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[Thad]

I like the postings for jobs that want 4-8 years of experience, "but are willing to consider more".

I like the ones who want "5 or more years' experience with Windows Server 2007."

[Pacobird]

You know, you can take the words "legal" and "law" out of your post and it works just as well.

Also, this is definitely true, but different industries have been hit by the Depression in different ways, so they call for different responses.

"Phase out lawyers" isn't the best response here, at least not to the degree it is in other industries.

[Mongrel]

So I was reading this amusing article on Kenneth Cole's, uh, well I guess you could call it a "gaffe" earlier today when a line of thought came to mind.

Much hay has been made lately (and in the past decade, really) about how the rich have been getting richer and the rest of us have been getting the shaft and blah blah blah. While I agree with this sentiment in broad terms, the average man in the street really hasn't cared much. When you really get down to it, the average person just doesn't care enough about the issue yet.

Given that the income disparity is now as bad as it was in the 20's, it has struck me as a bit odd that people aren't angrier - or at least more active about this. But for the most part I was satisfied with what passes for the current arguments for why that is: People's survival isn't at stake as much. We do have something of a safety net, even if it is in tatters. There's enough food. etc. etc.

I did think that maybe that wasn't the whole story. As much as the rich love grasping as much as they can, so do the poor. While a wealthy man may buy off the government to grab what they can, the poor will band together to demand entitlement programs. Sure, you may point out that the neocon and post-neocon expansion of spending without matching tax increases is exactly that kind of stuff, but that misses the point: There's always been a broad range of poor folks that aren't merely satisfied with entitlement programs - they want to Stick It To The Man. For this bunch, higher taxes on the rich is like a benefit in and of itself.

So anyway, it occurred to me that the real reason we haven't seen more plebeian rage is simple: Because the rich have gotten much better at not reminding the poor how hopelessly out of touch they are. Sure, they're still prone to the occasional comment as linked above, but for the most part, they use their funds to buy precious Kane-esque seclusion and issue all statements through multiple layers of PR men. That's not to say the wealthy never used barriers or mouthpieces before, but the process has been vastly advanced in the intervening century. 

So anyway, not much point here other than to wonder out loud what our "Let them eat cake" moment will look like and how bad things have to get before we get there.

[Catloaf]

The barriers to our much-needed revolution are largely
1) The media has successfully redirected many people's rage at the government, and the wrong side at that (tea party)
2) Racism, while no longer overt, is still very strong in America, and so many are distracted by the president's skin (tea party)
3) The American people are stupid.  And socialism and anything that even vaguely demands equality of any sort and/or any action relating to such has been so demonized over the years that such things are dismissed before even fully coming into being.  Instead it is insisted that it's the government's fault. (Tea Party)

Right now, I think we have a greater likelihood of the government being dismantled and the country dissolving into a complete clusterfuck and chaos that will bring new meaning to dystopia.

So, basically.  I BLAME THE TEA PARTY.

[Classic]

I heard once that the biggest indicator of a revolution (of any kind) is the percentage of the population that are males 16-24. Higher percentages indicate a more likely revolution (again, not necessarily violent).

[Mongrel]

The unemployment levels of that age bracket are also pretty important.

That said, I doubt that's the only indicator. I actually took a senior history seminar entirely on the causes and progression of revolutions once, but it's been a while so I'd have to actually look up the details of anything.

In other news, I see there were no responses besides Catloaf's. A sure sign that I'm probably talking out of my asshole again. I suppose it would have helped if I'd made it clear that I don't actually expect or want a Revolution, in spite of the Marie Antoinette reference. Just policies that seem to require a leader with the surname Roosevelt to implement.

[Thad]

Marie Antoinette never actually said "let them eat cake".

[Büge]

The unemployment levels of that age bracket are also pretty important.

That said, I doubt that's the only indicator. I actually took a senior history seminar entirely on the causes and progression of revolutions once, but it's been a while so I'd have to actually look up the details of anything.

In other news, I see there were no responses besides Catloaf's. A sure sign that I'm probably talking out of my asshole again. I suppose it would have helped if I'd made it clear that I don't actually expect or want a Revolution, in spite of the Marie Antoinette reference. Just policies that seem to require a leader with the surname Roosevelt to implement.

Well, you know. We all want to change the world.

[Norondor]

i didn't respond because every time i talk about this kinda thing everyone just thinks i'm mental

[Mongrel]

Marie Antoinette never actually said "let them eat cake".

Whether or not it she actually said it does not in fact invalidate my point.

What matters is that the average French citizen had little problem believing it. To say that the French aristocracy was "widely seen as out-of-touch", is to put things so mildly, it borders on euphemism.

Of course these days, it's the right wing that has the average citizen taking everything at face value. There's a number of ways that can go, but few of them are any good.

[Catloaf]

i didn't respond because every time i talk about this kinda thing everyone just thinks i'm mental

While I respond in spite of the fact that everyone thinks I'm mental.  Partially because I'm somewhat in agreement with their sentiment.

[sei]

To say that the French aristocracy was "widely seen as out-of-touch", is to put things so mildly, it borders on euphemism.

so how about that technology legislature (IP, patents, etc.)

[Mongrel]

You may be given to the impression that geeks are now mainstream. This is quite understandable, given various social and technological developments in last twenty years.

However, it is not wholly correct.

[sei]

Silly me. I forgot that only geeks were capable of downloading music, visiting YouTube, or being sued by RIAA.

[Brentai]

The Groupon commercial in the third quarter is a pretty good candidate.

[Mongrel]

Silly me. I forgot that only geeks were capable of downloading music, visiting YouTube, or being sued by RIAA.

Patent and IP law, etc. You're speaking of things about which the average citizen is largely clueless over.

Think of the average idiot raging because they were "busted" over mp3's or were "screwed over" by their ISP. When you see people like this ragin' away on message boards or news comments or wherever, how many of them bring up IP law and how many of them just mash "BLUH BLUH THESE GUYS R RIPP OFF ARTISTS MOTHERFCKERS!"?

You can't have a visceral feeling that the powerful are out of touch when you're not in touch yourself. Shit, look at old Ted Stevens. That's probably the furthest spread something's like that had and it had a negligible effect. I'd argue that that's because it there simply isn't a critical mass of voters that would respond to Ted's idiocy the way most of us did. 

TL;DR - preaching to the choir never gets anybody anywhere. Neither does overestimating the size of the choir.

[sei]

Not entirely sure this is the right thread, but this was a fun read:

Are the American people obsolete? (subheading: The richest few don't need the rest of us as markets, soldiers or police anymore.)

[Mongrel]

A bit silly at times (especially the military-privatization stuff), but not without some merit.

[Mongrel]

So I hear we're a hairsbreadth away from a "What the fuck, Wisconsin?!" thread.

[Mongrel]

Obama Budget Cuts Visualization