This is a chapter in the book:

US

Everything is Done By US

We Can Make it For US

by Tom Cantlon

The list of links to chapters can be found at:

tomcantlon.com/us_on_rsn

Preface

US is a short book in plain language written that way because it is not intended to provide a full-length book experience, but to offer a thought, a way of looking at US, and nothing more.

The word "US" is generally capitalized to emphasize that we have underestimated the importance of US, and not as a reference to the U.S. With due respect to our country, where the country is referenced it is spelled out, United States, or America. The term "US" is also sometimes used in a grammatically unusual way when it is treated much like a proper name.

Punctuation is sometimes used in unusual ways. Editors made their recommendations but punctuation is sometimes used more for pacing than for accurate grammar. Pacing is used in some passages as in an impassioned speech being delivered with punch and dramatic pauses. If unusual punctuation stands out to you, try hearing it with the pauses indicated by the punctuation, but don't blame the harried editors.

Introduction

This book is about two things which tie together.

One is that we underestimate how important we are. "We" being all the regular people of the country, that is, US, as separate from powerful interests. "Powerful interests" doesn't simply mean anyone who is rich. Being rich is fine. Many people who are rich are part of US. What sets powerful interests apart is when they warp the nation in ways that are mostly for their benefit, especially in ways that leave US getting less than we should, given that we do all the work.

(If you're already wondering why "US" is always capitalized, see the note in the Preface.)

We think we need those powerful interests and are dependent on them. For instance, we think we need them to create the corporations that provide the jobs that we depend on, but the corporations would be created anyway and the jobs would exist anyway, as will be described. We do all the work that creates all the wealth that makes those corporations wealthy. In fact we do all the running of things inside those corporations that make them run. This is not a suggestion of overthrowing anyone or getting rid of anyone, it's just that we've been conned into being blind, into not seeing how everything that happens, happens by US doing it. Conned into thinking we need those powerful interests when in fact they need US.

There's a lot of funding that goes into a corporation, but what does that amount to but a bunch of contracts and checks, a bunch of promises on paper, until working people, US, do the work that actually turns it into products and services, the work that actually creates the wealth.

We think we need their wealth, but in fact we, the vast numbers of everyday grocery shoppers and consumers, we are the buyers without which the corporations would have no one to sell to and no way to accumulate wealth.

We are entranced, almost hypnotized, by high tech companies that make very clever products like computers and smart phones and smart speakers in our homes that answer our questions and respond to our commands, and smart cars. We can't begin to fathom the way they work or even how they are made, how they cram so much into such tiny spaces. These companies seem almost magical, and we seem dependent on them to work that magic. But in fact every little innovative step along the way was developed by members of US. All of that innovation comes from US, as will be described.

Even people who kind of understand that we should value US more might be surprised by this one. We think we need their capital, the funding they provide to start and build and run things. We don't. In fact an enormous part of the money used for such things comes from US, as will also be described.

It's not just about money. Everything about the country is really about US. The cities and towns that have developed, the individual culture and personality of each town and area, and the civic life that holds so much of it together are all created and developed and maintained by US.

We even have the political power, though we haven't been aware of it and haven't used it. Powerful interests do have power, but we have overriding power which we just haven't used.

The country is of US, and by US. It's not even a matter of it could be by US or it should be by US. It already is, always is, of US and by US. The only thing it hasn't been is for US. It is instead too much for the benefit of powerful interests. Even that isn't because we've been overpowered, but because we've allowed it. It is a choice made by US. It's a choice we've been conned and lured into. It's a choice we can change. But first we have to know who we are. If we don't know that, there's no way we will change things. The country is of US and by US, and if we clear our heads, it can be for US.

That's the first thing.

The second thing is that there is a political approach that can make greater improvement than is normally considered. An approach that can create greater improvements for all of US, and which avoids most of the partisan differences that divide US. It avoids those divisions between US which these days have US almost equally divided. Those divisions which leave US unable to make much progress on things that would really help, and not just for some but all of US. It's a way forward that bridges that gap and therefore could harness the enormous combined power of US to make much bigger change. In fact, most of the smaller changes that could be made by either of the partisan teams would not make nearly as much difference. We can be most effective by making this change first and adding other changes that we choose later.

The goal, in one way, is hard to describe briefly because it is so broad it affects everything. In another way it is simple. It is a shift of power. A shift from the country being largely for powerful interests to it being for US. It can be accomplished by a combination of top-down change and grassroots change. It requires US to actually exercise our power from the bottom up. It also needs leaders who are like-minded, either ones we choose, or by exercising the power of US to first reject current leaders and then raise up new ones from among US. Such a shift in power would not only affect national government but also state and local, and even how companies are run.

A shift in power like that wouldn't just mean that one or two big national policies are changed, but the thousands of changes that need to be made throughout the system. The thousands of laws and rules and procedures at all levels that the powerful interests have managed to bend in their favor that need to be bent back toward US. Changes that affect US not just as working people but also as consumers and as citizens.

Why would this bridge the gap between US? And what exactly are we talking about? A revolution or something? No. In fact that's part of why it doesn't raise the differences between US. It's really just going back to something we had before. Beginning just after World War II and on through the 1970s the country was run much more for US. Not perfectly, but much more than now. Unfortunately, back then all sorts of groups were excluded, which is something we don't want to go back to, but if we could recreate how that was for white men (like your author), but now have that for all of US, that would be a big step in the right direction. In fact we could make things even better than they were then, but any amount of movement in that direction is improvement, and there is nothing about moving in that direction which is revolutionary or experimental or contrary to American experience.

Things were run more for US, less for powerful interests, not just at the level of national policy, but to some extent in state and local laws, and even in how companies were expected to treat their employees and their customers.

This kind of change also bridges our gap because it is a change bigger and more significant than those our partisan issues try for. A symptom of our not appreciating the importance of US is that the political solutions we hope for are puny compared to what is needed and what's possible. On the one hand, some of US might want immigration dealt with differently in hopes it would reduce jobs lost to new people, but even at best that would make a tiny difference in the overall economic health of most Americans. On the other hand, some of US might hope for some new social programs to ease problems, like some government help with child care for working people, maybe a tax break or even a straight out cash payment on child care. But there are two problems with focusing on those kinds of solutions. One is, they're not enough. If powerful interests have cut down the pay of jobs, the stability of jobs, and the consistency of hours of jobs to where it's almost impossible to work typical jobs and have kids, a little bit of help on child care isn't going to make enough difference. Stable work, on fixed hours, with all the pay that your work is really worth would get you much more than what a little help on child care can do.

The second problem is that such programs are always in reaction to some bigger problem. The overall system isn't treating people well, so we hope some social program will make it a little better. Such programs are always just a little bandage on top of a gaping wound in hopes it will slow the bleeding a little. It doesn't solve the underlying problem. F… bandages! We need real solutions. We need much bigger change than what the social programs can do for US. They're not good enough. We can do better. We need more. We can get more. But we can only get that if we focus on getting full solutions and don't make the mistake of aiming too low and just hoping for wimpy bandages.

Maybe we need different immigration policy. This book takes no position on that. Maybe some of these social programs will be needed in addition to the overall shift in power. This book takes no position on that. We can sort out those details between US. As the saying goes, it's called democracy. But something which is an option for most of US to agree on, what we could focus on, what we will have to focus on if we want more substantial change, is this shift in power, and that's something that can be participated in not just by one partisan group or another, but by all of US.