I believe the corporate takeover of this country is a done deal

[cali]

It's like a supernova. It's happened even if we have yet to see it. Oh, we may meet with some small successes and delays of certain things, but it really is a phenomenon that has already taken place. Is it reversible? Probably not through our current system of government and political process. This goes far beyond left/right- though the right is far worse than the left. It comes down to power and those who wield it, getting a firm hold on the reins of power. And that they have done.

[geek tragedy]

1. when did rich people not control this country and hold all the power?

corporate control is a change in legal form, not a change in substance of who holds power

[cali]

10. It was more balanced for a while when there was 92% marginal tax rate.

[RufusTFirefly]

18. Yes! People either forget or are ignorant of things like this.

It hasn't always been this way.

If we want to look to the source of rising income inequality and the disappearance of the middle class, the top marginal tax rate is a good place to start. You don't have to be Einstein to figure out that going from a top rate of more than 90% in the 40s and 50s to one of less than 40% today is going to have a significant, detrimental impact on many of the things that determine our collective quality of life and bind us together as a country.

[RKP5637]

53. Future generations forget the past, they did not experience it ... probably a significant portion of

the population think this is the way it always has been. We have no dialog, really, of "we the people." Generally, many get their knowledge via propaganda and other faulty sources. "We the people" have lost control of the country and a fair portion of the population really has no representation ... because $$$$$ rules and runs USA, Inc.

[Dustlawyer]

88. The lowering of the tax rates are a symptom of the rise in power. I admit that the very wealthy

and big business has always welded a large amount of influence, I believe that from Reagan on their has been a plan in place to consolidate their power and influence. From their get togethers in Davos,
to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce they have coordinated. They bought the big Networks to control the media. They started spending money on State, local and judicial elections where they were able to get their candidate in easily for relatively little money. They killed unions and trial lawyers, traditional founders of Democrats, forcing them to look to Wall Street for campaign cash. They made fundraising a year round, full time job, so that they make regular payments to candidates as long as the candidates stay on message. If they don't, the money is immediately cut off, and possibly a primary opponent is backed if the candidate refuses to play ball. They started backing Democrats as well so that they controlled both teams, The Harlem Globetrotters vs. the Washington Generals. They keep us distracted and deflect the blame for the bad things that they do on the poor or whoever is convenient.

We take away the money from our election process and we take back our country!

[RufusTFirefly]

89. Well-expressed. I like the Globetrotters-Generals analogy. Too close to the truth

Many are unaware of the Powell Memo, the confidential memorandum written by future Supreme Court Justice Lewis Powell in 1971 that outlines in considerable detail a strategy for corporate hegemony, mapping out the role of the Chamber of Commerce and the need for funding the business-friendly think tanks that now pollute our discourse.

Although the entire document is chilling, especially in forecasting our current situation, some excerpts are particularly interesting and may even relate to recent DU debates (Keep in mind that this memo is more than 40 years old).

Under our constitutional system, especially with an activist-minded Supreme Court, the judiciary may be the most important instrument for social, economic and political change.

...Perhaps the single most effective antagonist of American business is Ralph Nader, who — thanks largely to the media — has become a legend in his own time and an idol of millions of Americans.

...While neither responsible business interests, nor the United States Chamber of Commerce, would engage in the irresponsible tactics of some pressure groups, it is essential that spokesmen for the enterprise system — at all levels and at every opportunity — be far more aggressive than in the past.

There should be no hesitation to attack the Naders, the Marcuses and others who openly seek destruction of the system. There should not be the slightest hesitation to press vigorously in all political arenas for support of the enterprise system. Nor should there be reluctance to penalize politically those who oppose it.

... It is time for American business — which has demonstrated the greatest capacity in all history to produce and to influence consumer decisions — to apply their great talents vigorously to the preservation of the system itself.

[Enthusiast]

105. You deserve a big +1!

Excellent post.

[beerandjesus]

125. Two enthusiastic thumbs up for this post!!

[bvar22]

171. Third!

Thank You for this chilling artifact from 1971!

I encourage everyone to go read the entire Powell Manifesto.
It lays out a 30 year plan that has already been successfully implemented.

http://reclaimdemocracy.org/powell_memo_lewis/

[RufusTFirefly]

172. You're welcome, all! It's a truly scary document. It's not as though they didn't warn us!

Like PNAC's notorious "Rebuilding America's Defenses," it lays things out in chilling detail.

[swilton]

178. Academia should be corporate friendy

This was one of the biggest fallout's of the Powell Memorandum - it wasn't enough that corporate friendly think tanks were created with scholarship bolstering-worshiping capitalism and the free market and demonizing the Soviet Union and alternatives to capitalism, academia itself (which at the time had a moral conscious and was one of the biggest critics of the Vietnam War) had to be fixed.

Corporations largely fund academic research and this can be seen through almost all fields in academic institutions (climate change, petroleum engineering, medicine, economics - etc., etc.)

The behavior movement in the social sciences (data base analysis rather than ethics) took off.

[RufusTFirefly]

179. Yup. The political version of full-spectrum dominance.

If the memo weren't so damaging and diabolical, it would almost be admirable for its thoroughness.

[Dustlawyer]

185. You should start this as a separate post. Really scary to see it in black and white!

[Enthusiast]

104. You win the internet today!

[Dustlawyer]

122. Why thank you, thank you very much! He said in his best Elvis impression.

[nilesobek]

181. Reagan used to say, "Look at all the jobs in the newspapers."

Then he would try and convince the electorate that they were stupid and uneducated because they didn't qualify for, say, a systems analyst job in the newspaper in Dallas, Houston or L.A.

His other excuse was that people refused to abandon their homes and relocate to Southwestern cities.

Reagan was the architect of the selling of logs offshore to Japanese mill ships. Now that we can see the OMG clearcut, there is no doubt about what he did to us in Idaho.

