Forum Post: The Way America Used To Be
Posted 12 years ago on Nov. 5, 2011, 3:25 p.m. EST by zerocc
(7)
from Jersey City, NJ
This content is user submitted and not an official statement
We all know that it's a common viewpoint amongst conservatives that America needs to return to the core values that made it great in the past couple of centuries. It's also an inevitable fact that they try to use this to justify their neo-conservative economic policies which have continuously made the wealthy wealthier and the poor poorer. Interestingly enough, I stumbled across an interesting passage from John Stuart Mill in "On Liberty" about American life in the mid 19th century. He wrote,
"In... The United States the feeling of the majority, to whom any appearance of a more showy or costly style of living than they can hope to rival is disagreeable, operates as a tolerably effectual sumptuary law, and that vein many parts of the Union it is really difficult for a person possessing a very large income, to find any mode of spending it, which will not incur popular disapprobation." (Mill 87)
This is EXACTLY the sort of cultural shift that we as people and protestors need to be living and advocating for. Wealth may be an inevitable fact of the capitalist structure (for better or for worst), but flaunting it while others suffer should be universally condemned as a vice.
Yanno zerocc, that is pretty witty.
Capitalism eventually kills off the host. Its great until all consumers are economically dead.
http://occupywallst.org/forum/the-corner-grocery-store/
Something I do not understand is how most of you were the one bashing and blaming bush for every problem under the sun, and now there is no accountability for the current president.
When Obama was sworn into office democrats had held both the house and senate since 2006, they held it up until fall 2010. In (coming up on) four years under Obama's watch we have spent more than bush did in eight years. Was nearly two years not enough time to do something? To at least slow down spending? Or making this economy more conducive for businesses to conduct business? Or how about the transparency he promised upon election?
One theory as to why people wont place blame on Obama is that the very people who labeled the tea party, "neocons", republicans and so on racist for calling out Obama on lies and faild policy, are scared of the label themselves.
Could someone maybe shed some light?
I think very few Occupy Wall Street supporters support Obama, or the democratic party at all. It was they who, after all, pushed the bailout.
I agree.
A ninety percent tax on incomes over $100,000 would be a good start.
Also stop money moving to safe havens off shore.
Bring in a goods and services tax to tax the black economy.
Right, but beyond a governmental solution to wealth inequality (which I support), we needs a change in people's cultural attitudes towards wealth and money.
you're correct to point to the fact that we need cultural change.
Not sure how we can change cultures.
Greed needs to be seen as bad as violence.
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