An Epitath for America

Over at MB, Karl speculates on why America is great, and basically gets handed his head in comments.
 
Bad Tux points out that the U.S. is now the economic equivalent of Mexico.

I made essentially the same comment in both places.  Economic disparity and a deterioration of equal protection under the law are moving us toward plutocracy.   I forgot to mention that our most recent former president is an admitted war criminal.

I’ll say that we had our time of greatness – starting post WW II to an end date that can’t be pin-pointed since we are fading slowly, like an old soldier, but I believe is now in the  past tense.   My children – born in the early 70′s – will never have the quality of life as adults that I did. Two income families have become a necessity.


We were great because we had a strong, vibrant, and upwardly mobile middle class – the old American dream, characterized by relative equality in income and wealth distribution. Well, that is gone – killed by Reaganomics, tax policies, union busting, exporting manufacturing jobs, and the gutting of regulations. We are now at a banana republic level of wealth disparity.


Rule of law had a lot to do with it, too. But we are losing that, as well. Being rich can preclude prosecution for even an egregious crime.   I don’t think I’d get that kind of delicate treatment from a prosecutor.


And the Citizens United decision gave muti-national corporations essentially legal status equal to U.S. citizens. And they just bought themselves an election.


Where we go from here is medieval serfdom – not as Hayek imagined, but under the iron fists of multi-national corporations.