October 9, 2015
A Nation of Discontent
Not
since the presidential election of 1932 has the American electorate
been so mired in discontent. Despite the best efforts of the media to
portray this discontentment as limited to the Republican base, numerous
polls have confirmed a vast majority of the populace shares this same
sense of disgruntlement. Yet the nation’s political, academic and
corporate classes, whose lifestyles have never been better than they are
today, are surprised and dumbfounded by this phenomenon. These elites
prefer to look at this chapter in America’s political history as just
the ranting of an immature and essentially ignorant citizenry who will,
in time, see the error of their ways and settle for whatever crumbs the
ruling class throws their direction.
Perhaps
the explanation for this overarching angst can be made more readily
apparent to the elites by painting a portrait of the America they have
created since 1988 -- the high water mark of America’s power and
influence -- and the near irreparable damage that has been done to this
nation and its people.
Beginning
in the years following the end of the Second World War, the American
populace was the benefactor of unprecedented peace, growth and
prosperity -- the most resounding in the history of mankind. Living in a
nation whose future prospects seemed limitless, the people increasingly
turned inward in the pursuit of leisure and lifestyle leaving the
governance of the country to the various elements of the ruling class
secure in the thinking that this nation’s upward trajectory was
unstoppable.
The Economy
The
cognoscenti declared that expansive government spending, globalization
and free trade combined with a comprehensive and overarching regulatory
regime determined to root out so-called corruption and inequality as
well as save the planet from the over blown evils of global warming
should be the course for the nation to pursue. The result of this
foolhardy and myopic scheme:
of the primary hallmarks of the United States was that of a classless
society wherein economic factors allowed the citizenry to take advantage
of the marketplace in order to move up or down based on their efforts
and willingness to work. However, this scenario is disappearing as the
opportunities for upward mobility cease to exist and for a class driven
society to dominate. This is now a rapidly eroding economy based almost
solely on consumption which cannot be sustained without a vibrant
wealth creating (goods and proprietary services) sectors.
The Political Parties
As
the federal government has grown exponentially through the monies it
spends and its regulatory regime, the political class (which includes
the bureaucracy) has become the most powerful entity in the nation.
While the nation’s economy has grown by 110% since 1988, federal
government spending has skyrocketed 275% and is now approaching $4.0
Trillion (larger than the economy of Germany) making it financially the
largest single entity in the history of mankind.
There
is no business, institution or private individual in the United States
that does not come under the influence of this leviathan. With so much
power and opportunity to enrich oneself, the overwhelming majority of
the elected and appointed members of this fraternity will do anything to
remain in office. As a consequence there is now a permanent cycle of
corruption at play in Washington D.C. Large corporate interests
(including unions and Wall Street), assorted large special interest
organizations and the super wealthy, through their financial
contributions to the political parties, either make certain that their
interests are protected or that they have access to government largess.
Because
of the corrupting influence of an unimaginable amount of money and
power and the fact that this nation can only function politically with
two national parties, the founding fathers’ vision of a government of
the people, by the people and for the people is rapidly becoming one
that is by and for the ruling class.
Education
Rather
than view education as the means for the people to attain success in a
competitive world, the nation’s elites have recast it into a vehicle for
their pet theories and political views. Whether it is the promulgation
of self-esteem, the obsession with the evils of the nation’s past, or
the perils the planet faces due to mankind’s very existence, among other
inane curricula, the education establishment has assured that the
American people are rapidly becoming among the least well-educated
populations in the world.
In 2013 American 15 year olds ranked 32nd among industrialized countries in math, 20th in reading and 24th
in science. In 1988 this same age group ranked among the top 5-10
nations in the world in these same categories. Yet by 2013 the per
student spending in the United States, the highest in the world, had increased by 58% since 1988 (adjusted for inflation) while the median income of the American people has only increased by 6%.
The Culture
Perhaps
no area of the American society has been so adversely impacted since
1988 as the culture. This erosion has been driven in large part by a
majority of the elites determined to impose their lifestyle choices on
the rest of the population. Using the cudgel of the mainstream media
and the entertainment complex, they have successfully inculcated a
plurality of the American people into believing that there are no moral
absolutes and that the state can grant any rights that it so chooses to
whomever they choose.
