On the coming neo-feudalism: For a developed nation, America is a barbaric place.

Not a particularly uplifting view. I would prefer to think of this as a warning from the Ghost of Christmas Future. We don't have to let this happen, but we'll have to give up our passivity and our belief that our corporate-owned representatives know best.

http://animalspiritspage.blogspot.com/2009/06/on-coming-neo-feudalism.html

Wednesday, June 17, 2009
On the coming neo-feudalism

It does seem as if the vast majority of people in the United State of America are going to become like medieval serfs, living at what feels in the post-gilded-age new realities like subsistence, watching a small slice of society from a distance as they jet in and out of the country, monopolize the ski resorts, continue to live in big houses with two or three thousand square per person, and so on.

The Baby Boom doesn’t have enough money to retire (quaint notion) and will be working till they drop, which will actually extend their lives. The Gen X’ers will continue to live on scraps. The Millennials are idealistically waiting their turn to be heroes while trying to find a way to support themselves in a workforce that is top-heavy with whining Boomers and cagey Gen X’ers. Most of us will work for large or small corporations at a wage that is enough to support a modest lifestyle, but holidays will be spent close to home. We will worry that we may be next to join the ranks of the unemployed, many of whom and whose stories we know—stories of lost jobs, houses, children’s sense of security in forced moves to strange communities. The health consequences of the current crisis are no doubt predictable. In a PBS special on other countries’ health programs, a German was asked if unemployed people lose their health benefits there. Of course not, he said. They are under great stress and risk to their health. They need health benefits more than anyone.

For a developed nation, America is a barbaric place.

Demand will not recover. The Stimulus, piling upon preexisting terrifying trillions in deficits courtesy of Bush, will not work. Spending will be cut to satisfy our external creditors. The sheer weight of the debt will slow the economy. The narrow U3 unemployment rate will rise into the double digits and stay there through the president’s term. The “real” under- and unemployment rate U6 will hit twenty percent, and stay in the high teens.

The poor and disenfranchised may even take to the streets at some point. Americans are pretty timid now, worried that they’ll be called terrorists and disappear in the night or be put on the no-fly list. Habeas corpus is gone. Last September Hank Paulson said we may need martial law. The government has been preparing for it. There are empty prison camps standing ready, according to reliable reports. (Many were built by Halliburton, allegedly.) The Katrina experience showed us what to expect: mercenaries will disarm the public; impose martial law; tell you to stay in your house or get shot. FEMA’s National Level Exercise scheduled for late July is supposedly a counter-terrorism drill, but I would bet it involves practicing how to impose martial law. Some believe the true purpose of the exercise itself will be to disarm the public. Lots of luck with that. That might provoke the first shots of a revolution. But perhaps that is the intent, to show force and discourage any further dissent. Like Iran now. Like China twenty years ago.

Will President Obama be able to prevent this? I don’t think so. His government has thrown trillions at financial institutions, but we don’t even have workfare or income support for the long-term unemployed, and not everyone is even covered by unemployment insurance. There are 25 million people in the U6 category today. What happens when there are 50 million? Will the government help them, or try to lock them all up? We have a higher percentage of our population behind bars than any other developed country. Will the fortunate just sit in their houses and hope that the Xe guys (formerly Blackwater—great name for a mercenary outfit) will protect them and their property from roving gangs?

Americans have lost confidence in their government and themselves. Their elected representatives do not listen to them. The President is an agent of the status quo. He has enabled the largest wealth transfer to a privileged elite in American history during the financial crisis, at the expense of the American taxpayer for years to come. Does any American believe the new financial regulations will break the grip of the rich upon the resources of the nation? Will we all come together all can-do, gung-ho style and pitch in together and the income distribution suddenly become more equal as it did in World War II and pull ourselves out of this?

more...

From the stim package. Granted we are a wee little county with only 79K in population, but not a single job.

As far as I can ascertain, the closest location where any jobs from the stim bill have been offered is Napa County. And although all the "Public Works" items that are mentioned on the site are needed projects - each and every one of them have to do with installing water pumps and other flood control devices.

We are so screwn - CAL is sinking into the subterannean realms of unimagined new lows for teachers, fire people, police, social workers, bus drivers, project managers, etc.

State parks are being closed, and transit cuts are soon to affect every County in this gawd forsaken land.

And the OP's last paragraph sums up my mood -
The President is an agent of the status quo. He has enabled the largest wealth transfer to a privileged elite in American history during the financial crisis, at the expense of the American taxpayer for years to come.
Does any American believe the new financial regulations will break the grip of the rich upon the resources of the nation? Will we all come together all can-do, gung-ho style and pitch in together and the income distribution suddenly become more equal as it did in World War II and pull ourselves out of this?

Capitalism reached it's logical endpoint, and there are people talking about how we need to revive it and do it again.

WHY?!?!

Why do we wants something that obviously doesn't work for most people? Are the people at the top so important that we'll sacrifice our lives, property, our entire WORLD so that they can continue screw us?

The so-called "public option" is a good example. Right now, we have a far-right fascist healthcare system and the "public option" moves us to merely a right-wing healthcare system akin to our right-wing "public option" in education. Rest assured, any "public option" will be rigged to favor the insurance companies.

The true centrist position is single-payer. Of course, too many people are afraid to advocate for true socialized healthcare, so single-payer ends up looking like the position of the moonbat left.

Seen it coming and planning to "opt out" of the serfdom at first chance. Americans were not meant to serve the wealthy.