Tag: 1%

They fear Ocasio-Cortez; and they should

The ultra conservative gang is pulling is afraid, and they are pulling out all the stops. In this case, it’s Ben Stein. He was funny in some movies because his mode of speaking was about the same as his mode of thinking. Now he’s the latest wealth-is-for-the-wealthy striking out at Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. He’s out of his depth. He is attempting to compare her to Adolf Hitler because she promotes social programs, a socially responsible government, and a more equitable distribution of wealth in our country. She—gasp—actually believes things like: millionaires and billionaires ought to pay their fair share of taxes; people who work full time should earn a living wage; every American should have affordable health care; LGBTQ Americans are people too and should be treated equally.

Let’s be VERY CLEAR. What Ocasio-Cortez is talking about is a reasonable and responsible combination of government and social consciousness as a government and nation. The GOP has done all it could to enrich the richest and destroy the middle and lower economic classes. they like it that way. And now they have given us Donald Trump. We have already seen the fruits of Trump’s Hitler-like promises and psychosis—as discussed by MANY historians, sociologists, psychologists and psychiatrists who have a much firmer grip on the subject than Mister Stein. Ocasio-Cortez is nothing like either Hitler or Trump. She is the direct opposite. Remember what Joseph Goebbels said, to always accuse the other side of that which you are guilty of yourself. He also applauded lying your way to power, and advised to make the lie a big one, and keep saying it, until you convinced people to believe it.  These happen to be two of the most prominent, and effective, tools in Trump’s crooked bucket. Now Ben Stein has bought in.

Ben Stein is attacking Ocasio-Cortez for one reason and one reason only. He supports the concept of very small government and is dedicated to the trickle-down economic theories the GOP has used since the Reagan era (that’s 40 years), to continually unbalance the economy and the social strata of America. Ben Stein is a believer of the concept that, as Al Capp put it so eloquently in “Li’l Abner,” what’s good for General Bullmoose is good for the USA.” He supports the belief that 1% of the people should have all of the money, all of the political power, and all of the control.

General Bullmoose is in the White House right now. We can see how that’s working out.

And about that “small government” thing. It was feasible and reasonable in 1790 (the year of the first official census), when the population of the country was under 4 million. In a nation of 300 million plus, a nation in which 99% of the people are more in danger from their own country’s massive corporations than any outside threat, the government must be large enough to stand up for that 99% against the 1%, as well as the threats posed by racism, white supremacists, and rampant, vicious religious cultism. Think far-right evangelicals. Social responsibility maintaining stability through equity in the economic system are vital necessities for a government that represents ALL of the people, as opposed to the wealthy few and the violent cultists.

That is the kind of government Ocasio-Cortez is talking about. Ben Stein should be ashamed to even attempt comparing her to Hitler. But then, he believes the 1% should rule. They’ve been consolidating their wealth and their power for four decades. Ocasio-Cortez is talking about restoring the political and economic balance all Americans deserve, and all of America needs. The far right white supremacists don’t like it. More importantly, the 1% doesn’t like it. To make things more awful for them, she is tough. She isn’t going to politely sit down and let the old guard on either side of the aisle tell her to be quiet. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is also smart, and determined to get a fair shake for all Americans. She is a Tigress. Put her and Mitch McConnell in a locked cage WWE event, and she would have the old traitor on the mat begging for mercy with his last breath in seconds. I doubt she’d even work up a sweat. Donald Trump’s bone spurs start acting up almost as bad at the mention of her name, as they do when he hears the word Pelosi.

That’s why the wealthiest among us hate Ocasio-Cortez. It’s why they fear her. And they should.

