For a few weeks now, I've been reading diaries here and the news and I've been thinking about this Republican idea of "Ownership Society".
I was reading a diary last night, a great diary detailing how Ohio is far from a swing state. One poster said how he tries to get folks, people who are being crushed by increased costs and don't like what's happening in the political world but finds them demoralized and "tired". The tiredness here is both physical and mental. When there is the sword of a layoff hanging over your head, or the risk of losing health insurance coverage or just working 2 jobs to make ends meet, who cares about what Republicans are doing to pass the Energy bill in the House? It is a challenge to just get through the daily grind and there is little thought for anything else.
Now, how does this tie into the Ownership Society? Well, there was another diary here on Dkos and in there a soldier said he signed up because he was getting $X-thousand in enlistment signup and he'd get more to re-enlist and if he made it out, he'd have a decent amount saved up at a relatively young age. Some posters were shocked: they said what has America come to when people have to sign up, at the potential cost of losing their life to make money.
Then there was this NYC subway bomb threat. They said it originated in Iraq. That 19 attacks were planned. The mayor and the police chief called an emergency press conference. Everyone went on alert.
Now, maybe it is just me: but post-9/11, how easy would it be for someone flying in from Iraq or Syria, to come into the country? Before pushing the alarm button, did they check the DHS databases to see if such individuals made it inside the US?
Ok, ok..I'll get to the point.
My point is simply this: the Ownership society will be anything but. Periodic doses of fear, destruction of the middle class and no job stability, such that an individual will be grateful for whatever crumbs a company throws his way because he knows, there's going to be 10 more in line to take his place. People will be without employer-paid benefits (Republicans call this "cost of doing business"), they will be working 2 jobs to make enough to pay for healthcare (Republicans call this "personal responsibility") and they will be unquestioning of their employers because they are dispensable (Republicans call this "free market"). In the past years, cost of living has gone up, wages haven't. Jobs are being lost and we are seeing no benefits of globalization. At least the common working American isn't. Maybe this why despite the official numbers of the economy doing well, people don't feel that way.
There is one thing though: if you are young and maybe even not so young, sign up with the military. It might make you feel good and there'll be enlistment money and re-enlistment money. There are wars to fight and if Republicans leave any kind of educational grants in place, it will be for people who are willing to sign up and fight in conflicts. For a student who can't afford higher education, the military will be the only way out. Heck, didn't someone say "at least it is a stable paycheck"? If that is the only way to get health benefits for your child, wouldn't you sign up?
In short I think it is a calculated strategy to destroy the foundations of middle class structure. People will be struggling to just get by. We see this recurring daily in 3rd world countries. People who are struggling to make ends meet are a politician's dream. They are disinterested in what is happening within the government, they are unquestioning of big business and fed periodic stuff about terror and foreigners sneaking in, then they remain sufficiently agitated. Throw in the gays and they remain divided too.
The "Ownership Society" concept isn't about elevating common Americans. To me, it seems to be about removing all regulations on business, keeping the government in the position of rubberstamping big contracts to businesses and keeping people divided and desperate. I think I see the trends. Do you?