[airplaneman]

152. one of less than 40% today

Didn't Romney pay 13% one year and 0% for the ten years prior?
-Airplane

[RufusTFirefly]

154. Yes. I wasn't including the convenient tax dodges that rich people employ. n/t

[HooptieWagon]

63. Keep in mind....

...That when Kennedy was elected in 1960, that even though the top marginal rate was 90+%, individual taxes comprised only 33% of revenue. Corporate taxes comprised the bulk of the remaining revenue (67%).
Now, despite the top marginal rate being drastically lowered, individual taxes comprise 67% of federal revenue, and Corporate taxes comprise only 33%.
So, when the teabaggers complain about taxes being too high; they are only half right. It's not the top marginal rate that is too high (as they complain about); it's that collectively individuals pay an unfair share of the tax burden, and corporations pay far less than their fair share due to various deductions, exemptions, etc, they've bribed Congress to give them.
Therein lies the reasons for the budget woes, the inequities of wealth, and the lowered economic opportunities for the lower and middle classes.

[Enthusiast]

106. Thank you, HooptieWagon. Wonderful post.

They would have us believe that social security is the driver of the deficit.

[valerief]

129. Add to that the stagnant worker wages for the past several decades and

the individual contribution is even more dramatic.

[HooptieWagon]

131. Yep. And CEO compensation is soaring....

and corporate profits are strong. They're sitting on wads of cash, which they're using to buy up competition. Thats whats driving up the market... corporate investments and hedge funds, not small investors. Its not that a booming market is bad, per se... its that its all going to the 1% who already are plenty wealthy. The wealth owned by the 99% is steadily decreasing... its getting redistributed upstairs.

[fadedrose]

146. It's not balanced now, that's for sure

Saw a TV ad on CNN with glowing information about the Koch brothers and all the good they do. They are the richest people in the US or the world, I forget which, and when they start advertising on CNN, probably paying twice the rate other advertisers pay, you may as well say they own the network.

That's why we're getting so much garbage on CNN, and yes, I think that the "good" programs on CNN that so many of DU like (Bourdain, forensics. Kennedy's, 60's, a new one from Walsh about finding criminals, panels of people talking and arguing about non consequential news, etc.) are not garbage in the sense of the word, but they don't belong on a 24-hour news station.

They're like roses in a cornfield. They don't belong. These stories should be planted elsewhere on the 100's of channels that are dedicated to "culture." And this seems to be the influence of the Koch's.....to dumb down and limit the news, especially on weekends when working folks are home to influence the vote.

But people die, and these brothers are people, and maybe when their reign is over, sanity might be restored and brainwashing will have failed. It's not wealth that drives all rich people, many of whom spend millions trying to help the poor, unfortunately mostly in other countries, and some are good people.

[Liberalynn]

46. This is my take:

Yes the rich have always had the power and the wealth. It's just they used to be smarter and less blinded by their greed. They shared just enough to keep the masses content and out of their hair. Now they feel they have the masses snowed enough thanks to faux noise and it's ilk that they think they don't even have to bother with the pretense any more and so far they're right. As the economy grows ever weaker and more of the gullible ones feel the pressure of the bus wheels, however, things could get dicey for all.

My European history professor once told us that a political entity can promise a population a million things and never deliver, and not pay a price for it, but once they start taking away rights and benefits that have already been enjoyed that tends to tick the masses off.

Unfortunately in that case usually everybody ends up paying to high a cost because such a society almost always historically speaking has gone to war against itself. If the rich were still smart they'd be better off bringing back the veil of pretense, in the end it is cheaper in so many ways.

[Octafish]

141. Ever hear of Franklin Delano Roosevelt?

Quite a guy.

http://www.rooseveltinstitute.org/

A real Democrat, too.

[rhett o rick]

173. Ah yes, the "insinuation by question." My guess is that you are insinuating

that rich people have always controlled this country so why worry now? Well, the rich have always controlled this country but for a few decades they allowed us to have a great middle class. The greatest middle class ever in history. But that's long past if you look at statistics. The wealth gap is widening with no end in sight. And then there are those living in denial.

[mahina]

180. Right? People around the world in much worse situations with none of our resources suceeded

in shaking off bad governments. To me, the 'poor us, money controls our govt, oh well!" mindset is super lame. It's not enough to be right and lose.

There's a great documentary, A Force More Powerful that's now avail on DVD for @20 bucks that shows exactly how the South Africans got rid of apartheid, Chileans got rid of Pinochet, Danes defeated the Nazi occupiers, Poles won with solidarity, etc, all with nonviolent means. We should all watch it and get ready to resist!

No offense intended to Cali, I'm not describing you sister.

[etherealtruth]

2. It looks that way

[dilby]

3. The corporate takeover took place around 1914.

And has worked really hard to turn us all into serfs, they don't want slaves because they would then have to feed, cloth and house us.

[Puzzledtraveller]

6. ^^this^^

[Tetris_Iguana]

86. Spot on.

When they privatized money, they completely controlled everyone and everything that uses it.

(And if this sounds like some objectionable politicians, well a broken clock and all that...)

[hedda_foil]

151. When they privatized might money ... of course!

I've never heard of the Fed as the privatization of money, but of course it is. Thanks, T.I.

[questionseverything]

183. nationalize the fed

just imagine if WE THE PEOPLE gained the benefit of fractured interest instead of the private banks

[2banon]

167. A corrupt Judge in Santa Clara County vs Southern Pacific Railroad in 1886 set the stage..n/t

[RufusTFirefly]

4. Reluctantly concur

(This post has been brought to you by Chevron!)

[Puzzledtraveller]

5. All while we have been kept distracted and divided.

Believing real progress was or is being made, taking the bones thrown at us with glee.

[BootinUp]

7. Maybe today you feel that way,

but you know its self defeating. You will get the fire back and there will be fights that are worth winning.

