It is time, in fact it is long past time, to lay out very plainly how I feel about what is going on in Washington, in our nation and in the world at large. Why not? After all, this is my blog, and it might do some good for someone.
Over the years, working as a reporter, taking part in demonstrations and working politics from the inside when I was in college, and even watching the news now that I am retired, I have sharpened up my objectivity and my cynicism (they often go together) and so am in a perfect position to defend my prediction.
What prediction? Things are going to get worse very soon, and they will continue to get worse for everybody. Young folks. Old folks. Republicans. Democrats. Bankers and lawyers and doctors. Probably the only group that will thrive in the new world order will be migrant workers, at least those whose jobs can not be automated. Or those wonderful one percenters, one of whom - I am sure - will offer Paul Ryan a job,
Now, it might seem to some people that I am casting too wide a net here. Well, here is the reality. Imagine two families - possibly even living on the same block - with completely different views of the still-evolving Trump administration.
One, decidedly liberal in outlook, is in shock. The wife keeps talking about moving to Canada, and has found out that she couldn’t move there because of health issues. (They don’t take everyone who applies). Their kids keep forwarding upsetting news from facebook about the mistreatment of illegal immigrants, the elderly and shootings of black people by police. And, their taxes are going up.
The other family, who have never voted for a Democrat in their lives, think things are going really well. They finally have a strong, decisive president who feels the way they do, who cares about their welfare, and who is finally bringing jobs back to the country.
They have four grown kids living at home, have to take part-time jobs, and are worried because their taxes are going up too. But, they knew taxes would go up every year under President Obama (not federal taxes, but state and local ones) and they hope that in the next year or two the town and the county will cut unnecessary services and welfare payments, and their taxes will soon start dropping. And, with the right judges being put on the bench, there won’t be any lawsuits to stop that from happening.
Well, with that in mind, time for some Manifesto Principles.
And Here’s The Economics
1 - You have to understand Capitalism. When money was first invented, it was just a convenient way of being able to sell and trade. A tailor didn’t have to make a shirt for a farmer to get 10 gallons of milk. And he didn’t need an endless supply of farmers who needed shirts. He could give the farmer money - which represented his work - and he could get the milk and pay for it. And, the farmer could use that money to buy something else. See, instant economic progress.
Then we discovered that money, all by itself, could make more money. You need my $100 to rent someone’s boat for the sumer? Fine, but you have to pay me back $120 in the fall. Hope you catch and sell a lot of fish. (as a side benefit, we also invented bankruptcy and civil courts).
Finally, we discovered that you could bring together lots of money to buy a house or a factory, and hire people to work for you. And, it worked well. Really well. Far too well, actually. That’s because the beating heart of capitalism is the search to amass capital. You can always do more things with more money, get better interest rates when you loan or borrow it, buy lots of things and corner a market for wine or glass, build a really big army and take over the neighboring kingdom. All from that collection of capital.
What that means in today’s terms is that when we say the economy is doing well, it is doing well - generally - for people who are already wealthy.
There are lots of people finding work in dead-end jobs, and we argue whether the minimum wage should come out to $400 or $450 a week before taxes. But the flow of capital generally goes in only one direction. The rich are getting richer - the world has more billionaires than ever before - but the middle class is shrinking. And whether the money is being amassed by a corrupt dictator, a brilliant high-tech mogul or a trendy fashion designer, you can be sure that very few people will get to ride on their gravy trains.
Which leaves one of our familes hopeful and the other fearful. One of those families really doesn’t believe that the price of a new car will go up by at least $2,000 in two years (domestic) or by at least $6,000 (imported). But, they don’t expect to need a new car for a few years and the tariffs will be gone by then, so it doesn’t matter to them.
And here’s the catch. The Trump-supporting family with the four kids is more likely to need another car.
And, that’s how our current economy is working.
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