Arianna Speaks To The Atlantic On 'Third World America' And The Middle Class

The Atlantic:

Read the subtitle of Arianna Huffington latest book, Third World America: How Our Politicians Are Abandoning the Middle Class and Betraying the American Dream, and you already know a lot about the author's understanding of America's economic and cultural collapse. It's a rigged game in which Wall Street gets all the breaks and the Main Street gets stuck with the bill. Stories of lost jobs, lost homes, lost dreams, and a collapsing infrastructure help Huffington explain how the financialization of the economy has impacted millions of middle-class Americans.

Read the whole story: The Atlantic

Comments

[themodernleader]

09:10 PM on 09/10/2010

  As Ms. huffington grows and develops, the more her physical and mental health improves that radiates in her astonishing attractiveness (beauty).  This condition is predicted by the unified theory of leadership.

[rexx18]

03:09 PM on 09/15/2010

Photoshop and/or 15 year old pictures do wonders.

[switchrat666]

02:49 PM on 09/09/2010

No Obama is just spending all our money on freebies...Dont worry the GOP will repeal these laws and big business will start hiring again.

[JoeBlough]

03:03 PM on 09/09/2010

The hiring will be overseas where our multi-national companies prefer to get their workers. Most Americans are too expensive for what you get.

[tagtron]

02:36 PM on 09/10/2010

Too bad for them. If they would rather hire a foreign worker at $2 / hour than an American at $20 / hr, then tax them the $18 / hr difference. Take away their US corporate charter or US principal place of business if they are unwilling to pledge allegiance to the US. Why should they get all the benefits and protections of US corporate citizenship without the minimal responsibility of hiring US workers

[silverstreet]

04:38 PM on 09/09/2010

What freebies? Oh, you mean 3 trillion dollars to the banksters.

[guveqzero]

02:00 PM on 09/09/2010

We are lucky to have Arianna that can describe the problems we face without sounding too radical or becoming too sickened. My problem is that I see what America will be like 20 years from now, and it shocks me. Every senator making illogical decisions and similar meaningless statements disgusts me. This, coupled with policy makers moving at snail speeds, is a big show of futility. Perhaps it's because she is an insider and I am on the outside looking in that explains the less radical approach. I still believe our problems can be addressed to stabilize middle America, but I have little confidence in the people running the show and less to those about to enter the fray. Our political two party system is limiting the kind of change we need to in order to prosper again. Must we change our political system before we can fix our country?

[mcmutter]

12:06 PM on 09/09/2010

The model for the 'new America' is really 1950s Mexico .... an insanely wealthy ruling class (2%) have most of the money and control things ... the poor or near-poor (98%) may have money but have lost all security ... no steady jobs .. marginal jobs ... no pensions ... difficult to save ... no retirement ...

[ran6110]

01:23 PM on 09/09/2010

Yup I agree, the question comes to mind as this carries on farther...

Will we be crossing the border in the dead of night into Canada looking for jobs?

[loeska]

11:58 AM on 09/09/2010

Apropos the very nice picture of Arianna Huffington: I wish we could get more photos of
this highly intelligent and articulate editor, and (much) less of Palin.

That would be a relief!

[ramal]

11:35 AM on 09/09/2010

Be afraid, be very afraid.

http://www.regressiveantidote.net/Articles/Our_Long_National_Nighmare_Isn't_Over,_It's_Just_Beginning.html

[eyeonamerica]

11:34 AM on 09/09/2010

Nice thesis and well presented....HOWEVER...after the Tax Act of 1986, the Joint Economic
Committee to the President said:  We no longer have upper class, middle class, lower class etc.
I asked, then, What do we have?
They replied:  We now have the Super Rich, the Very Rich, the Rich...and Everybody else.
That was the breakdown already under Ronald Raygun.  The middle-class were pronounced
dead more than two decades ago, Arianna!

[steve11407]

11:17 AM on 09/09/2010

I love this head shot of her. Very attractive.