Of, By And For Big Business by Robert Scheer

[Itsthetruth]

Los Angeles Times
February 22, 2005

Of, by and for Big Business
by Robert Scheer

Watching the 109th Congress, one would be forgiven for thinking our Constitution was the blueprint for a government of Big Business, by Big Business and for Big Business. Forget the people — this is Robin Hood in reverse.

Here's the agenda, as laid out by the president and the Republicans who control Congress: First, limit people's power to right wrongs done to them by corporations. Next, force people to repay usurious loans to credit card companies that make gazillions off the fine print. Then, for the coup de grace, hand over history's most successful public safety net to Wall Street.

Of course, the GOP and the White House use slightly different language for this corporate-lobbyist trifecta: "Tort reform," "eliminating abuse of bankruptcy" and "keeping Social Security solvent" are the preferred Beltway phrasings for messing with the little guy.

In fact, the GOP's legislative calendar looks like a wish list sent over to the White House from the Chamber of Commerce across the street. Senate Republican Majority Leader Bill Frist (Tenn.) dropped in there the other day after a breakfast meeting with the president to assure the chamber that its wishes would soon be law. After all, the chamber spent $168 million to push the anti-class-action lawsuit bill along. Still to come this session: raising allowable emissions standards on major pollutants, oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and the granddaddy of all corporate payouts, privatization of Social Security.


http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/opinion/la-oe-scheer22feb22,1,4076184.column?ctrack=1&cset=true

[aquart]

1. Does he say "fascism"??

[Itsthetruth]

2. No.

Of course not.

It's more like turning the clock back to late 19th and early 20th century capitalism.

[aquart]

3. Ah, yes. Going home to Teapot Dome.

The "capitalism" (read rampant thievery) that resulted in every one of the regulations they're trying to do away with.

That was the period when Mark Twain said there was "no native criminal class, except Congress."