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talkpoliticsLast Friday, Chris Rock was interviewed on Bill Maher's show Real Time, and the subject of health care reform came up.
But health care isn't the only arena where inequality exists in the United States, and frankly what's puzzling is why the average person doesn't understand this or isn't angered about it. American workers are responsible for higher productivity over the last 30 years, and are some of the most productive in the world, but their salaries have been essentially stagnant. Why the indifference? Case in point, nearly two years since the near collapse of the United States economy in October 2008, there **still** hasn't been a single law written by Congress to prevent this from happening again, with some of the firms responsible STILL giving out bonuses. Of course, both political parties are responsible for what has happened: the large infusion of money and lobbyists into the legislative process has prevented any real concrete action to prevent it. Democrats became the 2nd Republican party in a rush to the right after Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, for a variety of issues (that's another post). Bill Maher has stated it essentially correct "Over the last thirty years, Democrats have moved to the right, and the right has moved into a mental hospital." There really isn't a progressive party even with the Democrats, and Mr. Maher chastises the President and the party pretty harshly for that:
Here's some specific information in the form of charts on some of the worst cases of economic inequality in the United States. Be warned, it's very bandwidth intensive.
One half of Americans owns only 2.5 percent of the total wealth:
When Maher asked if he saw health care reform the prism of race and as a civil rights issue, Rock said no. He sees health reform as a “people rights issue.” Rock also recounted his family’s experience with the health care system – first when he was poor compared to when he was rich. “I had my father get sick when I was 22. And I was poor, alright. And my father had an ulcer, and it exploded and you know all these toxins get in your blood. And basically, my father died, whatever, 50 days after his ulcer. So I had a father get sick while I was poor,” the comedian recalled.
“My mother got sick when I was rich. And my mother, you know… I don’t really want to get into it, but my mother was sicker than my father. And my mother’s alive. My mother’s fine, OK? I remember going to the hospital to see my mother and wondering, ‘Was I in the right place?’ Like, this was a hotel, like it had a concierge, man. “… if the average person really knew the discrepancy in the health care system, there would be riots in the streets, OK? They would burn this motherf**ker down!”
But health care isn't the only arena where inequality exists in the United States, and frankly what's puzzling is why the average person doesn't understand this or isn't angered about it. American workers are responsible for higher productivity over the last 30 years, and are some of the most productive in the world, but their salaries have been essentially stagnant. Why the indifference? Case in point, nearly two years since the near collapse of the United States economy in October 2008, there **still** hasn't been a single law written by Congress to prevent this from happening again, with some of the firms responsible STILL giving out bonuses. Of course, both political parties are responsible for what has happened: the large infusion of money and lobbyists into the legislative process has prevented any real concrete action to prevent it. Democrats became the 2nd Republican party in a rush to the right after Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, for a variety of issues (that's another post). Bill Maher has stated it essentially correct "Over the last thirty years, Democrats have moved to the right, and the right has moved into a mental hospital." There really isn't a progressive party even with the Democrats, and Mr. Maher chastises the President and the party pretty harshly for that:
Here's some specific information in the form of charts on some of the worst cases of economic inequality in the United States. Be warned, it's very bandwidth intensive.
The gap between the top 1% and everyone else hasn't been this bad since the "Roaring Twenties"
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Why the "average person" (and even many poor people) aren't outraged:
Date: 12/4/10 23:05 (UTC)Every account of our history makes it sound like the founding of our colonies, our War for Independence, our Civil War, our World Wars and our Cold War SHOULD have resulted in our inevitable deaths and defeat, but somehow, against all possible odds, DIDN'T.
What this basically means is that most Americans - and yes, even many Americans who HAVEN'T succeeded - regard success not as a POSSIBILITY that should be protected (see also: "The pursuit of happiness"), but instead as a God-given RIGHT.
If you play the lottery enough times, this mentality, says, then you HAVE to win eventually, and when your perception of your own nation's history presents it as an endless series of Disney-worthy come-from-behind victories, it's hard for even the more sober members of our citizenry not to get caught up in the hype.
The other aspect of the American character is how much we've mythologized ourselves as completely self-made and beholden to no one. The fact that early settlers barely survived their first years here gets played up to the hilt, and yet, the fact that Native Americans essentially saved their lives gets totally downplayed. Likewise, to watch most American movies about WWII, you'd think that the Axis was defeated by America the Hiro Protagonist, with some minor support from its Widdle Sidekicks in Europe, with nary a mention of the role that Stalin played in royally fucking over Hitler on the East.
