Crash of 2016

Thom Hartman's new book postulates yet another severe global economic downturn by the next US election year (if not sooner). He uses historical data to show how oligarchs take wealth and power (what he calls a "Royalist conspiracy")until inequality boils over into popular rage. He cites the economic crises of 1750-60, 1850, 1930, 2008, and soon to be 2016. Thom has written two dozen books on this same theme and he inevitably refers to the same prescription of "structural" changes that must take place to close this gap and avert disaster. What I find fascinating is the fact that while he highlights the repetitive nature of the conditions that lead to these crashes he seems unconcerned with the repetitive nature of the solutions society has imposed, so that he seems fine with riding this merry-go-round over and over and over again. For instance, Roosevelt fought the big monopolies, we should break up the big monopolies (Sherman act), Roosevelt passed Glass -Steagle to separate banking, we should reinstate the Act. Speculation ran wild after Commodities Modernization Futures Act, we should repeal same. Let's just do the same thing, then the Royalists can do their thing ( circumvent or gut the legislation) then we can do the same thing and on and on.. We can just keep watching this same movie... because it is The End of History! Groundhog Day! I tried in vain to explain this to my esteemed opponents in Occupy who insisted on Justice re-instated! Bring Back the Unions and the Middle Class! Bring back the Mom and Pop Corner Store! Bring back the good stuff, yeah, but leave Nixon and disco in the trash heap of history. My friend Stuart Hartger wants to strengthen popular democracy through a new system of representation he calls The Organized Electorate. I don't wish to imply this is another case of repetition but my critique here is that he doesn't propose extending democracy into the productive, economic sphere. I fear that without this radical extension, unempowered consumers of politics will always take the place of true citizens.