You
Can't Always Get What You Want…
Warren: So let me get this straight. You’re saying
you’re in favor of Glass-Steagall, which breaks apart the two arms of the
banks, except you don’t want to break apart the two parts of banking. This is
like something straight out of George Orwell. You’re saying simultaneously
you’re in favor of breaking up the banks— that’s what Glass-Steagall is—
By
J.M. Hamilton (5-20-2017)
Note to self, file
under, “The Glass is 58.5% full…”
For
Green party members, liberals, and the few Dems - who haven’t surrendered their
souls to the establishment, POTUS Trump is the gift that just keeps on giving.
The
Goddess above works in mysterious ways.
Just when things seem hopeless and lost, inexplicably a gift
arrives. There was some initial hope
that POTUS Trump would be a different kind a Republican. Certainly his rhetoric suggested a New
England republican, a Rockefeller republican, or even a RINO… someone focused
on the poor, the disenfranchised, and the working class
But in the four months Mr. Trump has been office – seems like an
eternity doesn’t it(?) – the President has done a 180, or an about face, on
nearly everything he ran on, or positioned himself on over the proceeding
decade. Let’s examine a handful discarded
campaign promises:
Taking on Wall Street &
Glass Steagall: Now, Glass Steagall was in the Republican
platform, and Mr. Trump has talked about breaking up the Wall Street banks. Glass Steagall kept commercial banking separate from investment banking. And
when Bill Clinton removed the remnants of Glass Steagall, commercial banks
(federally backstopped) were allowed to merge with highly speculative investment
banking. Hence, a taxpayer-funded
backstop was provided to speculative Wall Street gambling. Hence, moral hazard; hence, the 2008 financial
crash. Today, one can find bankers,
think tank analysts, and even some academics, who will tell you that Glass Steagall removal played no part in the 2008 financial crisis. Whenever you hear this, dear reader, ask yourself
a question. Who is paying this banker, Wall Street analyst, or academic? This week, Mr. Trump’s
Treasury Secretary, Mr. Mnuchin, laid bare the administration’s true thoughts
on the matter. The Trump version (aka
the 21st Century version) of Glass Steagall would not separate
commercial lending from investment banking, which was the whole point.
Senator Warren correctly called this double-speak “straight out of George Orwell.”
Hedge Funds and
pharmaceutical companies “getting away with murder.” Apparently,
and contrary to campaign rhetoric, under POTUS Trump, hedge funds and
pharmaceutical companies will continue to get away with ripping off clients, exploiting tax loopholes, and jacking up the price of medicine to unimaginable levels. In fact, if Trump is successful in ramming
through Trumpcare, hedge funds and Big Pharma can expect a big fat tax
break. Mr. Trump’s talk of reining in
Big Pharma price hikes… like so much of what Mr. Trump said to get elected,
gone with the wind. Looks like Big Pharma and hedge funds will be getting away with mass murder for the the duration of the Trump administration.
POTUS Trump’s promise to
provide even better & more affordable care than that provided by Obamacare? That is, his
pledge to provide private/universal medical care (an oxymoron if there ever was
one) for everyone… this too, apparently,
just another lie to get elected. No less
a conservative than U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) tweeted of the bill that
narrowly passed the House in early May: “A bill — finalized yesterday, has not been
scored, amendments not allowed, and 3 hours final debate — should be viewed
with caution.” Under prior versions of
the GOP bill, millions and millions of Americans would be left uninsured. In order to get the ultra- right- wing Freedom
Caucus on board, the bill that passed the house was said to be even more
draconian. Meanwhile, like Obamacare
before it, Trumpcare does nothing to address the root causes of the nation’s
failing healthcare system: runaway
healthcare cartels and monopolies, and highly tenacious doctor lobbyist.
Mr.
Trump, correctly, went after the perfidious Royal House of Saud, and an
adventurist foreign policy – with the centerpiece of failed nation building –
while running for office. Mr. Trump noted that
America had wasted trillions in foreign wars with no result, basically
intimating that the foreign policy establishment, and the military industrial
complex, were an all consuming black hole.
