities to be wrong, immoral, illegal, silly, or subversive. That would be bad if I did that. This is a thought exercise. So please, eff off.
What if we organized a specific day to unite all cognoscenti we know, and join AnonPlus.
Fuck Google+, FaceBook, and Twitter
'We fully deserve the government that we have..'
Why only NFL? Most folks want to be entertained all their lives.
Facebook & Ipad are tools with which to ensure an endless stream of entertainment.
I wonder sometimes where ZH gets some of this progressive drivel, between this post and some of the Ilene stuff amounting to complete nonsense.
The media is the dots, doing the banksters bidding. A quick look thru the CFR member list should make everything clear.
As should be noted here, we have the right and ability to speak our minds to who ever will listen. There is the ability to vote, with your feet if necessary. There is the ability to boycott-------- like maybe a certain bank or news network. MLK works.
Between the heavy doses of fluoride in our drinking water and the heavy doses of propaganda on our Telescreens we don't stand a chance.
I wonder if TPTB drink Fluoridated water, or use Fluoridated tooth paste? This wonderful poison has a history going back to Concentration Camps in Germany and Russia in WWII. Really people, do you think your free? Or just a voluntary Debt-slave?
For about 5 months now I have been frantically searching for info on what is going wrong. Before that time I thought all was pretty well in this country. I sometimes think back with amazement at how different my thinking is now that 5 months ago. Because there is no info on TV about how bad things really are, many probably just don't know.
Additionally I do believe the lack of awakening here is due to poisoning. Before I gave up the corporate chow diet I was in horrible shape; all swelled up all the time and feeling no energy. I'm sure it varies with individual genetics, but I was horribly affected by the poison. My husband was a bit differently affected than I. He was very stressed out on the corporate diet, to the point that he was going a bit nuts. I'm sure it wasn't just us. I bet more people are affected by all the non-foods put into the foods, and maybe the flouride in the water. I think this poisoning is the real reason people aren't waking up here.
Many here just talk about how lazy they are, but I know if they are effected to the extent my husband and I were, that it is more than laziness.
Good old American exceptionalism. City on a hill. Horatio Alger. We all want to be the scumbag banksters. Oh wait. I am one.
Vietnam war protesting didn't cost me a dime and 10's of thousands showed up. The difference is a generation to today that the American media isn't leading it's 6:00 pm news and the protest doesn't make the front pages of newspapers. The seeds have been sown for one heck of a protest, get me off this post and count me in.
Why would americans be protesting? They're able to stay at home without a job, receive a govt check, govt tuition, govt food and not pay their mortgages? What the fuck do we have to protest over?
Maybe the future threat of reduced SSI benefits? Give me a break!
Americans will start to protest when the govt hind tit dries up and that won't happen until the ability of the govt to borrow unlimited amounts ends. I mean it great to go out and spend money you don't have! Everybody loves that because it gratification without labor.
We've got 20% of the population that lives a pretty good life and doesn't need to work for it and the rest live a pretty good life now too.
What this guy seems to be arguing is that US citizens should be protesting in the streets over the threat that a new credit card offer won't be coming in the mail this month and I won't be able to roll my balance over.
No protests until there is real pain. Look at the middle east and europe. Same story.
I look at it differently.
During the '30's Great Depression the communists tried to incite revolt and all they got were yawns and get-outa-my-face. People wanted jobs, not handouts.
The reason there aren't more Americans protesting today is because we're not "european," in that we are not accustomed to, or even inclined toward, making demands on our governments. We leave that nonsense to the French. Or the Greeks. We think they're spoiled and lazy.
(As for the ones who DO agitate for the government to "do something," you'd be surprised to learn how many public agitators are Feds pretending to be Reds.)
If anything Americans protest to be left alone. Many protest silently by abdicating the System. Once the "tea party" protesters discover the government doesn't care what they think, and that voting doesn't work, they'll join the underground. It's already happening.
