So, my last blog was kind of prophetic. I anticipated/feared that America might go exactly the same way as our Brexit vote, and it did. All the pundits are explaining the American vote in precisely the same way as the British vote. That is, it's not about the election issues per se, but about the fact that many people feel they are not heard, not cared about, and their situation, their feeling of impoverishment, their anxieties about jobs, have been chronically ignored by the political elites of all colours. Trump was a different kind of politician and voice. Big, brutal, ugly, non establishment, sound bite solutions to the problems many people felt to be most pressing, an "I hear you" kind of message expressed inarticulately, incoherently as far as the intelligentsia were concerned, but to those who felt left behind it was powerfully articulate and wonderfully direct. America has just heard the voice of the many shout "Up yours", in the same way as happened in the U.K.
So will the clever people wake up? Will there be a greater social concern expressed by them and greater effort made when they are in government to do something which spreads wealth more effectively, makes health care more accessible more quickly, looks after us better in terms of jobs and retirement, makes education more meaningful and more effective for the many and not just the few. In this country, the Labour Party sound as if they would be prepared to give it their best shot. Watch this space! But such policies need money. There are a couple of ways of doing this. Borrow loads or increase taxes. Borrowing is more popular obviously, because there is less short term pain. But paying your way is better.
The electorate are being offered clearer more damaging ways to flex their muscles. The 2 recent votes have more than proved that when the disenfranchised get a real chance through the democratic system to express their opinion, they will.
Let's hope that the disappointment they will feel as their lot does not significantly improve under Trump or Brexit, will not channel into yet greater storms.
So will the clever people wake up? Will there be a greater social concern expressed by them and greater effort made when they are in government to do something which spreads wealth more effectively, makes health care more accessible more quickly, looks after us better in terms of jobs and retirement, makes education more meaningful and more effective for the many and not just the few. In this country, the Labour Party sound as if they would be prepared to give it their best shot. Watch this space! But such policies need money. There are a couple of ways of doing this. Borrow loads or increase taxes. Borrowing is more popular obviously, because there is less short term pain. But paying your way is better.
The electorate are being offered clearer more damaging ways to flex their muscles. The 2 recent votes have more than proved that when the disenfranchised get a real chance through the democratic system to express their opinion, they will.
Let's hope that the disappointment they will feel as their lot does not significantly improve under Trump or Brexit, will not channel into yet greater storms.
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