Where is POTUS Trump today? Off
on his first official trip visiting the biggest supporter of terror in the
world, Saudi Arabia. Mr. Trump brought
w/ him - on his great Saudi adventure - U.S. CEOs, from a who’s who list of
multinationals: GE, Halliburton, J.P. Morgan, and Lockheed to name a few. And today – this Saturday as I write this -
they are expected to sign at least $50 billion in contracts w/ the Terror Kingdom, as
reported by Bloomberg (ultimately, in excess of a hundred billion in contracts are expected to be
signed between U.S. multinationals and Saudi Arabia). Of course, the Kingdom – please note the
crocodile tears emanating from my eyes – has fallen on hard times, due to the
crash in oil prices. To such an extent
that the roles have reversed, and the Saudis need the U.S. more than we need them.
So now that the U.S. has the leverage are
there any caveats, conditions, or discussions about democratic or human rights
reforms by the Terror Kingdom, as these multi-billion dollar contracts are
signed? Non-existent… off the table, not
a codicil, nor a word about the U.S. backed Saudi war crimes in neighboring Yemen. Meanwhile, surprise, surprise, Trump’s military advisers - and the DOD - are advocating a new surge in Afghanistan (the graveyard of empires).
So with all these lies, distortions, broken campaign promises, and - arguably – the betrayal of Americans he pledged to
look after, it’s not altogether surprising that the Trump administration is now under criminal
investigation for allegations of Russian ties and collusion, during the 2016
campaign. Trump fired Comey, met w/
Russians the following day, Trump reportedly bragged to the Russians that he had fired a
“nut job,” and a special counsel was assigned to investigate the Trump
administration (over what appears to be a broad range of issues, including,
possibly: treason,
bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors).
While these events and the pack of lies
surrounding them are nothing to celebrate, or gloat over, for those on the
political left, the glass is indeed more than half full. Consider this:
Americans
have been infatuated with billionaires, and the wealthy in particular for
decades, if not centuries. Many
Americans assume that the billionaire class are extraordinary individuals with
superior intellect and knowledge. Many
assume that – much like the ol’ Horatio Alger stories – great wealth is often
accumulated by courage, entrepreneurial drive, hard work, and the sweat of
one’s brow. Trump’s behavior, and his
over-riding ego, should bury this fairy tale in a deep dark hole forever. Trump made his billions via: inherited wealth, filing for
bankruptcy, tax loopholes, exploiting bankruptcy law for personal gain, and through a corrupt and crony economic/political system. In fact, Mr. Trump told us during the
campaign that our government was highly corrupt. So why are people surprised that the
exploiter of a corrupt government, Donald Trump, wasn’t able to turn away from
his own venal practices once he entered office?
Mr. Trump, his cabinet, and his family have more conflicts of interest around the globe than are countable; and his family – as well as Mr. Trump – refuse to
remove these conflicts and impediments to integrity. His administration – made up of billionaires
and multi-millionaires – caters, exclusively, to the wealthy, at the expense of
ordinary Americans. The moral decay of our country appears to have reached the pinnacle with this presidency.
The concept of a benevolent billionaire
has been laid to rest. Also lying in
that same grave is the concept that the wealthy are smarter than you and
I. No, many are not; they just know how
to exploit the system far better than we do, and have no moral qualms about
doing so. In this regard, Trump is
providing an invaluable education to the American electorate.
The
Republican Party – along with the Democrats – were in trouble going into the
2016 campaign, as evidenced by ever decreasing voter turnout. Mr. Trump’s populist rhetoric/lies defeated
more than a dozen establishment GOP candidates.
(Had Mr. Sanders been more widely known, and had he not faced the
daunting prospect of a rigged super-delegate process during the Dem primaries,
who knows how far the Senator would have gone?)
With Trump imploding, seemingly, before our very eyes, his behavior may
set the GOP back for up to a generation.
Anybody who is honest with themselves knows that both mainstream
political parties are in bed with the oligarchy, but the GOP is,
metaphorically, hosting an orgy for the billionaire class. As Americans wake up to this fact, including
Trump’s hardcore base, the opportunity for liberals, left leaning Dems, and the
Green Party only grows.