Even though Americans are getting more government handouts than ever before, the American anti-government belligerence remains. The most recent unemployment and food stamp recipients are not "grateful." They resent the hell out of the government for putting them in this position (by allowing too many jobs to be outsourced, too many immigrants, etc).
IMHO we're frigging doomed, economically at least, whether we protest or not. The situation is not fixable. Protesting is a waste of precious time and calories that could be better spent building a solar generator, starting a garden and getting to know one's neighbors.
How has protesting worked? It's just theater. You have to take it to the next level for any real change to happen. At that point the game will be over because the military will be brought in.
I believe that it was Kurt Vonnegut who said that the essential American experience is high school.
My question to you is this: Do you happen to know any high school kids running around in adult bodies? Personally, I'm surrounded by them.
When you get this you'll understand why there will not be a "revolution" in the USA. High school kids don't run revolutions - they party dude.
And, when they're stressed as adults, they go to the mall (or talk big about guns and ammo at ZH) - - -
I'm protesting right now by participating in this forum. I protested last Wednesday by shopping at my local farmers market. I protest daily by making financial choices limiting my exposure to taxes. I protest by trading my FRN's for PM's and other commodities that have traditionally stored value during hard times. I protest by homeschooling my children so they are not indoctrinated into the club of ignorance that I myself have spent so many years fighting through. There's more than one way to skin this cat and it is prudent to not skin oneself in the process as long as can be avoided.
"Effectively in the United States the labor movement has been dismantled over 30 years through multiple policies, the main one being 'Right-to-Work' laws, which have left only 6.9% of private sector workers in unions, and 36.2% of public sector workers in unions."
How about we think a little further down the road than the tip of our socialist or fascist noses? So, let's say that 40 or 50% of the private sector labor in this country is unionized. Then there would be just that many more unemployed union workers. Why? Because all of the jobs would have moved overseas or to places where labor does not demand so much. Then you might retort 'but if that happened we would just institute tariffs and trade barriers'. Maybe we would, but then hardly anybody would be able to buy all those products because they would simply be too expensive and then people would be laid off and then less people would buy product. Rinse and repeat.
And then we have the public sector unions. Isn't this one of the main reasons that the government budget is so bloated? I am really amazed at the ignorance regarding this. Public Unions get all of their benefits paid by us. There is no magical money tree here (well, the Fed tries). Even if they are asked to pay more towards their retirement they are paying it in money earned from the tax payers.
"Connect this with the Weltanschauung (world outlook) of consumers at the moment, according to the Rasmussen Consumer Index, 61% of the US population see the economy as getting worse."
Well, no schmidt Sherlock! The one fact that most politicians fail to grasp is that there will be no 'closure' for the public until they know that the system has been purged of toxic sludge. In other words, most of us know that the economy is a house of cards built on sand. This will not change no matter what type of perceptions that Washington tries to create with fudged numbers and tweaked reporting. At least a large minority of Americans realize that nothing is really being addressed so long as the TBTF's have to use 'Mark to Fantasy' accounting to remain afloat, the government is spending 1.5 trillion more than it takes in and there is huge overhanging public and private debt.
"where is the social reaction in the United States in comparison to Europe and the Middle East, which were experiencing (and still are) similar situations."
It is called apathy and cover your @$$. A healthy chunk of the populace is afraid to make waives.
"Cutting taxes and eviscerating regulation produced large mountains of government debt and has not increased the number of middle class workers (rather decreased that number)."
Eviscerating regulation? We have more regulation now than we ever had. It is the fact that the regulation we have is not enforced.
"Those people, Tea Partiers and so-called Conservatives, do not understand the first thing about economics and are just rabid ideologues spouting words..."
Showing your true colors here.
"So, yes Americans are going the Tea Party route, because they do not trust government, not recognizing that the line between Governments and Corporations have been obliterated over the last 30 years."
I believe they do know this and are taking the politicians to task for it.
