May Day 2008

It seems appropriate to resume action at this corner of the Internet on May Day.

Where are we as of 2008?

• The US manufacturing base is decimated. (Want proof? Go to China, Indonesia, or Vietnam and see the difference in prices for consumer goods.)
• Lack of economic foresight or just sheer disdain for others is allowing a chasm between the haves and have-nots. Not that this all that shocking, but the fact of the matter is that the face of the have-nots is becoming more diverse with each passing month. The day of people applying for food stamps in Ralph Lauren sounds probable.
• Golden Parachutes are still happening.
• On the positive side, the notion of Universal Health Care has begun to edge its way to the forefront of national dialogue. (As to why it took so long to even get to this level, I have no clue. That said, we're only now realising that trickle-down economics does not work.)
• As isolationist as this sounds, I think that the EU and/or the PRC usurping the US's role on the international stage is a good thing. Too many years of looking outwards has left our house in disarray, and as I see it, getting our house in order seems to be the theme of Campaign 2008.

So perhaps May Day 2009 will see the US taking action--as opposed to rhetoric--towards its citizens. Perhaps, just perhaps, Americans will realise that government has the responsibility to protect its citizens, not just arbiter disputes.

I'll be optimistic.