"The wealthy, not only by private fraud but also by common laws, do every day pluck and snatch away from the people some part of their daily living. Therefore, when I consider and weigh in my mind these commonwealths which nowadays do flourish, I perceive nothing but a certain conspiracy of rich men in procuring their own commodities under the name and authority of the commonwealth.

They invent and devise all means and crafts, first how to keep safely without fear of losing that which they have unjustly gathered together, and next how to hire and abuse the work and labor of the people for as little money and effort as possible."

Thomas More, Utopia

Thursday, December 17, 2009

The Power of Money

The truth is there really is no better argument for publicly funded elections than the Barockstar's triumph. Think about it. Tens of millions raised during the past election cycle by the FIRE sector and viola! The greatest heist of the public purse in recorded human history with the bailouts and the continuation of pay as you go "healthcare" only now with the state acting as a handy coercion mechanism will soon be the new normal. This latter legislation has been accurately described by Arthur Silber as the Fuck You To Death Act by the way for there is no better description.

That always fascinating interplay between the money of the owning classes and the elected officials alleged to be working in our interest is by far the surest method of maintaining--and in the case with the Wall Street giveaway--"improving" the status quo. Since so much has already been written about the successful heist of the US Treasury by the Wall Street hustlers I thought I'd draw some attention to an essay by Louis Proyect where he details how the process works on a smaller, perhaps more digestible scale. In this example we follow the exploits of local southern California titans Stewart and Lynda Resnick, owners of Paramount Farms which is the largest grower of almonds and pistachio nuts in the world and also, among other things, the Franklin Mint which should be familiar to insomniacs across the American landscape.

Bonus:
This story may be the most humorous of 2009 as we witness a hapless entrepreneur suffer the unintended consequences of greed and exploitation when Kung Fu monkeys attack. (hat tip to Elaine Supkis at Culture of Life News)

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Public funded elections will not occur because the rich will not be able to get in their guys.

"leftisthebest"

Coldtype said...

I'll say it won't happen until the public becomes aroused enough to make it happen irrespective of what the elite may desire. That day of course is a long way off.

Rue St. Michel said...

Happy Friday, Coldy.

Just to reinvigorate myself, I'll either throw some cold water in my face, or open the patio door and take in a lung-full of cold, Chicago air.

But today, in order to wake up - I reread Karl Marx's Communist Manifesto: specifically the 10 'planks'

Who needs coffee to wake up and get pissed when we have a 5th column trying to install a new Communist-Totalitarian-Authoritarian Utopia.

Anonymous said...

Dearest Rue-y,

The Socialist/Communist agenda is not presented properly lest the powers in charge let the working class know their rights.

I personally believe the best plank Marx presented was a heavy progressive or graduated income tax.

The worse was his call for confiscation of the property of emigrants and rebels.

I know you believe in his call for free education for all children in public schools and abolition of child labor.

The "fifth column" to which you refer is. for the most part, in bed with the rich.

"leftisthebest"

Coldtype said...

No Rue, we'd be far more productive if we addressed the financial oligarchy that has now solidified its position with the Obama administration's ready assistance.

Just to be clear, the tally so far to protect the reckless financial sector from the consequences of its own greed and malfeasance is 23 TRILLION in taxpayer obligations. If Team Obama had chosen the other path--one prioritizing the American people as opposed to its financial mandarins--and paid off every car loan, credit card, and mortgage obligation of every American, the cost would have been 11 trillion dollars. Think about it.