almeno gli USA saranno tranquilli...
Non soi dove saremo noi a quel punto pero´... probabilmente sostenuti dai prestiti dell´FMI
The “Day After” (the 2012 US Presidential Election)
Riots, clashes and social unrest will make headlines in mainstream media in the US
By the end of the 2012 Presidential Election in the United States, the hopes and fears of a deeply polarized
society will erupt in the form of clashes and riots in the streets.
Until then, the hopes and fears will be channeled through the political campaigns by the media, with the people
expecting that their part of society (the progressives supporting Obama and the far right wingers supporting
the GOP) will win the election and, in Hollywood style, that will mean the end of all the American problems.
But the Day After will be a tough reminder that all the problems continue there, and nothing has really changed,
except that, from that moment on, the people will have no more faith in the political system, regardless of who
wins the election.
The signals are already there, unfolding before the eyes for everyone to see. From the massive protests in Madison, Wisconsin, to those on
Wall Street, from students sit-ins inspired by Madison to Latino immigrants.
In Madison we saw the prologue of a social movement. More than 100,000 workers and their families camping in the State Capitol fighting
for their rights to collectively bargain, while at the same time, the Koch brothers, some of the richer people in the word, created web pages
imploring Wisconsinites to hit the streets in support of the governor1. This was the biggest demonstration in the US since the Vietnam War
more than forty years ago2. And the fire is spreading to other states like Ohio, Iowa, Idaho, Indiana and Alaska. Even so, the vast majority of
Americans, 61% according to a USAToday/Gallup poll, would oppose a law in their
states similar to such a proposal in Wisconsin3. The worst part is that the workers are
fighting for survival, while the Republicans are just fighting to “cut the unions off at the
knees, so they don’t have the resources to fight these battles”4 trying to make it more
difficult for the Obama campaign to find the money required for its second term bid.
There are several factors that took the US to the dead end where it is now. We will
analyze them later. But maybe the most important one lies in the worst educational
system of any developed (or industrialized) country. This dysfunctional educational
system doesn’t just generate strong poverty, inequality and violence that are among
the main causes of the riots, but inhibits a clear debate on what is going on in America, percentage of the population in employment is just 58.4%11. When you are lucky enough to find
a job, it’s highly likely that it will be at a lower wage. While 23% of the jobs lost in the Great
Recession were low wage, 49% of the new jobs added are in the same low wage industries.
At the same time, it is hard to find a permanent job. In 2010 26% of the hires were temporary
jobs, compared to 7% after the 2001 recession12.
And still the conservatives are trying to destroy the unions; even so a unionized worker earns
$200 per week more than non -unionized workers. The unemployment rate among people
aged 24 or younger, one of the main causes of the Arab revolt, is officially 17.6%13. Just a final
figure here. 5.8 million workers have been jobless for more than six months.
As we can see in the charts above, the US has the biggest poverty figures among the industrialized countries. And poverty in the US is just
increasing with the economic and financial crisis. In the past decade, those people in the middle classes have seen their incomes fall. For those
with only high school degrees, the decline is really strong (12% in the last quarter century alone)14.
“
There are already signs that things are worsening for the poor :
l Wal-Mart shoppers, many of whom live paycheck to paycheck, typically shop in bulk at the beginning of the month when their paychecks
come in. Lately, they’re “running out of money” at a faster clip.
l Purchases are really dropping off by the end of the month; even more than last year15
l 43 million Americans (1 out of every 7) use food stamps. This is an increase of 16% in the last 12 months16
l 6 million of these 43 million have no other income. No cash, no welfare, no unemployment insurance and no pensions, child support or
disability pay17
l According to the Census Bureau, One out of every 5 children in the US lives in poverty18
l 62% of US bankruptcies were a result of medical expenses in 2007. 75% of the people
with a medical related bankruptcy had health insurance.
T.R. Reid, a Washington Post reporter, asked the President of the Swiss federation:
“How many people in Switzerland go bankrupt because of medical bills?” Swiss
president Pascal Couchepin answered : “Nobody. It doesn`t happen. It would be a
huge scandal if it happens.”19
We could continue with statistics ad infinitum. The reality is that the American people
are being impoverished at an accelerating rate.
It is not enough to be poor. The situation worsens dramatically when the population
can see the vast amount of resources the country has and the inequality they
experience.
The US has one of the highest levels of income inequality, as measured through
the Gini Index, among high income countries, comparable to some middle income
countries such as Russia and Turkey. In 1915 the richest 1% of Americans earned
roughly 18% of all income. Today, the top 1% accounts for 24% of all income20.To make bad things worse, as we can see in the chart, the average effective tax rate of Exxon Mobil is lower than the average individual tax
rate. It’s not only Exxon Mobil, but the richer Americans in general.
And the final factor that we will examine here is the lost of homes of the poorer Americans (there are other factors, like the economic and
financial crisis, the end of QE2, the state and muni bond crisis, the budget cuts that will affect Americans).
l Sales of new single family homes were down more than 80% in February 2011 from the 2005 peak. l New single family sales are now lower than at any point since data was first collected in 1963, when the US had 120 million fewer residents21
l In 2010, 2.9 million homeowners received foreclosure fillings, an increase of 2% versus 2009 and 23% versus 200822
- Currently there are 5.5 million homeowners that are 90 days or later on their
mortgage payments
- 20% of homeowners are late on their payment
- 3,5 million homeowners have been served with foreclosure papers
- 1,5 million homeowners are in the redemption period23
- And more than 15 million American homeowners currently owe more on their
mortgages than their homes are worth
- 27% of homeowners are “underwater”24
The trends are already there. And a major trend change is already ahead of the US. After the end of QE2 and with the strong cuts needed in
the government budgets ( at all 3 levels), people’s anger will rise. They will find that what remains of an already weak and thin safety net is
suddenly gone.
In the second half of 2011 and during 2012 the protests and demonstrations will dramatically increase. But they will be channeled to the political
campaigns by the media. For the last time, the people will try to influence the political debate in a peaceful manner. But the debate will just
increase the polarization, because we can expect (it has begun already) to see the dirtiest presidential campaign in history.
Once the presidential elections have passed, and independently of the results, the protests and demonstrations will transform into social unrest,
clashes and riots. The first half of 2013 will be the time when those clashes and riots surface in the US.