The American Disconnect
In America, we now have two tiers for everything. In the upper tier are the rich and elite. Corporations, lawyers, billionaire CEO's, and investors. Old money. The upper 10% literally own the U.S. They grease politicians, they pay no taxes. They are immune from prosecution. The worst thing they are ever subjected to is a little public embarrassment and some civil penalties that still leave them with 100's of millions. Think Angelo Mozilo and his crooked "Friends of Angelo" mortgage fund. Big tough guy, D. Issa subpoenaed the names of people Mozilo made those loans to. Guess what?? That information was due on Mar. 7. Four months later and we still don't know who was on that list. It is undisclosed.
Like I said. A two tier system.
The rest of us get our asses kicked for the simplest infractions. We are not powerful nor rich. The government doesn't bail us out or beg us for political contributions. They simply steal our work product in the form of taxes. If we can't pay- we get fined to death with outrageous interest, additional penalties, or get locked up. That's how it is in the new U.S.
We have no leadership anywhere. No role models. We have Presidents of dubious ancestry who spent their formative years in Indonesia. The product of an atheist mother and an alcoholic father. And we wonder why he can't lead. Shit. It's a wonder he managed to do as well as he has.
Personally, I think the two tier system became firmly entrenched with two criminals. Ted Kennedy and Richard Nixon. Manslaughter and Conspiracy to Commit Burglary. Both men should have been locked up and put in prison. In America, we should have set the example that no body is above the law. But we blew it. And when we did- it made it ok to look the other way when a few hundred thousand bankers all committed mortgage fraud.
That is the two tier system as it applies to our broken criminal justice system. The same two tier system applies to Wall St. and Main St. The haves, or the criminally elite, have managed to steal the wealth of this country. They have ignored Main St. They try very hard to put the best possible spin on this disaster they have caused. The jobs suck on Main St. They pay nothing. They have no benefits and it's not getting any better. In fact today's non farm payroll numbers prove how bad it's getting.
That's the American disconnect. Watch CNBC (they cater to the elite) and you'd think our country was absolutely healthy. Down here on Main St., the 90% are broke and begging. But then, the elite don't spend much time down on Main St. We simply can't ignore or escape the fact...the conclusion...that class warfare is now over. The 90% lost and the 10% ain't giving the wealth back.
Our country is so structurally broken, and our leaders so inept and fractured, that there is virtually no hope of any kind of sweeping reform or positive change. Two parties running around and blaming each other. It would be hilarious if it weren't so fucking painful to watch innocent and poor people losing jobs and houses. We had a system that worked fine 50 years ago. It was abandoned for greed.
We deserve this. In fact, we deserve worse and I think we are going to get it. A beautiful piece. http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2011/07/defining-deviancy-away-how-the-justice-department-adopted-see-no-evil-approach-to-corporate-crime.html
Like I said. A two tier system.
The rest of us get our asses kicked for the simplest infractions. We are not powerful nor rich. The government doesn't bail us out or beg us for political contributions. They simply steal our work product in the form of taxes. If we can't pay- we get fined to death with outrageous interest, additional penalties, or get locked up. That's how it is in the new U.S.
We have no leadership anywhere. No role models. We have Presidents of dubious ancestry who spent their formative years in Indonesia. The product of an atheist mother and an alcoholic father. And we wonder why he can't lead. Shit. It's a wonder he managed to do as well as he has.
Personally, I think the two tier system became firmly entrenched with two criminals. Ted Kennedy and Richard Nixon. Manslaughter and Conspiracy to Commit Burglary. Both men should have been locked up and put in prison. In America, we should have set the example that no body is above the law. But we blew it. And when we did- it made it ok to look the other way when a few hundred thousand bankers all committed mortgage fraud.
That is the two tier system as it applies to our broken criminal justice system. The same two tier system applies to Wall St. and Main St. The haves, or the criminally elite, have managed to steal the wealth of this country. They have ignored Main St. They try very hard to put the best possible spin on this disaster they have caused. The jobs suck on Main St. They pay nothing. They have no benefits and it's not getting any better. In fact today's non farm payroll numbers prove how bad it's getting.
That's the American disconnect. Watch CNBC (they cater to the elite) and you'd think our country was absolutely healthy. Down here on Main St., the 90% are broke and begging. But then, the elite don't spend much time down on Main St. We simply can't ignore or escape the fact...the conclusion...that class warfare is now over. The 90% lost and the 10% ain't giving the wealth back.
Our country is so structurally broken, and our leaders so inept and fractured, that there is virtually no hope of any kind of sweeping reform or positive change. Two parties running around and blaming each other. It would be hilarious if it weren't so fucking painful to watch innocent and poor people losing jobs and houses. We had a system that worked fine 50 years ago. It was abandoned for greed.
We deserve this. In fact, we deserve worse and I think we are going to get it. A beautiful piece. http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2011/07/defining-deviancy-away-how-the-justice-department-adopted-see-no-evil-approach-to-corporate-crime.html
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