#WWJVD: Millennials Don't Trust the Government

This week on Off the Grid, I discuss results from an annual poll by the Harvard Institute of Politics about the political attitudes of millennials. Tune in to this all new #WWJVD to find out just how little faith this generation has in government, media and the American justice system.

How much faith do you have in the government? Let me know your thoughts.

a reply to: JesseVentura

Personally, my faith in the agenda and functionality of our government has steadily eroded as I've seen both elected parties strive toward making the populace dependent on a strong central gov., while whittling away at freedoms, the concept of personal responsibility, and fanning division amongst voters. I've also seen the trend of those running for office doing so not with altruistic motivations, rather to gain power and enhance their social status and financial position.

There are a lot of sharp Gen Ys out there, buy many are not interested in the scandals and rank hypocrisy of the political process. I guess the same was said of my generation back in the day.

At least SOME are intelligent then...

a reply to: JesseVentura

Millenials are saddled with debt, graduating college to find out they were lied too about the economy. We have no purchasing power and struggle to make enough of an income to do what our parents for to do is vacation buy homes save for our kids college fund.

The judicial system is a total failure. It's a win lose system and most of us have experienced the corruption in the courtroom. It's common knowledge to people my age that public defenders are practically workingor the district attorney's pffice.

Most of us have been disrespected by police officers.

We know the government is beholden to corporations and the senate is bought and paid for.

Hell, I know a building trade and am a skilled professional fighter and I struggle to make money. The entire economy is a joke.
Cell phone.

a reply to: JesseVentura

How much faith do you have in the government? Let me know your thoughts.

Since 911, none at all...

I will never forget where I was and how I felt the day the towers fell. I now refer to my life in terms of pre 9/11 (the good old days) and post 9/11 the police state. I miss those days when things still felt normal and full of hope. I remember even then having a funny feeling about the whole situation. Like "How?" "why" and I remember cartoons like G.I. Joe prepping us for war against global terrorists. The world was never the same after that and that is when I stopped trusting my government.

I also remember something about a few trillion dollars that was missing and 'ol Rummey made this whole big announcement how their would be an investigation then BOOM...no investigation at least not into that.

a reply to: JesseVentura

How can anyone trust a government that doesn't follow the values it was founded on?

Why do we only get to vote for another Bush or Clinton? Because they are in on the secrets.

We were founded as a government of the people, but the people have no idea what is going on.

How can we have secret trade agreements, secret arms deals? Why do we have no idea what happens at area 51? Why is anything 9/11 classified? We are the government, our elected officials are not secret keepers. It's total BS, all of it.

Who the hell are these people that we call the government, and where the f$!# do they come from? How are they in on the secrets? Who do they represent?

This is why we don't trust them. Because they do not represent the people. How can they represent people that have no idea who they are and what they are doing?

Enough secrets. Grow up already. Stop being cowards who only know how to silence your opposition and actually debate your ideas in the open.

If your so damm smart and righteous, then you wouldn't need to tell secrets. You would simply win every debate.

I have more courage than anyone who thinks that silencing thier opposition is better than debating them.

If the government was for the people, thier would be no secrets kept from the people.

a reply to: JesseVentura

This has been known for about 3 years now. Millenials don't like boomers, and government is made up of boomers, so there you have it. Millenials do like GenXers though, so maybe they'll start liking govt, when they take over.

Good point. You've got a government that laughs at the Bill of Rights and doesn't follow the Constitution. The hypocrisy of our government is astounding. All they do is tell you, 'do as we say, but not as we do.' When you have a government that doesn't even follow the fabric of the nation, the rules set up by a country, how could you expect the people to admire them or follow them at all?

originally posted by: Isurrender73
a reply to: JesseVentura

How can anyone trust a government that doesn't follow the values it was founded on?

We have not been vigilant citizens. And we’ve let our government run away and become whores to the corporations.

I mean, come on, it’s clear: corporations run the country today, not the public. Until we do something, as a public to take it back, this is the government we will have. It’s our own fault because people didn’t speak out and weren’t vigilant.

originally posted by: Isurrender73
a reply to: JesseVentura

How can anyone trust a government that doesn't follow the values it was founded on?

Why do we only get to vote for another Bush or Clinton? Because they are in on the secrets.

We were founded as a government of the people, but the people have no idea what is going on.

How can we have secret trade agreements, secret arms deals? Why do we have no idea what happens at area 51? Why is anything 9/11 classified? We are the government, our elected officials are not secret keepers. It's total BS, all of it.

Who the hell are these people that we call the government, and where the f$!# do they come from? How are they in on the secrets? Who do they represent?

This is why we don't trust them. Because they do not represent the people. How can they represent people that have no idea who they are and what they are doing?

Enough secrets. Grow up already. Stop being cowards who only know how to silence your opposition and actually debate your ideas in the open.

If your so damm smart and righteous, then you wouldn't need to tell secrets. You would simply win every debate.

I have more courage than anyone who thinks that silencing thier opposition is better than debating them.

If the government was for the people, thier would be no secrets kept from the people.

The "Owners of Capital" want wage slaves DEAD before turning 60, best case scenario for them, is for someone to work 60+ hour work weeks from ages 16-60, put all of their money into a 401K & home mortgage, neglect going to the doctor and then suddenly drop dead of a heart attack; all before they can drain their 401K's, using earned social security & medicare benefits.

