Casinos

While committed citizens camp out in the rain in front of Boston's South Station to protest economic inequality, corrupt politicians feather their nests on Beacon Hill with a fat casino bill, setting the stage for pay-offs and casino-related jobs in their future. The silence of the general public on this issue is deafening, but no more imperceptible than its overall complacency with the status quo. 

The big gamble the citizens of Massachusetts and other states face is a gamble over the future of democratic process. Right now, the majority seems to be unwilling to look at their cards realistically. They are being dealt a bad hand by card sharks in government, in the banks and in corporate board rooms.

It is true that life is a continuous gamble in some ways. None of us has total control of the future or the present. But disproportionate influence by those already in power on the political process in a stressed environment bodes disaster. While not controlling the future, government can strongly influence the futures of the governed. If government is focused solely on furthering the prosperity of the prosperous, the quality of life of everyone suffers. Human beings will tolerate this kind of suffering for only so long. The Arab Spring is one way by which the suffering free themselves from political and economic subjugation.

Preachers of the Free Market and Entrepreneurship are mostly those who have already succeeded in a Skewed Market through Cronyism. And, it seems that the 2.5 million Federal employees are working more and more for the wealthiest 5% of the population. This makes America less a casino and more a factory with bad wages and no benefits for the great majority of its population. The Federal government is becoming the foreman for the owners by keeping the workers in line. The Democrats placate the ineffective and corrupt labor unions. The Republicans shamelessly kiss the asses of their corporate bosses. This is a two-party system alright, but it is one big party for the people at the top and the political class who do their bidding under the guise of democracy.