There Goes The Wondertruck

A DFH named Ian just wrote a stunning summary of  this country's death knell over at Firedoglake. Let's look at the graphics, class:

Those of you who look closely at those in order will notice several things.  First, America's productivity has risen pretty impressively over the past generation.   A good thing, right?

Well, moving on to the second graph, maybe not.  Working wages have not risen comparatively; hell, they haven't moved AT ALL.  

So, the more astute student may ask, where have the benefits of all that productivity gone?  Answered, of course, in the third graph.  To the top 1%.  The insanely wealthy, who have gotten nothing but wealthier on the backs of actual workers, and please do notice that includes Clinton's era.  Do notice, also that their undeserved and stolen share of our country's wealth has nearly TRIPLED over the last generation.

The reasons, of course, are many and it's probably way too late to worry about them.  Suffice to say it was a coherent and conscious effort to reverse the equalization of the Industrial Revolution and Unionization movements; to return the country, the world, to what they have always viewed as the real Golden Age: when rich men were de facto rulers and there was little to no protection of working men, women and children.  Police and governments were fully subsidized arms of the oligarchy, tasked with protecting wealth and keeping the rabble in line.

As one who is currently feeling the boot from these rich bastards on my neck, I would also like to mention a chilling synchronicity in that final graphic.  The last time this much wealth was accumulated in so few hands, America (and the World, not so coincidentally) entered The Great Depression.

But, you know, Phil Gramm (one of those rich fuckwads pissing on us) tells us he knows what is best and it's all in our heads.  Our underpaid, overworked, underemployed and overstressed heads.  Atop our unemployed and outsourced bodies.  While he continues getting paid millions of dollars for being a twisted greedhead with as little humanity as the ice cubes in my drink.

As Atrios and others have been pointing out, and as I have been saying for a couple of years, this is not going to be an easy thing.  Class riots hell.  When it's time for these grasping, shortsighted, fuckwit savages to be lined up against the wall, we won't be able to decide who should be first.

Good luck to you all.