The American Plutocracy ....government OF the rich, BY the rich...

[whistle]

...and FOR the rich and the economic injustice it has created.

<snip>
Economic Injustice: America's New Leading Export
by Jason Miller

In a startling turn of events, a new commodity has surpassed jobs as the number one US export. Starting with Iraq, President Bush has dedicated himself to exporting economic injustice, which Americans possess in such abundance that it has become our top export. Here in America, we are living one of the biggest lies perpetrated in human history, and if our ruling plutocracy has its way, the rest of the world will one day enjoy the pleasant fiction that they live in a nation of justice and economic opportunity. Sadly, the notion of "of the people, by the people, and for the people" is in its final throes. A corrupt, plutocratic government "of the rich, by the rich, and for the rich" sucks the marrow, leaving the rest of America to hungrily gnaw the bones. Bearing a striking resemblance to the feudal lords of the Middle Ages, America's plutocrats plunder and hoard the wealth of the land while their serfs fight over the remaining scraps.

All men are not created equal...

As the US wages war against the "terrorists" in Iraq, our ruling plutocrats tell us that we are spreading the hallowed (and hollow) American ideals of freedom, liberty, and justice. Yet Americans live in one of the most economically unjust nations in the world. While it is true that there are more overtly oppressive governments, and there are nations where poverty is far more wide-spread and devastating, it is a perversity that the wealthiest society in the history of humanity allows some of its people to suffer in poverty. Yes, the economic injustice and disparity in the US is overwhelming.

Despite the obscene wealth available to America, we still have homelessness. According to an Urban Institute study in 2000, 3.5 million people, of whom 1.35 million are children, are likely to experience homelessness each year. While one can argue that this only represents 1% of the population, I argue that this is 1% too many. America has enough resources that one individual, Bill Gates, has made a scandalous $300.00 per second in his ascendancy to the largest fortune in the world. Gates' net worth is 800,000 times that of someone with a net worth of $70,000. While an elite few like Gates experience the American Dream on steroids, 3.5 million live the American Nightmare while eating from garbage cans and using newspapers for insulation to fend off the cold. Our plutocracy's answer to human suffering is to decrease funding for social welfare programs, lower taxes on the wealthy, and increase military spending.

American poverty also manifests itself in less extreme ways than homelessness. In 2002, only 89% of Americans were food secure. This means that 11% of the populace did not have access to the food necessary to lead an active, healthy life. In the same year, 3.5% of Americans lived went through periods where they went hungry. How twisted is that? The US farm economy perpetually struggles with over-production, yet over 12 million human beings suffered from hunger in 2002. This is the justice we are spreading in Iraq, or so the rationalization for the invasion and occupation of a sovereign nation goes. Somebody needs to prop them up....

<more>
<link> http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_jason_mi_050717_economic_injustice__.htm

[Name removed]

1. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[wli]

2. the two-party system must go

It's high time we went parliamentary.

[Robert Oak]

4. sacrilege

but I recently was looking at that and seemingly the US system gives
the President way too much power in comparison to some parliamentary systems.

I agree this "either/or" has become corporate party w/ abortion or without...not a great choice.

Anyone who speaks the truth only "splits the base" to decide between the lesser of two evils.

[Robert Oak]

3. awesome op ed ty Jason Miller (and whistle for posting) n/t

[Codeblue]

5. The more I learn about the Revolution

and the Founding Fathers, the more I realize this country was never For the People, By the People. It has ALWAYS been For the Rich, By the Rich.

The Founding Fathers were rich landowners. The majority of the population of the colonies did not support the Revolution and it took much cajoling by the rich men to get them to join in.

The rich men were tired of paying taxes to the British...thus...America. It's been set up fromt he beginning to keep the rich rich and the poor poor.

[raccoon]

6. I agree. I wish it wasn't called the "American Revolution"

because it really wasn't, in the sense of changing the social order, such as the French Revolution or the Russian Revolution.

It was a war for independence.

[zorro99]

7. All men are not created equal

You said it..."All men are not created equal....Bill Gates, has made a scandalous $300.00 per second in his ascendancy to the largest fortune in the world."

Interesting...the way I see it, if you had half of Gates' brain, you'd probably be pulling in $150.00 per second. Sorry...I know plenty of affluent folks who started out with nothing or next to nothing. Don't blame your own failure on Bill Gates' brilliance. As for 12 million Americans suffering from hunger, I'm curious if you're also for a fat tax to arrest the obesity epidemic that supposedly exists...and it's supposedly very prevalent with lower income folks. As a whole, we're probably ingesting more calories per person than any previous time in history.

[stevebreeze]

8. There is absolutely not truth in your post

WE do not reward people by their merit by simply by their power. It is insane to assume Bill Gates' value to society can be measured by his wealth. One it assumes Bill Gates value to America is the same the the effort and brain power of the least wealthy 40 million Americans. Second anyone with any computer experience knows that Microsoft is not a monopoly because it has the best written software but because it has the most ruthless marketing.

