Myths of rich and poor

[davinxtk]

While I'll freely admit that I got bored and switched topics a little more than halfway through that article, I'm pretty sure I got the point.

Due to corporate investments, the economy is strong. It's rock solid. It's here to stay. These major major big business corporations are acting in the best interests of the market and therefor the market and everyone directly involved are making a profit, and will continue to do so.

The reason that absolutely none of this is significant in the slightest bit to the general conditions of working class America is that all it proves is that they'll still have jobs, no matter how meager the benefits become. So, no, the economy isn't really where the problem lies, it's in the perihpery.

Allow me to attempt an analogy: A concrete slab exposed to the wild is, for the most part, going to remain a concrete slab in roughly the same position for the better part of a few hundred years, barring major geological disaster in the general vicinity. It is rectangular, almost eight feet in length, five in breadth and another four deep. It weighs a couple of tons.
So, all in all, it's a sturdy bet when you go to bed at night that it will be there when you wake up in the morning.
Would you really want to sleep on it, though?


The economy may be able to bring a whole host of very appealing products, innovations and options to consumers, but what good is it if many of these consumers are busy absolutely scraping by on the wages they make as a result? Why were there seven people living in my three bedroom house this past summer while there are people who own two, three, four or more homes? Is it because we don't work hard to get by? No, it's because those in power want to keep us working hard for their profits. Is this because they're inherently evil people? Probably not, they're just trying to feed their families and they live within their means. The cause of the problem isn't disparity, it's that so many people are so ignorant to this disparity, and many of the most knowledged and successful people would prefer to keep it that way.

Now, I'm not an economist (nor do I aspire to a title wtih such mind-bogglingly tedious work associated with it) but I'm sure this society could blanace itself out if the most well-off people were willing to make a few sacrifices for the greater good. I'm not even going to say what I really want to say about my dreams of a utopian socialist state, because that would be absolute and pure idealism. However, if capitalism is to survive without completely plundering the rich or the poor, something seriously needs to be done. You don't put the most weakly nourished people at the bottom of the pyramid and expect them to be able to hold it up indefinately. That's why so many Americans slipped below the poverty line in '04, why crime rates are so high (do you think so many people would risk life and freedom if they could feed, clothe, and house themselves through other means?), and why you've got 200 million Americans moaning to the other 95 million that the economy is in the shitter, while they stare blankly back saying "huh?"


Our system is livable but it needs serious work, and sitting around saying that there isn't really a problem because major corporations are doing the right thing and are able to take care of business is almost completely counterproductive.
One day, I hope, the disparity between the rich and the poor will at least BEGIN to close. Until then, I'll be polishing concrete.