Also, you mention Richard Heinberg but totally fail to acknowledge that he is a proponent of a responsible energy policy and has lectured many times about peak oil. You don't even mention the fact that energy, especially oil, is at the very root of most of our economic problems. Many of the actions of the 'elite' are based on the presumption of ever decreasing availability of cheap oil and these actions are meant to mitigate the affect it will have on them.
A 5-star reply to a 1-star piece of drivel. Protests are being waged and congress is getting the message. They might be too dysfunctional to act, but they are aware of the public angst.
Thanks. You know, I think we might want to consider Congress not enacting some bogus plan as something we put in the win column.
It is actually pretty simple. Two issues – (1) those who are being hurt the most are also the ones receiving on a percentage basis the most of their monthly income from Government transfer payments. They are afraid to rock the boat least they find themselves without.
(2) These same people are also not paying attention to the news because they are too busy working and worrying about making their payments. They are angry but feel helpless.
Protest by not paying your mortgages until the banks show u they own the note. I am amazed that Bank of America had the audasity to tell me: (1) we sold your note, (2) you have no right to see the note that was sold, and (3) the note remains in full force and effect. Wanna bet?
They sent me a "copy" of the note that was assigned "in blank" meaning they could not tell me who they assigned it to. Do you think I "owe" Bank of America payments now - after they sold the note but tell me to pay them anyway?
I think you can protest by using "pay online" at Bank of America by sending $1 at a time when the bill is $100. Make them pay the processing. Pay your HOA in rolls of nickels. Cancel your credit cards and negotiate a settlement. be creative and do things that are legal but irritating.
Or just simply walk away from your credit cards as a form of protest saying: "fuck you mr bankster".
"Americans are going the Tea Party route, because they do not trust government, not recognizing that the line between Governments and Corporations have been obliterated over the last 30 years."
So the left's solution is to give the government even more power??
The author of this article is mistaken about the tea party -- they want free markets, not the crony corporatism we see today with authoritarian central planning by corrupt politicians and bureaucrats led by their corporate, globalist masters.
Mistaken about a few things actually....as I point out above.
"This is a place where the media does want to ask the public the question, “Why aren’t you protesting?”"
What? The author seems to honestly presume that the media in Amerika are not wholly-owned subsidiaries of the neo-fuedal lords that also run the government. How can anyone expect "the Media" to ask anything of substance, when they haven't for 30 years?
A few have asked important questions in the last decade and were rewarded with pink slips or dis-invitations to the WH. Absolutely verbotten in the modern state of merged goverment and untouchable corporatists.
And it's not called the idiot box because it makes people smarter...
one reason you are not seeing mass protests in the West would no doubt be because, whichever side of politics one might think 'caused' the problem, about half the country voted for it. so what is there to protest against?
with, say, the GFC, the policy response was commenced by a Republican president, and continued in the same way by a Democratic one. the Fed would do the same irrespective of who is the Chairman, because the Fed, contrary to the impression gained on this website, is actually doing its specified job. one side just cant stop building up the military and invading; the other side cant stop redistributing wealth domestically. they both have roughly the same number of voters, and they are all equally to blame.
the USA is a special case: everywhere else in the world, everyone votes. in the USA, only a small fraction of people can even bother going to a polling station. as if they are going to 'mass protest'! get real.
Fear of losing their job or losing their govt handout or being arrested.
Apathy, denial, mental exhaustion, feeling of being powerless and/or ignorance.
Until a group of people become so outraged (as they did in Arizona with illegals), nothing significant will happen.
Secession state by state is still a powerful option to effect serious change.
the explanation is quite simple:
1) subsidized food
2) subsidized fuel
3) subsidized meds
4) incessant distractions
and if you make through all of these, there is still the sense that there is no way to make a meaningful impact on our completely corrupted and twisted system anyway.
did that distill it down for you enough?
“Why aren’t you protesting?” Could it be Americans are:
1) scared shitless of SWAT or BalckWater busting down their doors in the middle of the night?
2) scared shitless of getting shot by militarized riot police while protesting downtown?
3) or just fucking ignorant, dumb and lazy?
you need masses of ignorant dumb irrationally emotional folks to do the actual protesting, but they are captured by the ultra wealthy (via tea party funds) before upper middle class could unite with them.