So, as far as we're concerned, we're all destined to be the ONLY ones who win the one-in-a-million jackpot, and we all believe that we thoroughly deserve that fortune and don't owe it to anyone else.
And that's why so many working-class people vote against their own interests, because they'd rather be poor for the rest of their lives than share even the smallest amount of their wealth on the SMALLEST, MOST UNLIKELY OFF-CHANCE that they themselves ever become fabulously wealthy.
At its worst, America is a nation of people who would rather be shat upon by those higher than them than relinquish the right to shit all over those lower than them.
or, putting it another way...............
Date: 12/4/10 23:09 (UTC)Re: Why the "average person" (and even many poor people) aren't outraged:
Date: 12/4/10 23:29 (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 12/4/10 23:34 (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 13/4/10 01:40 (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 13/4/10 01:50 (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 13/4/10 02:38 (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 13/4/10 04:10 (UTC)(no subject)
From:Re: Why the "average person" (and even many poor people) aren't outraged:
Date: 12/4/10 23:34 (UTC)Re: Why the "average person" (and even many poor people) aren't outraged:
Date: 13/4/10 17:31 (UTC)Re: Why the "average person" (and even many poor people) aren't outraged:
Date: 13/4/10 18:25 (UTC)Who would you blame?
Re: Why the "average person" (and even many poor people) aren't outraged:
Date: 13/4/10 18:41 (UTC)Re: Why the "average person" (and even many poor people) aren't outraged:
Date: 13/4/10 19:03 (UTC)What is a probability of riots in the streets when government cuts entitlements?
Re: Why the "average person" (and even many poor people) aren'
From:Re: Why the "average person" (and even many poor people) aren't outraged:
Date: 12/4/10 23:39 (UTC)Agreed on the solipsistic view of WWII, albeit the Brits tend to do the same thing themselves and *also* forget the USSR was the one that did most of the actual Nazi-killing.
(no subject)
Date: 12/4/10 23:48 (UTC)Which actually makes it even WORSE, because we arguably got REWARDED for doing THE WRONG THINGS.
It'd be like, say, your mom telling you to wear your helmet when you go bike riding, and then, when you don't, the resultant bump on your head results in doctors detecting a brain tumor that would have killed you otherwise.
If you, as a kid, understood what had just happened, it would pretty much guarantee that you did the opposite of what your mom told you for the rest of your life.
The only reason the UK lost the war was that it had a string of incompetent generals and prove unable to protect its allies.
Well, THAT, plus the fact that India was just SITTING there, waiting to be plundered.
(no subject)
Date: 13/4/10 00:51 (UTC)Well, that's not exactly the way the conquest of India happened.
What about the Pacific?
Date: 13/4/10 04:17 (UTC)Re: What about the Pacific?
Date: 13/4/10 11:19 (UTC)Re: What about the Pacific?
Date: 13/4/10 19:41 (UTC)Re: What about the Pacific?
Date: 13/4/10 22:29 (UTC)That's kind of the point, not that no one else was fighting. Heck, even the British got steamrolled. Your sarcasm is misplaced.
Re: Why the "average person" (and even many poor people) aren't outraged:
Date: 13/4/10 17:40 (UTC)In fact you chaps didn't even declare War on Hitler's Germany then. Germany decalred war on you.
Just giving historical context. :)
Re: Why the "average person" (and even many poor people) aren't outraged:
Date: 13/4/10 17:42 (UTC)Re: Why the "average person" (and even many poor people) aren't outraged:
Date: 13/4/10 01:57 (UTC)Re: Why the "average person" (and even many poor people) aren't outraged:
Date: 15/4/10 03:33 (UTC)Re: Why the "average person" (and even many poor people) aren't outraged:
Date: 13/4/10 17:25 (UTC)Those who would work hard for nothing have at least their pride and the joy of sneering at the "entitlement class". We all want to have someone to deride, someone to feel superior to, so we make up stories about who is entitled and who is just lazy and who is better than whom. No one wants to acknowledge that those on the dole would rather be working or that they may need to be on the dole themselves some time. Again, American culture provides for American Exceptionalism so, it's never OUR fault when we loose a job, need food stamps, or Medicare. We blame other people who need those things as being lazy and entitled but when it's us with the hand out, that's acceptable.
In the end, Democracy ensures the people get the society they deserve.