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On the 23rd of February this year I wrote a blog in which I wondered about what the year 2011 would bring. Many people found that 2010 was not particularly good for them for various personal reasons, and it was hoped that the New Year would bring better things. Well, we are now more than half way through the year and one can only say that so far it has been a year that has made people sit up and think. Not just the ordinary "man-in-the-street" but Governments and leaders of all kinds have been made to sit up.
In February the world was startled to find the leaders of both Tunisia and Egypt being deposed and new Governments being set up all because of what has become known as "People Power". From those two countries the unrest moved to Yemen, Libya, Algeria, Morocco, Jordan, Syria and Bahrain, and the western media pundits in a semi smug way referred to it collectively as the "unrest in the Arab world" which was the result of their autocratic rulers. The impression was given daily that nothing of the kind could happen in the western world. How wrong could they be!! Certainly much of the unrest could have been due - and in some cases certainly was - to uncaring autocratic rulers wanting to grab everything and hold on to power regardless of how it affected the people - there can be no doubt about that. However, we can't sit back and say "we are above such things - it won't happen to us".
In the past few weeks the world has been shaken by the unrest in the western countries. London, Birmingham, Liverpool and Manchester in the United Kingdom looked like they did during the blitz in World War II. Whole city blocks were burned to the ground and others completely looted. Riots and unrest have turned up in Belgium, Spain, Greece, France, Turkey and even in Israel which surprised so many and this past week in Germany. But America didn't escape either. Philadelphia had to be put under a curfew for several days.
It doesn't take an Albert Einstein to figure out that something is not right and that changes have to be made in the way Governments handle things. Nor does it take an Albert Einstein to figure out that it is the wealthy who control the shots without consideration for the less fortunate. Certainly that is true in America and in the United Kingdom at the moment. In America, the Congress and Senate refused to agree on a plan to reduce the country's debt thereby threatening the livelihood of the elderly who rely on their Social Security payments and even the pay for the army veterans until the very last minute, because each politician was determined to get as much air time on TV as possible to show he/she is working now that the election season is near. It seemed fairly obvious they had no care at all for the needy and the elderly and the veterans. In the meantime, a White House Aide announced that Mr. Obama had over 1-billion dollars in his re-election campaign bank account and still goes out fund-raising ........ something here does not seem morally correct. When poverty is rife - yes, even in America, - how can spending anything near 1-billion dollars on an election campaign be right? When the CIA spends more than 40-million dollars on each of three buses that look more like Star Wars war machines than a bus, so that the leaders of both political sides can go touring on their election campaign - something is not right. When the leaders of both parties host fundraising dinners where people pay $10,000.00 to attend, something is not right. It does not take an Albert Einstein to figure out that it is the wealthy who will pull the strings and be noticed. "Mr. and Mrs. Ordinary" seem to be unimportant and completely left out of the picture.
The United Kingdom is not far behind. The country was decidedly rattled when it was discovered that many Members of Parliament and the House of Lords were abusing their positions and claiming untold thousands of pounds in illegal expenses such as claiming for a second home that didn't exist (there was even one claim for $4,000 for a house for ducks in the middle of a pond) and doing little work for the people. At least that particular matter has been tackled somewhat but there are other instances of where the wealthy gain and the man in the street loses out. University fees have been raised to the level where it is almost impossible for many people to attend those institutions. Just the wealthy will be able to afford further education. All of these things as well as tremendous unemployment are excellent fuel for general unrest. I do not know right now what caused the riots in Berlin, but something obviously upset the people and time will tell.
With all this happening around the world, the Governments have to sit up and consider the people who elected them and for whom they are supposed to be working, and not just think of themselves. Mr.Warren Buffett wrote an op-ed piece in I think it was the New York Times just a short time ago saying that so much more income would go to the Government if they taxed the very wealthy at a higher rate instead of "coddling up to them". Mr. Buffet made his point by saying that last year he paid over 6-million dollars in taxes, but he was taxed at only seventeen and a half per cent whereas his employees - who, of course, earn far less - were being taxed at twenty per cent. He said that was not right. He is a man who in spite of his wealth and ability to make money, always considers the people and as most know, he has pledged to give away 99% of his wealth and says he is more than willing to pay a higher tax rate. I wonder what the reaction of those "big wigs" on Wall Street who earn $4-million bonuses was to Mr. Buffett's words. It would be interesting to know if they agreed with him.
I do not live in America or Britain or any of the other countries where this unrest has happened, but it is not being anti-American or anti-British or anti any other country to say that the leaders - whomever they are and wherever they are, have got to start being realistic and to start thinking of their people and their country, rather than lobbying for power and position and in Mr. Buffett's words "coddling up" to the rich. Otherwise this unprecedented unrest around the world will escalate out of all proportions and anarchy will reign.
