Most people are frustrated with the political system. The theoretical government of the people by the people for the people has become a mirage; in reality, we have a government of Wall Street, by Wall Street for Wall Street.
Wouldn't you like a government of Main Street, by Main Street for Main Street? It starts with you.
Come below the fold for an 'alternative' roadmap - one that 'works around' the dysfunctional political system. A roadmap that, in typical Karl Rove fashion, turns Wall Street's greatest strengths into weaknesses.
Any single diary provides limited space for outlining the alternative roadmap, you can register for a web/online town hall meeting of the Progressive Outcomes Campaign
- scheduled to start at 12:30 pm Eastern Time (9:30 am Pacific Time) today (Tuesday, 3
rd September 2013).
You have probably noticed a couple of things about politics & the political process e.g.
- There is very minimal/marginal difference between a Democratic and a Republican administration on economic issues. There are clear differences on social issues
- A Democratic President signed NAFTA; and it is likely another one will sign the TPP (currently being written secretly by 'big business')
- By some accounts, over 50,000 factories of various sizes were closed in the US from 2001 - 2011. It is highly unlikely that a President Gore, Kerry or McCain would have made any material difference in that number
- Under a series of Democratic & Republican administrations, corporate profits have soared to record highs, while workers' incomes have dropped to record lows
- Under the same assortment of Democratic & Republican executive and/or congressional control, can you guess whose share of the tax burden is reducing, and whose is increasing? (Hint: Compare & contrast the trends in Payroll Taxes with Corporate Income Tax)
- The federal government collected tax receipts equal to 15.8% of GDP in 2012. That's less than the average of 17.7% since 1945, and a touch below the 16% average of the last decade. But perhaps more important than the amount of taxes collected is how the burden has shifted. In 1950, corporate taxes made up 27% of revenue, and payroll taxes brought in 11%. By 1980, it was 12.5% and 30.5%, respectively. And by 2011, corporate taxes made up 7.9% of revenue, while payroll taxes made up 35.5%
- And that is why the wealth distribution is so skewed
SO, WHAT IS THE WAY FORWARD?
Consider the diagram in the picture below
Don't misunderstand the thrust of this diary - the political process has a role to play, and an important one.
Markos reiterates over and over that he wants a reality-based community (i.e. no conspiracy theories). So, is it realistic to continue to 'hope' that the political process - and all the organizing that goes on around it - will solve the economic problems above? Probably not.
It is quite realistic to expect the political process to move the needle or dial on social issues - but economic history and trend-lines don't suggest that the same thing applies on economic issues.
One of the key reasons why the political process (alone, on its own) is necessary but not sufficient to resolve economic inequality/unfairness is because the other side (capitalists, organized greed, organized capital, the 0.01%, etc) is expecting a progressive effort - so, they are prepared to counter that.
How about unions & organized labor? Can they (alone, or in conjunction with the political process) reverse the flow of 'value-added' from labor to capital? Probably not.
There was organized labor in the last 60 years - but check the trend-lines, membership has declined (especially in the private sector, now the public sector is experiencing the same decline).
So, to conclude this diary - there is a need to think like capitalists. How would a capitalist go about solving such a problem? After all, capitalists witnessed a shift in distribution of value added from capital to labor after the Great Depression and the New Deal.
Capitalists did not depend solely on the political process - they created alternatives. For example, they looked to developing countries with poverty wages for additional supply of labor - to drive down wages, as well as weaken organized labor's bargaining power.
Also, there is a need to think like an insurgent - think about candidate Obama versus the Clintons in 2007. If Obama had used the standard template (demographically, operationally, tactically, strategically) recommended by conventional wisdom, we would have had a President Hillary Clinton. By changing the electorate, focusing on caucus states, exploiting the proportional representation rule, etc - he found the Achilles heel of the Clinton campaign and broke through that opening.
So, back to the way forward question. Instead of allowing capitalists to lead us by the nose (by playing their game according to their rigged rules), it's time to force the capitalists to play the people's (or labor's) game.
You may have noticed how difficult it is to organize labor for collective bargaining purposes. Big business puts up many road blocks, in Wal-Mart's case, if a store ever succeeds, they will shut it down, their lackeys in congress prevent the NLRB (National Labor Relations Board) from operating through filibusters, holds and other delay tactics.
You know what can be more easily organized? Labor's capital.
Now, if you don't understand how the capitalist system works, you'll probably think that labor is already impoverished and possesses very little capital to start with.
STOP! THINK!
How much do you think Mitt Romney had when they started Bain Capital? Per Wikipedia
In the face of skepticism from potential investors, Romney and his partners spent a year raising the $37 million in funds needed to start the new operation.[15][17][18][19] Bain partners put in $12 million of their own money and sourced the rest from wealthy individuals
The rest, as they say, is history!
Now consider this quote
A lot of the resources you think the billionaires own are actually yours - taken (in a sense, stolen) from you legally; if you continue to do what 'everyone else' is doing, you are leaving the door open to more of such involuntary, - but compulsory - wealth transfers (upwards to the already wealthy). If you learn to think, and - even more importantly - act like the billionaires, other people's resources will begin to flow to you in the same way, legally.
So, this diary is getting too long. We'll continue in Part 2.
In the meantime, remember:
To get progressive results in a SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time-Based) way
- Focus on organizing the masses' (or labor's) capital. Organize unions, voter registration drives and so on, but if you do only one thing, organize the people's (or labor's) capital. One person (friend, family member, neighbor, etc) at a time, one union shop or local at a time.
- Seek out resources that will help you figure out the capitalists' modus operandi - especially with respect to DIRT (Debt, Inflation, Retirement Savings, Taxes)
- Prioritize change achieved through the business/economic sphere over that of the (dysfunctional by design - of the capitalists!) political process
- Education (of the 'street smart' variety) is key
- Get others (neighbors, friends, family members) up to speed on the previous points
- Your $1,000 in net worth is relatively powerless; add another 999,999 individuals with the same net worth and you've simulated a virtual worker billionaire. That [virtual] worker billionaire - if educated in the modus operandi of 'organized greed/[elite] organized capital - is more destructive to the capitalists' agenda than $1,000 of your political donations
- Economic campaigns, if properly structured, are [in the long run, maybe not initially] self-funding - unlike political campaigns. No incessant calls for donations over and over