Winner Takes All- A Poker Story
Imagine ten people sitting down at a table and agreeing to play poker. One winner is going to get all of the money. One winner and nine losers. The function of ego is amazing. Overwhelming odds indicate that all of the people but one will lose- but yet they play. They play because it is a fair and level playing field, it is fun, and they can play in another game somewhere else if they lose.
Tonight I came across a statement that made my brain hurt. Let's see if it does the same to you.
Professor G. William Domhoff demonstrated that the richest 10% own 98.5% of all financial securities, and that:
So, whether you like class warfare or not...there it is. The elite have all the dough.
I wouldn't mind that either- if it weren't for a couple of things. First of all, unlike poker- the game is rigged. They cheated. It's not a level playing field. The elite have enriched the elite at the expense of the rest of us. Think tax code and a crooked government that has enabled swindlers (bankers) to steal this nation's wealth and get away with it. Congressman taking campaign donation bribes. Returning favors. Cushy jobs and speaking engagements.
Like Carlin used to say...Why does the working class of this country vote for these rich cocksuckers? Apparently we enjoy enriching these bastards and living in poverty.
It can't be fun being poor. Not being able to pay the medical insurance. Divorce. And the worst part about this? You can't find another game anywhere. Maybe China or India if you wanna make 2 bucks an hr.
The problem with rampant and uncontrollable greed is that the game has to end. There is a finite amount of chips. There is a finite amount of loans to be made. There is nobody left to plunder. Ninety percent of us are broke. This is how the poker game ends. It breaks up. The winners and losers have been identified. Now it's just a matter of how long it is going to take the government to figure this out. They are still trying to keep the game going by giving free chips to the guy that already has them all. Fascinating. How long can this charade continue? Well, it's been over three years so far...
Tonight I came across a statement that made my brain hurt. Let's see if it does the same to you.
Professor G. William Domhoff demonstrated that the richest 10% own 98.5% of all financial securities, and that:
The top 10% have 80% to 90% of stocks, bonds, trust funds, and business equity, and over 75% of non-home real estate. Since financial wealth is what counts as far as the control of income-producing assets, we can say that just 10% of the people own the United States of America.
So, whether you like class warfare or not...there it is. The elite have all the dough.
I wouldn't mind that either- if it weren't for a couple of things. First of all, unlike poker- the game is rigged. They cheated. It's not a level playing field. The elite have enriched the elite at the expense of the rest of us. Think tax code and a crooked government that has enabled swindlers (bankers) to steal this nation's wealth and get away with it. Congressman taking campaign donation bribes. Returning favors. Cushy jobs and speaking engagements.
Like Carlin used to say...Why does the working class of this country vote for these rich cocksuckers? Apparently we enjoy enriching these bastards and living in poverty.
It can't be fun being poor. Not being able to pay the medical insurance. Divorce. And the worst part about this? You can't find another game anywhere. Maybe China or India if you wanna make 2 bucks an hr.
The problem with rampant and uncontrollable greed is that the game has to end. There is a finite amount of chips. There is a finite amount of loans to be made. There is nobody left to plunder. Ninety percent of us are broke. This is how the poker game ends. It breaks up. The winners and losers have been identified. Now it's just a matter of how long it is going to take the government to figure this out. They are still trying to keep the game going by giving free chips to the guy that already has them all. Fascinating. How long can this charade continue? Well, it's been over three years so far...
Comments
You star a small company manufacturing and selling widgets. When your production facilities are nearing completion, you hire all your staff and workers. You are the President and CEO. You have a few senior level management and some middle management and you have your workers, go from skilled labor to the person who sweeps and mops the floors. All of you have starting salaries; yours being the highest and the sweeper/mopper the lowest. Your company is successful from the get go. Every year everybody gets a good raise and it's always the same percentage for everybody some years it might be 5% and other years it might be 10%. After 20 years, you are one rich SOB. The sweeper/mopper has prospered but is now many times more further away from your salary level than when the company began.
Question. Are you one of those dirty rotten rich elites that you are talking about? or is there a difference?
You could have 10 million in the bank and never fit my definition.
No (real) Corporate Tax (it causes a loss in jobs - although the corporations (like GE) making the profits are investing in those "emerging markets" and sending jobs overseas by the millions)
Tax cuts for the 2% top earners (can't figure out the justification for this at all - neither can the shills in congress).
Wars - to the tune of trillions of dollars and billions every year (again, not much justification here although they still got the Al Fako to deal with and we know some major corporations making lots of money - now don't we)
Corporate Welfare - like that cash for clunkers which just injected huge sums of taxpayer money in the US auto manufacturers
The Fed Discount Window Scam - yes if you're a bank you can borrow at almost zero interest, buy US bonds, create a larger deficit, make a profit on the spread and then pay back what you borrowed off the back of Americans (what a country!).
Bailouts and Stimulus - okay to spend billions on foreign banks, okay to save banks from their risky ventures that went bad, not okay to bail out people.
Military Defense Spending - 36% for the war machine. Not a cut in sight. Hm.
So there you have it - cut the elderly and the poor and leave them rich folk alone!”