Hello Carly,
Let me respond by first saying that I deeply respect your attention to this matter, as well as your desire to do something about it. Far too many citizens are content to remain uninformed and uninvolved; and as a result of their apathy, become unwitting participants in their own oppression and that of others.
With that being said, I must regretfully assert that peaceful protests accomplish little beyond assuaging well-intentioned peoples' desire to act. In the U.S., protests have a long history of being completely ignored by the government - be they against wars in Europe, Indochina, and the Middle East or against the bailouts of the very same financial institutions responsible for devastating the U.S. economy in 2008.
You are right to say that people should be concerned about these political happenings and the impact they will have on the economy they return to in the coming years. The austerity measures being adopted, previously in Europe and now in the States, are designed with precisely one goal in mind: the further consolidation of wealth and power in the hands of few, at the expense of many. As a few other posters have noted, this trend is far from new. This phenomenon is, in fact, the end game of every government of historical note. What is especially disconcerting, however, is the accelerated rate at which the American Empire is crumbling. The boom-and-bust economic cycle is producing larger and larger bubbles at a rate of two per decade now. The absolute farce that is the one-party-under-Wall Street political system, has become the thread-barren Emperor.
After painting such a dark picture, I would love to be able to segue into helpful advice on where to direct your rage, frustration, or disgust. Unfortunately, there is none forthcoming. As for me, I was extensively involved in Ron Paul's (real) grassroots presidential campaign back in 2007. Since that time, profound disillusionment has given way to an unfathomable misanthropy. The only respite has been the company of intelligent, like-minded people, where available, and the elementary education profession (to some degree).
Pay no heed to the mouth-breathers that are telling you how pointless it is to reach out to others on a forum. Of course it won't accomplish anything politically, but neither will organizing and running for office like they suggest. The time when positive change could still be forged from within the system has long since passed. Anyone that tells you anything to the contrary is either extremely naive or a liar.
In any case, I wouldn't mind meeting with other politically-conscious individuals, skeptical as I am. PM me some time, and we'll arrange something.
Regards
this is a bit more than business as usual. the debt ceiling crisis was a new low for american government. if you don't understand that, you don't really understand what happened.
as for the OP, i applaud your outrage, but honestly, what could a few english teachers in korea do about this?
i'm not sure if we can do much, if anything. i won't be voting for obama in the primaries, that's for sure. i might even vote straight republican from here on out. sometimes you have to just shoot a dying horse before you can start training a new one.
Can you please give me a play-by-play of the mental gymnastics routine you just performed? I'm honestly at a loss...
"Obviously, the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. "
A. This isn't true by any subjective, long term measure. The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting richer. This is true of most of the world.
B. The debt ceiling thing is overblown. Oh no! Spending will rise by 5 million over the next 10 years instead of 7 million! So spending wasn't really cut at all.
A. I think the word you're searching for is
objective. And they are plenty of such measures. Real wages, for instance, haven't increased since the Carter administration. In that same time span, the costs of healthcare, education, and energy use have increased anywhere between 250-500%. Consumer debt stands at roughly $2.5 trillion, or $22,000 per household. That number has doubled over the past decade. Those statistics clearly indicate that the average person is getting "poorer." On the other hand, the U.S. now boasts 3.1 million citizens with at least $1 million in investable assets - an all time high. The combined wealth of these individuals is also at an all-time time high, $11.6 trillion.
B. The debate over raising the debt ceiling was political subterfuge. Obama and his economic advisers got exactly what they wanted out of it - austerity measures and zero tax hikes on the wealthy campaign contributors - without having to take any heat from the moronic voting base that still clings to the idea that Obama is some sort of progressive messiah.
