about Jim Scott

My college student called me yesterday
and asked if our family was part of the ‘one percent’. You know, the
villains of the Occupy Wall Street movement, those at the top of the
economic pile. The question came up in his sociology class, the
professor wanted to know how many students thought their families
were ‘one percenters’. I am happy as a parent that my son was not
sure where we stacked up.

His impression was there was little
sympathy for or connection with the protesters. Safe and warm in
their private university, this is probably not a surprise. Political
movements are driven mainly by those with skin in the game, people
who have a personal stake in effecting change. If you doubt this,
take a look at antiwar movements since 1965. The presence of a
citizen-draft drives the size and intensity of the movement; it is
all about whose ox is being gored.

The Occupiers have no specific agenda
other than a demand for economic redress. They believe government can
and should provide solutions to their problems. They do not have
specific proposals, they only know their personal economies need
better prospects. They are petitioning the elites with their
grievances and they are in the streets because they have no access to
the system.

The political stalemate in Washington
is driving these disparate and chaotic movements. It is contained at
the moment to those at the societal margins and our leaders are
loathe to act, given the fact there are so few voters camping out.
Members of the shadow congress, the army of lobbyists that run
Capitol Hill, are not collecting fees from the Occupiers.

The pathetic charade of the
Super-Committee is almost scripted. When the committee’s deadline
arrives on the 23^rd of this month and the failure becomes
official, Congress will foist some new political snake oil on us. The
masses will dutifully swallow this dreck as the country will remain
captive to a determined minority. This paralysis will end only if
this economic malaise spreads from the sidewalks. The irony is that
the scruffy and determined activists are perhaps the best hope for
those comfortable kids in that classroom. Sooner or later, they will
be looking for the American Dream.