The Elite, the Middle Class, and The Poor

Yesterday I was reading an article on gasoline prices around the world, seeing many countries not only DON'T tax gasoline consumption but actually subsidize it, generally oil exporters, most specifically Venesuela, with the subsidy paid for by oil exports.

I do have to wonder about the ideals of democracy, where you have to BRIBE voters with irrational policy that hurts the future viability of an economy and country just to be elected.

Here the in the United States, at least we have a token gasoline tax, so I suppose I should be glad at least that "gasoline tax holidays" are recognized for what they are - senseless pandering, but don't ask anyone if they believe we ought to be paying $9/gallon like the UK, no no no. We're entitled to our expectations.

Even the mighty Obama must submit to pandering, talking of tax cuts to the Middle Class, WHILE faced by a budget deficit that'll never be closed, continuing borrowing from China and our SS "trust fund" as long as these sources can keep us afloat. It's all nonsense, irrational and hopeless. We're heading to shitland in a hurry, and Obama et all can "feel the pain" of our economic downturn, but say nothing about how it can only get harder.

Academics are willing to "say what they see", and it ain't pretty:


If the Middle Class "dries up" (with our debt), we'll be like every other second world country - a never ending sequence of false hopes.

I'm pretty much willing to "surrender the American dream", whatever that is, in exchange for something I can believe in, a world where not everyone needs to own a car, not everyone need to own a home, not everyone needs to work 1.5 jobs to make ends meet.

I'm myself an "elitist" by Conservative standards because I support limits on individual freedom. You can't have a world of "haves and have nots" where money is the sole measure of freedom. Well, that's both obvious and false - you can have any world you can engineer - including one where The Masses are continually tricked into believing they are getting a share of the pie. Well, it works in an expanding economy, but I'm more skeptical it can work in a shrinking one.

We've played this game a long time - trinkets for allegiance:
http://www.storyofstuff.com/

I'm an elitist because I can earn twice what I need to live, and I can't imagine what it's like on the bottom, and for those who overstep their means. I have sympathy, but no hope that change can happen without a change in consciousness.

Turn off the TV. Get outside and walk. Earn less than you could. Spend less than you have. Find your inner peace, and work with it.

Easy to say from a place of strength, harder to believe it'll make a difference to those who are in survival mode now.