This morning, D almost accused me of being a Republican for my comments in my last post about the Occupy Wall Street movement, and I have to admit it did sound a little uncharacteristic of me. He and I and his mom got into a pretty heated discussion about the economy in fact, which made me think even more thoughts.
* Lord knows I am no historian, but my impression is that the middle class is a product of the late 19th and 20th centuries. My impression is that prior to the Industrial Revolution there was no middle class. There was the very, very rich and everyone else. So I wonder if a persistent and consistent middle class structure is sustainable?
* I think one of the things I dislike about the whole Occupy movement is that there isn't a defined "goal" or plan of action. Some people are against bank bailouts and some people are bringing up the Iraq War and some people are against too high tuition at universities. And it is hard for me to support a cause if I'm not very sure of what the cause is about. I am equally against all those things, but a movement against everything sometimes seems like a giant bitch session....which is the jist of what I read among people who definitely don't support the Occupy movement.
* I completely disagree with the Supreme Court's decision to ban corporate spending limits for campaigns. Corporations are not individuals and should not have the same rights as guaranteed by the Constitution. They have the potential to become far too financially powerful which means politically powerful.
* I don't like it that government money was spent to bail out the banks that invested in mortgage-backed securities, but I believe that had the government not done this our economy would be in even worse shape than it is now.
* Corporations have the potential to be greedy and unethical and all the other nasty adjectives you can think of, and so I strongly support regulations on them.
BUT
* I also think corporations are not 100% to blame for this mess we're in. Poor choices, uneducated decisions and a society fueled by bread and circuses (ala The Kardashians) played a role too. At least 25%.
* Corporations move their manufacturing to countries where they can produce items cheaper, which we like because stuff costs less and when companies profit we make greater returns on our 401(k) investments. But companies moving their manufacturing to cheaper countries means fewer jobs for our workers---often those who don't have college degrees---which we don't like. We want cheap-ass stuff but we also want high wages for our workers, and those two things haven't found a way to jive.
* The American Dream of the 1940 and 50s is not the same American Dream of the 21st century. Families in the 40s and 50s did not have televisions (and satellite television hookup) in every bedroom. plus the family room and basement. Children shared bedrooms and did not have Jack-n-Jill baths. Homes did not have central air. Families that did own a car typically owned 1 car. The square footage of an average home in 1950 was less than 1000 square feet.
I think the "problem with our economy" is firmly linked with a "cultural problem with our society," and it is far too complex to say that 1% is to blame. Not that the 1% shouldn't be chastised/penalized/regulated for the greedy things they've done to make money (Bernie Madoffs and likeminded individuals). But the 99% of us should also look very closely at what we do and what we expect as well.
* Lord knows I am no historian, but my impression is that the middle class is a product of the late 19th and 20th centuries. My impression is that prior to the Industrial Revolution there was no middle class. There was the very, very rich and everyone else. So I wonder if a persistent and consistent middle class structure is sustainable?
* I think one of the things I dislike about the whole Occupy movement is that there isn't a defined "goal" or plan of action. Some people are against bank bailouts and some people are bringing up the Iraq War and some people are against too high tuition at universities. And it is hard for me to support a cause if I'm not very sure of what the cause is about. I am equally against all those things, but a movement against everything sometimes seems like a giant bitch session....which is the jist of what I read among people who definitely don't support the Occupy movement.
* I completely disagree with the Supreme Court's decision to ban corporate spending limits for campaigns. Corporations are not individuals and should not have the same rights as guaranteed by the Constitution. They have the potential to become far too financially powerful which means politically powerful.
* I don't like it that government money was spent to bail out the banks that invested in mortgage-backed securities, but I believe that had the government not done this our economy would be in even worse shape than it is now.
* Corporations have the potential to be greedy and unethical and all the other nasty adjectives you can think of, and so I strongly support regulations on them.
BUT
* I also think corporations are not 100% to blame for this mess we're in. Poor choices, uneducated decisions and a society fueled by bread and circuses (ala The Kardashians) played a role too. At least 25%.
* Corporations move their manufacturing to countries where they can produce items cheaper, which we like because stuff costs less and when companies profit we make greater returns on our 401(k) investments. But companies moving their manufacturing to cheaper countries means fewer jobs for our workers---often those who don't have college degrees---which we don't like. We want cheap-ass stuff but we also want high wages for our workers, and those two things haven't found a way to jive.
* The American Dream of the 1940 and 50s is not the same American Dream of the 21st century. Families in the 40s and 50s did not have televisions (and satellite television hookup) in every bedroom. plus the family room and basement. Children shared bedrooms and did not have Jack-n-Jill baths. Homes did not have central air. Families that did own a car typically owned 1 car. The square footage of an average home in 1950 was less than 1000 square feet.
I think the "problem with our economy" is firmly linked with a "cultural problem with our society," and it is far too complex to say that 1% is to blame. Not that the 1% shouldn't be chastised/penalized/regulated for the greedy things they've done to make money (Bernie Madoffs and likeminded individuals). But the 99% of us should also look very closely at what we do and what we expect as well.
1 comment:
Very well said Carrie! I agree 100% with you. Hubby and I are always talking about how our economy is never going to improve unless people change the way they live. If you make $30 a year then you aren't entitled to a $250k house! In fact, you may not even make enough to do anything but rent a house/apartment. We have to get past this entitled mentality before any real change can occur. Kudos to you for stating it so well.
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