[cali]

13. Oh, I didn't say it wasn't worth fighting and that there aren't specific issues I

feel passionately about and will continue to work on- both in the real world and here.

[BootinUp]

15. Good!

Might sound stupid but we need everyone. Especially now.

[Xipe Totec]

8. It's not like a supernova. It's more like an LBO. nt

[Shankapotomus]

9. You make it sound like we will just keep

Last edited Wed Jul 2, 2014, 07:38 PM - Edit history (1)

accepting it. I think the people of this country may be slow to react and even gullible but, if we can't right an evil through the political process eventually we will revolt. Bold faced tyranny is not going to pass mustard here.

[FiveGoodMen]

17. If the army sides with the 1% then a revolution has no chance.

[Shankapotomus]

19. I don't think they would

A total corporate takeover of the government would not discriminate on who would be used and exploited.

Everyone of every political persuasion would feel it and eventually start to resent it.

Remember the army is filled with 99%ers.

[socialist_n_TN]

24. Actually I agree with both of you here........

No revolution has EVER succeeded without, at the very LEAST, the neutrality of the armed forces. And yes, the military is filled with 99%ers. But those 99%er will have to have the will to turn their weapons on their officers IF those officers SIDE with the 1%.

[Shankapotomus]

47. Colin Powell

couldn't even remain loyal to the Iraq war. He basically defected over it. The writing's on the wall.

Imagine the defections that would happen if a corporate takeover of the government issued orders to attack Americans protesting corporate control.

[2banon]

168. He swapped his integrity on that war for his son's appointment on the FCC

yet, another example reinforcing cali's op.

[RKP5637]

56. With DHS and the militarization of local police, they have covered those bases. TPTB

are no fools, they know millions in the US are unhappy.

[Doctor_J]

158. And since the Army feeds hate radio to the troops 24/7,

prospects are bleak for them joining the protesters.

[GeorgeGist]

11. It's gonna get ugly ...

when the "bullet hits the bone"

[mindwalker_i]

12. That's jus cuz yer a hater!

ODS or something.

[riderinthestorm]

14. Agreed. K&R nt

[spanone]

16. i fear you may be right.....

[bettyellen]

20. I am starting to think that more women and POC in our democracy is the only way to unfuck this.

[Cali_Democrat]

21. So it's a done deal and it's probably not reversible.

The country has been taken over and resistance is futile you peons!!

[cali]

23. no, I didn't say resistance was futile

but even if it is, I believe in resisting. Do not go quiet and all that.

nuance of any kind is not your strong suit.

[Cali_Democrat]

28. Well you're saying it's a done deal and it's not reversible

so in essence you are indeed saying resistance is futile.

[cali]

31. sigh. as I said, you don't do nuance. forget it, my dear.

[Cali_Democrat]

42. And you apparently have trouble remembering what you wrote just 30 minutes ago...

[Dr Hobbitstein]

73. Ohm...

[KJG52]

22. What is done by humans can be undone by humans, we simply must fight to undo what has been done. K&R

[RKP5637]

62. Yep! n/t

[woo me with science]

71. +100000

[Enthusiast]

108. +1 an entire shit load.

[TransitJohn]

25. Ever read any William Gibson or Philip K. Dick?

Prophetic, those guys were.

[cali]

32. yes and yes and yes.

[navarth]

138. I haven't read Gibson

recommendations?

[SleeplessinSoCal]

26. I think the "done deal" has more to do with globalization.

Democracy is probably dead owing to the takeover of our global markets by entities we can't even know or see.

[truebluegreen]

27. Totally agree.

We've gotten to the point where TPTB don't care anymore and are allowing the curtain to be drawn back.

[MineralMan]

29. I believe you are full of poop if you believe that.

Truly. But, I don't believe you actually believe that. Instead, I believe you are playing Cassandra, and poorly, at that.

[cali]

34. and I believe you are full of.... ordure, my Minnesota partyline pal

Look I don't tell you what you believe. It would be loverly if you could grant me the same. The evidence that corporations are firmly in control of much of government is overwhelming. None so blind as those that will not see.

[MineralMan]

36. I don't tell anyone what to believe, cali.

I comment in their threads with what I believe, as I just did.

[cali]

37. a difference without a distinction in this case, MM

as you stated clearly that you don't think I believe what I wrote. But parse away coyly as is your wont.

[MineralMan]

39. It's true. I do not believe that you believe what you wrote.

You might believe otherwise.

[cali]

41. OK, based on what evidence, MM? I actually have some evidence to doubt you believe what you

write here, but I prefer to take you at your word.

Try it, MM.

[MineralMan]

45. I have tried and failed. I shall try no more.

[SixString]

85. ...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/113710794


"I did write that, although not in those exact words. I was very wrong to do so, and it is not true. What I wrote was based on incorrect information. I no longer believe that in any way. After writing that, a number of years ago, I learned the actual facts of the matter. I learned that there is no connection between orientation and the likelihood that someone is likely to desire sex with underaged people. "

[morningfog]

90. I see his truuuuueeee coooolors.

[bettyellen]

49. well, she's walking it back upthread while talking to you about it, LOL.

Calls it nuance. I call it something else.

[MineralMan]

57. Yup.

[cali]

82. I'm walking back nothing, but feel free to make stuff up.

[bobduca]

134. I don't believe you

ever

[joshcryer]

102. It's true.

Here's an example:



Another good one:



Source: http://mic.com/articles/71255/10-corporations-control-almost-everything-you-buy-this-chart-shows-how

[davidpdx]

113. The problem with these types of charts is that they are often no accurate & can be outdated quickly

which makes them misleading. On the top chart I spotted one error pretty much right off the bat. Ocean Spray is not owned by Pepsi, they have a strategic alliance with them to make juice (Ocean Spray sells other products as well). The bottom one, which has been posted all over DU, states that Comcast is part of GE. It was Comcast that bought NBC and all the companies affiliated with it from GE. I'd personally like to track down who ever is making these and point out the huge errors.

