News Flash Election 2010 - Jobs a problem - - Reality; dignity remains elusive
This entry was posted on 11/3/2010 2:05 AM and is filed under New Normal, Selfrighteous Sanctimonious Condescending Pricks, Wisconsin economic hell, Job Ethic Abysmal, Enablers of misery, Paper Tiger Elitists, Two Party Paradigm, Unemployment Hell, Great recession, Jobs from hell, Jobs and Old Guys.
For Five years a few voices in the woods hollered 'til our literary voices were hoarse, to indignant and deaf ears, that jobs were vanishing. A few months before this current 2010 election, the many pundits and candidates reluctantly jumped on the "We need jobs" mantra. As election day drew closer, ubiquitous campaign ads emerged insisting said candidate was the best at being empathetic to, "We need jobs." The talking head pundits grumbled in concert, "Yes, of course, if you must, jobs will be the theme."
One question jumps out at me; in fact, it screams at me, "Where the hell were all you perps five years ago as jobs started hemorrhaging to China; old workers were thrown under the bus; and, black men between the age of 17 and 35 could not buy a job, and still can't?
The many pundits and two-party candidates are paper tigers. Few have served in the military. Few then, can relate to someone coming back from war hell to find only a part-time benefitless job. Few have serious solutions to stop the job hemorrhaging to China, in fact, truth be known, some embrace the exodus of jobs. The more unemployment there is for the next election cycle the more fingers can be pointed at incumbents.
What's more. No one at all will touch the reality of the "New Norm" economy of permanently ensconcing workers in part-time, low-paying, benefitless, four-hours-a-day, seven-day-per-week jobs. These are the new under-employed Americans; they are the tired faces of the new "jobless recovery" scheme. These wrecked souls are considered employed by conventional standards. From experience while perusing places that candidates set up camp during campaigns such as county fairs, I know from confronting them they loathed having to address...the "New Norm."
The day after the election some of the architects and apologist perps of the "New Norm" are sent back to their seats in their perspective governmental bodies - it is what we do as electorates - we are crazy don't you know? We love our tormentors! Some of the perps did not run again - they did however run for their lives out of politics. New perps have now replaced them. And, some of the old perps who dared run again were voted out. No matter.
The jobs are gone - they will not be back this time like so many other recessions before. Two years and four years from now we will again gnash our teeth at the same high unemployment and the languishing workers in their "New Norm" lives - it is their own fault don't you understand? They should have seen the Great Recession a'com'n. Part-time wages and hours will no doubt even be worse for the many rabble. And, two years and four years from now the same scenario will repeat itself again - the same two-party hacks will play musical candidates - the faces may change or not - the hapless workers will continue to languish. Perhaps, the last line of poverty defense, their Social Security and meager health benefits will be further chipped away at in the meantime. The deconstruction of the Republic via the two-party paradigm slogs onward.
In any other country there would be a revolution. In America, the workers slink away, their dignity stuffed dutifully in their crotches. Grab another beer and fire up the video games; watch a movie on the Internet; text someone about nothing. And, the two-party canard will remain intact. It's all good.
The many beleaguered workers are specters - hard to actually see and hear. None of them call their local talk radio stations (the stations that have survived national consolidation) before they head out of town with the aging car loaded with kids and dog and towing the U-Haul loaded with the big-screen and mattress. None of them call to mention their lives have been ruined. Nor, do they make one last stop on the way out of town at the Court House or City Building to address the County Board or City Council to mention in the citizen comment part of the meeting agenda, that they have had enough joblessness and are...leaving town. The many leaders are always spared that uncomfortable moment. And, they can dutifully get back to raising fees and fines on those of us that dare linger in town and try to survive.
In a few weeks from now, long past election day, the many disenfranchised workers will scrimp to pay for the heat in drab apartments on a cold night and put on extra blankets. The many two-party perps in collusion with a wrecked economy will sleep tight in their warm beds at night. The many radio stations and tv stations slip the millions of dollars of campaign advertising checks in their back pockets; the two-party rubric serves them well - and they will sleep well.
It's all good. The Republic limps onward.
