A Nation of Wolves and Sheep

QUICK RECOMMENDATION: go to the huffington post, and read the article by robert reich, former secretary of labor in the clinton administration, and now a professor at cal berkely, in which he provides an overview of the current state of the american economy, based on obama's recent inauguration speech.

The thought, at one time or another, probably crosses the mind of every american that the people we elect to be president might not be the most qualified of the three hundred million of us, and that, somewhere out there, there is probably at least one person who is ideally suited to the job, but has enough sense not to seek it. robert reich might well fit this description.

all reich does it tell it like it is. he agrees with obama, and with anyone of intelligence, that an economy cannot flourish and grow with the richer always getting richer, and everyone else spinning wheels or moving backward. And right now, most of us are moving backwards. Most americans have shrinking incomes, and less purchasing power each year. this has been going on for several decades, and has reached alarming proportions.

the gap between the rich and the poor in america today is the greatest in the world, now, or at any other time. and it continues to grow. A few very people have enough money to buy whatever they want, but there is a limit to what people want. a high limit, but a limit. the wealthy by themselves cannot sustain a huge economy with spending; it takes millions of consumers to do that, in an economy in which consumer spending accounts for cloes to three fourths of all economic activity.

the death of american labor unions, brought about by corporate owners and the politicians they control, has decreased the bargaining power, hence the wages, of  most american workers. corporate profits are up, and those profits go to shareholders, not workers. the problem is, there are more workers than shareholders, and economic growth depends on enough people having enough spending power to stimulate investment and production.

the rich can have their riches, the corporation can show profits, even if the lowly workers are paid at a reasonable rate. the fact that there is no labor union at a company like wal mart is a horrible indictment of american society. america is a nation of wolves and sheep.