We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

The Plunder, Pillage and Destruction of the American Tax Base

by James Woolley from The Economic Populist. Quite a lengthy (6600 words) but comprehensive report on all the ways that the US ruling class has shifted the costs of The Empire from capitalists to working people. A good reference source on the subject to keep in your virtual library.