[Peace-discuss] Plutocracy

[John W.]

At 01:35 PM 3/28/2007, Bob Illyes wrote:

>I'm a little confused as to which posting came before which,
>what with the clock problem. This is a reply to Nick's
>"Enlightened cynicism".
>
>The wealthy have always had a disproportionate amount of power
>over the country, but at times it becomes preposterous, with
>the ultra-wealthy owning so much of the government that they
>may disregard the people with impunity.
>
>The first time this happened was the Gilded Age. The second time
>is now. It took decades to clean up many of the excesses of the
>Gilded Age. The core reforms that did it were elected Senators
>and income tax. I'm sure labor unions were in the mix as well.
>
>We can fix this mess again, but it won't be easy or quick.
>
>Bob


This time around, the ultra-wealthy have every incentive to move to the 
Caymans or Dubai, essentially beyond the reach of U.S. government jurisdiction.