Depressing Political Post

This is an exciting and historic election year. Over 30 years of neo-liberal economic policies have devastated the lives of millions, and the belated revolt against the corporate establishment is now threatening to fracture the cosy monopoly of power the rich have over both parties. The comfortable half of the country feel especially threatened and confused by the raw anger of the rest of the country. They try to comfort themselves by dismissing that anger. They point out the racists and ignorant people among the Trump supports, and use it to dismiss the actual anger of millions of people. They point out the sexist and intolerant behavior of the “Bernie bros,” and use it to dismiss the real anger of millions of people. Both Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders each have over 40% of the votes cast in their respective party primaries. It is quite a phenomenon for any outside the establishment candidates do so well, not to mention two. There is a strong wave of change in the air, despite the majority still voting for the establishment candidates. The political and economic system is failing a lot of people, and they want to change it. Trump supporters have been well analyzed in the media. They are mostly white and working class. These are people who are witnessing a serious decline in their economic opportunities and standard of living. Good jobs are increasingly scarce, wages are stagnant. The American dream has ended for them. They have found that both parties despise them. The Republicans call them lazy, entitled takers. The Democrats call them ignorant and racist. It seems only Trump speaks to their concerns. They feel immigration and outsourcing have cost them their jobs, and they are angry that the left are just kicking them while they are down. Trump is promising to restrict immigration, restore the jobs, and bring back self-respect and pride for working Americans. Those Republicans who don’t support Trump are either from the wealthiest portions of the population, or are those conservative Christians who want an overtly Christian government. Both groups want these angry working class Americans controlled. Bernie Sanders seems to have a lock on middle class younger voters, as well as the better educated. These also have found the American dream is lacking. They are crippled with student loan debt, have no affordable health coverage, and also can’t find decent paying jobs in this unequal economy. Sanders addresses their concerns. Opportunity is to be created based on accessible education and health care for all. Also the wealth must no longer be redistributed to the top (the 20% richest Americans now control 90% of the wealth). Instead, through fair taxes, better wages, and economic democracy the wealth is to be earned by those who labor. The older generation of Democrats doesn’t support Sanders as they have become accustomed to a party which maintains a safe, comfortable moderation in politics, politically maintained by overtly criticizing both left and right. They find actual liberalism – taking to the streets, manning the barricades – frightening. Both Sanders and Trump frighten the establishment. Laissez-faire capitalism is the horse the elites have bet on, and it’s how they profit at the expense of the working class. The wealthy, the relatively wealthy, and those who fantasize they can get wealthy, support the status quo of low taxes and low regulations which help keep the money at the top. Both parties hope that support from the better-off 50% of the population backed by the huge money resources of the top 1% will defeat these insurgencies from the bottom 50%. However, Trump does has enough pro-business tax and regulation stances which fit establishment neo-liberal policies that they might just accept him. If he can bring aboard most of that top 20-40% of wealth owners, plus his blue collar base, he wins the election. Meanwhile, Clinton has a problem winning over the Sanders’ voters, as she and the party have spent the last two decades aggressively and patronizingly engaging in “punch the hippie” tactics against the left. In return the left now thoroughly despise Clinton and the Wall Street, centrist Democrats. Regardless, I think she’s going to stay the usual Democrat course by trying to pull pro-establishment votes from the right (Trump may be scary enough for that to succeed), and once again bully the left into voting for the lesser of two evils. If enough people settle for her, Clinton can win. Now the Democrats do have a far superior record on equal rights and civil liberties. So a large number of Americans - women, minorities, liberals - still have some degree of a natural alliance with the party. The problem is the Democrats acceptance of neo-liberalism means fewer people have sufficient wealth to support each other's equality, instead we are increasingly fighting one another over scraps. You can’t get social justice without economic justice, without a healthy middle class, and here the Democrats fail utterly. Neither Trump nor Clinton have the economic policies to fix the massive and growing inequalities in this country.

It’s going to get worse.