Capitalism and Tea-Bagging.

So what has become of the love affair between America and capitalism?

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey has some surprising results :

• only 53% of American adults believe capitalism is better than socialism.
• 27% are not sure which is better
• 20% say socialism is better.

If you consider that most Americans equate "socialism" with "communism" (and not the European version of social-democracy), the results are actually shocking.

Of course polls by phone only mean so much, but even if these results are exaggerated, they show that there is great doubt in the minds of many Americans that the type of capitalism of the 90s and 2000s is "good" for America.

So it seems that the tea party protesters this week were really out of touch with grassroot America, despite claimming precisely that they were (a grassroot movement).

[for our non-American viewers, tea-parties are protests held to protest increased taxes and government spending under the Obama administration, and the name is of coruse used as a reference to the Boston Tea Party in 1773 against taxing tea. Of course, back then, it was "no taxation without representation" which is hardly the case today, but who cares about dubious historical parallels if it sells the whol package]

Just for the fun of it, I have made a "fair and balance" selection of photos of the signs in the protests (found online) :

A very tactful sign.... when you have the first black president in US History

Of course, there is always worse....

This last one is actually mt favorite - since tea-bagging (as a verbal form) actually carries sexual inuendos.