Politicians and pundits across the
political spectrum like to throw around vague words to promote why
living in the United States is somehow better than living anywhere
else. We hear about “democracy” and “civil rights,” that we
are the center of the “free world” because there are elections
every two or four years to elect another round of politicians. But we
never get an honest accounting for what these words actually mean.
There is a reason for that: In the
United States, the 1% of bankers and billionaires own and control
everything, while the rest of the 99% own nothing. “Democracy”
and “civil rights” are supposedly for everyone, but how can they
be when the vast majority of society has no political or economic
power under the current system? The “free world” is not so free
if you are looking from the bottom up.
Democracy in this country is for the
rich only. We, the 99%, cannot exercise democratic control over the
institutions that most affect our lives. We have no control over the
banks, the insurance companies, the courts, the police or the
government.
We do get to go to the polls every two
or four years, but our votes do not matter at all. We are merely
voting to elect the very people who will repress us until the next
election cycle.
A government of, by, and for the 1%
The electoral system is a sham. It is
rigged to ensure the domination of the tiny ruling class of Wall
Street bankers, corporations and big-business owners over the vast
majority of people.
Nearly every Senator and many House
members are millionaires, and every single one had to raise millions
or tens of millions of dollars from big banks and other corporate
sponsors to win their seats. In the race for president, each
candidate is indebted to Wall Street for tens of millions. It is a
dollar democracy, plain and simple. Those with the most dollars—the
banks and corporations—run the show. Those of us who work for a
living have no say at all.
Even if a candidate started off from a
humble background or once espoused progressive positions, not one
politician can become president of the United States unless they
adjust their positions to be acceptable to the Wall Street vultures
and the military-industrial complex. None of them will forward the
struggle of working and poor people.
Elections function more to divert the
justified anger of the 99% of us who suffer at the hands of
capitalist greed each day. As soon as a new cycle rolls around, the
politicians, the corporate media and (unfortunately) many progressive
organizations beat the same drum—they tell us we must temper our
anger and vote to elect the “lesser evil.” But what evil is
lesser if all candidates involved are beholden to our enemies on Wall
Street?
If there were no election cycles, if
politicians were elected for life, a new U.S. revolution would have
happened long ago. To prevent that, the 1% rolls out the electoral
sham with regularity.
This is the way the system works. Wall
Street and the ruling capitalist class it serves call the shots. The
politicians merely manage things for them—never for us.
We need an independent movement
With the 2012 elections in sight, the
Occupy movement will be confronted with overtures from both ruling
parties and by attempts to co-opt what is now a genuine people’s
uprising. Most overtures will come from the Democratic Party, which
poses as the representative of working people. But the Democrats,
just like the Republicans, are servants of big capital. They may
appear to have slightly more tolerable positions and curry favor with
more progressive organizations, but their only real constituency is
Wall Street, not those of us occupying cities and towns across the
country.
The way to change society is to keep
this people’s movement independent, and to reject any and all
attempts to make it compromise. Only the people can bring Wall Street
to its knees.
Working and poor people have the power
to make it happen. Instead of channeling our energy into the next
election cycle, let us continue to occupy, organize and rise up!
Who does this government serve?
We create all the wealth in society
by going to work, but have no say in how that wealth is spent.
$11 billion:
Amount cut from early childhood
programs
Amount in tax cuts for millionaires’
estates
$9 billion:
Amount cut from low-income housing
programs
Amount in tax cuts for the wealthy’s
vacation homes
Box:
Wall Street Profits: Up 720%
Unemployment Rate: Up 102%
Source: Gains and loses, 2007-2009;
New York State Comptroller, Bureau of Labor Statistics
