The Collapse of Capitalism in the US (II)

The Collapse of Capitalism in the US (II)

Written by Alfonso Elizondo

Reagan also decided to freeze the level of the federal minimum wage that fell slowly after 1980 and reached $7 per hour in 2016, as against almost $11 per hour in 1969. This politico-ideological regime was maintained during the presidential terms of Clinton and Obama.

Although a good many Americans are tired of the growing inequality and the so-called changes in presidential power, now they want to reconnect with the progressive agenda of egalitarianism, although there is no one who can lead this project. Unfortunately, the Democrat Bernie Sanders, who is the one who could do it, is too old to be a possible presidential candidate.

In the meantime, the Republican Party has descended into a hyper-nationalistic, anti-immigrant and anti-Islamist discourse (even though this religion does not exist in the United States). Moreover, it is engaging in unlimited glorification of the fortune of having white skin. And the judges who appointed Reagan and Bush have destroyed any legal limitations on the influence of private money on political life, a situation that complicates the job of poor candidates like Sanders.

However, new forms of political mobilization and collective financing could prevail and lead the country into a new political cycle. So right now Americans are far away from the prophecies that said human history had come to an end.

Addendum: Despite the concise nature of Picketty’s vision of the US political model, it is very likely that it contains a high degree of accuracy.