Free Republic
Browse · Search
Bloggers & Personal
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Class Conflict In the 21st Century
Power Line ^ | 12/13/2010 | John Hinderaker

Posted on 12/14/2010 6:39:22 AM PST by no-llmd

Karl Marx classified people according to their relationship to the means of production. That was, perhaps, a plausible approach in the 19th century. Nowadays, however, it makes more sense to classify people according to their relationship to the trillions of dollars that flow from the productive private sector to the parasitic public sector. One could argue, with a great deal more force than Marx was able to muster, that 21st century America has a ruling class. It consists of those who direct and profit from the trillions of dollars that our government, at its various levels, extracts from working Americans. The footsoldiers of today's ruling class are the public employees who command ever-increasing salaries and benefits and who, through their unions, provide much of the money and many of the votes that keep our ruling class in power.

(Excerpt) Read more at powerlineblog.com ...


TOPICS: Government
KEYWORDS: government; unions
All government jobs should be right-to-work jobs and free of the evil unions
1 posted on 12/14/2010 6:39:24 AM PST by no-llmd
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: no-llmd
Not exactly sure what that would do ~ working for the government is like being in a union anyway, whether you have one or not.

On the other hand, if you simply abolished government in this country ~ and I mean the whole thing, federal, state, local, and all those special arrangements (New York Port Authority, St. Lawrence Seaway, TVA, Bonneville Power) the salaries and operating costs saved WOULDN'T balance the national budget.

Entitlements ~ particularly those people have been led to believe they were paying for ~ Military Retirement, Social Security, etc. ~ would still leave us with a deficit.

2 posted on 12/14/2010 6:43:16 AM PST by muawiyah
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: no-llmd

All jobs should be right-to-work jobs and the evil unions should not have any special rights.


3 posted on 12/14/2010 7:01:21 AM PST by 9YearLurker
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: muawiyah

The budget will no be balanced by affecting just one sector of government. Entitlements are the 800 pound gorilla, but there are plenty of 400 and 500 pound gorillas in the cage as well.


4 posted on 12/14/2010 7:11:19 AM PST by dirtboy
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: 9YearLurker

9YearLurker,

“All jobs should be right-to-work jobs and the evil unions should not have any special rights”.

A very good point indeed.


5 posted on 12/14/2010 7:18:44 AM PST by no-llmd
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: no-llmd

Please stop pointing out the bloat of government with articles like these.

I hope the bloat increases and accelerates exponentially. And under Obama it undoubtedly will. We need to speed up the process of meltdown not slow it down. We need to hasten the day that it all comes crashing down. Because what we have nowis a slow and torturous “death by a thousand cuts” kind of situation.

When private sector employment finally shrinks to a point that it can no longer support this huge public sector
payroll (probably already there) then you will see some real chaos in this country.

I mean torches and pitchforks kinds of chaos too.


6 posted on 12/14/2010 7:20:55 AM PST by NeverForgetBataan (To the German Commander: ..........................NUTS !)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: no-llmd

Please see this:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2642235/posts


7 posted on 12/14/2010 7:26:17 AM PST by NeverForgetBataan (To the German Commander: ..........................NUTS !)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
Bloggers & Personal
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson