As We Remember Memorial Day, Who's Fighting For Jobs?



Posted: Monday, May 30, 2011

by Walter Rhett
Charleston Perlo

Americans form William Sherman to Marvin Gaye have remarked war takes a toil heavier than peace. But bullets aside, and with deep respect to the lives given to preserve our unique American life and democracy, on the home front, who is fighting for jobs? 

The twin pillars of profit, labor and capital, now require less of one because there's more of the other. Despite distracting cries of inflation, interest fears, debt collapse, or frozen markets, the daily drumbeat continues to press wrong-headed illusions and illogical reasons about available economic capital. The economy is awash in capital—notwithstanding the mortgage overhang. Record profits, incredible world-wide growth, especially in China, India, and Brazil, high demand for commodities, the recent Fed QE, and corporate capitalization clearly contradict the idea of a crisis--or mortgage debt as a drag.

The crisis is in jobs. The problem lies not in the numbers, but in the seen and unseen attitudes, the shift of power. The GOP continues its attempts to disguise their takeover of the government and treasury as the prescription for jobs. Subsequently, their job program was a ten page document filled with clip art, oversized fonts, and large white spaces. (This is an old tactic, rerun; it was also done in 2009.) Nothing could be more succinct or ridiculous in expressing the complete disdain the GOP has for the nation's working class. (Note the Tea Party has be silent on the GOP jobs charade.) Add to it, the statements John Boehner made in his February Rolling Stone interview about lazy expectations and jobs being available, and it is plain and abundantly clear no measures to immediately spur demand are planned. Without increased demand, no jobs result.

That's fine with the GOP. It's an open secret that jobs were never a part of their political mission. Jobs were only a part of their strategy to rearrange the relationships in the political economy. Jobs were cultural mimicry to create a wedge to attract support while misdirecting attention from their use of arcane legislative means to encroach on executive power, redirect the budget as vouchers and gifts for the rich, and roll up the government platforms that protect entire classes of rights for people and property.

The question is why the Democrats have no answer for the new strategies? With the exception of Bernie Sanders (an Independent), none of the Democrats seem willing to challenge the GOP on economic terms or to call out the shifts in power the GOP is exploiting in the states. The political action to beat back the threats is strangely missing. Even as Palin runs into New England, a democratic miasma lingers like a foul mist.

Even as they perilously ignore the massive grabs for power and the shifts in political economy, the Democrats seem powerless to focus on jobs.

Also see: "Confronting Rape: A Global Review." http://bit.ly/RePw  

Walter Rhett Walter Rhett attended Ohio State and writes from Charleston, SC. He writes about national and global affairs with an eye on Southern history and culture and enjoys listening to his readers.

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Top-level comments on this article: (1 total)
» left by Chris Sabian
 331 days 2 hours ago.
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The issues in the UK revolve around successive governments to cure long term unemployment and the sick culture. We are into third generation families unemployed and it isn't going despite government protetstations.
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