Can There Ever Be A French Revolution In The United States?
Tuesday, July 23, 2013, 1:00 AM | Leave Comment
This post is dedicated to the folks who can afford a value meal at a fast-food joint, especially the dollar menu. It’s always heart-breaking [or is it heart-warming?] to know that no matter how good or poorly the economy may be doing, we will always have the robber-baron class. They will always have something to blow their money on.
At a time when so many of us have difficulty not only paying for gas but when just buying food from the grocery store is so painful.
Back to the past
Wikipedia mentions a few reasons that created a specific environment before the French Revolution. I repeat some of them for the sake of discussion:
-
France in 1769, although facing some economic – especially fiscal difficulties, was one of the richest and most powerful nations in Europe. [Any parallels to the U.S.?]
-
On the eve of the revolution, France was so deeply in debt as to be effectively bankrupt. [the U.S. Treasury?]
-
Extravagant expenditures by Louis XVI on luxuries such as Versailles were compounded by heavy expenditures on the Seven Years’ War and the American War of Independence. [Any parallels to the U.S.?]
-
During the regimes of Louis XV (reigned 1715–1774) and Louis XVI (reigned 1774–1792), several ministers unsuccessfully proposed to revise the French tax system to tax the nobles. Such measures encountered consistent resistance from the parliament. [Any parallels to the U.S. Congress?]
-
Members of these courts bought their positions from the king, as well as the right to transmit this position on the basis of one’s hereditary. [Any parallels to the U.S. lobbyists?]
Back to the future
Before the French Revolution, let’s look at what the baron class is spending on and what the mindset is in the United States:
-
The U.S. Congress has always been and will always be bogged down in party politics. There will always be resistance from either party when the opponent in Congress wants to pass a bill in favor of the poor.
-
I think I said the last statement wrong. Congress and the poor in one sentence just don’t fit in. The poor have no lobbyists representing them and Congress can’t work without lobbyists.
-
The have-not folks don’t exist in the eyes of the rich, the Congress and the lobbyists.
Moral of the story
I don’t think a French Revolution can happen anywhere in the world, let alone in the United States. It’s just that there will always be folks left out from any kind of economic boom any place in the world.
My friend from the 60s says:
-
The mindset of the rich as well as the poor has changed in modern times. The rich and the poor think differently – obviously – but at the same time, they think the same – not so obviously. Go figure.
-
Nothing will bring the rich down to earth in their spending and helping the poor.
-
Nothing will bring the poor up to a living standard that they won’t need help from the rich.
For a video by Khan Academy, click on French Revolution (Part 1).
Throw us a like at Facebook.com/doable.finance