Capitalism, Greed & Social Democracy

Bear with me. This is fairly long, but I think it’s important. More than that, I believe it is an accurate explanation, in lay terms, of what America is facing. I hope you will have the patience to read it all. Thanks.
   Ken Langone, co-founder of Home Depot, is suggesting that people unhappy with the economic state of America should fly to Venezuela. He wants you to see how socialism works there. Hint. Not very well.
   Mister Langone is a happy recipient of all the benefits of a democratic, capitalistic society, perhaps the most notable such society in the history of the modern world. It is the “Great Experiment,” testing literally whether such a society such as ours can long survive. Mister Langone undoubtedly worked and still works hard. Just as hundreds of millions of other Americans. In addition to hard work, he has been extremely fortunate, and now he absolutely feels that people such as himself are entitled to all they can take, in both money and power. Notice how he throws around the word ‘socialism,’ in a grossly generalized slur. I think some things need to be cleared up.
*First note* Remember that it is the job of the government in a capitalist/ free market society to stand up for the people, ALL of the people; to use reasonable regulation to ensure that the ever more greedy rich at the top don’t become Kings while the working population is relegated to the level of serfs. The process that the government uses is often described NOT as socialism, but as DEMOCRATIC socialism.
   The question that needs answering is, what then IS ‘democratic socialism?’ What’s the difference between that, and simply “socialism? In as few words as possible, it is this: SOCIALISM, in concept is a society in which everyone’s efforts, big and small, are placed into a central pot, from which everyone draws the fruits of those efforts equally. It is a concept that has never worked in the modern world. I’m not sure if it ever worked in the pre-modern world. I think it probably didn’t. The obvious inequity is that those who produce the most get the same amount of fruits as those who produce the least.
   Socialism has also been smeared by monsters such as Hitler, Mussolini, and others who have used the term as a thin disguise of their hateful dictatorships. Socialism is at the core of Communism, which has also not worked well for one simple reason. Power has always become centralized in the hands of one, of a handful of powerful people.
*Second note* The destructive force within socialism is, and always has been, the rise to power of ultra-ambitious and greedy people who believe that their ambition and personal “vision” gives them the right to dictate what is good for everyone, based on what is good for themselves.
   So then, what is capitalism? Here is a good, succinct description of the theory of capitalism from Wikipedia: Capitalism is an economic system based on private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit. Characteristics central to capitalism include private property, capital accumulation, wage labor, voluntary exchange, a price system, and competitive markets.
   All of the things described there are in themselves good, and on the surface, as fair is it is possible to get.  But there is a built-in danger, a very severe danger, in that description. Did you find it? Can you see it? The Achilles heel within capitalism is what you do NOT see in that description. There is no mention of limits, or regulation.
*Third Note* The ultimate destructive force in capitalism is the same, EXACTLY THE SAME, as in socialism.  There will always be those who are ambitious far above the norm, greedy in their desire for accumulation of riches far above the norm, and who will inevitably draw as much power as possible to themselves in their quest to have, consolidate and grow ever greater levels of riches and power. Moreover, these people will always, like the man you see here, will always feel ENTITLED to more.
*Fourth Note* Such people will always feel it is their right to keep as much of the accumulated fruit for themselves, and to share of it as possible with the very people whose labors actually produce the fruits. They march forward with grossly exaggerated rewards for their own efforts while denying an equitable level of reward for the “working people,” without whose daily toil their own reward be either severely limited or non-existent.
THE IRONY, then, is that such people, when faced with any effort to create a more fair share of the fruits for the people who actually produce the goods and create the fruits, will shout SOCIALISM and warn of its evils, when in fact they are practicing the same kind of central power and greed that they rail against. Every time they moan about big government and regulation, what they really mean is “You’re getting in the way of me getting richer”
*Fifth Note* Unfettered, unregulated capitalism is, then, is doomed to end as badly for the masses of population we call “working people,” as the dreaded socialism they throw about as the boogey man. Awareness of this is not a new thing. It’s been known about since the very inception of the term going back at least two centuries.
Remember this. The power and unscrupulous will always seek to gather all riches and all power to themselves. It is a simple fact of humanity.
So now, what IS a Social Democracy? It is actually what our founding fathers envisioned when they established this “Great Experiment.” The experiment is actually a test of whether a society can be as free and capitalistic as possible, with just the right amount of control exerted by a government of the people in order to maintain the freedom and rewards for all in reasonable balance. Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are part of a democratic socialism. Tax structures represent democratic socialism. Regulation to protect and distribute food and water supplies, and to provide a safe environment for working and living are part of democratic socialism.
*Next to Last Note* The Great Experiment then is make it possible through capitalism, for ambition and hard work to be rewarded in kind, while using regulation and taxation to ensure that everyone who works hard, who labors with dedication, is also reward in kind. THAT is what is called democratic socialism. My preferred term is socially responsible governance.
*Last Note* America is currently far along the last branch of the road to collapse as a democracy. Every book and movie that has portrayed a dystopian society, one in which the mass, the working class, lives in misery while the rich and power few live and rule in outsized luxury, has pictured a society not very far down the path we are following. Consider: **- the working class faces ever shrinking affordable housing due to rising prices in both rents and houses; **- the working class goes without necessary health care due to drug and care prices that rise astronomically; **- working class youth is subject to inferior education due to poor funding and priorities for our education system; **- Higher education is outlandishly expensive; ** working class Americans can no longer plan or save adequately for retirement due to prices that rise much faster than wages; **- 1% of America has more wealth than the remaining 99%.
*Conclusion* American capitalism is broken. It is out of control. The only way to fix it is through governmental intervention and regulation to restore some level of equity. The 1% who have accumulated their power and wealth will not agree to a more equitable society of their own accord. Remember, they believe it is their right. They think their extreme ambition and ruthlessness make them better than the other 99%. Their wealth and power, and adding to both, is more important to them than the greater economy, the environment, or anybody they don’t perceive to be on their level. They have control of America, and I don’t know if it is even possible to fix America at this point. The 1% has insinuated its power and its control to within the very core of America’s governance. I believe their very being is wrapped around a singular belief which they will never say in public, but which I describe thus: “If you can’t keep up with me, then live the way I allow you to live. If you can’t handle that, then perhaps you had best just die.”
I don’t think Vlad the Impaler could have said it better.