[joshcryer]

115. Of course, Comcast is about to buy out Time Warner.

So, we're back at square one. The graphics may be somewhat inaccurate, but they are generally correct. Nitpicking doesn't change that fact.

[davidpdx]

116. Yes, consolidation is getting worse

My point is companies like Ocean Spray are still independent. That is not just inaccurate, its misleading. Suppose someone is pissed at Pepsi (for whatever reason) and decides to boycott every company on that chart says is owned by the company (not unheard of). If they take it at face value (believing it is 100% accurate, which I believe most do) then they are doing it based on misleading information provided by an anonymous source (because we obviously have no idea who it is). That's simply one error. My guess is there are plenty more errors in the chart.

BTW the only reason I noticed Ocean Spray is because I eat their very delicious Craisins. They are addicting as hell.

[joshcryer]

117. The chart wasn't posted as some advocacy thing.

I admit it has errors but there are others that are correct, I was merely making a point, that a few corporations own a lot of brands and things we don't realize. It's clearly a case of ultimate consolidation.

Want a fun picture? I don't see it on Google images, but TARP led to thousands of banks being engulfed by the major bankers. Fortunately credit unions went unscathed, but it is bad.

[davidpdx]

118. It was at the same link

Yeah that one is VERY scary. I agree with you 100%.

I bank at a credit union. They only charge me a mere $8 for an incoming wire transfer where Bank of Assholes is like closer $30 I think.

[joshcryer]

119. I'm a big credit union advocate.

Zero fees at my own. Well, I don't do wire transfers, but ATM and the like, zero fees. They are great. Small union, too, only $30 million market cap. Granted, I gotta use specific ATMs in town for withdrawals, but all debit transactions under VISA are free.

[davidpdx]

120. I do them because I live overseas

The bank here charged me $31 when I did it last week. Thankfully it only happens ever few years. That reminds me, I need to make a list of ATM's for my visit later in the month.

[woo me with science]

30. Yes, the machine is well in place, but I like the post five above mine:

Last edited Wed Jul 2, 2014, 09:22 PM - Edit history (1)

"What's done by humans can be undone by humans."

That means changing our thinking, though, and rejecting the boxes they keep us in, to keep us divided and unable to unite to disarm them.

The relevant battle isn't among ourselves. It's not Republican versus Democrat, because the corporatists live in both parties, and they are oppressing all of us.

We can't be afraid to stand next to any other human being, regardless of party or any other descriptor, to unite to wrest the power from these corporate monsters...because what they are doing to all of us will eventually make all the rest of it irrelevant, anyway.

There are many more of us than there are of them.

[RKP5637]

66. Which they do their best to prevent through constant divisionary methods. They full well know

the power of "we the people." However, "we the people" do not.

[Enthusiast]

109. +1 a whole fucking bunch.

Excellent post just full of scientific thinking.

[hopemountain]

33. perhaps so - and it is kind of freeing to see it coming, BUT

i'm keeping my eye on the prize while working through my own r/evolution of transformation and hoping others will join me so that we can transcend the mean & greed crowd.

we are the ones we have to depend upon and who must have the courage to say "no" and get the vote out. it is the only way to quell the tide. there's some comfort in knowing that nothing last forever.

here, in our small community, lots of different types of folks are reaching out to one another through social media. we make it a point to not get involved in other's business - unless children, elders, animals, and other's safety is threatened - then, it gets posted online within minutes with frequent updates. we know who are our neighbors and in the event of an emergency we help one another.

we share foods from our gardens and keep a neighborhood "watch". we support out local businesses and have 3 farmers markets every week. our fire department, soup kitchens, moderators for local neighborhood watch groups operate with volunteers.

it ain't easy with rampant meth & heroin addiction, thieves on the constant prowl & high unemployment, & living in a poor county with minimal to no law enforcement. lots of folk on the edge is the cherry on top.

every one of the kids in the elementary and middle school qualifies for the breakfast & lunch & after school snack program.

there are not enough books in the schools for the kids. they are on a rotation "loan" program.

so, it ain't easy - lots going on. one can only do what one can do - but, when one is willing, more are willing.

[Uncle Joe]

35. Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell no!

Thanks for the thread, Eva.

[bettyellen]

50. LOL, thank you Uncle Joe!

[Kennah]

98. Forget it he's rolling.

[cantbeserious]

38. The Oligarchs, Corporations And Banks Own And Control The Politicians That Own And Control Us

Once In A Life Time - Same As It Ever Was

The Owners, They Own You

[RKP5637]

69. ^^^ THIS^^^ +++ 1,000,000 +++ K&R!!!n/t

[The Traveler]

40. Not quite

The deal is not yet done ... and we know they know it because if it were a done deal either a) Occupy would have been more rapidly and ruthlessly suppressed than it was or b) it would have been ignored altogether. The social media genii has not quite been squeezed back into the bottle and the influence of corporate controlled media continues to weaken. Individuals are learning to communicate over encrypted channels, reclaiming some degree of privacy and anonymity. Etc.

But, let's face it, we are certainly many miles down that road. As they say around these parts, if you hike ten miles into the woods, you don't get back out with a 1 mile stroll.

We did not get into this condition over night. The right wing carefully built out their infrastructure and implemented a systematic political and legal strategy for achieving their goals. It took about four decades for them to put it all together, and for it to bear its poisonous fruit. We have to perform similar chores, and we probably don't have decades to complete that implementation.

We do have certain advantages ... we do not have to spend a lot of effort fighting science, for example. Nor do we have to successfully peddle economic voodoo. Right wing theories have the additional burden of now having a track record ... and it is not a good one. The right wing has supervised the rapid decline of a once vibrantly prosperous and creative nation, and it is my sense that there is growing awareness and acceptance of that fact. We have seeds to sow, and watering to do ... but the ground is fertile.

