While The Rich Get Richer, The Poor Get The Blame

That's the common story in the news, though the two parts are mostly split into separate categories so that we would not notice the connections. Thus, we get stories like this one, about who it is who is doing well in this economy, and then we get stories which tell us about planned budget cuts in the federal and state governments, about belt tightening and about the need to cut corporate taxes. Or the reminders about the importance to have "skin in the game," a term which in this context refers to all those "freeloaders" who coast on the coattails of the One Percent.

It's a bipolar world. Or at least a world where the Powers That Be seem to have forgotten the overall goals the economy should have: To offer the largest possible number of people a decent chance in life.

That includes work which pays enough for survival and some time off from that work. It should include basic education and health care which are affordable and a civil society which treats people with some respect. All the markets and corporations matter only as means towards that goal, not as goals themselves.