Hoi Polloi React to Class Warfare

Across the Middle East, the hoi polloi (aka la gente) are demanding civil and human rights, including the right to earn a living. The revolution that began in Tunisia and took off in Egypt is affecting a number of Arabic regimes. Now, the same spirit is infecting the working class and labor unions of Madison, Wisconsin, USA.

(The decline of the economy and middle class is devastating Taos—empty store fronts, decrease in GRT, real estate and art sales. Now Mother Nature and the Gas Co. are picking on us. Politically speaking, “the vision thing is missing.” Survivalism can be a mean and hungry beast.)

According to The Nation, “The protests, unprecedented in recent Wisconsin history, are being organized by unions—the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees, the Wisconsin Education Association, the American Federation of Teachers-Wisconsin and others—in anticipation of a Thursday vote on whether to give the governor powers that the senior member of the state legislature describes as nothing short of dictatorial.

“Many of those who showed up for one of the first of what expected to be days of ever-expanding protests borrowed themes language and themes from the crowds that filled the streets of Cairo and other Egyptian cities to call for the end of President Hosni Mubarak’s dictatorial reign.

“Signs at Tuesday’s rally — which the AFL-CIO said attracted a crowd of 15,000 and which news outlets broadly reported drew more 10,000 state and local employees and their backers— referred to the governor as “Hosni Walker” and declared: “Protest Like an Egyptian.”

“Another asked: “If Egypt Can Have Democracy, Why Can’t Wisconsin?”
One senior state employee had gone online to find the Arabic words for “Remove Walker” and made a picket sign with the message.”

Increasing tension between the rich and poor in America is the result of an ongoing thirty-year wealth grab by American elites and their lapdogs, lobbyists turned U.S. Senators and Representatives, most of whom have found a friendly home in the Republican party and to a lesser extent in the Democratic party.

Below Taos Friction posts excerpts from a CNN report on the statistical gap between rich and poor in America. The Nation provides coverage of sit-ins and protests from Madison, Wisconsin, where a radical Republican governor is trying to bust public employee unions. The New York Times features stories today about the near-riots in Wisconsin.

When establishment organs like CNN and The New York Times join The Nation in terms of tone and sentiment, one should pay attention. Radical Tea Party types and extremist Republicans are doing the dirty work for Corporate America and outlaws like Rupert Murdoch and the KOCH brothers, who pose a threat to the very fabric of American democracy: the unraveling of the middle class is destabilizing the country.

Advocates of the War on Terror are playing into the hands of terrorists and global trade competitors who are taking advantage of America’s weakened economy, diverted by the forever war and cultural issues in domestic politics. By deregulating banks and exporting manufacturing, the corporate masters and their political cronies—Reagan, Clinton, Bush, Obama–have destroyed the hopes of two generations to earn a decent living and/or retire from a lifetime devoted to a career. Meanwhile, the Attorney General ignores the torture of free press symbol “Bradley Manning” (WikiLeaks leaker) and focuses its energy on convicting the home run king, Barry Bonds, of using human growth hormones.

While Obama’s rhetoric offers a virtual antidote, now Americans can look forward to the reality—the furor and excitement–of marching on state and national government, where the lobbyist ply their trade. Internal American security organs expect to see Americans demonstrate at the bastions of Wall St. and in Greenwich, Connecticut where the wealthy work and live.

Wealth Gap

CNN yesterday reported that “Incomes for 90% of Americans have been stuck in neutral, and it’s not just because of the Great Recession. Middle-class incomes have been stagnant for at least a generation, while the wealthiest tier has surged ahead at lighting speed.”

“In 1988, the income of an average American taxpayer was $33,400, adjusted for inflation. Fast forward 20 years, and not much had changed: The average income was still just $33,000 in 2008, according to IRS data.

“Meanwhile, the richest 1% of Americans — those making $380,000 or more — have seen their incomes grow 33% over the last 20 years, leaving average Americans in the dust.

Among other reasons, CNN reports that experts proffer reasons for the decline, include technology, globalization, weakened labor unions, the trickle up effect of the stock market, deregulation of banks by the Clintonians, tax cuts for the rich under Bush and now Obama, the housing bubble bust. Now corporate banking profits are on the rise—like unemployment.

“We’re obviously heading toward is some kind of class warfare,” said one of CNN’s experts.

Wisconsin Rallies for Rights

In the New York Times, Feb. 16, 2011, story by By MONICA DAVEY and STEVEN GREENHOUSE, the report says the crowds “crushed into a corridor leading to the governor’s office here on Wednesday, their screams echoing through the Capitol: “Come out, come out, wherever you are!”

The Republican Governor wants more from public workers for health insurance and pensions, while cutting rights for “collective bargaining,” according to the Times.

“We’re broke,” said the Gov. Scott Walker.

“I’m sure we’re going to hear more from other states where Republican governors are trying to heap the entire burden of the financial crisis on public employees and public employees’ unions,” said William B. Gould IV, a labor law professor at Stanford University and a former chairman of the National Labor Relations Board.

“Earlier this week, in Ohio, workers protested outside the Statehouse in Columbus to protest a bill that would limit collective bargaining for state employees there. In Indianapolis, teachers rallied against a bill that would limit contract bargaining for teachers’ unions.

“In Tennessee, a legislative committee was considering a similar bill.”

According to The Nation Magazine,” published in an article by John Nichols,
“Tens of Thousands Protest Move by Wisconsin’s Governor to Destroy Public Sector Unions” on Feb. 15, “More than 10,000 Wisconsinites marched on the state Capitol Tuesday, as crowds rallied in cities around the state, students walked out of high schools and public employees lined roadways holding aloft banners declaring their determination to battle an attempt by Republican Governor Scott Walker to strip state workers of their collective bargaining rights and pack state government positions with political patronage appointees.”

“Another huge crowd — numbering perhaps 8,000 — surrounded the Capitol for a Tuesday night rally. Protests spread to the Milwaukee area, where hundreds of workers massed outside Walker’s suburban home.”

Nichols called “The protests, unprecedented in recent Wisconsin history, are being organized by union—the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees, the Wisconsin Education Association, the American Federation of Teachers-Wisconsin and others—in anticipation of a Thursday vote on whether to give the governor powers that the senior member of the state legislature describes as nothing short of dictatorial.

One progressive legislator said, “The governor is trying to ram this through the legislature. But the people of Wisconsin aren’t just saying ‘no,’ they’re saying: ‘Hell no!’”

Here at home, we see how our Congressional Representatives support LANL expansion in the name of low level jobs for la gente and profits for large corporations; pollution for residents, and and continuing insecurity sponsored by the National Nuclear Security Administration. Taosenos are under siege. And we like it that way.