If:
1] You are extraordinarily rich
2]You Head a major corporation [then you tend to have 2 votes rich and powerful] Exxon Rosneft being a prime example of why sanctions will be oh so limited and Crimea will be forgotten by the week-end.
3] You are on the right and have a radio show.
The only way in general most of us can get power:
1] Forming a trade union.
2] Demonstrating and you probably need to be in 1 as well.
Now we have seen trade unions bashed and demonstrations pepper sprayed.
So what do you have left.
A vote every once in a while, your choice especially in the US is one or other of the two parties since that is where the money resides and nowhere else any other choice is ridiculed and marginalized.
Well at least when you tally up the votes someone wins and gosh if your side won you should feel good. So after all this feel good what do we have?
Unimaginable income inequality
Stagnant wages.
Indebtedness from the day we take out loans to pay for education, a home if we can qualify by saving just enough of our diminishing wages.
If we are really unlucky we end up homeless.
Yes, but everyone can haz the American dream, nope sorry that only concerns the very very few.
So the majority end up deeply in debt but well off enough to fear that any rocking of the boat and we end up destitute.
The fear keeps the status quo going, and even generates union bashing by people who actually would benefit from being in a union.
But, but I haz vote!
Yes and you will be promised milk and cookies by all and sundry for your vote and menaced with the apocalypse if you don't vote.
So what is the choice.
The Democratic Party that merely slows down the giving away of the nations riches to the oh so very few.
The Republican party that just wants to give it all away yesterday.
Forget any made up wedge issue, this is money driven politics.
I ask the question what reversals in this tendency have we seen recently?
Hmmm?
The only conclusion I can come up with because in the grand scheme of things is that just by merely voting is nowhere near enough.
Demonstrations [the tea party did prove one thing and that is you can scare the bejesus out of your own Party]
Unionization either by trade unions or special interests.
The final straw is the removal of our votes.
Hell if we can scare our own side enough maybe just maybe they might listen.
We might even get a livable minimum wage and heaven forbid campaign finance reform
Then again if we just keep going merrily along and vote for one of the main two parties no matter what they do we have already diminished even our last vestigial power, our vote.
I suggest reading this if you do not believe me when I talk about income inequality and power
In the three decades prior to the recent economic downturn, wage gaps widened and household income inequality increased in a large majority of OECD countries. This occurred even when countries were going through a period of sustained economic and employment growth. This report analyses the major underlying forces behind these developments:
- An Overview of Growing Income Inequalities in OECD Countries An Overview of Growing Income Inequalities in OECD Countries: Main Findings
- Special Focus: Inequality in Emerging Economies Special Focus: Inequality in Emerging Economies (EEs)
- Part I. How Globalisation, Technological Change and Policies Affect Wage and Earnings Inequalities
- Part II. How Inequalities in Labour Earnings Lead to Inequalities in Household Disposable Income
- Part III. How the Roles of Tax and Transfer Systems Have Changed