Feb 25, 2013

Poverty is the parent of revolution. Aristotle.

Poverty is the parent of revolution. Aristotle.

Poverty can be the parent of citizen-ownership democracy.

In this post,
People plainly do not know how unequal their society is.. USA. Singapore
we see that 40% of the population own practically 0% of the country's wealth.

This is a shocking imbalance. As citizens, we co-own the country. 40% of the citizens should have a 40% share in the communal wealth, which should work out to be more than 0% in private wealth.

This mass poverty could be a source of votes for a new type of democracy that recognizes and rewards citizens for their ownership of their country.

If you look at the US Presidential election voter turnout, it is only about 50-60%. The Republicans and the Democrats get only about 30% support from the total number eligible to vote. There is a big "majority" of 40-50% who have given up voting.

Let us assume that those who do not vote are mainly from the bottom 40%. See the estimate below. Now it is up to any third party in the US to promise a citizen-ownership income, galvanize the non-voting majority, and to win over the US state by state. In Alaska, the citizen dividend is quite low, about $1,000 per resident annually. That is because only a small part of common wealth is used to produce the dividend. A third party should calculate the full dividend possible.  One estimate for Alaska is $5,000 per resident annually, giving a nice sum of $20000 to $30,000 for a family. That will be a huge pleasant incentive for non-voters to cast their votes.

If a new political party can move the non-voters by promises of big citizen dividends going into their pockets, the new political party can beat out the dominant ones.

Voter Estimate

Rush Limbaugh says welfare recipients turn out to vote in force. They really don’t.

This is from CNN exit poll in 2008


With a voter turnout of 57%,  about 9.5% out of the 13% with income below $15,000 didn't vote. About 75% of this lowest income group didn't vote. Of the 17.2% with income between $15,000 and $30,000, more than 10% didn't vote (about 60% of them).  For those earning between $30,000 and $50,000, about half didn't vote. Proportionately more of the poor didn't vote. Non-voters from these groups already add up to 30% of the population, which is about the same size as the Republican and Democratic supporters.


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