So I do not quite share your level of despair. Yes, we are in deep trouble, and the oppressive forces we must face are massive in scope and power. But they have vulnerabilities. And we can exploit them. We're not done yet. Hang tough, Cali.

Trav

[cali]

44. I'm not in despair. It's just an observation and one that makes me cast a rather caustic eye

Last edited Wed Jul 2, 2014, 09:17 PM - Edit history (1)

on the political process- but politics are not really a big part of my life at this point. I dig thinking about it all and what it says about our culture and the country I live in, but it's more academic and intellectual than emotional at this point. I feel lucky. I live in a place I love to no end and I like the politics here in Vermont which is really an outgrowth of the strong sense of community and the live and let live ethos that coexist here.

[The Traveler]

59. I live in Georgia

Kinda on the front lines of the horror. Kinda envy ya, Cali.

Trav

[YoungDemCA]

43. The historical novelty is not that corporations are taking over

Read Howard Zinn for proof of that.

The problem is...not enough of the common people are fighting back.

[RKP5637]

72. Exactly! Too many are submissive robots! n/t

[defacto7]

48. That's history.

Where we are now, we have been before. We actually began to break away from a much worse oligarchy in the US back in about 1904, fell part way back in mid teens and began surging away from it in the 30's through WWII until FDR made the biggest mistake of his career making the largest industrialists the center of the war effort. That won us WWII but put the corporate war machine back in control and it has stayed in control since, though mostly in the background. Now the corporations that were made king then are the "deciders" now. (deciders is a term G.W.B. stated when asked what his position was on some subject concerning the economy, "That's up to the deciders." I think he spilled the beans.) Now we are owned by 4 corporations, State Street Corporation, Vanguard Group, BlackRock and FMR (Fidelity).

Yes it is a done deal, but there are loopholes to which even the deciders are vulnerable. One is the fact that for now technology especially in computing is above their heads in a global sense and the other is total revolt. The first will be short lived, the second will mean life lost. From there you can used your imagination.

[JEB]

51. Smash the fascists!

&index=5&list=PL4942D8AA41D84772

[RufusTFirefly]

65. Love this version!

I used to start every work day in a corporate office building with this song cranked to a Nigel Tufnel-approved volume. Luckily, I arrived well before everyone else so I had the freedom to really blast it. It helped give me the strength to get through my day.

[JEB]

67. Yep, there's a lot of power in music.

[kardonb]

52. money

remember the musical"cabaret " ? " Money makes the world go around " ?

[marble falls]

54. If we give the President a real Congress this Nov, a lot of can be undone.....

A President Warren and a further adjustment of Congress in 2016 will make a new start.

[treestar]

114. +1

This thread like most is meant to depress turnout.

[YOHABLO]

55. Have you been watching the History Channel?

[cali]

61. No. I don't watch any tv.

I read. a lot of history.

[DeSwiss]

58. Yep.

It was okay while it lasted I suppose. Compared to most of the rest of the world during the same time-frame. Until we got to now.

- But we don't have to save it. Learn from it and build something much, much better. And without 1%ers this time......

K&R

[BrotherIvan]

60. What happens if we have another Depression

It might be a mistaken understanding, but I think most of the created wealth of today is an illusion. So many things have been completely overvalued so rich people can seem richer. What if the figures on their accounts were wiped out? What if there was a crash in the market somehow so that only true assets counted? Concentrated wealth has led to incredible inflation. Look at Facebook, the value of the Clippers, Beats headphones, etc.

The Depression caused a shift that leaders helping the people (FDR) could take advantage of. The wealthy this time around have learned their lesson and so they have been on a campaign to teach worship of the rich ever since. It has worked for the most part. But perhaps something can shift the balance. Or aliens.

[StevieM]

78. I do fear that happening. A second Depression.

I worry about paper wealth evaporating, along with all the accompanying ramifications. And I worry about a Republican being in the White House when it happens--or a Democrat with a GOP Congress--because I don't think they would take action to prevent the calamity. And if a calamity happened, I don't think they would implement relief efforts. They would probably just take the opportunity to rail against affirmative action and illegal immigrants.

I don't think the illusion will collapse in the next 5-10 years, but I think it might in 15 years.

[TheKentuckian]

81. It is true that much, even most of the wealth is an illusion. There are single markets

Last edited Wed Jul 2, 2014, 11:14 PM - Edit history (1)

with more supposed value than the global GDP, sometimes many, many times it BUT make no mistake in your thinking the phony wealth is leveraged to suck up all the real value. They are grabbing even scrap of land, taking control of the water and minerals, they invest heavily in politicians, and cornering the food supply from seed up.

Of course the balance can be shifted but such is deeply unlikely through the current politics, feeble protests, or the failed and too often perverted systems and institutions already bought lock, stock, and barrel.

Fear motivated the efforts to help people not just wanting to help them. They knew that if they did not give in some and spread the butter around that communism and mob violence would come around and forcibly take it.
Well, communism was busted up so there is no competing economic system with any roots that can take hold and little concern about the rising of the angry mob because they allow many to just hang on, making survival a full time occupation, mass distraction, successful seeding and mainstreaming of Calvinistic dogma (even among Democrats), very successfully keeping the population at each other's throats to the point that the real enemies are generally not even a consideration and anyone who tries to remind folks to keep their eyes on the prize is shouted down and derided with a vengeance even among supposed allies.

[BrotherIvan]

84. Excellent analysis

But damned depressing

[TheKentuckian]

87. You probably wouldn't want to live in my head. Funny thing is I'm a pretty positive person that

laughs heartily (easily brought to snorting) and smiles readily but I do keep in mind that half full and half empty are just marketing because either way there is a half a glass of water.

[woo me with science]

107. This is an excellent, excellent post.

[sendero]

121. Well said...

.. as was the post you were responding to.