Trump’s
agenda, lies, and generally, repugnant behavior has started a resistance
campaign/movement that is likely to grow.
And on this point, limousine liberals and Dems, who desperately want
revenge for the perceived slight of not seeing a Hillary Clinton coronation,
should take a deep breath, relax, and enjoy the ride. Call it penance for nominating someone so
corrupt, via a rigged primary process.
For as long as Trump remains under investigation, the danger of POTUS
passing his legislative agenda (gutting regulations; privatizing the state; cutting
healthcare for the elderly and the poor; and expanding tax cuts for the
wealthy) becomes muted. Not impossible,
but significantly handicapped.
Meanwhile, the more Trump betrays his base, and the more his
administration fails, the stronger the case for a 2020 liberal candidate. Senators Warren and Sanders immediately come
to mind, as does yes, Representative Gabbard from Hawaii. With good health, any of these three could
crush a Trump or Pence candidacy.
All this is to say, don’t be in a hurry
to see Trump, or the investigations surrounding Trump, reach a swift
conclusion. A POTUS Pence actually might
see the oligarchy’s reprehensible & repugnant policies through; and a POTUS Pence would definitely see Sharia law – sorry, I mean fundamentalist Christian values – legislated into law. Ponder
that.
And
the final reason, the glass is more than half full?
Had Hillary entered the White House, it
would have been Madame POTUS who - almost assuredly – would be under investigation, and
the center-left would have faced possible ignominy, shame, and the wilderness for a
generation or more. Ms. Clinton’s diehard defenders seem to believe Hillary is somehow better than Trump; but a careful analysis of
Madame Clinton’s past behavior, and a look at the Clinton Foundation’s donor
list, demonstrates that she was in the pocket of the very same oligarchy, who
now claims the heart and soul of the Trump administration.
But for 70,000 voters in Michigan,
Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, the three ring investigatory circus/alleged crime scene
that has become the Trump administration, could have just as easily become a
political zoo surrounding Clinton, Part Deux.
The left & liberals should probably
be thanking the angry 70,000 white men who voted for Trump; and if the
Democratic & Green party leadership are intelligent, they should begin, or
continue, finding out what they can do to win these voters over in 2018 and 2020.
As Clinton & Trump have shown, populist rhetoric wins
races, but lies surrounding a morally bankrupt candidate - or officeholder -
may do irreparable harm to a political party. (The biggest danger lies
with a wounded Trump engaging in war – or a false flag event - to distract the
public from the cancer that appears to be metastasizing within his presidency.) In the meantime, the
GOP adopting the oligarchy’s domestic agenda will likely achieve little more
than congressional gridlock (albeit with some smaller victories along the way).
Indeed, as the song says, one does not always get what they
want, but sometimes we get what we need.
P.S.
Seems that the MSM has
already let the event slide, but the U.S. Surveillance State – which has been
preying upon the civil liberties of Americans for a long time – suffered serious
blowback last week, when its malware was turned on legitimate businesses around
the globe. Americans have spent billions
funding the NSA, and the Deep State, but to what end? Our email communications are less secure than
ever, as is internet commerce; corporations – collectively – spend billions on internet security; unless
I missed something – there’s not a single documented terrorist incident that
the NSA has forestalled; and not only does the Surveillance State’s actions
threaten our national security, but also, our public safety.
Since Mr. Snowden’s
revelations, there’s been increased recognition of the threat the NSA poses to
the Constitution and U.S. standing around the globe. The fact that the NSA partners consist of a
private sector cartel, such as Booz Allen Hamilton, seems to suggest – if past
is prologue – that the NSA is above reproach and not amendable to reform. In fact it appears to be just another MIC program of abuse, fraud, and waste
Let’s hope for a more
safe and secure future, and that Congress, finally, does its job by reining in the
NSA & the Surveillance State. We, as
Americans, should demand nothing less.
Copyright JM Hamilton Publishing 2017
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