I work for the wealthy every day, yes a few start out with little, but most are born on third base. To go back to your Gates example, he entered an elite college,which very few Americans could afford, with a $1.5 million trust fund.

If wealth is just reward for merit should Ken Lay get to keep all the money he ripped off Californian's for? Why do we pay entry level baseball players more then the best paid college professors? There is no way you can rationalize pay with merit, this is just a sick spin used by the wealthy to justify their stinginess to the rest of society.

[Cloister]

9. Stingy?

You don't have to like Bill Gates, but stingy? Give me a break. He's already funded his charitable foundation to the tune of $25+ billion, and he's planning to have the vast majority of his fortune go to it when he dies. I'm pretty sure the same goes for Warren Buffett.

[stevebreeze]

11. If you had taken a little time to read what I wrote I did not call Bill

Gates stingy, thou the three times he has been sued successfully by employee's for low pay may lead you to that conclusion.

[zorro99]

10. Actually Stevebreeze....I'm right on the m-o-n-e-y

Stevebreeze wrote: "WE do not reward people by their merit by simply by their power. It is insane to assume Bill Gates' value to society can be measured by his wealth. One it assumes Bill Gates value to America is the same the the effort and brain power of the least wealthy 40 million Americans."

Actually, Steve, that's not what I said....all I implied was that Gates has earned it. There's nothing stopping anyone on this board from achieving similar success, assuming they have the intellect, vision, drive, and passion (and sometimes a little luck doesn't hurt). It's not Gates' problem if most of the folks on this board have degrees in non-marketable arenas like 17th century French literature. As for not rewarding people "by their merit", who the hell is supposed to decide rewards for that merit? You? Me? Oh Lord, the government? As you also mentioned, pro athletes are paid obscene sums of money....personally, I choose not to contribute to their wealth (other than a few endorsed products at jacked up prices occassionally)as I feel they are overpaid, undertalented prima donnas who make a living by playing a game...that said, I will defend their right to maximize their income anyway they can. Good for them...they have talent and should hold out for the best deal they're comfortable with...I choose to ignore them, but that's my prerogative.

On second thought, your comment "One it assumes Bill Gates value to America is the same the the effort and brain power of the least wealthy 40 million Americans" is interesting. Actually, I'll argue that Gates' value to society far exceeds that of the 40 million least wealthy individuals. He has changed our lives for the better through the advancement and propagation of technology like no other individual. Also, it's likely that his philanthropy exceeds this group of individuals combined, as well. As for the bottom 40 million folks, many are only temporarily in this strata, while some could care less and will never tap that brainpower...and then there are some that "want out", but have run into bad luck and could use a leg up. Perhaps our common ground would be trying to help the latter group.
All the best....Zorro99
P.S. Ken Lay can rot in jail.

[stevebreeze]

12. Ken Lay is not in jail...and has not even been charged.

Please try to back up your argument with some facts and not just rhetoric. If we reward merit with pay are CEO's today 10 times more worthy then they were just 30 short years ago? Certainly their pay has increased, on average, from 40 times the pay of an average worker to 400 times their pay.
If workers are more productive, shouldn't their pay rise in sync with productivity? Of course, except it has not. while productivity has gone up 70%+ since 1970, median pay adjusted for inflation has risen less then 10%. Of course we should be glad that corporate profits the pay of CEO's and the top 1% of incomes have soared far faster then those merit-less workers.

[zorro99]

14. Stevebreeze....Yeah, but...

Stevebreeze wrote: "Please try to back up your argument with some facts and not just rhetoric. If we reward merit with pay are CEO's today 10 times more worthy then they were just 30 short years ago? Certainly their pay has increased, on average, from 40 times the pay of an average worker to 400 times their pay.
If workers are more productive, shouldn't their pay rise in sync with productivity? Of course, except it has not. while productivity has gone up 70%+ since 1970, median pay adjusted for inflation has risen less then 10%. Of course we should be glad that corporate profits the pay of CEO's and the top 1% of incomes have soared far faster then those merit-less workers."

Stevebreeze...thanks for the thought provoking response...I'm finding this thread very interesting. First of all, I have to accept your stats as valid as I have no means of validating them easily...but that's okay. I'll accept them. You indicate that "workers are more productive", which I also accept. The question back at you is, why are they more productive? Are they now magically accomplishing 12 hours of labor in an 8 hour day? Are they just working harder than they were? The primary increase in productivity over the time span you mentioned would be entirely due to technology advances. Blue collar work decreases as technology advances...that's always been the case. Who would be responsible for the increased productivity other than the white collar workforce...R&D (engineers), management willing to invest in the advancements, etc. Technology/automation is generally intended to make life easier for the worker and increase productivity....the result however, reduces the value of blue collar work. No wonder the unions are falling apart....I think you just explained it, inadvertantly. Is this argument flawed...are we on a collision course for violent agreement...or will we just never agree, as I've reached a very comfortable place in life after busting my tail for the last 22 years? Thanks again!! Zorro

[stevebreeze]

15. So you are claiming that worker output is up due to the grand generosity

of the bosses wondrous genius? yes we will never agree on this.

