by gollum » Sun 20 Feb 2011, 14:27:14
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Ludi', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('gollum', 'I') think what's becoming clear to a lot of people in all parts of the political spectrum, even though it may not apply specifically in this case, is that the wealthiest 1% of the population controlling the political and financial system is not capitalisim or democracy.
I wish I could be so optimistic. People seem fine with the top 1% controlling things, and the idea that wealth= virtuous hard work seems to be very entrenched as long as that wealth is through government subsidies to corporations, tax breaks to the wealthy, etc. Wealth earned through collective bargaining apparently doesn't equal virtuous hard work but instead "theft" "laziness" etc. That is, wealth = virtuous hard work for the wealthy, but wealth in the form of better working conditions, better pay, healthcare, pensions, etc for the working class does not equal virtuous hard work. Because the working class is not the wealthy class, any wealth accrued by the working class through collective bargaining is not virtuous. Apparently.

I think the numbers of people in the streets is a sign that the working class is waking up, and understanding that underneath all the fluff and social issues no one is actually looking out for their well being. I'm also glad to see democrats cornered in to taking a stand for unions, from the representatives who walked out of the legislature to the national figures getting involved. The one regrettable aspect of all this is that it didn't happen years ago in the private sector and on a national level, where it should have.