The Pitchforks Are (Still) Coming

[georgephillip]

Last summer billionaire Nick Hanauer sent his fellow plutocrats a message they would rather ignore:

"The oldest and most important conflict in human societies is the battle over the concentration of wealth and power. The folks like us at the top have always told those at the bottom that our respective positions are righteous and good for all.

"Historically, we called that divine right.

"Today we have trickle-down economics.

"What nonsense this is. Am I really such a superior person?

"Do I belong at the center of the moral as well as economic universe?

"Do you?

"My family, the Hanauers, started in Germany selling feathers and pillows. They got chased out of Germany by Hitler and ended up in Seattle owning another pillow company.

"Three generations later, I benefited from that.

"Then I got as lucky as a person could possibly get in the Internet age by having a buddy in Seattle named Bezos. I look at the average Joe on the street, and I say, 'There but for the grace of Jeff go I.' Even the best of us, in the worst of circumstances, are barefoot, standing by a dirt road, selling fruit.

"We should never forget that, or forget that the United States of America and its middle class made us, rather than the other way around.

Read more: The Pitchforks Are Coming For Us Plutocrats - Nick Hanauer - POLITICO Magazine

 

[Mac1958]

So what would this look like?

Specifically?

.

 

[LoneLaugher]

Look out, GP.....that Mac vortex will swallow you whole.

 

[LoneLaugher]

Last summer billionaire Nick Hanauer sent his fellow plutocrats a message they would rather ignore:

"The oldest and most important conflict in human societies is the battle over the concentration of wealth and power. The folks like us at the top have always told those at the bottom that our respective positions are righteous and good for all.

"Historically, we called that divine right.

"Today we have trickle-down economics.

"What nonsense this is. Am I really such a superior person?

"Do I belong at the center of the moral as well as economic universe?

"Do you?

"My family, the Hanauers, started in Germany selling feathers and pillows. They got chased out of Germany by Hitler and ended up in Seattle owning another pillow company.

"Three generations later, I benefited from that.

"Then I got as lucky as a person could possibly get in the Internet age by having a buddy in Seattle named Bezos. I look at the average Joe on the street, and I say, 'There but for the grace of Jeff go I.' Even the best of us, in the worst of circumstances, are barefoot, standing by a dirt road, selling fruit.

"We should never forget that, or forget that the United States of America and its middle class made us, rather than the other way around.

Read more: The Pitchforks Are Coming For Us Plutocrats - Nick Hanauer - POLITICO Magazine

I think Hannauer's Ted Talk should be required viewing for all politicians.

 

[georgephillip]

So what would this look like?

Specifically?

.

Nick seems to think it would start locally, rather than as a US version of Syriza in Greece:
"But the way I see it, that’s all right. Most major social movements have seen their earliest victories at the state and municipal levels. The fight over the eight-hour workday, which ended in Washington, D.C., in 1938, began in places like Illinois and Massachusetts in the late 1800s. The movement for social security began in California in the 1930s. Even the Affordable Health Care Act—Obamacare—would have been hard to imagine without Mitt Romney’s model in Massachusetts to lead the way."

Read more: http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/06/the-pitchforks-are-coming-for-us-plutocrats-108014_Page4.html#ixzz3ZjvZrbGf

I expect the details will depend on when the next economic downturn occurs and how many millions of middle class Americans it robs. I'm pretty sure congress will show its support for those who fund the campaigns and retirements of its members.

 

[Mac1958]

So what would this look like?

Specifically?

.

Nick seems to think it would start locally, rather than as a US version of Syriza in Greece:
"But the way I see it, that’s all right. Most major social movements have seen their earliest victories at the state and municipal levels. The fight over the eight-hour workday, which ended in Washington, D.C., in 1938, began in places like Illinois and Massachusetts in the late 1800s. The movement for social security began in California in the 1930s. Even the Affordable Health Care Act—Obamacare—would have been hard to imagine without Mitt Romney’s model in Massachusetts to lead the way."

Read more: http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/06/the-pitchforks-are-coming-for-us-plutocrats-108014_Page4.html#ixzz3ZjvZrbGf

I expect the details will depend on when the next economic downturn occurs and how many millions of middle class Americans it robs. I'm pretty sure congress will show its support for those who fund the campaigns and retirements of its members.

So mean that votes would be the pitchforks?

.

 

[BlackSand]

... "Even the best of us, in the worst of circumstances, are barefoot, standing by a dirt road, selling fruit." ...

No shit ... Or living in an efficiency apartment eating potatoes, onions, ham or Ramen Noodles ... Busting our butts for years.
There is a difference in people who want to sacrifice some now for more later though ... The pay-off is still good in America if you manage it well.

Stay out of debt, build and learn from your mistakes and failures along the way, don't let the set-backs break you ... And go for the gold.
Everything else is just a luxury ... You get to choose when you can afford it.

.

 

[georgephillip]

So what would this look like?

Specifically?

.

