Forum Post: Plutocracy Rising
Posted 11 years ago on Oct. 24, 2012, 3:26 p.m. EST by SparkyJP
(1646)
from Westminster, MD
This content is user submitted and not an official statement
http://www.truthdig.com/avbooth/item/plutocracy_rising_20121023/
Matt Taibbi and Chrystia Freeland join Bill Moyers for a conversation on how far the 1 percent will go to keep themselves in charge.
“I think the shift really began with Clinton and the New Democrats,” said Taibbi, speaking of the Democrats’ shift away from representing the poor. “I think after, you know, Walter Mondale lost in 1984, the Democrats decided, ‘You know, we’re never going to lose the funding battle again.’ And they began this sort of imperceptible shift, where they continued to campaign on social issues the same way they had before.
“They retained their liberalism in that sense. But economically, they began to side more and more with Wall Street and more and more with the very rich. And I think we’ve now reached the point where neither party really represents the very poor in the way that the Democrats maybe used to. And so, that there’s, that’s why, you know, you don’t see it in the debates, because neither party is really an advocate for that kind of left-behind class anymore.”
—Posted by Alexander Reed Kelly.
http://www.truthdig.com/avbooth/item/plutocracy_rising_20121023/
The shift started at least as early as FDR, who was very harsh on Socialists. The New Deal was an attempt to mitigate the horrible conditions of the poor so that things were only just good ENOUGH to stop a real revolution from happening. New Deal policies ended up benefiting top corporations and giving them more power. We now have less socialists in office now than we did back then.
There is no doubt in my mind that the Clintons have long courted the very very wealthy and often times through very unconventional avenues. I think this has carried over into Obama's plutocratic economic policy. As an individual, I think, he is better than this.
I saw part of that show and will try to watch the whole thing. And, that's a good comment by Taibbi, but excuses, excuses. It's not okay that neither party cares about the poor. Who cares why they don't? They need to, and we need change!
U R Right - IT'S NOT OK !! That's why I left the Dems after being with them for 38 yrs. I am now a proud Green Party member. I'll never go back. It's that "Once bitten - Twice shy." kinda thing - because I now realize that I have been way too gullible over the years.
I feel that the change we need, will not be found in the two corporate parties. Gotta go ................... C'ya