18 March 2014

"the appalachification of our world"

The word is a polite one, but “inequality” is what we say when we mean to describe the ruined downtown of your city, or your constant fear that the next round of layoffs will include you, . . . . or the way you had to declare bankruptcy when your child got sick. It is a pleasant-sounding euphemism for the Appalachification of our world. . . . . Its tone is also needlessly clinical, giving the whole debate a technical and bloodless air.
The fruits of the toil of millions are boldly stolen to build up colossal fortunes for a few, unprecedented in the history of mankind; and the possessors of those, in turn, despise the republic and endanger liberty. From the same prolific womb of governmental injustice we breed the two great classes—tramps and millionaires. Omaha platform, Progressive Party, 1892. 
some things don't change, i guess, but that doesn't mean we should quit trying

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