The news is rather ominous of late.
Unemployment is up...up....up...credit is tight, the dollar is down. Gas is predicted to rise to $4 a gallon soon.
Even Walmart sales are down, down, down...but ironically sales at Tiffany's, Harry Winston are soaring. What can we take from these observations. That old bug-a-boo about which no one wants to dialogue: income inequality, increasing income disparity....
There is no doubt about it, the middle class is shrinking and those at the top of the income pyramid are increasingly distancing themselves...the USA, who used to herald that all are created equal, is quickly re-creating itself into a country of rigid social hierarchy that resembles India--we are being morphed into the American version of untouchables and Brahmins.
Statistics show that Corporate CEO's in 1999 made 410 times what their employees made. Then add this: 92% of political contributions are made by 1% of the richest Americans. The worker bees are starting to buzzz....
The wise Greek philosopher, Plutarch once remarked, "An imbalance between rich and poor is the oldest and most fatal element of all republics."
If anyone remembers the Russian czars, Nero or Marie Antoinette--it can happen again. Wars based on religious dissonance are not that far removed from wars sparked by the frustration of the have-nots--especially when the "haves" flaunt their wealth so ostentatiously.
I believe that 2007 will be the tipping point, so I am getting my affairs in order.
No comments:
Post a Comment