Anti-American

Anti-American

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.

That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.

-       Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson

Merchants have no country.  The mere spot that they stand on does not constitute so strong an attachment as that from which they draw their gains.

Experience demands that man is the only animal which devours his own kind, for I can apply no milder term to the general prey of the rich upon the poor.

-       Thomas Jefferson, Third POTUS of the United States

By J.M. Hamilton (12-2-2018)

There has always been disconnect between the founders' words and the nation's actions.  But one thing is clear - if we analyze the Declaration of Independence (DOI), and the 9th and 14th Amendments - there was an egalitarianism written in, that certified as inalienable: the life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness by all citizens.  No caveats were entered w/in the Constitution about the plutocracy enjoying inalienable rights, solely.

Mr. Jefferson, also, had withering thoughts on commercial interests, and the treachery of the monied elite.  The concerns he identified, over two hundred year ago, are very much with us to this day.

Only a strong democracy, and an assertive government, can hold these two pernicious authoritarian forces - the billionaire class & monopolies - in check.  Perhaps that's why the kleptocracy, via the owned establishment/centrist political parties, does everything w/in their power to upend democracy, and control government from every possible angle.

If we examine much of the betrayal committed by commercial interests, and the monied elite, particularly since the 2008 crash, one can only conclude that many multinationals operate in a manner that is not only inimical to US citizens' inalienable rights, but they are, in fact, Anti-American.  And therefore, their behavior - often mired in wrongdoing, in the pursuit of short-term gains - should be carefully regulated, where appropriate made illegal, and punishment fairly administered (versus today, where multinationals might get a modest slap on the wrist and a relatively, light fine).

General Motors is a case in point.  Bailed out during the 2008 crisis, and w/ billions never paid back, it announced last week that it would be shutting down several North American factories because it wanted to retool for electronic vehicle (EVs) manufacturing.  Needless to say, GM could retool these very same North American factories to manufacture EVs, but that's not what this exercise is about.  GM wants to exploit tax loopholes, and inexpensive Mexican, or EM, labor, so as to enhance its margins.

Predictably, Wall Street cheered, GM's stock rose, and our so-called populist POTUS saw another campaign commitment to his Mid-West constituency bite the dust.

That said, is there any doubt that GM's actions are a direct threat to the unalienable rights of its workforce?  Taken to the macro- level, GM's actions are no different than the laissez faire playbook, adopted by nearly all US multinationals, who exploit EM labor and foreign loopholes in regulation and taxation (all the while still enjoying the privileges & protections of being domiciled in the United States, w/ none of the accountability or taxation responsibilities that would be expected of many American citizens).  Americans, increasingly, are upset about foreign based multinationals dumping goods on US shores, but US multinationals have been doing the same for decades.

This top-down approach - of billionaire & multinational despots - dictating fiscal (read austerity), monetary (read accommodative practices juicing asset prices, and providing cheap debt for financial engineering), and foreign policies (endless war & endless MIC profits) has led to near revolutionary upheaval throughout Western democracies.  Even the SCOTUS is owned, there's no clearer example than the Citizens United & McCutcheon decisions. 

Mr. Jefferson noted in the DOI that citizens are willing to tolerate a lot, indeed all manner of abuse before they overturn a government.  But the abuse has spanned decades, indeed centuries, and the citizenry has had enough  ...  see Paris in flames (under the neoliberal retread, President Macron).  See the rejection of failed centrism in favor of left-wing and right-wing populism (mostly the latter).

To lay these problems (crumbling democracy, war w/out end, concentration w/in industry after industry, Wall Street uber alles, an opioid epidemic, and the death of the American Dream) at the plutocracy's doorstep is the proper thing to do.  Now that we recognize the problem, what are the solutions?

Our politicians should adopt a bottom-up approach to governing, to better insure they carry out their Constitutional mandate.  The rich will always be among us, but in the 21st Century is there any reason why a citizen in the West should go w/out food, healthcare, higher education, or shelter?  The answer is assuredly not.

If the Fed can print trillions to bailout the Wall Street Banking Combine, and the billionaire class, then assuredly the US has billions for college education.  In the land of plenty, no child should go to bed hungry - or w/out basic healthcare.  This means retooling our democracy – and economy - so as to deprive no citizen of life, liberty or the pursuit of happiness.   This means adopting Mr. Roosevelt’s Economic Bill of Rights.  This means if you sell in America, you produce, manufacture, and pay taxes in America (and those business taxes should be based upon EBITDA, for obvious reasons).

For too long the actions of an elite few have dictated the course of this nation, indeed the West, at the expense hundreds of millions of citizens; and the elite's behavior is – globally - a direct threat to the life, liberty and happiness of the 99%.   That is to say, far too often predatory.  And therefore, the elite's behavior is often unconstitutional and unlawful.

One of the great ironies - over the last couple of decades - is the number of citizens willing to vote against their economic and political interests, by supporting the ultimate plutocratic tool, the Grand Old Party.  

Part of this is due to the fact that Clintonian economic & foreign policies  - for the most part - co-opted GOP policies.  In short, we had two parties catering to oligarchy and multinationals.  Another reason many citizens voted for the GOP primarily deals w/ fear: fear of change, and fear of economic hardship, and the loss of a privileged place in society (and a whole lot of disinformation & lies spread about trickle-down fiscal, monetary, & tax policies).  A UBI and an Economic Bill of Rights would drive a stake though economic fear's heart.  If people are gainfully employed, and doing well economically, why engage in a Cold – Civil War and tribalism?

Then there's the fear that comes w/in the work place, itself.... if only everyone works a little harder, longer hours, puts up w/ lower or stagnating wages, and diminishing benefits (while companies & management score record profits and ever escalating C-Suite pay packages), perhaps one's job will not be moved offshore.  This environment definitely impacts the manner in which employees vote.

Meanwhile, corps and multinationals have made a concerted effort to eliminate employee' bargaining powers: from destroying unions and insisting upon non-compete agreements to suppressing wages via collusion, monopoly, & monopsony powers.  Here again, break up the monopolies, install a UBI and an Economic Bill of Rights, and apply a tax on billionaire & multinational wealth.  And a great deal of the kleptocracy's – unprecedented economic power – and some of its unconstitutional behavior goes away.  With greater economic opportunity – via the private & public sectors – political leadership would have a stronger hand to abandon, and outlaw, retrograde & planet destroying industries, such as Big Oil.  (Here’s another reform, require corporates, w/ a billion in revenue, or greater, to disclose – quarterly - where they have cash reserves, or their portfolio, invested…  it should prove quite revealing.)

Concentration and monopoly gives multinationals unprecedented power, not only over labor, but over elected politicians, who are concerned about their ability to deliver, and retain, an ever shrinking pool of jobs for their state.  Greater economic concentration means greater power over democracy.

Wall Street loves it, and if Wall Street loves it, it's most likely unconstitutional, and Anti-American.

Copyright JM Hamilton Publishing 2018