Concentrations of wealth are nothing new, they have happened time and time again. But there are lots of important differences this time around. IMHO the biggest difference is the success the ruling classes have had in convincing the hoi polloi that they are not defacto slaves. People largely believe, after decades of indoctrination beginning around 1980, that their economic circumstances are entirely their own doing and that makes it easier for folks to accept their lot and blame themselves.

That is starting to change and IMHO such a change will be the catalyst for the backlash that is inevitably coming in one form or another.

[Doctor_J]

157. Good post

[Autumn]

64. Recommended for the truth. Depressing as all hell

but there it is. No way the current system can be changed, it will eventually crash. Maybe then there will be hope.

[ancianita]

68. There is much people power running under these dinosaurs. Read Gar Alperovitz' "Beyond Capitalism."

It depends on how one defines power. If force is behind it, it seems unbeatable.

We are Democrats because we believe that history is not destiny. We believe that democracy is essential to insure against dictatorship, whether it's a dictatorship of bureaucracy, political caste or an oligarchy of capitalists.

But people were on Earth before capitalism arrived and they'll be here when it's done. The best evidence that capitalists are not necessary is in the economics of hundreds of successful employee- and community-owned enterprises and co-ops that outperform capitalist competitors.

I got this info from Alperovitz' book

Don't lose hope, cali. We The People are the keepers of hope and humanity, not capitalism. They are ahead, but the race damned sure ain't over.

[KG]

70. way too many are hoping a political party will reverse the trend.

heh.

[ballyhoo]

74. It can reversed only one way.

[postatomic]

75. You're a little late to the party

The Railroad/Shipping Barons, Coal Mining Companies, and Cattle Ranchers had a pretty good hold on this country. What is missing is that the Liberal Populist Movement has died. That's what is a done deal. "We" no longer have the direction we once had.

It's just one more bag of shit on fire that "we" stomp out constantly. Sad to watch. A bunch of Angry Pixels on the intertubes isn't going to take back this country.

The Right Wing takeover of Education has had a far more detrimental effect on this country.

Just my opinion, and I'm usually full of shit.

[cali]

77. actually not. I'm quite familiar with the above and I've read quite a bit on the subject

the right wing take over of education is all about corporate malfeasance, money and corporate power. Corporate "rights" have been expanded over the past several years quite dramatically.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

76. People need to start marching but

they are too apathetic. Too busy making money or trying to survive.

[yuiyoshida]

79. There have been many Science Fiction Movies and books devoted to this subject

You think we would have learned from that...I GUESS not. PASS THE POPCORN...

[nikto]

80. Perhaps a few generations of real suffering will be good for the American soul

Then we may have the character and decisiveness to throw the ruling bums and their rich/powerful supporters/enablers out, convict and execute the many criminals among them, and re-establish a representative government.



Doing this will be a bloody mess though.

[WillyT]

83. HUGE K & R !!! - Thank You !!!

[Nye Bevan]

91. Corporate America wanted Barack Obama as president?

And a Democratic senate?

[Armstead]

94. They're quite happy with him as president

Haven't seen much shaking of the tree in the last six years.

Some symbolic talk and a few reforms around the edges.....But when push comes to shove, Big Money still gets everything they want.


Some wonderful populist liberals in the Congress -- but they too often face an uphill struggle against their own party's inertia and corruption.

[cali]

103. they hedge their bets. this is hardly breaking news.

Wall street and big banks gave more to Obama than to romney. and by the way, President Obama has been quite corporate friendly. that's not breaking news either. but you know all this. feigning ignorance of it is cute and all.

[woo me with science]

110. Your feigned incredulity doesn't work anymore.

Not after six years of watching his great diligence on their behalf.

[Doctor_J]

160. Has having him in the White House pre-empted their takeover in any way?

The Big Shots knew that McCain and Palin were too stupid and despicable to ram through ACA, NDAA and get a big jump on TPP, KXL, and privatizing SS and the schools. So they installed a smart, nice-looking, well-spoken "Dem" and voila!

[morningfog]

92. Soft fascism has long arrived. We are just late to see all the effects.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

93. One of my brothers is the polar opposite of me in all things political. We totally disagree about

how all this has come about but, we both know that it has happened.

That tells me something about the truth in all of what you said.

[lpbk2713]

95. The USA is now DOA

Disunited Oligarchy of America.

... not with a bang but with a whimper.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

96. When we see a corporation invade DC you can worry.

[cali]

100. they don't need to invade. they were invited in.

[woo me with science]

111. Surely you jest. They own DC.

They rearranged the furniture and ordered new drapes some time back.

[bobduca]

135. oh ok everyone go back to sleep.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

140. Someone got it.

[LittleBlue]

97. Same. That's why I'm giving less of a shit every year that goes by

Worrying about it is like worrying about the tide coming in. It's inevitable.

[Kennah]

99. We're heading down a path that won't end pretty and clean ...

... but eventually it will be better. It's going to take 15-25 years, and that's the really depressing part.

At 47, I won't get to enjoy it much. I expect I'll live to see it, but life is going to continue to get harder for the 99.9% and it's going to take it's toll. My kids and grandkids will get to enjoy it.

[joshcryer]

101. No, really?

Tell me more.

[redgreenandblue]

112. Every oppressive system in history has eventually ended.

Demographic change is the key. At some point the old power elites die off, and a new generation with a completely different set of values takes over.

Could anyone have envisioned a black president in 1900?

[riqster]

123. It's the Golden Rule: "Whoever has the gold makes the rules".

[Javaman]

124. Of course it's reversible. It's just a matter of will to do it.

politicians get paid big bucks to keep the status quo.

[RadicalGeek]

126. So what are the options

I don't think "USA Inc." is a done deal yet. Folks like Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders(sp), and movements like Move To Amend give me hope.

But, for purpose of argument, we'll say it is.

