You know right now, history looks like it is in a place to repeat itself [View all]

[kydo]

Last edited Fri Nov 29, 2013, 02:06 PM - Edit history (1)

As I watch the news reports for black Friday. I drifted in many thoughts. First retailers and the media will try their collective best to spin this disastrous shopping season. Sure some places there were crowds, but so far it looks like the crowds are way down.

Of course I probably am undiagnosed ADD as my thoughts quickly switched to images of that History Channel show about rich people that owned everything. What struck me is how eerily similar we still are to the pre union era in the USA. It feels like any gains made by unions has been almost completely undone 100 years later. Looks like we will have to fight that battle all over again.

Right now the USA seems to have failed to understand two important lessons from history.

1. Unregulated Capitalism is not sustainable. Examples are in the 1880's through 1920's meeting its conclusion with the Great Depressions. Unions and regulations have kept us from bottoming out so far but as regulations are removed and unions destroyed we find ourselves creeping closer to bottoming out again. We almost did bottom out in 2008.

2. Racism and Hate is also not sustainable. The rhetoric that spews fourth from the right these days is reminiscent of the Nazi Party and its beginnings.

100 years later these two issues are rampant in the USA again. The Great Depression and WWII has taught us nothing as we appear to be on the verge of repeating the same mistakes all over again.

For the record I hope the protesting and striking Wal-Mart workers is successful. I hope retail sales are down with stores that refuse to pay living wages. I hope stores and companies that do care about their employees by paying living wages thrive and have great sales this weekend.

I'm sick of corporations having more rights then people.