How the rich stole our money — and made us think they were doing us a favor

[dmcowen674]

5-4-2014

http://www.salon.com/2014/05/04/how...and_made_us_think_they_were_doing_us_a_favor/

How the rich stole our money — and made us think they were doing us a favor

If you’ve paid attention to the economy over the last few years, you’ve doubtless seen the charts and figures showing the decline of the American middle class in concert with the explosion of wealth for the super-rich. Wages have stagnated over the last 40 years even as productivity has increased, which is another way of saying that Americans are working harder but getting paid less.



So why isn’t the 99 percent in open revolt?



The answer lies in part because the top 1 percent have done an excellent job disguising the upward transfer of wealth by making the rest of us feel better off than we actually are while enriching themselves in the process.

 

[dmcowen674]

That whole "Feel good" thing is fading away.

I've said it many times, once enough people are negatively affected you will see Civil War against the rich in the U.S.

 

[DrDoug]

What kills me is the number of idiots who rush in to defend the robber barons, as if they actually need defending. Hell, they own the politicians and can generally buy themselves out of any trouble they get in to. Why defend the wealthy? Are they afraid that one day they will be wealthy too and want to protect their future wealth from taxes? Why do they feel the need to defend the executive crooks who are raiding our economy as if they own it? The system is rigged to favor the transfer of wealth upwards, full stop. The problem is that in the Monopoly game of life, once the winners have all of the cash the losers tend to revolt.

I have to admit that the politicians have done a great job of dividing the American public so that we're so busy going at each others throats that we leave theirs alone. I think that method will lose effectiveness as people run out of Monopoly money.

Large numbers of people who are jobless, broke, hungry and have lots of time on their hands tend to cause problems.

 

[ivwshane]

I doubt it. Exactly what do you think will happen? Exactly who do you think people will go after?

The best bet would have to be an infiltration like the tea party, except instead of taking over the Republican Party by idiots and ideologues and small tent thinkers, it would have to be people who seek the truth and are willing to implement policies that work and are inclusive of many people while at the same time not beholden to the people/corporations giving out money.

The first step is the hardest, to get people elected that aren't idiots and who can convey a simple message to the idiot voters of this country (Elizabeth warren comes to mind).

The next step is to get money out of politics. There are many, many, things that have to be done in order to achieve this.

The third step is to make voting a constitutional right, even for those imprisoned (I used to be against that but it became clear that politicians could out in policies that affect certain demographics while selling the policy as a feel good, "it's the right thing to do".

From there it gets trickier and requires really thoughtful policy making (the race system needs to be changed for example).

One thing that needs to happen is a change in how Americans view ourselves, our government, and the stigma of having a government that work for the people and get away from this "free market is the only way Americans do anything". We are a country founded on many different principals and ideologies and our history tends to be to pick the best solutions regardless of origin and adjust those solutions when needed. We have to get away from the all or nothing thinking, the it's either perfect or kill it mentality.


All I've got to say to that is, good luck with that!

 

[Matt1970]

Who knew buying so much imported crap would have consequences? Well we did, but we just chose to ignore it.

 

[dank69]

What kills me is the number of idiots who rush in to defend the robber barons, as if they actually need defending. Hell, they own the politicians and can generally buy themselves out of any trouble they get in to. Why defend the wealthy? Are they afraid that one day they will be wealthy too and want to protect their future wealth from taxes? Why do they feel the need to defend the executive crooks who are raiding our economy as if they own it? The system is rigged to favor the transfer of wealth upwards, full stop. The problem is that in the Monopoly game of life, once the winners have all of the cash the losers tend to revolt.

I have to admit that the politicians have done a great job of dividing the American public so that we're so busy going at each others throats that we leave theirs alone. I think that method will lose effectiveness as people run out of Monopoly money.

Large numbers of people who are jobless, broke, hungry and have lots of time on their hands tend to cause problems.

A lot of people equate success with righteousness. It MUST mean they are hard workers.

 

[Londo_Jowo]

What do you know, yet another McOwned crying in his beer thread.

There's no revolution or uprising coming as most people go to work and do everything they can to take care of their families and prepare for their retirement.

 

[Exterous]

While I certainly agree that money buys you a vote from the party of your choice I do have a couple of issues with the article:

On point 1: Push people away from defined-benefit pensions and into stocks and 401(k)s.

Pensions were a victim of their own success. Higher and higher payouts were promised under the guise of always being able to expect 8+% ROIs every year. Meanwhile many succumbed to fraud, lies and under funding leading to a pension crisis in many areas. This was not a scheme devised by the rich but usually at the behest or demand of the pensioners.

