America is in Rehab
Move forward but with proceed with caution!
America is in Rehab
Although I would like to say that the recent incident in Tucson was an isolated incident by a mentally ill young man, I believe it is an outcome of some of the changes that I have mentioned in previous writings. America’s social contract will be changed during the next 20 years and we, as a nation, will have to decide who we are as a country.
America will have some really challenging times during the next two years as transits go in and out of her chart. Much of what we are experiencing today is a throw back to what was started in the ‘60s. This was a time of social injustice corrections, riots, the Vietnam War, women controlling their own bodies with birth control pills, Medicare and Head Start. It was revolutionary and it is being played out today.
Stress has been building for many years in the areas of the economy, politics and the individuals themselves. Here in California, I would definitely be earthquake prepared.
AMERICA IS ABOUT EXPANSION
America itself is always about expansion, we have expanded just about everything including ourselves. We now will be forced to contract and it will be painful. I recently attending a financial symposium and one of the speakers mentioned that the poor of America have nothing left to sacrifice, the middle class has sacrificed its houses and jobs but the rich, what have they sacrificed? This is quite unusual to hear this type of commentary coming up during a financial talk. The audience was mainly white males, fairly well off and educated. The talk from the stage even mentioned that revolution can begin without guns. Since the wealthy of our country have been the benefactors of at least the last 10 years of growth (American income was been reduced 5% over the last 10 years), it is reasonable to believe that this large discrepancy between the middle class, the growing working poor and the wealthy could result in some unpleasant outcomes.
Since this Tucson incident was aimed against a government symbol, it stays right in line with the times in that the planet or astral body called Pluto will play havoc with the world and especially with the United States. Pluto rules government and corporation. In mythology it represents the God of the Underworld. It takes no prisoners. It destroys and transforms. It is steadfast and relentless. Just when you think you can’t take anymore, it gives you more to take. The best thing to do is to stop fighting it and allow ourselves to be transformed.
WHAT ARE WE WILLING TO DO TO CHANGE?
What are we willing to do as a people to transform our personal lives and our country?
What are you willing to give up? What will you get involved in to see that positive change takes place? Sacrifice will be ordered up across the board. That includes a commitment by the country to face our high unemployment. The idea that job creation naturally follows an economic recovery has turned out to be a false assumption. The government has yet to face it. This unwillingness to face the unemployment dilemma is a greater threat to future prosperity than high unemployment itself.
The decline in jobs in America is based on the fact that the growth of technology and the rise of globalization is a trend that is not going away. These are structural issues that the US will have to deal with. So far it has not. It certainly will not go away because the Fed has pumped money into the system. The Fed, itself, is under close scrutiny by the new Congress. As long as America stays in denial about its high unemployment such as extending unemployment benefits and dealing with its problem in a piecemeal manner, America will stay in rehab and muddle through. There is no going back, the manufacturing jobs that are lost, are lost forever. The focus in America must change to cutting edge infrastructure and first class education.
We’ll stay in rehab while we muddle this through, creating high anxiety and a lower standard of living. Meanwhile, I would expect the protests, town hall meetings, blogs, marches—increased stress, righteous behavior and people acting out their frustrations and demands to continue. March ushers in a new era of events. More on that at another time.
2011 WILL BRING MORE OPPORTUNITY THAN 2010 BUT MOVE FORWARD WITH CAUTION
THANNKS GAIL
With no jobs in the offing, loss of jobs during the Bush Administration and due to out-sourcing which will never come back, along with the dumbing down of America which will certainly continue under the new Congress, how on earth will cutting unemployment benefits improve things, unless it brings us closer to the revolution or civil war we are certainly heading for and hasten the outcome of class warfare. Please don’t think it will be bloodless; it wasn’t bloodless during the riots and chaos of the 1960’s and it will be much worse now.
The scariest people alive are those with nothing to lose. The more that gets taken away from the working classes, including unemployment benefits, which people have paid for in payroll taxes, the more likely it will be to surely cause greater suffering and animus toward the “haves” from those who are seeing the end of the American dream for themselves and their children. Just so you know, I’m self-employed and don’t get unemployment benefits, so I don’t have a personal investment here.
Thanks for reading this Gail,
Lisbeth 🙂