US: Aristocracy v Democracy. A brief history.

[Valjean]

Read a new article by Thom Hartmann today in Alternet, briefly outlining a few of the episodes in America's continuing power struggle between We the People and the aristocratic classes:
Thom Hartmann: Time to Overthrow Our Rulers

From the beginning, American history's seen a continuous rise and fall of corporate political power.

It’s been this way before in American history, though not in our lifetimes. The last time the morbidly rich had this much power in American politics was the 1920s, when an orgy of tax-cutting and deregulation of banking led to the Republican Great Depression.

...In the nearly-6000-word memo, Powell called on corporate leaders to launch an economic and ideological assault on college and high school campuses, the media, the courts, and Capitol Hill.

The objective was simple: The revival of a Royalist-controlled so-called “free market” system.

“As we view the achievements of aggregated capital, we discover the existence of trusts, combinations, and monopolies, while the citizen is struggling far in the rear or is trampled to death beneath an iron heel.

“Corporations, which should be the carefully restrained creatures of the law and the servants of the people, are fast becoming the people's masters.” [--Grover Cleveland, 1888]

We have an entire Republican Party that’s been captured by toxic-emissions corporations, petro-billionaires, and others among the morbidly rich. On the left, thanks to the DLC and its heirs, substantial parts of the Democratic Party are beholden to the banking, insurance, and pharmaceutical industries

I found it interesting, but then I'm a news/history junkie.
Thoughts?

 

[Terrywoodenpic]

It is impossible to separate, power money and politics. Adding aristocracy is unnecessary.
Aristocracy only achieves power when it controls wealth.

At one time your title was based on the size of your land holding.
A baronet had the least and a Duke the most. It was very clear where you stood in the pecking order.

 

[Nous]

Read a new article by Thom Hartmann today in Alternet, briefly outlining a few of the episodes in America's continuing power struggle between We the People and the aristocratic classes:
Thom Hartmann: Time to Overthrow Our Rulers

From the beginning, American history's seen a continuous rise and fall of corporate political power.

It’s been this way before in American history, though not in our lifetimes. The last time the morbidly rich had this much power in American politics was the 1920s, when an orgy of tax-cutting and deregulation of banking led to the Republican Great Depression.

Hartmann's easy, pat answer to the question of causes of the Great Depression is suspicious. There are a variety of theories for the cause(s) of the Great Depression, and possibly various ways to account for it: Causes of the Great Depression - Wikipedia

 

[sun rise]

That article articulated my understanding. The rage against the oligarchs and plutocrats is growing. That's showing up in this slogan

 

[Jonathan Ainsley Bain]

Thoughts?

Well it all seems quite fine except for the facts that are omitted.
Like how the democrats (all over the world) are fast becoming little more than
retailers of big-pharma who use '****-police' like WADA to enforce
the use of THEIR monopolistic snake-water ponzi-scheme,
which some people call 'Universal medical insurance'.

A classic factoid being that America spends 3x as much on 'medicine'
as numerous other nations with no increase in life-expectancy.
Which means that even IF the UK had a perfect health system
(which it does not), then 2/3rds of your healthcare is just snakewater.

 

[tytlyf]

Well it all seems quite fine except for the facts that are omitted.
Like how the democrats (all over the world) are fast becoming little more than
retailers of big-pharma who use '****-police' like WADA to enforce
the use of THEIR monopolistic snake-water ponzi-scheme,
which some people call 'Universal medical insurance'.

A classic factoid being that America spends 3x as much on 'medicine'
as numerous other nations with no increase in life-expectancy.
Which means that even IF the UK had a perfect health system
(which it does not), then 2/3rds of your healthcare is just snakewater.

Republicans don't want to cover pre-existing conditions. Because it hurts profits.