Those of us who have been paying attention aren't likely to learn anything new in the documentary film
Inequality for All by Jacob Kornbluth and starring Robert Reich. It opened in selected theaters Friday.
After all, we've known for quite a while that the 1% only calls it class war when we do it, and our tactics have been almost 100% defensive for decades, trying to hang on to what was wrought by the New Deal and Great Society. As for a strategy for going on the offensive, we seem to have none. At least not one with which every progressive/liberal/leftist agrees. The Occupy movement got us started in that direction, with a good deal more radical approach and message than Reich offers. But we're stalled again. Perhaps the film's message will go viral and spur us—and, more importantly, those who haven't been paying attention—to get a move on to finally come up with such a strategy.
Here's a trailer of the film.
As Erika Eichelberger writes at Mother Jones:
In a comprehensive and digestible way, Reich lays out the stark facts of income inequality (for example, the 400 Americans richest currently earn more than half the country's population combined) and how we got here. He blames the decline of unionization, globalization, and technology for suppressing pay, and enriching the few, who then use their increasing political clout to protect their status. "When the middle class doesn't share the gains, you get into a downward vicious cycle," Reich explains as the film cuts to an Wheel of Fortune-type animation illustrating that cycle: Wages stagnate, consumption drops, companies downsize, tax revenues decrease, government cuts programs, workers become less educated, unemployment rises—and so on. |
If you decide to go see
Inequality for All, or even if you don't, you might find it worthwhile to view the interview with Reich that
aired on Bill Moyers & Company September 20.
Blast from the Past. At Daily Kos on this date in 2007—The Obvious Greatness of My Presidential Candidate:
I would like to take a moment to tell you all about why I favor my candidate for President of the United States. My candidate has made many statements on issues, has drafted many proposals for moving this nation forward, and has attended many locally significant gatherings. But none of that is particularly important, and it would be a waste of time to dwell on it. I would rather highlight the obvious greatness of my Democratic candidate by noting that your Democratic candidate is shamefully inferior. In fact, all the arguments for my candidate can be boiled down to the transparently obvious: my candidate is not your candidate, and your candidate, to put it bluntly, sucks.
For starters, your candidate is not electable. I cannot imagine your candidate getting elected to any office, even the office they were previously elected to, because they are so unelectable. In a world full of unelectable candidates, yours is the least electable of them all. If it were an election between your candidate, a sweater once worn by dog of the late Leona Helmsley, and a bowl of lukewarm soup, your candidate would still be the least electable of the three.
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Tweet of the Day:
BREAKING: Obama believes he can reach nuclear deal with Iran "because Iran isn't making crazy demands to destroy the world economy."
— @TeaPartyCat
On
today's Kagro in the Morning show,
Greg Dworkin rounds up ACA news, the looming shutdown, and more.
Doctor Who asks for a run-down of today's Senate votes, plus a best guess at what's in Boehner's head. Today's reads: "GOP's incompetence is a godsend for America." More on the 401(k) disaster, followed by
Bruce McF's observations on the subject (clarified in
comments). "The House's debt-ceiling bill is...wow." "No, the Navy Yard Mass Shooter Did Not Target a 'Gun-Free Zone." "Wall St. to GOP: Are you nuts?" "Hundreds of U.S. security clearances seen falsified." Colorado apartment complex bans guns, then reverses itself.
High Impact Posts. Top Comments.