Also - the article seems to conflate 401(k)s with stocks (or at least implies that stocks are the only 401(k) options). Calling stocks 'uncertain' is a bit ambitious as over a span of 5 years their track record is fairly reliable. Yes it is correct that they are not completely reliable but you will not be able to find any investment that is 100% reliable and it certainly appears more reliable than a pension in many areas - just ask Detroit pensioners or Illinois, Kentucky, Connecticut (all below 50% funded) or any of the hundreds of pensions on this list:
http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/criticalstatusnotices.html
(and those are just the multi-employer plans)

Point 3: Democratize consumer debt, especially through credit cards

No real point other than Americans have more credit card debt now. I am not really sure how the rich forced Americans to carry a credit card balance

 

[AdamantC]

I'm not rich, I'll never be rich, therefore others should not be rich, and anyone who is rich should be killed!

This is all I'm getting from your post.

 

[realibrad]

As long as a government is far reaching, money will flow into it. Its a dream to think you can "take the money out" of politics. People who have money, want to spend it efficiently. A large government means that more will get done with their money, and thus it will find a way to get in.

We need to stop trying to limit money, and start finding a way to attract it to more efficient things.

 

[Newell Steamer]

Hey - don't you DARE complain!!

If you complain, you are a:
- communist
- drug addict
- lazy thief
- murderer

Etc. etc.

The freedom to do stuff, is reserved for a select few. Anyone else who so much as rolls their eyes at something like this, is clearly a monster.

 

[Genx87]

#1. Aren't most pensions invested in the stock market?
#2. So owning a home is really the rich screwing you? Where are we supposed to live?
#3. It is the fault of the rich that middle class american's try to live a champagne lifestyle on a beer budget?
#4. This is a complaint? Reducing the costs of goods that allow people to buy more with their money is bad because it eased the pain of an increasingly globalized workforce?

This is a pretty weak and not well thought out opinion piece.

 

[KB]

The poor aren't revolting because the poor still have cable, cell phones, cars, playstations and cheap food. Programs like section 8 housing, social security and food stamps keep people from being absolutely poor. The moment these social welfare programs disappear or are unable to provide adequate survival then we may see revolts.
Luckily we have the Democrats who are disarming those poor, potential revolutionaries before they revolt. We also have the Republicans who use their sway over the christian masses to push their "trickle to the top" economic plan.

From the article I don't agree with their 4 points except number 4) Reduce the cost of goods through free trade policies. Free trade means world competition driving down the cost of wages to levels where Americans cannot compete. The money saved by cheap labor goes directly to the owner of the goods and not to the workers. This means more wealth in the hands of fewer people.

 

[Attic]

I get the impression that how broken the system is, is partly to blame for the large shrinking we are seeing in labor force participation. The retirement excuse doesn't hold water, so why are so many people leaving the work force? Even if folks can't adequately explain it I'm getting tsunami of negative feedback from a lot of folks in their 20's-30's about this idea of the magnitude of how corrupt/broken our currrent system is. I think the combination of the Iraq War and the GFC has woken a lot of people up about how corrupt the system actually is, though mostly younger people are willing to look at that side of it.

The reward for production has been completely skimmed away from lower and middle classes up to the top. It's not the 1%, it's the 0.1% or even 0.01% where the skim is going to.


The skim is hard to see, but it occurs in a large way in the stock market as well as our debt system (AKA our monetary system). Folks should have more purchasing power if their production and efficiency has gone way up, but they don't, they have less purchasing power because of their production being skimmed away from them to corporations and government as well as the force of inflation (another skim in the system).

Worth watching for a birds eye view of how money moves around our government/bankers/workers.

Biggest scam in history of mankind

Worth the 30mins if you wonder about how whole system looks from a skeptical and non official viewpoint. Likely not what you learned in school.


The answer, as has been for a long time, is in conservation. Cut your consumption in half, this has gotten very difficult in $$$ terms due to heavy inflation in necessities like food/energy/healthcare/housing while deflationary weightings in things like ipads/televisions (televisions having >100% deflationary weighting since 2002....) have gamed the official inflation rate.

 

[moonbogg]

Doesn't hating the rich ever get old? I find it boring.

 

[Oldgamer]

Actually the OP is pretty spot on. It is that belief that you too can possibly become wealthy, and that the opportunity is there, you just need to work hard. I will say it again this book is an easy fantastic read for anyone who wants a good "laymen" version of how this happened and what transpired back in 2008 and how it will happen again, and no one has really been held accountable. http://greedybastards.com/

The book talks about the banking and financial institutions and where everyones money went through swaps, and credit speculation, and the dismantling of the banking regulations that lead to this. How all of it was just one big 600 Trillion dollar gambling casino for the big banks. It talks about how the rating agencies who were suppose to supervise actually gave AAA ratings to all these bad loans, when they should not have. It talks about the tax code made for speculators and extractors of the economy. It goes into great depth talking about how the politicians and banksters made themselves special privileges to blackmail society and ensure power and keep the gambling game going. And then all the money printed by the Government to cover it all up. Dylan Ratigan also talks about how many equity investment firms essentially lured struggling businesses to their doom on purpose with a promise to help them recover, then further bankrupt them so their shareholders and banksters reaped in enormous profits. This killed 100's of thousands of jobs across America.

