Which Side Are You Really On?

“The 99 versus the 1” - this is both a convenient rounding and a misnomer about just who is battling who. The mainstream media and the Tea Party have been minimizing the Occupy movements as the actions of a few professional agitators with a handful of hippie soldiers. I was watching CNBC the other day, and while they did conduct an interview with Michael Moore, he was not allowed in the building. After the interview ended, one of the conservative on air personalities said, “I agree with one thing that Michael Moore just said; 2 years on and no one has been punished for the financial crisis.” He continued, “But I agree with absolutely NOTHING else."

There is some serious cognitive dissonance at work when someone can agree with the root of the problem polarizing America, and the world, but yet claim to completely disagree with the problem’s obvious origin, that there are any steps needed to resolve it, or acknowledge the devastating effects it has had on innocent people. This attitude is all too common, especially among the aspirational middle and upper classes (what few of them are left). What is the source of this massive disconnect? I believe the answer can be found in our class system; rarely is it discussed, but it plays a pivotal role in keeping different groups from seeing that they are all in the same boat. Here is the modern class system as I see it.

1. The Underclass

This class is easy to define and describe: they will be found working at minimum wage or low-paying jobs, or are just plain out of work. This class has members who were always poor but are increasingly being joined by the underemployed (those working as Walmart greeters who ‘left’ their careers as comfortable middle managers), the newly unemployed, and those working whose wages have not kept up with inflation and who dropped into the category of ‘poor’ by all known definitions.

There are now about 6 unemployed Americans for every new job opening in the United States, and the number of "chronically unemployed" is absolutely soaring. To put the jobs issue into perspective, Harvard University accepts roughly 7% of applicants. At a national “Hiring Day” in May, the apparently even more prestigious fast-food chain McDonalds only accepted 6.2% of applicants. There simply are not nearly enough jobs for everyone, and the poorest class is joined in alarming numbers on a daily basis.

2. The Middle Class

The middle class is less tangible: definitions vary, and the estimated size ranges from 25% to 65% of the population. A popular definition describes a comfortable standard of living, economic security, and work autonomy, but few of these seem to apply to anyone in America’s new reality. Certainly not to those making between $25K and $100K per year, the range for “middle class” income suggested by the Drum Major Institute. One thing is certain, however; despite this group's aspirations, their ranks are rapidly dwindling. The nebulous nature of its definition can only temporarily hide this fact.

Even a few of this article’s 22 statistics showing the destruction of this class are unnerving – for example, that from 2001-2007, 61% of all income growth in the US went to the top 1%, and most of that to the highest fraction. Similarly, the top 1% now own twice as much wealth as they did 15 years ago. Our polarization of wealth is now worse than during the Great Depression. Taken as a whole, the statistics are terrifying. It is now unequivocal that this vast part of the population is being rapidly eroded, yet there is a general refusal to face this fact. This pig-headed avoidance of the deep problems within the American economic system is exemplified by Republican presidential hopeful Herman Cain, who recently told the unemployed and poor, “Blame yourself!”

3. The Indentured Elite

I began this post with questioning the math of 99% vs. 1%. The reason I thought that this was oversimplified was because I, and a number of my peers, are considered ‘rich’ –this is a flawed perception, so I decided to break down the numbers even further. What I call the ‘indentured elite’ is a class that is rarely, if ever, talked about: so infrequently, in fact, that I may be coining the name here. They are lumped in with the ultra-rich but with an entry point of just $250K to the top 1.5%, their interests could not be more different. A nice house and car, the occasional luxury holiday, and access to credit may visibly differentiate them from other classes, but these are basically meaningless.

Their status is just as insecure as the other groups – perhaps more so, due to their ability to over-leverage – and they are just as powerless. Trapped, they do the bidding of the true corporate and banking elites, either by resigning or deluding themselves to it. If the other classes who side with the oligarchs are their foot soldiers, these are their sergeants and generals. Indentured elites, unlike the true rich, did not benefit from the financial crisis. Much like the middle class, while this group’s ranks have shrunk since 2008, those that remained actually became poorer in relative terms than the real rich, who made an absolute killing during the recent calamity.

4. The Top 0.01%

These are the money masters – the (often hereditary) uber-elites who make markets, give orders to politicians, and have been engaged in a decades-long campaign to actively siphon off wealth from all of the other classes. You have nothing in common with them. I have nothing in common with them. Most CEOs or multi-millionaires have nothing in common with them - even Warren Buffet and Bill Gates, people who made their wealth in one generation, have been pushing vigorously to redistribute for the greater good.

The top fraction are the people who have rigged the game hopelessly in their favor, grabbed everything within reach, and then used the media to convince the average person that America is a meritocracy and people who fall behind have no one to blame but themselves. They hide their theft by creating a system that benefits only them, all the while claiming that the whims of the markets and economy are inevitable, like a force of nature. They will not stop until someone stops them.

People need to stop deluding themselves about where they stand on the economic food chain and face the harsh reality. Americans are led to believe their country has the wealth equality of Sweden. It’s actually more like Nigeria, Uganda or the Philippines. If all of the underclasses – from the poor to the indentured elite – can’t unite on that common ground, then no one will be able to stop this runaway train.