Thus
abortion and the subsequent sale of human body parts as well as the
loss of respect for human life, the erosion of religious freedom,
runaway out of wedlock birth, the glorification of violence in
entertainment, and the undermining of any ethical or behavioral
standards combined with a woeful educational regime has resulted in a
nation without a rudder and two generations of Americans unsure of who
they are and unable to cope with whatever the future may bring.
Summary
The
American Ruling Class since 1988 has accomplished the unthinkable: they
have placed the nation on a collision course with chaos and decline.
Virtually all their actions have either benefitted them financially or
socially to the detriment of the rest of society. Whether they are
those on Wall Street making untold millions shuffling money, or the
public sector unions and their never ending financial demands, or the
education establishment’s obsession with ideology and funding, or the
political class and their avarice and narcissism, or those whose
religion is extreme but personally profitable environmentalism -- they
all hide behind the fig leaf of caring and compassion for their fellow
Americans.
As
the 2016 election approaches a majority of the populace is beginning to
realize that they have been conned and manipulated. That, in fact, the
future of the United States and that of their progeny is in serious
jeopardy. If wholesale changes are not instituted soon there will be no
turning back and potentially violent internal chaos and external
threats will be inevitable. The American elites, comfortable in their
current lifestyle, had better wake up to the rumbling beneath their feet
before the volcano erupts.
since the presidential election of 1932 has the American electorate
been so mired in discontent. Despite the best efforts of the media to
portray this discontentment as limited to the Republican base, numerous
polls have confirmed a vast majority of the populace shares this same
sense of disgruntlement. Yet the nation’s political, academic and
corporate classes, whose lifestyles have never been better than they are
today, are surprised and dumbfounded by this phenomenon. These elites
prefer to look at this chapter in America’s political history as just
the ranting of an immature and essentially ignorant citizenry who will,
in time, see the error of their ways and settle for whatever crumbs the
ruling class throws their direction.
Perhaps
the explanation for this overarching angst can be made more readily
apparent to the elites by painting a portrait of the America they have
created since 1988 -- the high water mark of America’s power and
influence -- and the near irreparable damage that has been done to this
nation and its people.
Beginning
in the years following the end of the Second World War, the American
populace was the benefactor of unprecedented peace, growth and
prosperity -- the most resounding in the history of mankind. Living in a
nation whose future prospects seemed limitless, the people increasingly
turned inward in the pursuit of leisure and lifestyle leaving the
governance of the country to the various elements of the ruling class
secure in the thinking that this nation’s upward trajectory was
unstoppable.
The Economy
The
cognoscenti declared that expansive government spending, globalization
and free trade combined with a comprehensive and overarching regulatory
regime determined to root out so-called corruption and inequality as
well as save the planet from the over blown evils of global warming
should be the course for the nation to pursue. The result of this
foolhardy and myopic scheme:
- In
1988 the national debt of the United States stood at $2.6 Trillion,
today it is approaching $18.6 Trillion-- an increase of 615%. On the
other hand the debt of all the nations on earth has increased by only 135% since 1988. - The American Gross Domestic Product has recorded a growth of 110% over the past 27 years. By comparison global growth has been 218% and in the case of China it has been a staggering 1,900%.
- Among
the reasons for Chinese and global growth is the American trade
deficit. In 1988 this nation experienced a non-oil trade deficit of
$71.1 Billion; by 2014 this same deficit had ballooned to $458.3
Billion. An increase of 545%. - The
impact of the above in combination with an excessive regulatory regime:
in 1988 23% of all jobs were in the goods producing arena, in 2015 it
is 13%. If these
percentages had remained the same together with the current working age
population, 34.3 million as compared to the actual level of 19.5 million
would be employed in this high paying arena. Instead a significant
majority of all the new job growth over the past 27 years has been in
fields that pay on the average 40% less than the goods producing sector. - The
nation’s population has grown by 35% since 1988; however the number of
employed Americans has only increased by 27% while those who have
dropped out and are no longer in the labor force has escalated by 50%.
