Although OWS is ostensibly about the 99%, I think it is critically fueled by fears of the middle class.
There can be no doubt that middle class Americans suffered terribly over the last few years. Not just financially, but psychologically. In a very short period of time, they took a couple of steps towards the brink. Today, most middle class Americans are one serious illness away from financial disaster. The cushion of home equity has been erased, and many households have experienced a layoff, a drop in earnings, or an early retirement.
A George Carlin quote is apt: “You know how I define the economic and social classes in this country? The upper class keeps all of the money, pays none of the taxes. The middle class pays all of the taxes, does all of the work. The poor are there... just to scare the shit out of the middle class. Keep 'em showing up at those jobs.”
Like every good joke, it’s funny because there is some truth to it.
However, I think OWS has so much resonance today because the middle class are more scared than ever. Many have seen neighbors, family, or friends drop from the middle class into the ranks of the working poor. They see that it might happen to them.
Not long ago, kleinbl00 posted a great Steinbeck quote here: “Socialism never took root in America because the poor see themselves not as an exploited proletariat but as temporarily embarrassed millionaires.”
Once again, it’s funny for its truth. However, for the middle class of the US today, it’s become very difficult sentiment to entertain. Instead of being middle class professionals looking for that big break, they are conspicuously stressed out wage earners, hoping to dodge disaster.
But why OWS now? I think that two key factors are in play:
1: The dust has settled after the Great Recession, a European debt crisis looms, and it’s become apparent that a quick recovery is not in the cards. It’s evident that the middle class is not getting out of this situation any time soon. It is now clear that they must live with this new fear.
2: Campaign season in the US has begun, and this fear is not being validated. The ear of politicians in the US is not held by the middle class, and although this has been the way of things for some time, this tone-deafness is of particular consequence now.
I believe that OWS has momentum because of feelings of fear and disenfranchisement in the middle class. They want to be heard, and no power can hear them. The middle class is the largest voting block. Typically, the Democrats would benefit from this situation, but I don’t think that’s possible now. Obama has accepted solutions that discredit his ability to allay their fears. I think that middle class Americans feel abused and without options.
As a result, I see that it is very probable that an independent candidate will be pulled into this vacuum that fuels the OWS. If a candidate validates these fears of the middle class, I think they could become a viable contender in the next election.