Do we start readying for a rebellion, that IMO would be based on information and not arms.

Do we try and build a parallel society?>

[raouldukelives]

127. It's very burnt on the edges but it is far from done.

The corporate takeover is only in control as long as the people who relinquished personal power to them continue to do so.
Each individual, just as in slavery, has the power to control the destiny of themselves, and to a smaller extent, those around them.
One can choose to profit from causing pain, desolation and genocide. Or one can stand against it and say "Not in my name."

We are facing the greatest moral test of all time. It is unfolding in front of our eyes every single day. It has been gathering mass and speed like a snowball down a steep hill. The affronts to our environment, democracy, to our lives and most dauntingly, to the lives of our children, are occurring so quickly now you have to have ADD to hope to keep up.

The destruction of our environment is the single greatest test we have faced as bipedal, thinking creatures. We've faced some monumental tasks to get where we are. So many people, so many lives given to a cause to usher us forward, so many heroes of the past we read about and wonder how we would fare standing alongside them.
"I'd be there!" we say to ourselves. I wouldn't stand with the kings of pain. And yet, every day, we do.

Every extra dollar in the markets is a little extra weight behind the boot stomping our face into the ground. Every door held open for a master of the universe, every courteous grace and bow, every elegantly prepared meal, every feigned smile, every decadent act done for them, is a politeness only the naive or self-deluded can disgrace themselves too.

So no, I don't think we are done. I think we are just beginning our next evolutionarily phase. I just hope it doesn't take too long, because while we aren't done, time is most assuredly of the essence. Every day bringing a new chance to live a life your children and your heroes would be proud of, and proud to say they stood alongside you.

[m-lekktor]

128. as do I. and the supreme court is already the way people claim it will get

if we don't vote for the DEM every election. we are already there, TOO LATE! oh and it's too late on the climate thing as well! lol. i am glad i am not young and just starting out!

[sinkingfeeling]

130. I agree. The great American exercise in democracy is over. We have to admit

that the corporations/1% have won.

[OKNancy]

132. What doom and gloom in this thread and it's not realistic

Everything is cyclical.

Corporations are not intrinsically bad. If corporations pay their taxes, are well-regulated, invest in the long term and employ and pay people well then they are an asset.

At this point in time most of them are only interested in short-term profits and aren't investing in the future.
This is where the cycle will bite them though. Companies that are forward thinking will win in the end. Think Costco.

The cycle will also bring more regulations and higher taxes. I can't predict when this will happen, but it will.

I've read here at DU that the USA is becoming a third world country, that we are controlled by corporations, that we have lost all our rights.
This is sheer overwrought hyperbole. We still have heroes in the US. We still have people who will shake things up.

Liberals always win in the end, we are just fighting about how long it will take.

[cali]

153. not realistic? fail. it's all too realistic and it's reflected in SCOTUS decision after

decision, in federal court decisions, in the interplay of Wall Street and the Capitol and the White House. Furthermore it's been going on for decades now and where the fuck is your predicted correction, Nancy? And it's utter meaningless pablum to state that liberalism always wins. Heroes have little to do with it.

Your post is ahistorical nonsense.

[OKNancy]

162. meet you back here in a few years

if we are both still alive. Reminds me of all the doom and gloom about how we were going to go to war with Iran, and how Obama was going to cut Social Security and many other "oh no" posts.

Actually I have plenty of history behind my statement. Maybe you are the one who should read history.

[BootinUp]

159. I have to agree. And as hard as it is we just keep on going

Even if the battles we are fighting are eventually won by our children. Thank you for the dose of reality.

[OKNancy]

163. reality? on DU

Half the people here wouldn't stay if they couldn't have hair-on-fire posts. Either that or unrealistic ideas about elections and politics.
I heard Dennis Kucinich had a chance to win back in '04 and '08. LOL

[BootinUp]

164. And I liked Dennis too.

But no, he was not going to be the POTUS.

[OKNancy]

165. Yup I like Elizabeth Warren too.

[BootinUp]

166. Likewise and I'll elaborate a little

There is no doubt she brings an important voice on issues of the 99%. I strongly support that message. At the time, before she was a Senator, I wanted to see her appointed to the Consumer Protection job. I was thrilled when she won her election, and thrilled to see how Wall Street fought it and lost. As far as 2016, if she decides to run, I know it will be good for Democrats just to have her participate. We will see what she decides.

[sulphurdunn]

133. Invest in torches and pitchforks

[Rider3]

136. I was told about 10 years ago by an employer...

that my First Amendment rights stopped at the company's door. The company was (is) a law firm. We are simply the pawns of Corporate America. We live to serve their greed.

[L0oniX]

137. IMO only a Howard Zinn method will have a chance of undoing this.

By that I mean it can start in the colleges as it has before. Crushing educational debt can and should foment radicalism. These people are our future and they are being financially crushed. The crushing debt is shared by both parties, not that they all have even registered with a party. That many aren't, might even be a good thing since we can't vote Goldman Sachs out of office. I would imagine that if they all agreed to stop paying the bill at the same time ...IMO the financial world would be very affected. The idea to stop paying on debt could easily spread to everyone else. I wonder how much damage this would cause. Last time it was the banksters who caused a melt down and many are saying it's on its way to happening again only this time the banksters are ready to profit from it. College radicals with a stop paying the debt movement is of course bottom up. Because debt is a huge common concern among people perusing college and or trade education IMO this could change the game.

Just taking a wild guess at a fix ...I admire Howard Zinn.

[TheKentuckian]

186. If you don't pay they just take it and take more all you can do is drop out altogether

Which isn't the intent of too many that take on that debt.

I admire Zinn as well but the tools and pervasiveness of power have greatly increased and both are growing faster than awareness can be spread.

The real chess masters are at least several moves ahead. They will have to be dealt with ruthlessly, cruelly, and without discrimination.

