``Charles Keating was asked by a congressional committee whether the $1.5 million he had spread among a few key elected officials could actually buy influence. "I certainly hope so," he replied. The Supreme Court, in its recent Citizens United case, has enshrined the right of corporations to buy government, by removing limitations on campaign spending. The personal and the political are today in perfect alignment. Virtually all U.S. senators, and most of the representatives in the House, are members of the top 1 percent when they arrive, are kept in office by money from the top 1 percent, and know that if they serve the top 1 percent well they will be rewarded by the top 1 percent when they leave office. By and large, the key executive-branch policymakers on trade and economic policy also come from the top 1 percent. When pharmaceutical companies receive a trillion-dollar gift-through legislation prohibiting the government, the largest buyer of drugs, from bargaining over price-it should not come as cause for wonder. It should not make jaws drop that a tax bill cannot emerge from Congress unless big tax cuts are put in place for the wealthy. Given the power of the top 1 percent, this is the way you would expect the system to work...'' Joseph Stiglitz
http://warorpeace.wordpress.com/2011/04/01/joseph-stiglitz-vanity-fair/
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Stiglitz was on Democracy Now this morning and gave a rough outline of the article.
What makes this a good article is it connects the dots in a simple way. Unfortunately, I don't think a thing is going to change. The logic of the Citizens United case that money is equivalent to free speech is correct. Those who have money get all the free speech they can buy. Those without money can't afford free speech. And that is pretty much the end of a democratic republic that represents the people.
I just thought of a tactic that government employees could organize if they are shut down. When the Democrats cave-in on some puke-budget, just stay out and issue a list of demands. They can start with back pay for those days, lift the freeze on pay and hiring, no reprisal firings or demotions, and whatever else they want.
I heard the federal government is the second largest employer in the country. It should be obvious that cutting government spending or shutting it down or a walk out would start economic shit, I can't imagine. What's with these people?
As Michael Moore said the other week, the US is not broke. The problem is the rich have all the money and the US government gave them even more.
Just like Wisconsin, the Feds, California ain't broke either. So I looked around for today's buried news on the Golden State:
``Gov. Jerry Brown has suggested further spending cuts to decrease California's remaining $15.4 billion budget deficit could include a doubling of University of California tuition.''
http://www.neontommy.com/news/2011/04/uc-tuition-cost-could-increase
It's basically the same story. The democrats are pretending the repugnants are holding them hostiage. Further down I read this:
``The facebook group CSU, UC and California Community College students against budget cuts created a group of almost 10,000 members in an `attempt to organize students from as many California public universities and colleges as possible so as to create a more unified movement against budget cuts. Hopefully we can create a network which will connect student leaders from all campuses so that protests and other demonstrations can be felt at the statewide level.'''
I don't have much faith they will stop anything. The general reason is that most students don't seem to really understand what they have to be willing to risk. That youthful idea that `it can't happen to me' is a double edged sword. You need to believe you have a good chance at a good life. On the other hand, you have to toss that belief to get out in the street and make a difference.
I think this psychological factor is stewing around in their brains. They are not as desparate as the youth movements in the Middle East. Also the US students have to join with unemployed cohorts who have discovered they have no life and no future unless they act, and they have to act together. But the latter groups have another psychological problem, which is no doubt massive depression, with the who cares, and why bother factors stewing around in their brains.
Keep an eye on what the metro community college students do. Many are in both camps, being students, underemployed or unemployed, and high minority mix. Also these systems are run by the local school districts, so you should be able to shutdown whole district operations.
CG