European Protests

Most people have some vague idea that there were protests about a hike in fuel costs in France. If you only watch the regular news channels you'd think it was over. After all, the government backed down on the tax, so everything's fine.

That's not the case at all. The fuel tax was not the only problem. It was the straw that broke the camel's back. The protests are about a whole range of things. In general, however, it's about how the government has lost touch with the middle class and caters mostly to the rich. Wages are stagnant, costs are up, pensions aren't enough, The urban centers have prospered at the expense of the rural areas.

It's not just about France anymore either. Protest have spread across Europe. They've been going on for about a month too. The big difference between protests in Europe and protest in America is that Europeans expect things to actually change when the go into the streets. In the US, protests don't have the same impact. The last time protests had any real power in this country was during the Vietnam war. Breaking a few windows at a Starbucks isn't going to change government policy.

So why don't protests work in the US? There's some speculation that young people can't afford to protest. Unlike most young Europeans, they have huge student debt and more more job insecurity. They would also lose their health care if they lost their job. It's those factors that keep middle class people on the sidelines.

So far that's worked just fine for the powers that be. The problem is, as some point, conditions get bad enough that people have nothing to lose. Should that time come, it's going to get really ugly. Right now, as bad as things are, we aren't in a recession or a depression. My guess is that if enough people who think themselves middle class end up poor, they are going to be more than a little irate. It's said that when people have nothing to left to lose, they lose it. If that happens in the US, European protests are going to look like Sunday picnics by comparison.

-Sixbears