[Initech]

139. Sometimes I wonder if that "Business Plot" to overthrow FDR actually succeeded.

[Octafish]

142. The plotters had kids.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x1451854

Nasty ones.

[Sunlei]

143. The control started at the local level

[DesertDiamond]

144. It may look hopeless, but it is just the dark before the dawn. We will most definitely turn this

country around in the very near future. It's just simply going to be based on changing our own hearts and minds and those of the people. "When the minds of the people are pure, the land will be pure also." Purity means simply to defeat our own innate darkness so that our enlightenment can shine and light up the world.

So, let's continue to fight for justice now matter what, and at the same time, determine to defeat our own darkness -- no matter what. It's definite that we will be able to do this, "as surely as an arrow aimed at the earth will reach its mark." Take heart! It's a "done deal," we just have to do the work to get there.

[AlbertCat]

145. America died in 2000

[BootinUp]

161. She's just mostly dead

and mostly dead is not all dead.

[geretogo]

147. America will change but I'm afraid it will be like the change in the Mid East ,violently .

[RainDog]

148. The corporate takeover of this nation was a done deal when the nation began

This nation began as an entity that viewed humans as property. There has NEVER been a time in this nation when it was not a sewer, no matter the sweet words spouted about liberty and justice and the pursuit of happiness.

The reality is this nation started with the majority of the population of the belief that humans could be bought and sold as property and denied any rights under the law.

People need to stop kidding themselves about this nation. Such sentimentality ignores the reality that this nation has always placed money before humanity.

Always.

[Doremus]

149. Agreed. Lock, stock and barrel. nt

[MrScorpio]

150. I've been telling everyone that we're all fucked as long as I've been here

I don't see it changing to anything except worse.

Sure, we can all fight it, but too many people on both sides have settled down into the belief that it's natural for all of this bullshit to happen.

[get the red out]

155. Unfortunately, cali

I agree with you, as I usually do. I really think it would take efforts that Americans have been long conditioned out of considering in order to change the direction our country has gone.

[Doctor_J]

156. Look at the laws passed and court decisions since 2000.

How many have NOT favored corporations over people?

It's over. we lost.

[blkmusclmachine]

169. And as laws will now comport to the CEO's "religious beliefs," we have to ask...

How much of this bullsh!t are we going to allow to happen before we start fighting back?

The answer will NOT come from Washington DC or the "Democrats," both of which are deeply compromised for the 1%.

[polynomial]

170. Not

Actually those corporate biggies that claim too big to fail are beginning to realize that America now knows that the media has been keeping those too big to fail one per-centers hidden.

Weirdo’s in politics have always been there, It is just this last election cycle the arrogance in right and left politics is surfacing in the national news more than ever. Years ago I never knew who the Koch brothers were. Or cared about what happens in Iraq.

Years ago I never knew the Bush family has been business partners with the Arab Bin Laden family, the very Al Qaeda terrorist America is fighting. Hell Bush should be banished from politics let alone run the country. It is more and more clear too many politicians are building family fortunes rather than representing the public.

Yes America needs a legislative over haul, but the right people need to do it. That is you and me. It seems we can’t trust anyone who gets elected, or appointed to the Supreme Court. I have to admit the IRS helped me correct my returns this year. Can you believe it, I get a return instead of paying. We have to keep talking about the mess we are informing each other about it even if it seems grim.

We all have to out these clowns, however this carnival seems to have no end because the very fabric in the media is the key player hiding everything that is seriously wrong with America.

Worse our news media is a theater like Hollywood idol, or journalism doing a dance with the stars. The radio hate monger Rush Limbaugh admitted a few days ago you don’t have first amendment rights on his show Monday through Thursday. Sheesh. Only one time listening to Hartmann talk about Bush as business partners with the very terrorist family America is fighting, the Bin Laden family.

At least Lisa Madigan a Democrat in Illinois news said an interesting thing “ tax payer should not have to pay for corporate bonus money, stockholder should take that responsibility”. Now that is something interesting. Stockholders are people too. 

[BootinUp]

174. You have painted a pretty good picture of things imho. nt

[colsohlibgal]

175. Maybe And That's Sad

Unless people wake up, unless people wise up to who will do best by them, it doesn't look good going forward.

Our only real hope is somehow, some way, going to public financing of elections - while making voting easy and results foolproof.

For the life of me I don't understand how middle and lower class people can support the party that is for worse for their own well being. That said the corporate wing of the democratic party isn't better by nearly enough.

I keep getting donation pleas from the DCCC but I just can't do it. So I do donate to individual democrats who mostly or completely conduct themselves as progressive - and I'm strongly considering supporting the Green and Democratic Socialist Party. They have no real chance at this time with the locked in duopoly, but maybe over time that can change and we could get to IRV, etc.

[trocar]

176. Last names

I read a book some years ago about that. People assumed their last name from who they worked for. So my soon to be future name is Isaac 3M.

Scary

[maindawg]

177. I am going to go way out on a limb here.......

The French rose up and slaughtered all of the elite that they could get their hands on. But they did not exterminate the entire families. So the wealth did not change hands. The laws were changed, so that a fairer economy was the result.
In the 1930's there was a man who thought he had it all figured out, and knew thw answer. He proceeded to exterminate the jewish race.
Throughout history, mans inhumanity toward man has always wound up with slaughter.
Some peoples solved the problem by getting rid of the bad guys. Some peoples know that the only way to truly be rid of an enemy, is to not only kill the enemy, but you have to kill the entire clan.The entire tribe, the entire race.
Because, when the Kochs die, there will be a worse devil. When Scum limbau dies, there will be a new devil a worse devil. So you have to fight the same battles over and over. Its what we do.

[Auggie]

182. I agree but I think it's still reversable if ...

more people cared. Or even knew enough to care.

[BelgianMadCow]

184. Happy 150th

K&R

I think so too.