Poverty rate anyone?

Cut spending, balance the budget, curtail government give aways, cut unemployment benefits, cut Social Security and Medicare; these are all being touted by the “cons” as what we must do to “save” the country.

Meanwhile the poverty figures were released, and were not as high as was expected. This is scary, considering that 1 in 5 Americans now live in poverty. The poverty rate is worse than in 1960, before the “War on Poverty” reduced what at time was a major embarrassment for the United States.

Today the poverty rate for people of color is above what it was before the Civil Rights Act of 1964. When Martin Luther King marched on Washington the goals were social AND economic justice, because of the huge poverty rate for African-Americans. That rate is now HIGHER for African-Americans than before the March on Washington.

What a disgrace for the “richest country on earth”. And what do the “cons” say in reaction?

Cut government spending is their response.

Now we must remember the poverty rate for whites is higher also than in during the 60s.

The “cons” are also disrespecting poor whites who actually make up the vast majority of poor people in this country.

No country has EVER lasted very long when a huge disparity existed between the rich and the poor. The United States right now is hedging up against a gap that has destroyed other countries in the past.

The first manifestation of the decline is political-social unrest and violence. The incarceration rate for the past twenty years, the rampant gang warfare in cities, is stark evidence of the social unrest in America. The political anger and reaction of the “tea parties” and other splinter groups are evidence of political unrest. This political unrest borders on violence all the time. It is just a matter of time before it boils over.

So, what does this mean? It means that America is really in trouble this time. Because of the “cons” out of touch approach to government, and the deficit their leadership created, government is constrained from addressing poverty in a comprehensive manner. States are cutting their welfare programs to balance their budgets. Cons in Congress are taking advantage and plotting assaults on the new Health Care Bill, Social Security and Medicare. This in the midst of an unprecedented poverty rate that will break us all.

The results will be dramatic and are NOT predictable. This is the problem. The “cons” may benefit in the short run from upper middle class reactions to the recession, but in the long run, the entire political system could be de-stabilized with disastrous consequences.

What kind of consequences: fascism for one; riots for another; mass imprisonments; suspension of Civil Rights; the end of democracy in America.

It can’t happen here you say? There is absolutely no guarantee that our civil society can remain civil in the face of a staggering poverty rate. The results of this inequality cannot be good for America.

We need to suspend ALL the TAX CUTS now. The government must aide the poor and America’s safety net must be repaired or the recession/depression will destabilize our society and culture to the point that we all will lose. We will lose our inner cities, we will lose our freedom and we will lose the American Dream. Free enterprise has NEVER dealt with depressions and poverty in the short run. In the long run, a growing economy has improved the poverty rate and “raised all boats”. We are not there yet by a long shot.

It is a dangerous time in America. The poverty rate proves this. We all know it. The LAST thing we should do is weaken the shredded safety net more.

The choice is a stark one. Adopt the reactionary conservative approach and drive the country into a violent hole, or eliminate the tax cut for ALL, and begin to heal the nation.

The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.

The Con Is Us

So we wake up on September 15 and see “tea partiers” upsetting mainstream Republicans. At least some people are getting it, at least partially. They have figured out, in their blind anger, that the Republican Party has really lost its way with the Bush Tax Cuts and Spending increases. They also are furious with Wall Street Financiers, who still are thumbing their noses at the American people, pulling down record high salaries and bonuses while gutting the American economy.

Unfortunately, as with most “populist” uprisings, white hot anger and irrationality in the end can be easily manipulated by the same moneyed interests that are the target of that hostility.

If you scratch the surface of the tea party funding, you will find radical right billionaires who are pouring money into the movement. They pay for “impromptu demonstrations”, television ads, and all sorts of money driven efforts. These efforts are successfully (at least now) in preaching to the populist anger about the recession/depression.

What is remarkable is the fact that the economy mess we are in is directly attributable to the failed and discredited economic policies of the Bush era and conservative cut tax and raise military spending foolishness.

This whole movement is moving into fascist territory. That’s right, fascist territory.

Populism has a sketchy history. I do not have the time in this space to list all of populism’s failure. Certainly one is reminded of the “gold standard” populism of the 1930s that demanded that getting off the Federal Reserve and back to the gold standard would solve everything. This was of course, nonsense, but had great appeal at the time.

The sad truth is most populism movements are wrong. They depend for their very existence on emotional over-reactions to current events. Usually they are co-opted by other secret interests that manipulate the movements for un-related reasons.

For example, a major benefactor of the “tea parties” is the petro-chemical industry. The hidden agenda in this case is a desperate attempt to de-regulate their industries and the “deniers” movement, seeking to disprove the ravages of global warming.

Simply watch the results that the tea party strives for. They will push hard for de-regulation, and will start (if they gain power), with the petro-chemical sector. This is not by accident, but is the unstated goal of the tea parties.

Of course, this has absolutely nothing to do with the overall stated purposes of the populist tea party movement. But it is the true purpose nonetheless.

So, manipulation is always present with these populist movements. Moreover, another undisclosed motive is the incredible idea that stupid leadership is better than educated leadership.

Populist movements usually push for “simpler times” and “citizen leadership”. Sarah Palin is a good example. She is hardly qualified to be a governor (which she quit), but is now the leader of the tea party. Her brand of leadership is simple, and basic, and uneducated, and basic, and….

This is where the movement begins to bump against fascism. A basic tenant of fascism taps on the yearning of populism for “the good old days”, when things were simpler. The next step of political logic is to seek leadership that is not traditional, or establishment, and turn leadership over to basic, value directed, “pure” leadership. Hitler used this approach brilliantly, to take over Germany. Economic conditions, and a world wide depression aided by the United States foolishly trying to balance the budget in the middle of a financial disaster, contributed mightily to Hitler’s simple solution approach.

Sarah Palin uses this same approach. She represents the simple, the basic, down home values of “common sense” that somehow can solve problems people with advanced degrees are struggling with.

This traditionalism yearning is fascist. It is manifest in patriotic displays (tea parties are regaled with flags, copies of the Constitution; etc), appeals to simplicity, and the hope that a return to basics will cure our ills.

This is of course absolute nonsense. The cures for our economic ills are complex and will take years to fix. There will be great pain in this process and our best and brightest will be tested. FDR had his “brain trust” that threw massive intellectual capital at the Great Depression and World War II to achieve success. Sarah Palin represents the opposite, a simple solution to a complex problem, with the promise of stupid results.

So the con is us. The American People are slipping closer and closer to fascism. We are a nation of 330 million and increasing, but are being duped by billionaire’s right wing fanatics, who are selling fascism as a solution.

I often cringe, as I think of all the World War II combat vets who died defeating fascism and proving that democracy and hard work can ultimately triumph. I think about the Nuremberg Trials that demonstrated the ultimate lunacy of fascism and the terror it invoked.

The United States is facing that threat today. The more the right wing gains respectability, the more fascism they become. It can and is happening here.

The solution lies in regaining confidence in our democracy and our leadership. It lies in more patience and hard work. It lies is re-affirming our faith in the ability to lead ourselves. It also lies in repudiating wealth as a cure for anything, turning away from big corporations pouring billions into fascist solutions. It lies in really understanding that the con is within us, and the great danger it entails.