Further the number of Americans living in poverty has increased by 61%. - Another
factor impacting on the economic health of the American people is
immigration. In 1988 there were 16 million immigrants (including less
than a million illegal aliens) living in the United States. Today that
number has skyrocketed to 42.4 million (including an estimated 12
million illegal aliens). This enormous increase
(165%) in the immigrant population has not only put pressure on a
stagnant job market but it has also been a major factor in the decline
of median income in the country. - The
upshot of all the above is that the median income for all Americans has
only increased (adjusted for inflation) by 6% over the past 27 years
and has declined by 4.3% since 1999. Since 1988 the income of the top 5% has risen 39.3% (adjusted for inflation) while the income of the bottom 60% has increased just 0.5%.
of the primary hallmarks of the United States was that of a classless
society wherein economic factors allowed the citizenry to take advantage
of the marketplace in order to move up or down based on their efforts
and willingness to work. However, this scenario is disappearing as the
opportunities for upward mobility cease to exist and for a class driven
society to dominate. This is now a rapidly eroding economy based almost
solely on consumption which cannot be sustained without a vibrant
wealth creating (goods and proprietary services) sectors.
The Political Parties
As
the federal government has grown exponentially through the monies it
spends and its regulatory regime, the political class (which includes
the bureaucracy) has become the most powerful entity in the nation.
While the nation’s economy has grown by 110% since 1988, federal
government spending has skyrocketed 275% and is now approaching $4.0
Trillion (larger than the economy of Germany) making it financially the
largest single entity in the history of mankind.
There
is no business, institution or private individual in the United States
that does not come under the influence of this leviathan. With so much
power and opportunity to enrich oneself, the overwhelming majority of
the elected and appointed members of this fraternity will do anything to
remain in office. As a consequence there is now a permanent cycle of
corruption at play in Washington D.C. Large corporate interests
(including unions and Wall Street), assorted large special interest
organizations and the super wealthy, through their financial
contributions to the political parties, either make certain that their
interests are protected or that they have access to government largess.
Because
of the corrupting influence of an unimaginable amount of money and
power and the fact that this nation can only function politically with
two national parties, the founding fathers’ vision of a government of
the people, by the people and for the people is rapidly becoming one
that is by and for the ruling class.
Education
Rather
than view education as the means for the people to attain success in a
competitive world, the nation’s elites have recast it into a vehicle for
their pet theories and political views. Whether it is the promulgation
of self-esteem, the obsession with the evils of the nation’s past, or
the perils the planet faces due to mankind’s very existence, among other
inane curricula, the education establishment has assured that the
American people are rapidly becoming among the least well-educated
populations in the world.
In 2013 American 15 year olds ranked 32nd among industrialized countries in math, 20th in reading and 24th
in science. In 1988 this same age group ranked among the top 5-10
nations in the world in these same categories. Yet by 2013 the per
student spending in the United States, the highest in the world, had increased by 58% since 1988 (adjusted for inflation) while the median income of the American people has only increased by 6%.
The Culture
Perhaps
no area of the American society has been so adversely impacted since
1988 as the culture. This erosion has been driven in large part by a
majority of the elites determined to impose their lifestyle choices on
the rest of the population. Using the cudgel of the mainstream media
and the entertainment complex, they have successfully inculcated a
plurality of the American people into believing that there are no moral
absolutes and that the state can grant any rights that it so chooses to
whomever they choose.
Thus
abortion and the subsequent sale of human body parts as well as the
loss of respect for human life, the erosion of religious freedom,
runaway out of wedlock birth, the glorification of violence in
entertainment, and the undermining of any ethical or behavioral
standards combined with a woeful educational regime has resulted in a
nation without a rudder and two generations of Americans unsure of who
they are and unable to cope with whatever the future may bring.
Summary
The
American Ruling Class since 1988 has accomplished the unthinkable: they
have placed the nation on a collision course with chaos and decline.
Virtually all their actions have either benefitted them financially or
socially to the detriment of the rest of society. Whether they are
those on Wall Street making untold millions shuffling money, or the
public sector unions and their never ending financial demands, or the
education establishment’s obsession with ideology and funding, or the
political class and their avarice and narcissism, or those whose
religion is extreme but personally profitable environmentalism -- they
all hide behind the fig leaf of caring and compassion for their fellow
Americans.
As
the 2016 election approaches a majority of the populace is beginning to
realize that they have been conned and manipulated. That, in fact, the
future of the United States and that of their progeny is in serious
jeopardy. If wholesale changes are not instituted soon there will be no
turning back and potentially violent internal chaos and external
threats will be inevitable. The American elites, comfortable in their
current lifestyle, had better wake up to the rumbling beneath their feet
before the volcano erupts.
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