Have older Americans replaced al Qaeda as the "evildoers?"

The only thing we have in common with these people is they call themselves Americans

"I see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of my country. . . . corporations have been enthroned and an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people until all wealth is aggregated in a few hands and the Republic is destroyed."*

As expected, the representatives of the corporations in Washington raised the country's debt ceiling just in time.  It's a sort of half measure really as part of the deal is that a committee, what they term a bi-partisan panel, of six Democrats and six Republicans will decide on the next $1.5 trillion in cuts and in what ratio.  How much in tax increases and how much in cuts in services and entitlement programs like Medicare and Social Security.

The same old arguments are being made.  In fact on my local NBC news channel last night the anchor brought on one of their economists to give the viewers an assessment of the situation and in his 30 seconds or so he made it clear that putting people back to work was the issue and that the private sector, being more "efficient" and "productive" is the force to do that and the capitalists won't do it if you raise taxes; taxes on capital have to be lowered, public employment savaged.

They always make jobs the issue in the hope it resonates with those of us that work for a living rather than those whose income is derived from the profit on capital in one form or another.  This has become more difficult as more and more Americans are disgusted with the whole dysfunctional political system in this country.  The ideology of the capitalist class is more dominant in US society than other developed nations as we have no significant opposition parties and have never had a national political party of the working class here.

Consequently, what is described in the press as "bi-partisan" implies that there are significant differences between the two sides but not so.  The media and the corporate politicians do all they can to obscure the fact that there are classes or opposing economic interests in US society."It shouldn't take the risk of default, the risk of economic catastrophe to get folks in this town to work together and do their jobs." President Obama said in his public comments after signing the deficit deal implying that these folks are simply servant of "the people."  But they are doing their job. The debate over the debt ceiling, like all debates in Washington, is between different sections of the capitalist class over which way forward for them.

So the bi-partisan panel, staffed with six representatives of one capitalist party and six representatives from another  (one party with two wings really) will figure out what ratio of tax cuts and spending cuts will make investors and speculators feel secure about their economic future and end their strike of capital.  The two sides expressed their seriousness about "getting the economic house in order".  The Republicans said they will not put anyone on the panel who would "go along" with tax increases. The left wing of this group does suggest they might agree to a deal that ends tax breaks as opposed to increasing taxes.  The Republican's will only put on the panel, "serious people who would put the best interests of the American people, and the principles that we fought for throughout this debate first", says Mitch McConnell from Kentucky.  The interests of which "American people" is what matters here. One important step forward is rejecting their propaganda that we are all simply "American people" with the same goals and interests. When they talk of "raising taxes" they always leave out whose taxes to attract the already strapped workers and middle class to the idea that we shouldn't raise them at all.

The Democrats on the other hand, as Harry Reid, the Democratic Senator from Nevada announced believe it's "It's extremely important that I pick people who are willing to make hard choices but are not locked in." This is the extent of US political  discourse with the heads of organized Labor yielding to the latter.

Obama is urging the panel to raise taxes on the wealthy which is a good idea but taxes will not be raised on the wealthy without the pressure of a movement from below, without the threat of social protests that would lead to strikes, occupations or other forms of direct action. Simply having 100,000 in the streets peacefully protesting without any attempt to disrupt economic activity will not move them as the events in Wisconsin showed. The potential was there but it was successfully diverted from becoming an independent mass movement to yet another electoral effort on behalf of the Democratic Party. 

In their serious journals they admit that their system, the economic system we call capitalism, cannot provide a decent life for most people even in the most powerful and wealthy capitalist nation in human history.  Peter Coy, writing in Business Week explains that " ....cuts in Medicare and Social Security are painful but necessary" and have to be made in the "public interest".  The "public" Coy is referring to is the 1% of the US population that controls 40% of the nation's wealth and maybe a few others.  But most of the serious journals of US capitalism recognize that the world has changed, that US capitalism is no longer the dominant force it once was despite being able to blow up the planet 10 times over.  US economic dominance is threatened on many fronts by emerging economies especially China.

As they attempt to weaken programs that are sacrilege to many American workers, Medicare and Social Security, the stage is being set that will divide their opposition.  More propaganda will have to be directed against older Americans who are the recipients of many of the social benefits won over time.  "We've been heading the wrong way for years" writes Coy. And what way might that be one might ask?  Coy explains, "It was paying out generous benefits to the elderly while incurring big obligations to boomers......."  "Now the gray deluge is upon us."  With bin Laden gone, it is older Americans, the "Grey Deluge" that seem to be arising as an evil force intent on destroying America.  The US is in a danger of reaching a "tipping point" writes this strategist of capital, a point when, "..older Americans have the clout to vote themselves benefits that sap the strength of the younger generation---benefits that can never be repeated."

A cursory glance at US history shows that this offensive will not continue without social unrest forever.  The theoreticians of the capitalist class knows this; they read history and learn from it much more so than the heads of organized Labor if they read about our history at all. As he attacks older Americans and blames them (and public sector workers) for the crisis, Coy suddenly becomes a champion of our youth, the youth they send to places like Afghanistan or Iraq or Pelican Bay The transformation is amazing, "Given how hard-pressed young workers are, it's unfair to put all the adjustment on them while completely insulating today's elderly."------the old divide and rule strategy at work. The elderly are thrown in the same basket as the immigrants it seems.

The problem has been that different sections of US society have fought only for their own immediate interests. This is true of the Unions and the elderly.  The absence of a unifying social force due to the role played by the heads of organized Labor, US politics is dominated by what they refer to as "identity politics" every independent grouping fighting for their few crumbs hoping the pain will hit the other folks and it has worked as racial minorities, the poor, the less organized and the disabled have suffered the most.   This approach,  where individual local unions are left to fight a well organized national and international business community has been the main strategy of the Labor hierarchy with catastrohic consequences for all workers, not just Union members.

But the attacks are much broader and we have entered a new historical era.  The globalization that contributed to the accumulation of vast wealth for so many as much as it drove down wages and benefits of workers in the US also means the world economy is more integrated than any time in history.  The US is exposed to European banks and Chinese growth and China is equally dependent on the US economic situation.  There will be a major explosion at some time here in the US, of that there is no doubt.  The success of the Labor leadership and their Democratic Party allies to to get 100,000 people in Madison to "go home", is a temporary victory for them. The economic system is what drives this offensive; they are compelled to attack us no matter what their individual will desires.  As Business Week warned some 35 years ago"

"It will be a hard pill for many Americans to swallow--the idea of doing with less so that big business can have more...Nothing that this nation, or any other nation, has done in modern economic history compares with the selling job that must be done to make people except this reality."
Business Week 10-12-74.

* U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, Nov. 21, 1864 (letter to Col. William F. Elkins)