Unfortunately, things will have to get much worse to even have a chance. Plus, Americans will need foreign assistance who also would like to throw the American elites overboard.
No wonder RT (Russian Television) is reporting real news with criticism of banksters, while American mass media is covering everything up. Sad that communist kleptocratic Russians elites and muslims middle east elites have now aligned interests with American middle class against their common enemy: corrupt American upper class banksters.
I seriously question whether protest as a outlet for societal discontent has any efficacy whatsoever. Protest as a populist medium had some arguable effectiveness in the mid 20th century. In a surveillance police state it has almost none (as in zero) effectiveness. I know not everyone will agree with the following statement, but many of you will. IMhO this is the endgame. Not just for the United States but for all of western civilization. We are entering a barbaric age, a time of crumbling governments beholden to corrupt oligarchs and special interst groups, and subject to the violence of invading hoards (witness what happened in Oslo today).
In such an environment characterized by greed, corruption, unemployment, and decay what utilitarian purpose can the act of "protest" be put to? You see of course that any notion of achieving social progress during a barbarian age is utterly ridiculous. It would be like the citizens of Rome walking around with T-shirts saying Visiogths Out! Or organizing a leaflet campaign to stop Caesar shaving gold coins. As I said, utterly ridiculous.
Nor is goal-oriented violence anything more than naive bluff and bluster. A tea-party fantasy of restoring the glory of the former republic. It's not going to happen. You can't fix a system this broken by any means. $17 trillion in debt just to get to the next election in 2012?!? Followed by a $20 trillion debt the year after that?!? C'mon. There is only ONE option left for a system in terminal decay and that is for it to crumble to dust and fade into the pages of history. See you on the other side of history.
Protesting won't change anything. Did nobody here notice how 100 year old banks went out of business silently and without warning, when others withdrew their business?
All we need to do is opt out. The system is extremely fragile. Most banks and many other corporations have tremendous leverage. So they can't weather a small decrease in business. All "we the people" have to do is boycott them. Stop using credit. Buy only what we need. Stop feeding the beast and it all comes tumbling down... without firing a shot.
You want to go fight the cops? Go get your head busted -- fine with me. But when you're ready to actually accomplish something, opt out in numbers and watch the cop's get laid off in droves.
Because the checks continue.
This government is keeping alive 20-40% of this population.
The day it stops, the streets run red.
FUCK YOU CIA....
I am sure they are reading "why the American people are not protesting"
The majority of Americans (especially young people ) are pampered with toys and cars. Its like everyone is living in this world of hedonistic optimism. This state is doing better than the rest of the country (Massachusetts) and unemployment is only 7.6% where not only are people receiving multiple job offers in their fields but recruiters are constantly saying that they are having trouble finding qualified people. Why would people protest?? every young person seems to have multiple smart phones, rides around the city on $3,000 road bikes and usually owns (or their family owns) a summer home on the cape or on the coast of Rhode Island. I talked about my experience when I was that age -- yes I did run up the credit cards to over $70,000 but I did take full responsibility for those actions unlike most people who want to blame a job loss or medical bill when in reality it is just reckless overspending..
I have to say that it does seem like everyone is walking around in this world of hedonistic optimism -- you know when one is pampered and they have their every material need taken care of
The majority of Americans (especially young people ) are pampered with toys and cars. Its like everyone is living in this world of hedonistic optimism. This state is doing better than the rest of the country (Massachusetts) and unemployment is only 7.6% where not only are people receiving multiple job offers in their fields but recruiters are constantly saying that they are having trouble finding qualified people. Why would people protest?? every young person seems to have multiple smart phones, rides around the city on $3,000 road bikes and usually owns (or their family owns) a summer home on the cape or on the coast of Rhode Island. I talked about my experience when I was that age -- yes I did run up the credit cards to over $70,000 but I did take full responsibility for those actions unlike most people who want to blame a job loss or medical bill when in reality it is just reckless overspending..
