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by Arnold De Villa
October 16, 2011
First it was Wall Street, and thenWashington D.C. Chicago probably followed next. Then Boston, San Francisco, Seattle, and Salt Lake City followed suit, not necessarily in that order. When grass grows, they grow in a parallel time. It is not accurate to detect an exact point of origin. In an age of instant messages and social networks, grass roots movements grow exponentially, a massive horde of people acutely aware of social ills, economic distress and who are perhaps sufferers or victims of the free market vices. Their complaints could be cynically reduced to the common cry of: “down with the rich and up with the poor!” They whine about corporate greed, protest against the abusive abundance among the very few wealthy individuals, and they simulate democracy through unlimited speeches, hand raising votes, and even solicitation of signatures.
Some writers call it a movement, a social behavior that is fast spreading out of the U.S. Those who are in it claim to be empowered by the fact that numbers seem to have bestowed upon them some special power (a collective power), or at least the attention of the world. Among those who are in it, I wonder if there is anyone earning more than a million dollars a year. It does not matter though. No one will care on how those million dollars were earned, obtained or inherited. They will attack the wealthy as if being wealthy is bad. They will deride the voice of some corporate entities as if they were not formed by human beings. Lastly, they will search for economic criminals, people who probably belong to the top 1% of the nation’s wealthy, and those who are perhaps not aware about the pains and pangs of poverty.
In another corner of a “Chicago Tribune” headline, Jason Grotto writes, “Union Chiefs handed 2 pensions for 1 job”.
Now I wonder. If these Union Chiefs were elite components of the extra wealthy, wouldn’t their heads be locked up in a guillotine by now? As Union members, it took time for the system to catch their style. I wonder if they ever dared to sit with someone holding a placard that goes, “Down with the rich, and up with the poor”.
I would say that the employment rate has a negative growth; the lines for a food stamp are increasing across the curb and everywhere are people with a latent anger against so many lopsided actions, behavior centered on the “self” and focused on the “I”. Without doubt, the travails of the many, the 99% middle class sector whose jobs are threatened without a bright glance are at the final version of their communicative strategy. Those who are at the verge of losing their house (if she has not lost it yet), those who cannot afford to pay another medical bill, and those who are disgruntled about the ills of capitalism and the free market enterprise are the most common components of this protest.
In my ignorance, I do not have clarity on what their demands are. In my certainty, I know that they are not indigents of their scarcity. They are neither the well bestowed elements of Wall Street. Their taxes are perhaps three times more than the average wealthy soul. They are simple folks who find it hard to accept that Capitalism thrives on inequalities and the free market enterprise has some cost attached to it.
Among a grass roots movement, a leader could emerge. When that transpires, a single blade of grass could branch out to silhouettes of positive expectations. And then the grass roots are diminished. One will be left.
In the streets of Chicago, somewhere in Lasalle, I somewhat measured the dimensions of me losing weight. In the streets of Chicago, headlines about the disproportionate ratio of pension to income among labor stalwarts is simply disgusting. How can an annual income of about $15,000 a year produce more than $150,000 annually in pension income? Feed that Union Chief to the crowds and then pray. At this rate this nation is going, I would not be surprised if the wealthiest among the wealthy are lynched and sent to the chair.
The beauty of a free market enterprise is in its naked composition. The free market is free. Period. There is no need for government incentives or corporate gimmicks to instill this reality. It will adjust by itself. Nonetheless, there will always be discontent. Man is beyond measurements. Man could be discontent. He is insatiable.
The law of large numbers is still an elegant virtual device that enhances the different options to realize a social diagnosis. There is something in a collective crowd that is inspiring. Yet, the more common motivation behind a collective crowd is not always positive. Behind the line of a common foe, strangers bind with one another. Those who take the streets of Chicago or New York are not exactly those who are happy with their plight. They are unhappy. That is why they bind together. Are they truly the most helpless and marginalized? Not really. The poorest of the poor cannot afford to own gadgets or devices for quick communication. They will be happy with food and shelter.
Is it really corporate greed? What about the unbridled pensions of Union Chiefs? The proportion of their wealth is insignificant in relation to the wealthiest, but the principles of greed are the same. Yet, are they not the ultimate paradigms of the grass roots? If the street members hold an assembly and vote on social issues and concerns, that is because many of them are unemployed. If they were employed, would they have time to do the same? If they were all employed, maybe the thought of taking it on the streets would not have even been conceived. Grass roots movements evolve and are not designed to be forever. When they do, someone will stand out. And that someone could be wealthy. That is the blessing of a free market enterprise. It is a perennial competition to have the most and be the best. In so doing, there will be those who will have the least and also do the least. And perhaps it is its own curse.