So today I went on a short internet quest and found the following interesting items. One is a New York Times article about income inequality in the US. It's all well and good to say we have a democracy, but when the rich get richer year after year, and the poor get poorer, and this has gone on so long that the income inequality is worse in this country than in any other developed country in the world, then there must be something wrong with our democracy. How can the majority vote for leaders that make them poorer, while the top 1% rakes in the money that the 99% would otherwise have received? There must be a systematic disconnect between what we mean to vote for, and how things work themselves out in the end. Someone is lying. At some point, they will get found out.
Here's what it looks like in simple numbers (quoted from above article):
" C.E.O.’s of the largest American companies earned an average of 42 times as much as the average worker in 1980, but 531 times as much in 2001."
We are paying billions in tax dollars to fund wars using the argument that we are defending democracy. Our young people are losing their lives for this, or coming back with post-traumatic stress disorder and devastating brain injuries. But do we know what true democracy is? Would our 99% not be voting for something that serves them better if the system worked? 99%? Really. Are they all hoping they will be the ones to cross over to the 1%?
The argument that this is necessary to stimulate American innovation is purely self-serving. Somehow or other, no other developed nation on Earth has found it necessary to get to quite this level. Or maybe their 1% haven't figured out how to pull it off without a major uprising on their doorsteps.
Occupy Wall Street points the finger at the 1% who make the most money here in the US. Who are these people and how much do they make? It might suprise you to find out that only 1.5% of Americans make more than $250,000. Many of us here in Marin are the 1%. Of course it costs a ton of money to live here in the Bay Area and we can't easily shake off the mortgage and other fixed costs. But I'm sure there's something we can do.
Starting immediately, it's time for those of us who honestly can do it, to donate some of our time or money to help a worthy cause. There must be something you support that benefits a slice of people including mostly the 99%. Maybe you can offer low-cost services in your business to obviously needy customers. Maybe you can skip a couple of lattes and the occasional cute pair of shoes and donate instead to Heifer International's Oregon Project. Maybe there's a vacation you can give up so you can be really generous with a donation to a school district in a less fortunate town, or the Canal Alliance.
Do you support the Democrats? Now is the time to let them know that this income inequality bugs you, even though you ARE the 1%. Tell them you'll be voting for the Green Party if you don't see this addressed in a serious, methodical way. Insist that you want to see concrete results. Make them sit up and take notice.
Why should you do this? Because of Asmaa Mahfouz.
Here's a most amazing video. Asmaa Mahfouz is the 26 year old Egyptian business school graduate who helped lead the Egyptian revolution this past year. Watch the whole thing, it is an amazing treat!
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A couple of Colorado sites:
Loveland local
Saucy in the kitchen
Susan Buhr's Stepwise family, from Golden, CO
Other 100-mile diet sites:
Cincinnati locavore
Eat local challenge *San Francisco Bay area"
Resources for local food:
Local Harvest is a websites you can search for a list of products in your area.