How bad do things have to get before Americans pay attention to economic policies like trade?

[yurbud]

or deregulation and privatization or how much we charge extraction industries to take the oil, gas, and coal out of our commons?

Illiterate peasants fill the streets of Bolivia to protest water privatization, and Venezuelans, Iraqis, and Iranians are acutely aware of how much their country gets for their oil.

Americans don't even know who pumps our water or that we get anything for our natural resources.

We may complain about losing jobs or not getting paid enough, but fail to connect the dots to economic policy and instead join the lynch mob trying to ping illegals coming to the jobs that farmers and corporations won't be prosecuted for giving them.

What will it take to change this profound ignorance?

[camero]

1. When the bread lines return

Of course that may be awhile since the soup kitchens are much more organized now. IOW, they turn people away before the line starts.

[Vexatious Ape]

2. I think as a people we're far to entertained to be paying

attention to economics. (bread and circus's) The herd will start mooing over gas prices soon enough I believe.

[acmavm]

3. The people who the bush** regime are hurting get no air time, get no

newspaper exposure. The only people who benefit from this corrupt clown circus are the major corporations. The same people who own the newspapers and television and cable news media. People know about the suffering. They know about millions upon millions that are using the Food Banks and other charitable resources to keep from going hungry.

No one gives it media exposure, that's all.

When was the last time you say Wolfie interview people in line at a food bank? When did Rush last talk about kids living in cars?

They never will.

edit: some of the worst grammar ever posted on this board.

[melody]

5. Well said n/t

[Democrats_win]

4. Old saying: When your neighbor looses his job it's a recession, when you lose, it's a depression.

[rasputin1952]

6. I was prone to hit #2, but went w/#1 because if we don't teach

people, they'll make same mistakes.

I am no economist, but I've certainly understood the realities of recession, depression and how the accumulation of wealth in very few hands can have disastrous effects on our economy. Economics is complicated, especially at the global level...butI know that if we don't produce, and remain a service/consumer economy, we're in for some seriously distressing times...:(

[yurbud]

7. I teach college, not K-12, but my understanding is there's nothing resembling civics

taught to kids anymore.

[rasputin1952]

11. You are most likely correct in that...but since I haven't been

to HS since we were still doing our homework on shovels and walking through 15 foot snowdrifts I can't be sure. I know we had Civics, and it was a great way to learn how things worked in the governmental processes. It would be a terrible thing if Civics isn't taught anymore, but that also might explain some of the "dumbing down" of America.

I aced American Gov't this past semester, for me it was pretty easy, but there were a lot of C's and D's...and a few F's...:(

[Triana]

8. They have to get REALLY REALLY bad...

...because the younger generations either forgot or never learned the lessons their parents did so they have to learn them all over again. They're just oblivious sitting ducks.

[yurbud]

12. I think the kids younger than baby boomers don't pay attention to right wing propaganda so

they are blank slates. If they feel enough pain, they will act.

[treestar]

9. Very severe pain

It has to be pretty bad. Most Americans are well enough off so that they talk a lot but as long as they have the basic toys, they don't complain and in fact have the luxury of worrying about how to prevent gay marriage, etc. :sarcasm:

There would have to be serious number of people truly threatened with no place to live.

[yurbud]

13. Bush looks like he needs Pelosi to change his diapie in that pic

[leftofthedial]

10. they never will

when they are fighting the rats for the last scraps of garbage in the dumpster behind the rich folks' highrise, they'll be too tired and malnourished to care. Up until that point, they'll remain incurious, happily ignorant and bone-stupid.

[blues90]

14. It will have to get much worse

From what I see people who are down and out are not in the news and invisable , there are many people still working and consuming who are not affected yet and there are those doing quite well .

It all stems back to the way our resources are used and this war and the advantages the corporations have over the people .

I have a gut feeling in this dumbed down population that by the time enough people see the affects it will be too damn late to turn it around .

All the while I type this more troops enter the meat grinder and more die and the media keeps on pumping out the dream products and slumbering news .