Monday, September 28, 2009

A Fix-It President Hits a Wall -- and It's Us

I just responded to a commentary by Deepak Chopra:
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

After some further thought, I realized that this article from a professor of UC-Santa Cruz may interest you: http://sociology.ucsc.edu/whorulesamerica/power/wealth.html?goback=.nvr_2180528_1

It provides detailed data of the distribution of wealth over time in the US; compares statistics between the US and other democracies; and describes the dynamics of wealth and power. For example: In 1960, the ratio of CEO pay to worker pay was 42:1, yet by 2004 that ratio has reached 411:1.

So perhaps this is another reason why the success of the health care bill is not certain. From a diversity perspective, it is understood that when a group has power, the group dynamic is generally to work to maintain and grow that power, which seems evidenced above by the extreme disparity in the pay ratio that has occurred over time. Perhaps those with the power are exerting all their influence to insure they retain said power?

I am seeking to create a discussion group for a frank, authentic and ongoing conversation about the concept and issues related to class, especially in the United States and Canada. If you or anyone you know is interested in participating, please reply to this posting or contact me at TMPayne1@c­omcast.net­.

Have a lovely day and thanks for your time!

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2 comments:

  1. Ben New2:57 AM EST

    Hi Tammy,
    How are you proposing to go about this discussion group? Grayson by the way, before running for congress, was first to go after contractors ripping off the taxpayers in Iraq boondoggle. He successfully prosecuted quite a few of them. An interesting guy.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Tams2:30 PM EST

    Well, I would like to gather a diverse group across class, race, age, region, sexual orientation, religion, etc. I know it may take a while, but I want this group to get really comfortable sharing information and trusting that what is said in the group stays in the group. We can share the learning, but no one's specific story. Ideally, I'd like to have a monthly or twice monthly discussion over conference call or an online voice over ip software like TeamSpeak.

    In addition, I'm going to create a secure online space for the group to have for offline discussion, sharing of learning, news related to our discussions, etc.

    Ultimately, I want us to all be able to learn from each other's experience, to describe, even if it's anecdotally, the dynamics of class and how power intersects with it.

    ReplyDelete

Greetings! Thanks for joining in the conversation on my blog. Please know that I am all about listening and not judging. Please follow the Golden Rule when posting. Be kind to others and if you disagree with me or another commenter, please do so politely. Thanks and have a lovely day!

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