Nick seems to think it would start locally, rather than as a US version of Syriza in Greece:
"But the way I see it, that’s all right. Most major social movements have seen their earliest victories at the state and municipal levels. The fight over the eight-hour workday, which ended in Washington, D.C., in 1938, began in places like Illinois and Massachusetts in the late 1800s. The movement for social security began in California in the 1930s. Even the Affordable Health Care Act—Obamacare—would have been hard to imagine without Mitt Romney’s model in Massachusetts to lead the way."

Read more: http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/06/the-pitchforks-are-coming-for-us-plutocrats-108014_Page4.html#ixzz3ZjvZrbGf

I expect the details will depend on

I think Hannauer's Ted Talk should be required viewing for all politicians

Unfortunately for those seeking reelection, they spend far more of their hours dialing for dollars than thinking deeply about the corrosive effects a plutocracy has on democratic republics. One hundred years ago, more Americans understood the threat.

Plutocracy vs. Democracy Cartooning Capitalism

 

[Mac1958]

So what would this look like?

Specifically?

.

Nick seems to think it would start locally, rather than as a US version of Syriza in Greece:
"But the way I see it, that’s all right. Most major social movements have seen their earliest victories at the state and municipal levels. The fight over the eight-hour workday, which ended in Washington, D.C., in 1938, began in places like Illinois and Massachusetts in the late 1800s. The movement for social security began in California in the 1930s. Even the Affordable Health Care Act—Obamacare—would have been hard to imagine without Mitt Romney’s model in Massachusetts to lead the way."

Read more: http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/06/the-pitchforks-are-coming-for-us-plutocrats-108014_Page4.html#ixzz3ZjvZrbGf

I expect the details will depend on

I think Hannauer's Ted Talk should be required viewing for all politicians

Unfortunately for those seeking reelection, they spend far more of their hours dialing for dollars than thinking deeply about the corrosive effects a plutocracy has on democratic republics. One hundred years ago, more Americans understood the threat.

Plutocracy vs. Democracy Cartooning Capitalism

So is that a "yes"?

.

 

[georgephillip]

So mean that votes would be the pitchforks?

Votes are one prong of the pitchfork.

 

[Mac1958]

It sure can be tough to get straight, complete answers here.

 

[LoneLaugher]

It sure can be tough to get straight, complete answers here.

That happens when you ask vague questions. Earmuffs!

 

[georgephillip]

... "Even the best of us, in the worst of circumstances, are barefoot, standing by a dirt road, selling fruit." ...

No shit ... Or living in an efficiency apartment eating potatoes, onions, ham or Ramen Noodles ... Busting our butts for years.
There is a difference in people who want to sacrifice some now for more later though ... The pay-off is still good in America if you manage it well.

Stay out of debt, build and learn from your mistakes and failures along the way, don't let the set-backs break you ... And go for the gold.
Everything else is just a luxury ... You get to choose when you can afford it.

.

Hanauer believes the American pay-off is more likely when government invests in its middle class instead of more tax cuts for the plutocrats. More and more Americans are coming to see capitalism as the problem: "It can be managed either to benefit the few in the near term or the many in the long term."
The Pitchforks Are Coming For Us Plutocrats - Nick Hanauer - POLITICO Magazine

 

[Katzndogz]

The middle class isn't blaming the rich for what ever is perceived as economic loss. The middle class is blaming benefits paid to the poor and even poorer illegal immigrants. The pitchforks are coming. Just who do you think they are coming for?

 

[georgephillip]

o is that a "yes"?

It's still a no to child labor, in the US or anywhere else.
Do you agree?

 

[BlackSand]

Hanauer believes the American pay-off is more likely when government invests in its middle class instead of more tax cuts for the plutocrats. More and more Americans are coming to see capitalism as the problem: "It can be managed either to benefit the few in the near term or the many in the long term."
The Pitchforks Are Coming For Us Plutocrats - Nick Hanauer - POLITICO Magazine

Great ... Then I suggest he donate more money to the cause.
He can write a check to the government for as much as he wants ... And he can do whatever is possible to see that it goes where he wants.

.

 

[Mac1958]

I sure would like to know what these "pitchforks" would look like, specifically, but specifics are not readily available here.

Perhaps they mean real pitchforks and murder.

.

 

[Mac1958]

o is that a "yes"?

It's still a no to child labor, in the US or anywhere else.
Do you agree?

I don't understand the question.

Yes, I agree, child labor laws are a good thing. (?)

I'm happy to answer your questions, even though you won't answer mine.

.

 

[georgephillip]

The middle class isn't blaming the rich for what ever is perceived as economic loss. The middle class is blaming benefits paid to the poor and even poorer illegal immigrants. The pitchforks are coming. Just who do you think they are coming for?

They are coming for those who've seen their share of national income rise three-fold over the last five decades by closing 50,000 US factories and shipping 5,000,000 US jobs to China. A few in the middle class blame the immigrants and the poor for globalization, but those are the folks who think corporations are people. Are you one?

 

[georgephillip]

It sure can be tough to get straight, complete answers here

Ask better questions.