Surviving Capitalism (Not) : Recovery hype: American capitalism's weapon of mass distraction

We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Friday, September 27, 2013

Recovery hype: American capitalism's weapon of mass distraction

Click here to access article by Richard Wolff from The Guardian.

Referring to government officials and mainstream media that has been celebrating the theme of economic "recovery", he writes:

Here is the "recovery" that they see. The top 1% of income-earners in the US took 19% of the national income in 2012, the largest share since 1928. That 1% also saw their average income rise by 31.4% from the current crisis's low point in 2009, through 2012. The top 1% certainly enjoyed a recovery.

And then proceeds to set the record straight by providing a lot more real information about how the "recovery" has affected us by starting with this fact:

In total contrast, income for the other 99% rose by an average of 0.4% during the same period.