The coming plutocracy

[Mr. dB]

Plutocrats Want to Own Your Vote | On Democracy | BillMoyers.com

Across America, this divide between the super-rich and everyone else has become a yawning chasm that studies indicate may stifle jobs and growth for years to come. At no time in modern history has the top one hundredth of one percent owned more of our wealth or paid so low a tax rate. But in neither of the two presidential debates so far has the vastness of this astounding inequality gap been discussed. Not by Mitt Romney, who is the embodiment of the predatory world of financial capitalism. And not even by Barack Obama, whose party once fought for working men and women against the economic royalists.

But as appalling as all this may be, here’s a new revelation of which you may not be aware. The plutocrats know it and love it — and the rest of us should be forewarned: When the Supreme Court made its infamous Citizens United decision, liberating plutocrats to buy our elections fair and square, the justices may have effectively overturned rules that kept bosses from ordering employees to do political work on company time. Election law expert Trevor Potter told us that now “corporations argue that it is a constitutionally protected use of corporate ‘resources’ to order employees to do political work or attend campaign events — even if the employee opposes the candidate, or is threatened with being fired for failure to do what the corporation asks!”

 

[Mr. dB]

Full Show: Plutocracy Rising | Moyers & Company | BillMoyers.com

Full Show: Plutocracy Rising
October 19, 2012

The One Percent is not only increasing their share of wealth — they’re using it to spread millions among political candidates who serve their interests. Example: Goldman Sachs, which gave more money than any other major American corporation to Barack Obama in 2008, is switching alliances this year; their employees have given $900,000 both to Mitt Romney’s campaign and to the pro-Romney super PAC Restore Our Future. Why? Because, says the Wall Street Journal, the Goldman Sachs gang felt betrayed by President Obama’s modest attempts at financial reform.

To discuss how the super-rich have willfully confused their self-interest with America’s interest, Bill is joined by Rolling Stone magazine’s Matt Taibbi, who regularly shines his spotlight on scandals involving big business and government, and journalist Chrystia Freeland, author of the new book Plutocrats: The Rise of the New Global Super-Rich and the Fall of Everyone Else.

Following the conversation, Bill shares his thoughts on corporate executives who — enabled by the Citizens United ruling — are strong-arming their employees to vote as they say, from the Murray Energy CEO who reportedly made his workers spend unpaid time at a pro-Romney rally; to David and Charles Koch, who sent anti-Obama and pro-Romney materials to the 45,000 employees of their subsidiary Georgia Pacific; to ASG Solutions boss Arthur Allen, who sent an intimidating email to his employees.

 

[Mr. dB]

 

[javaguru]

I live in a "swing state" and luckily It's October so I watch cheesy horror films on cable so I can avoid these millions of dollars designed to turn me into a drone that will vote for Barry or Willard; I haven't voted for a Repub or Dem for pres since Bush the elder squared off against Slick Willy; It appears all these commercials are for naught... If an avalanche of money spent on commercials could determine choices then we would all be drinking new coke, just sayin.

 

[-SD-]

I agree but moyers is a left wing hack so in this case im gonna shoot the messenger based on his stupid romney "embodiment of predatory capitalist" comment while casually saying obama is the "good guy but just hasnt been the saint we all know he normally is lately"

 

[javaguru]

Secondly, how did Bill Gates or Steve Jobs make me poor by making shitloads of money while improving my life? Bill Gates has fueled my career and grown the pie by making all of society wealthier; The greatest anti-poverty initiative is free market capitalism. I know you're pointing to crony capitalism but that's a function of government and not the market.

 

[redsamurai]

. I know you're pointing to crony capitalism but that's a function of government and not the market.

wrong, way wrong. You so casually dismiss the markets culpability in this it's astounding. Sorry Java but you are as brainwashed as ultra lefties who think the market does nothing good and the govt is the embodiment of all that is good. Crony capitalism is a function of the market overrunning what was once not a bad thing. The govt's original job was to protect us from the excess's of the free market which if left completely unchecked can easily collapse a society....you know like saying porn companies can't market hardcore DVDA pornography to preschoolers, insignificant stuff like that

Our govt has become corrupted by the excess's of the free market it was supposed to protect us from. But it's not a function of the superiority of either capitalism over socialism or vice versa....it's simply the decay of man, no more no less. We are an irrational decaying society and the discussion of whether socialism or capitalism is better for us is a moot point now.

 

[javaguru]

wrong, way wrong. You so casually dismiss the markets culpability in this it's astounding. Sorry Java but you are as brainwashed as ultra lefties who think the market does nothing good and the govt is the embodiment of all that is good. Crony capitalism is a function of the market overrunning what was once not a bad thing. The govt's original job was to protect us from the excess's of the free market which if left completely unchecked can easily collapse a society....you know like saying porn companies can't market hardcore DVDA pornography to preschoolers, insignificant stuff like that

Our govt has become corrupted by the excess's of the free market it was supposed to protect us from. But it's not a function of the superiority of either capitalism over socialism or vice versa....it's simply the decay of man, no more no less. We are an irrational decaying society and the discussion of whether socialism or capitalism is better for us is a moot point now.

When have pornographers even attempted to market to children?

The government allowed unrestricted marketing of new coke and now the only drink we can purchase is new coke? Oh right, it was rejected even though it had the greatest marketing push in history.

Your thesis is that select criminals with an exclusive monopoly on violence are the people best positioned to manage everyone's life? Google Democide, governments have killed between 175 and 200 million of their own people in the 20th century, excluding wars; It's based on their policies. If you include wars, WWI and WWII weren't caused by businessmen....they were the natural outcome of government.

I'm happy to let you believe in your personal Jesus of government but the data are on my side and I only ask that you allow me to opt out.

 

[zeosim]

Yea capitalism, everyone has a chance lol what a joke.

 

[Mr. dB]

It's funny how the righties mock welfare recipients voting themselves a raise, or Congress voting themselves a raise, but have no problem with the board of directors voting themselves raises.

Extreme executive compensation, among other things, comes at the expense of thousands of regular employees. But we're supposed to fellate them because they're "Job Creators"?