Ironically, there are still average Americans--the Tea Party types, for example, and the rabid fans of Rush Limbaugh and Fox News--who still believe this propaganda. Fortunately, the rest of the working and middle class have seen the light and know they've been played for chumps all these years. As a result, they've taken to the streets and are demanding change and accountability.
So now it's up to the ruling class, the upper 1%, actually more like the upper one-half of 1%, to change course. Unfortunately, there's no FDR around to force them to do the right thing, and, of course, there's no mainstream politician, including President Obama, who will stand up to them. Which begs the question: Can they reform on their own, beginning with higher taxes on the rich, as Warren Buffet has suggested, or are they going to hang tough and demand more draconian cuts on average Americans?
Are they going to force corporations to stop outsourcing jobs and start paying their fair share of taxes? Or are they going to allow unemployment to get worse and the disparity of income to become even greater?
Are they going to support green energy and allow it to flourish and expand? Or are they going to cave in to the fossil fuels industry and intensify global warming?
Are they going to encourage an affordable single payer health care system for all Americans, or are they going to allow the insurance companies to continue the run the system and deprive over 50 million citizens of affordable health care?
Are they going to make serious cuts in the military budget and bring home our troops from around the world, or are they going to continue their policy of imperialism and perpetual war?
The cynical answer is they won't do the right thing and they'll attack anyone who tries to promote a progressive agenda. But the 99% are not going away. They've seen the light and want their democracy back, and to their credit, they're trying to do it peacefully. But will the ruling class perceive this as a sign of weakness and pull a Gaddafi?
The choice is theirs. We all hope they come to their senses. In the long run, it's actually in their interest to do so, because a society cannot flourish economically without a strong middle class. But if they don't, and conditions get progressively worse, the peaceful protests at Occupy Wall Street and their affiliates around the country could turn violent. Things have already gotten ugly at Occupy Oakland. And they could become much worse.
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