[zorro99]

16. No, not generosity...

Stevebreeze said: "So you are claiming that worker output is up due to the grand generosity of the bosses wondrous genius? yes we will never agree on this."

Actually Steve, I never said anything about generosity...the corporate bottom line is the motivation for improving productivity (and the compensation one receives for achieving that end is what pushes the engineers and MBAs and other professionals to find the efficiencies/improvements)....the blue collar work, the manual work, etc. is difficult to improve upon as folks can only work so hard, so fast and so smart...there is an asymptote that they can approach, but never exceed....physical constraints are always a bummer. What happens is, that form of labor becomes less valued as technology replaces it. That's all I was really saying. You indicated that we will never agree on this and I can live with that!! Nevertheless, I enjoyed the exchange of ideas and wish you all the best in your pursuits! Take care....Zorro99

[fasttense]

13. Since when are the wealthy smart????

First I gotta say when I met those captain's of industry, I was seriously disappointed in how stupid they really are. All they really know is how to make money. To me that does not connote intelligence.

Paris Hilton Smart?? The brush twins smart??? Come off it, the idle rich have contributed very little to society except to amass wealth and power for themselves and their chosen family members. Giving a little of their money away does not make up for the fact they amassed their wealth off the backs of someone else. If I don't pay my taxes, if I don't join the military, law enforcement etc..., then people like Gates can't make their money. Middle class America sets up the foundation of a stable society so people like Gates can exploit it. I gave twenty years to this country, protecting it. How many years did Gates sacrifice for our country????

You are perpetuating a myth with your statement: "There's nothing stopping anyone on this board from achieving similar success, assuming they have the intellect, vision, drive, and passion (and sometimes a little luck doesn't hurt).

I'll tell you what's stopping most people from making what Gates makes it is a privileged background and rich parents.

First Gates' father was very well off: Born on Oct. 28, 1955, Gates grew up in Seattle with his two sisters. Their father, William H. Gates II, is a Seattle attorney. Not very humble beginnings.

Second Gates went to an exclusive (meaning expensive) college. In 1973, Gates entered Harvard University as a freshman.

This myth that Gates started from humble beginnings like Abraham Lincoln is just that a myth. He had everything going for him. The only thing that could hold him back was a lack of drive and ambition like Paris Hilton and the brush twins.

[zorro99]

17. Fasttense wrote....

Fasttense wrote: "All they really know is how to make money. To me that does not connote intelligence."

But there is a competency and/or intelligence that provides some folks with the ability to make money. The companies run by those individuals are the types of companies that I'll buy stock in. Intelligence? Absolutely...everyone has their own aptitudes/strengths.

Fasttense wrote: "Paris Hilton Smart?? The brush twins smart??? Come off it, the idle rich have contributed very little to society except to amass wealth and power for themselves and their chosen family members."

What's your point? I could care less about these particular folks...they pay a lot more taxes than I do, which is great. If I saw them on the street, I wouldn't recegnize them and I really don't care to....so what?

Fasttense wrote: "Middle class America sets up the foundation of a stable society so people like Gates can exploit it."

Actually, it's our Constitution ond government that sets up a stable foundation where brilliant people like Bill Gates can find opportunities.

Fasttense wrote: "I gave twenty years to this country, protecting it."

Not much I can say to that other than provide a very sincere thank you....I didn't serve...I have great respect for those who did (including my Dad).

Fasttense wrote: "You are perpetuating a myth with your statement: 'There's nothing stopping anyone on this board from achieving similar success, assuming they have the intellect, vision, drive, and passion (and sometimes a little luck doesn't hurt).' I'll tell you what's stopping most people from making what Gates makes it is a privileged background and rich parents."

Nonsense. Most parents want their children to do better than themselves...as I look around me, that's all I see, including my own story. My Grandparents were all immigrants who struggled...each successive generation struggled to, but not to the same extent. My folks made sure I went to college (Mech Engineering), and while things were tough when I graduated, 20+ years later I've achieved a very comfortable lifestyle...did it fall in my lap? Hell no. Worked my tail off....but it was worth it. Later!! Zorro99

[stevebreeze]

18. I am sure you did work your ass off...many who also do so live with low

wages. Of course we will never achieve a society were you income = to your worth to society, but we can and have had much more equality of opportunity.