As in Britain, so in America......

A description of political life in the UK could equally be applied to the USA. There is growing resentment, discontent and alienation toward politics and politicians of any label.

 

One commentator responding to why so many people don't vote here remarked that such voters see no reason to elect individuals who seemingly have no interests in constituent concerns. That sums it up pretty well. National, state and even local politics have taken on a life of their own that is completely independent of democratic fundamentals.

 

Politicians are playing the system for all its worth and to their own personal ends. They cater almost exclusively to the wealthy classes who in turn are experiencing manifold increases in their collective wealth while middle and lower class incomes have actually declined in terms of purchasing power.

 

Income distribution is becoming a key campaign issue. True, the issue is largely given lip service, but it does underscore a disturbing public concern. A key aspect of responding to this trend is that one is quickly labeled a socialist if income inequity is too vigorously attacked. In this manner, vested interests are able to keep critics at bay.

 

And those critics who carry on anyway probably are socialists or at least quite far to the left. Een in discussions with lower income people, there is a strong tendency to condemn socialism and by association any talk of income redistribution. Meantime, the rich keep getting richer to the point where our income demographic looks alarmingly third worldly; the rich and the poor.

 

It has often been wisely said that the real strength of the USA lies in the middle class. Representing the majority in classic bell curve fashion, the middle class became the flywheel of American society and because of its strength in numbers, could easily overwhelm the extreme right and left. Simultaneously, the very few percent of people who were extremely rich or poor could be absorbed through welfare on the one hand and through respect on the other. Then two things happened.

 

The few percent who were poor expanded exponentially and the few percent who were rich contracted in the same manner. We are looking at nearly a third of our population living below the poverty line and welfare ranks and numbers of people on disability have mushroomed. We have, over the past two or three decades, created a dependent class born into and entirely comfortable with the dole.

 

The super rich number less than one percent of the population. These are people who literally have money to burn and by most standards are motivated by sheer greed and compulsive accumulation of wealth. They are richer than the often cited captains of industry who are credited with job creation income generation among the working classes.

 

The super rich are capable of and actually do finance political campaigns to the tune of billions of dollars and are highly influential among lawmakers. Not surprisingly, the majority of our elected officials cater to the super rich and in turn are rewarded in some manner or other. This may be through campaign contributions, retirement work, gifts or simply recognition.

 

Far too many Americans are frustrated and upset with contemporary American life and at the same time feel both helpless and clueless to do anything about it. We are teetering on the balance between status quo and public reaction and the powers that be are unable to and not interested in legislating reform or changing their own political behavior.

 

Complicating this situation is the association of poverty with minorities. Further complicating matters is the recent increase in attention given to civil strife that is often in the form of white police officers shooting and sometimes killing black suspects.

 

Race relations in the USA are worse now than they have been in the past few decades. After making substantial progress in civil rights matters, the antagonisms between white and black, haves and have nots, is increasing.

 

 

Some blame the President for this partly because of his willingness to expand welfare and disability rolls and establishing a social group characterized as having entitlements. In the process, he has also expanded the number of loyal followers which in turn aids the democratic party in prolonging its power base.