Due to the way our current economic system works, we CLEARLY have too many people being born and not enough desire on the behalf of the "owners of capital" to employ them for the sake of having a stable and safe civilization. In the United States, for example, its clear that the "owners of capital" have chosen NOT to employ people on a large scale, preferring "tent cities" and "jailing the homeless", INSTEAD of providing more "make-work employment" arrangements.

Up to the 1940 a person could get just about any job with an 8th grade education, but today you need a BA or Masters for entry level. Why?

Because the government & big business figured out a long time ago that populations would certainly increase over time, but due to technology advancements, the availability of jobs would not expand to meet that population growth. There is a DEFINITE reason they don’t want people dropping out of high school and then at the same time, encourage those same high school graduates to attend junior college, then a 4 year university and finally a Masters degree or PhD. Government strong-arms this concept because it DECREASES the amount of people looking for full-time employment at the SAME TIME, chasing after jobs in a market that CANNOT provide employment for everyone whom is looking, that are able, qualified for and willing to work.

Look at it this way, when people could get a job with an 8th grade education, they went out and did it as soon as possible (opportunity cost). Then jobs got scarcer and the minimum requirement became a high school diploma, adding 4 more years of people NOT Looking for jobs within their cohort. Then jobs got even scarcer and the minimum became a 2 or 4 year college degree, adding an additional 2-4 years of people NOT looking for jobs within their cohort. Now jobs are really scarce and may require a Masters or PHD, adding an additional 2-7 years of people NOT looking for jobs within their cohort. Basically due to the way the economy has been structured TODAY, we are looking at young people within their cohort whom are NOT looking for full-time, career type, employment for 6-15 YEARS, beyond K-12, all while they finish more school!

This has been done ON PURPOSE, to keep the number people seeking employment lower. In 1920 after 8th grade everyone who was able, went out to look for work and typically found it. That’s simply NOT possible today under any circumstances. Easily accessed welfare will soon add another 1-3 years of people within a cohort, to those “not seeking employment”. Note this will NOT be to the specific detriment of society, but as a means to continue to mask the illusion that jobs and upward mobility are still available. So, if someone gets a graduate degree and collects 1-3 years of welfare on top of than, that’s ONE less person competing for scarce jobs. The extra years of welfare are then acting in the same way to the larger economy, as the previously increased minimum education levels for employment. The real goal is decreasing the number of able-bodied applicants out on the job market at the same time, but also not decreasing the supply of "potential workers" who's mere existence drive wages down for EVERYBODY. Keep in mind this cohort of people "not pursuing full-time employment" also includes those in Prison, Government pensioners/SSI and the disabled on government assistance. The reality is if everyone needed to go out and “get a job” or “start their own business” TODAY, as many “capitalists” and "entrepreneurs" suggest these days, we would ALL be making 0.25 cents a day. This is the strategy that will "End of Global Poverty".

The “owners of capital” have already decided, FOR US REGULAR PEOPLE, that there are going to be LESS jobs available in the NEAR future, due to increased automation and modern corporate labor, cost-cutting, strategies. These measures eventually will affect and include ALL contract work, ALL self-employment opportunities and ALL small businesses, NOT JUST payroll laborers. Its easier to “pay less” or “nothing at all” to contracted or indentured “labor” when there is another willing laborer/slave, waiting in the wings, to do the work for less or nothing at all. In the past when there wasn’t enough money to go around to pay both wages & PROFITS, the “owners of capital” simply brought in more indentured servant immigrants (Irish, Italians, Chinese, etc) or used flat out slave labor (Blacks, Native Americans, domestic prisoners, POW’s, etc). The only difference between now and then is that “owners of capital” can’t LEGALLY have slaves or indentured servants. The mechanisms today that replaces slaves and indentured servants are the following: longer than needed formal education for basic employment, off-shoring of labor, forced retirement, prisoners and welfare.

The largest “recorded” wage increase to happen in history, for non-land owing, wage-laborers, post the introduction of fiat currency, was after the black death pandemic, in the 14th century, especially in post-pandemic England.

But, how is that possible?

Because “the owners of capital”, post the black-death-pandemic, still needed wage-laborers, but there was a HUGE shortage of able bodied people. So, in order for ANY work to get done, they had to pay the peasants and other undesirables, more money, SIGNIFICANTLY MORE. This principle is still at work today, when you take the time to recognize that sizable portions of the population are actively discouraged from participating in the full-time labor market. This is easily done, by throwing people in prison, forcing them to attend formal school longer and allowing more people to claim themselves as disabled or collect long/short term welfare.

Here is some more history to consider, from the 14th century, the Peasants Revolt was triggered by the "Statute of Labourers 1351". By 1381, the sustained wage growth for non-land owing, wage-laborers was rising so quickly that the English parliament, a few decades post the Black-Death, under King Edward III, introduced the "Statute of Labourers 1351". This statute was used by the "Owners of Capital", as an artificial means to drive down the wages of non-land owning peasants. Despite market conditions signalling the need for increased wages.

The Statute of Laborers; 1351 ("Statutes of the Realm," vol. i. p. 307.)

Think about that for a minute, the MARKET signaled that wages should have been higher, due to actual labor shortages caused by the Black Death, but the “owners of capital” still didn't want to pay it, so they wrote a law saying why they didn't have to conform to demands of the market. That's where we are today, a form of Neo-feudalism, driven by Fascist ideology and practices. Remember we are a former "slave owning nation", that fought "tooth & nail" to maintain the legal right to own slaves, even turning indentured servants, whom by contract, were set to be released in 7 years, into indefinite slaves through legal loopholes.

Can we REALLY expect responsible business leadership from a nation formed on these values?