I have to say that it does seem like everyone is walking around in this world of hedonistic optimism -- you know when one is pampered and they have their every material need taken care of..
With regard to this whole thing?? because anyone with half a brain knows that it is all complete political theater and just posturing. No, granny will not starve to death because of no SS check.. college kids will still be able to live life to the max partially subsidized by the tax payer via 'federal student loans' and the 48% of those who pay no taxes will still pay no taxes while the armies of retail workers (much of the retail industry is a jobs program since the trend now is for buying discretionary items online) will get their EITC payments
Another government-is-the-solution, only-academics-understand-economics rant.
Save it for the faculty bbq professor.
I lived in Europe for 30 years before coming to the U.S. (Germany and Greece). I had 4 different small businesses there.
Protests are bullshit. It's a confirmation of subjection to the "King". A bunch of clueless kids with a very tolerant police force.
The best feature of America that balances the situation and gives an advantage to Americans in terms of quality of life, is local government and the rights of the individual. Protests don't work in Europe, with very few exceptions (massive, violent), and even in this case, the governments just "re-shuffled the deal".
Europeans think collectivelly and in terms of a "dreamy socialism" which never existed. They may look more educated to you, but they are not efficient. If you have studied 10 different ways to tie your shoes, and then can't decide, your shoes remain untied and you say "I'm very educated" - while you fall down every 10 steps.
The U.S. in many ways is 200 years ahead already. Europe right now, is at the phase of "creating a Bill of Rights - Maybe".
You Americans have over-glorified Europeans. So that's probably the biggest problem in America: lack of self-confidence (and the glorification of a bunch of fancy antiques accross the Atlantic).
Americans haven't glorified Europeans at all.It is our mainstream media and the socialists that have tried to tell us that Europe is the model to achieve.That's utter bullshit to anyone who understands and has actually been to Europe and the US.
The narrative we hear is merely the leftists attempted edukation of the masses to submit to the higher power but it certainly is not a general perception of the people yet. Get off the coasts and we still laugh at the French!
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They are not protesting because they are white trash scum losers who are addicted to meth and television. The slutty daughters are too busy fucking their fathers and stepfathers along with every other swinging dick that walks by to give a damm about their unfortunate economic situation. America is the land of the dammed and justifiably so. They deserve to starve and die in the streets when their credit cards are maxed out and they do nothing productive that anyone in the world wants. DIE LOSERS!
Hey troll, go to hell. The shame of it is the USA historically has bankrupted itself first in rebuilding Europe, aka Marshall plan, and then providing security over all the years. This is all done with the overt knowledge of TPTB. I'm not necessarily a big fan of how things run in the US today, but ungrateful and assinine bastards like you are exactly the type of person who people should not be defending. I don't like that the Americans were charged by TPTB with defense responsibilities, and I for one will look forward to the time when the financial stretch is just too great, and we pull our stuff back. I would love nothing more than for America to focus on Americans first and foremost, and leave idiot trolls like you out there to rot. What a stupid idiotic post, one of the lowest grade posts I've ever seen in ZH.
I will more than likely NEVER protest b/c I have absolutely nothing to gain. Sure I might not have much to lose either, but what prize is there to be won? As if the ignorant masses are going to rise up and create a more efficient, just, and responsible form of Government? ha ha! yeah right. Things are the way they are for a reason. Overall the US is still at the top of the world in terms of living standards... as long as the gas, groceries, A/C, cable and free money are still flowing there really are no reasons for the welfare babies to protest and certainly no reasons for the middle class to risk their underwater homes and hopes of "making it" out of their caste. Sorry, but we've been in Iraq and Afghan for nearly 10yrs each... a majority of the nation has yet to connect the dots between our economic/debt problems and our overgrown military budget. I highly doubt that same clueless majority will ever be able to get motivated, organized and dedicated enough to create something better than the status quo... if so, it should've happened already. So I say- get on the right side of the transaction. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some Freddie Mac loans to make. :)