Inequality Drives Egyptians to Streets, But Ours Is Worse

[dajoki]

The F Word: Inequality Drives Egyptians to Streets, But Ours Is Worse
by Laura Flanders | February 1, 2011 - 9:28am

Read entire blog and watch video at:
http://www.smirkingchimp.com/node/34035

It's amazing what inequality can drive people to, eventually. Just look at Egypt.

<<snip>>

In spite of what some on Fox News (and the Israel lobby's camp) sought to argue this weekend -- namely that the protests were all the work of Islamist radicals -- every report from the ground contradicts that. As in Tunisia, the protesters are driven by fury at poverty, lack of options, and the looting of their state by the super powerful.

It's an equation we understand -- elsewhere: a massive gap between rich and poor is inconsistent with democracy. But before you get carried away with third world conditions there, try here. On Friday a guest blogger at Yves Smith's Naked Capitalism blog noted a remarkable fact: the U.S. actually has much greater inequality than Egypt--or Tunisia, or Yemen.

<<snip>>

While 22 million were searching for jobs in the US this week, Goldman Sachs tripled Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein's base salary and awarded him $12.6 million of stock, a 42 percent increase from '09. The billionaire Koch brothers threw a lavish secret party for their looter cronies, to talk about their election plans.

The average American may not be suffering the way the average Egyptian has been but as Danticat noted, there's a tendency to exaggerate the suffering of what we think of as the "third world" while assuming that the U.S. has it better.

As for that anti-democratic gap between rich and poor -- not better, worse. And here too, our democracy is suffering. What are we going to do about it?

[FSogol]

1. Why does this BS keep getting reposted? They are major differences

between US and Egyptian poverty.

[Little Star]

7. The article is about income distribution.

[villager]

2. the head-meet-sand crowd has already been here to instantly unrec!

Damn, events in Egypt must be making them fidgety!

[JuniperLea]

3. Fox doesn't think it's a grassroots movement...

Because they've been told such movements involved pretty painted buses to get the protesters to the appointed meeting spot.

That's the only thing interesting about your OP... it's patently false otherwise.

[dajoki]

8. Like the OP says...

you are assuming that the U.S. has it better. What else do you consider false?

[FSogol]

4. DUer Cali responded to these kinds of posts yesterday. Read here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=439&topic_id=317878&mesg_id=317878

[leftstreet]

5. Excellent response in that thread: the US has no fucking excuse n/t

[SoCalDem]

6. deliberate v situational

both bad..one is unconscionable. guess which?