That was just the battery testing itself, right? That might be the question the 1% start to uneasily ask one another as evidence mounts that increasing numbers of the American working class are starting start to come out their decades long stupor and realize that they’ve been screwed.
Please read: Bloomberg View - Americans Warm to Redistribution, the author is Christopher Flavelle.
Before turning to article, let's think a moment about why Americans have been cool to the concept of "redistribution" until now.
I don't think it's too hard to understand that any "redistribution of wealth" is somewhat inextricably linked in most peoples' mind to unpleasant events and people of the past: French aristocrat heads on pikes, mad Russian monks, unflattering Mao outfits, the schoolyard bully relieving you of your lunch money, etc. Also, most people have been cautious to embark on such ventures since they almost always fear that it will be their money that will be redistributed.
Even when Americans should have been relieved of this fear when their largest source of actual wealth, home equity, was devoured by the banks that profited on both bubble inflations as well as their subsequent deflations, Americans still inexplicably maintained a trusting belief in the bromide originated by Bill Clinton that if they "Worked hard and played by the rules" they too would someday join the ranks of the middle-class at the very least, if not the actual wealthy.
Not anymore. There is so much quiet desperation afoot in our land that Americans have finally checked their optimism for a better future. People have lost faith in the bromide and the central lie that holds up the whole Potemkin Village artifice of The American Dream. America's belief in rugged individualism, an ethos of hard work and a universe that is slanted towards fairness has been countered by Real Life which shrugs its shoulders and seems to say "So what? That and five bucks will get you a grande latte".
Americans are finally ready to consider (gasp!) the entwined concepts that: life is not fair and hard work does not lead automatically to a better life, and perhaps the levers of government may be deployed to level the playing field.
Now back to that Bloomberg article which provides the proof of this pudding.
As the share of Americans who identify as middle class has fallen below 50 percent, the perceived link between effort and outcomes has weakened, too. Just before the tech bubble burst in 2001, three-quarters of Americans surveyed said hard work and determination were enough for most people to get ahead. By last year, that number had fallen to 60 percent.
Popular views about what causes poverty have shifted even more radically, according to surveys compiled by the Pew Research Center. In the 1960s, about 1 in 4 people said poverty was due primarily to circumstances beyond a person's control. That number now hovers around 1 in 2.
Where does all this leave the question of government redistribution? In 1939, just 35 percent of people favored redistributing wealth by heavily taxing the rich. By the end of the 1990s, that figure had risen to 45 percent; it now stands at 52 percent, according to Gallup. (That increase in support may also reflect pushback to the decrease in top marginal tax rates.)
Did you read that? Look at the chart in the article! More people now believe in the concept of "wealth redistribution" than don't!
This is the fact despite decades of demonization about the role of government, the size of government, the fairness of tax codes, the necessity of the safety nets, the relentless pushing of "Austerity", and the ridicule directed towards Bernie Sanders and concepts of Socialism and social justice.
The media and TPTB and even our own politicians have opined consistently that the American public is too stupid and not sophisticated enough to grasp the concepts of the kind really necessary to grapple with wealth inequality and social injustice in any meaningful way. Well guess what, Masters of the Universe and your toadies? We got there anyway without you.
Let me just end this diary on an upbeat. Americans are not stupid. We do know what has happened to us and we are ready for real change that we are prepared to make bottom-up demands for. Stand by, because I think we're in for a bumpy ride, but I think we WILL reach our ultimate destination of a better life for everyone.
Now, do yourself a favor and download Rewriting the Rules which is a white paper put out by the Roosevelt Institute which provides a road map for real economic changes in our country. Pass it along and talk it up.
Update: I edited the term "lumpenprolitariat" out of the first paragraph and replaced it with working classes in order to not get bogged down by the historical context and different interpretations of the original term used.