In the original OP this ties into what I typed above:

Quote: "Push more people into buying real estate, and increase home prices by all means possible. Rates of homeownership increased most dramatically in the 1940s to 1960s, creating the first major bump in housing prices. However, the period between 1960 and 1975 saw home prices decline slightly when adjusted for inflation. The government used the levers of public policy to encourage greater homeownership and reduce interest rates. Big business and wealthy interests pushed through Wall Street deregulation during the Reagan and Clinton eras, which not only boosted the stock market but also allowed large banks to make unprecedented money off of home loans. The end result was that wealthy landlords and asset owners got much richer while rents increased and wages declined, but most Americans didn't feel the pinch because rising home values made them feel rich on paper until the Great Recession. After the financial crisis, policymakers have done everything in their power to boost both stock and home prices through quantitative easing, 0 percent interest rates, and increased homeowner incentive programs".

 

[theeedude]

What we need to do now is to make the Democratic party a true liberal progressive party. Right now they are trying to sit on both sides of the fence.

 

[Oldgamer]

This statement in the article is absolutely correct and many Americans should be outraged over this: "Recent polling also proves that the American rich want policies that encourage the growth of asset values while lowering their own tax rates, and are especially keen on outcomes that favor themselves at the expense of the poor and middle class".

 

[1prophet]

Doesn't hating the rich ever get old? I find it boring.

Do you also find it boring when a billionaire told this country what was coming, and tried to warn Americans that their take for granted high paying jobs and benefits were in peril, while the republican smirked and the democrat pretended to listen.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rkgx1C_S6ls

 

[zephyrprime]

Do you also find it boring when a billionaire told this country what was coming, and tried to warn Americans that their take for granted high paying jobs and benefits were in peril, while the republican smirked and the democrat pretended to listen.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rkgx1C_S6ls

Everything he told has happened except that all the jobs went to China, not Mexico. The outsourcing of jobs to China is what has allowed all this to happen. Productivity has gone up 100% and wages have gone nowhere in the last 40 years. It is because businesses have been able to keep wages low because there are always a surplus of workers because so many jobs have gone to China. The only positive thing we have to look forward to is that now that China is the largest economy in the world, the days of cheap labor from them are over. Their economy is already slowing down a lot and that is because it is no longer possible to get the US and EU to absorb more exports. The US and EU just aren't rich enough to increase their buying.

 

[Oldgamer]

Do you also find it boring when a billionaire told this country what was coming, and tried to warn Americans that their take for granted high paying jobs and benefits were in peril, while the republican smirked and the democrat pretended to listen.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rkgx1C_S6ls

He was right on quite a few things... but I don't think people will listen. Sad.. but just know this, everything that has happened and continues to happen will not be sustainable, at some point the economy will break big time. It is only then when people like those of us on this board actually lose our jobs, and find we can't ever get any kind of loan, and we have higher incidents of people living in the street that you will see people start to wake up.

 

[moonbogg]

So, America should get all the cream then, right? You are mad because business people aren't stupid enough to lose money by giving you a fat paycheck when they don't have to. You can't see that the US is just a chunk of land with people living on it? They don't have to pay us anymore. They are finally free to employ whoever they want. The economic power is rippling around like a wave in a pond. Don't get mad just because its moving away. Man up, start a company and employ some expensive American workers, or STFU.

Oh, also. Are Americans grateful when employed at a good job? FUCK NO! They are always feeling underpaid. Maybe finally we will see what its like to be truly underpaid, or not paid. But in truth, we are always paid the right price because that's what is given to us for what we have to offer. Need I go on about the pain of other countrymen and their families? You don't give half a shit about them do you? You are just like the greedy business man who sends jobs to make a profit. You want good jobs for yourself while your other brothers and sisters are dying. Fuck you.

 

[BoberFett]

And yet we still buy all the shiny new toys that these evil wealthy bastards are selling us.

Americans happily hand over their wealth because they're stupid.

 

[moonbogg]

And yet we still buy all the shiny new toys that these evil wealthy bastards are selling us.

Americans happily hand over their wealth because they're stupid.

Truth. Like frogs slowly boiling in water. Our short sightedness and individual greed are mere reflections of the whole, and they are also the things we are quick to point out in others as character defects. China made our bed, and we chose to lay in it.

 

[Zaap]

LOL. Sure, the rich stole Dumb McOwned's money.

That's quite a feat, considering you never had any money for anyone to steal. Apparently the rich are magicians.

The warped mind of a busibody leftist dipshit is quite a thing. They really believe money comes from poor people who have no money. Uh huh. It grows on trees too. Oh noes! The rich got to the money orchard before your lazy ass did and they picked it all! What's left for you, little dipshit?

What a waste of a "life" sitting around whining that some rich guy stole "your money" when you never had any to begin with. Anyone who has any money at all is doing good to keep it as far away from ever getting into the greedy, grubby, delusional hands of people like the OP as is humanly possible. My hat is off to *anyone* that keeps their money to the far ends of the globe beyond your reach.