The Rule of the Rich - By Bill Moyers

[kpete]

The Rule of the Rich
By Bill Moyers, February 2011 issue

Now, most people know what plutocracy is: the rule of the rich, political power controlled by the wealthy. Plutocracy is not an American word and wasn’t meant to become an American phenomenon—some of our founders deplored what they called “the veneration of wealth.” But plutocracy is here, and a pumped up Citigroup even boasted of coining a variation on the word—“plutonomy,” which describes an economic system where the privileged few make sure the rich get richer and that government helps them do it. Five years ago, Citigroup decided the time had come to “bang the drum on plutonomy.”

And bang they did. Here are some excerpts from the document “Revisiting Plutonomy”:

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As for the rest of the country, listen to this summary in The Economist—no Marxist journal—of a study by Pew Research: “More than half of all workers today have experienced a spell of unemployment, taken a cut in pay or hours or been forced to go part-time. . . . Fewer than half of all adults expect their children to have a higher standard of living than theirs, and more than a quarter say it will be lower. For many Americans, the Great Recession has been the sharpest trauma since the Second World War, wiping out jobs, wealth, and hope itself.”

Let that sink in: For millions of garden-variety Americans, the audacity of hope has been replaced by a paucity of hope.

Plutocracy and democracy don’t mix. Plutocracy too long tolerated leaves democracy on the auction block, subject to the highest bidder.

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http://www.progressive.org/moyers0211.html

[highplainsdem]

1. K&R

[samplegirl]

2. I miss Bill Moyers

I seldom missed his show.

[Tippy]

3. K&R

[MasonJar]

4. One of the few great statesmen. Bill Moyers for President!

Corporations own this country, including our politicians, so we should stop complaining about how the rich control the governments in countries like Egypt. We have the worst situation in the world right here at home, in my opinion.

[Blue Owl]

5. Come back more often, Bill

You're always welcome here.

K&R