Tipping Points

I found the comment on my last post to be quite thought-provoking.  It is shocking, at times, that we have not reached a tipping point.  But I think most Americans are either too busy struggling to get by or too busy  and tired.

So what will it take for the middle and working classes in America to reach a tipping point and demand action?  Rising oil/gas prices might.  The growing state and local government debt crisis might.  So might a national debt crisis, if and when it comes.  But you would have thought the housing/financial crisis and accompanying Great Recession would have done it.  And there was a backlash, though much of it was ill-informed or misdirected.  Most of the outrage got directed at the government, and the Democrats paid the biggest price.  People seemed more pissed off at the government for "bailing out" Wall Street than for Wall Street screwing over millions of Americans and walking away, in general, richer for it.  People were more pissed off at Obama "bailing out" the auto companies than they were at the auto companies for decades of bad decisions and mismanagement.  And lots of people were pissed off at the stimulus bill - which saved millions of jobs - because they thought it was the part of the bank bailout.  And lots of people did not understand that the bank bailout, the auto bailout and the stimulus bill were necessary to keep us from the Great Depression II, or worse.  Lots of people don't understand that the government will get back much of the money from the bailouts, and may even turn a profit.  Tea partiers and others complain about taxes being too high, but they are taxed less under Obama.

Part of the problem is that the media ain't what it used to be.  People have too many options now for getting their "news," and a lot of it sucks.  TV news is all about ratings and image - and in some cases, about furthering a specific political ideology or agenda.  And people are more distracted - fewer read newspapers, more watch reality TV, surf the web, play Farmville on Facebook, etc.

But part of the problem is that so many Americans have lost faith in their government, especially in Congress.  So what if I think income inequality is a problem?  So what if my standard of living os stagnating or declining?  So what if the earth is warming and the climate is changing?  So what if big business - especially the banking industry - think they own Congress?  All too many Americans don't believe the government can or will fix the problems.

More and more, I think the wedge issue is campaign finance reform.  People across the political spectrum agree that we need to get big money out of politics.  If we did, then that might be an important first step in restoring some faith and confidence in government.  And, in all likelihood, we'd see some politicians courting voters with as much enthusiasm and energy as they currently do their campaign donors.  We might start to see some real legislation passed that would address the core needs and desires of the majority of voters.

This is a tough question.  I'm no longer willing to give in to my cynicism.  There will be a tipping point.  I'd like it to come sooner rather than later.  But I want it to be a catalyst for action that will put us on a healthier, positive path to the future, not a spark for violence or political extremism in American politics and government.  That means that good, smart people who "get it" now need to start working together.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, that may mean some kind of serious campaign on campaign finance reform - maybe for a constitutional amendment - or a third party.