Friday, February 5, 2016

The Ten Most Terrifying Words...


The Ten Most Terrifying Words in the English Language… 

Valeant had the highest average drug price increase in the industry last year, at a rate of 65 percent across 50 drugs….
-       Bloomberg Business News

By J.M. Hamilton (2-5-2016)

The Reagan Revolution is some thirty-six years old, and it finally appears to be losing steam.  That Mr. Reagan's ideas, to this day, carry so much weight with so many Americans shows there power, particularly when we consider that the former president’s actions were often contrary to his rhetoric.  Which explains a great deal about the power of ideas, and why our corporate run news media does everything in its power to control and contain the narrative at all times.  Ideas, indeed, can be dangerous things, especially for the plutocracy and fans of the established order. 

For those of us there at the very beginning of the political revolution, Reagan’s key ideas of tax cuts for the wealthy would help the economy (aka Trickle Down Economics), free trade, and a Pax Americana foreign policy, often belied Reagan’s far more nuanced approach to real world problems.  For example, contrary to Mr. Reagan’s conservative beliefs, the former president signed into law eleven tax increases to contain the growing Federal debt; fighting high unemployment, President Reagan was perhaps the greatest protectionist president in the 20th Century (per the ultra-conservative CATO Institute, founded by Mr. Charles Koch); and Mr. Reagan deserves a great deal of credit for taking down the Soviet Union w/out firing a shot in anger (perhaps the president’s biggest military adventure was the invasion of Grenada, under Operation Urgent Fury).

Sounds like President Reagan was politically to the left of President Obama - the faux liberal, bomb throwing community activist, and social organizer.  As many have noted, President Reagan wouldn’t make the cut in today’s GOP primaries.  All of which goes to show just how far right the country, and particularly the ruling plutocracy have swung, based upon a foundation of Mr. Reagan’s rhetoric alone - certainly not based upon his actions.  During the eighties, it was Reagan’s actions – not his words – that made him such an enduring and popular leader, and his actions won him a second term.

One of the more famous phrases Mr. Reagan quoted, and he used it more than once, was:  "The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: “I’m from the government, and I’m here to help.”"

In 1980, the Federal debt to GDP ratio was under 40%, and today, thirty-five years into the revolution, the same ratio is in excess of 100%.   This from the St. Louis Federal Reserve web site.  The top tax bracket under the socialist Mr. Reagan was 50% for much of his two terms in office (which applied to a considerably lower income threshold), versus arch-conservative Mr. Obama’s highest income tax rate of 35% for much of his two terms (which applies to a considerably higher income threshold).  And yet, the 80s recovery was so much stronger than our present recovery, completely contrary to what GOP mandarins, and academics at the Chicago School of Economics, would indicate should happen.  Under Reagan, with the higher tax rate, GDP gains per annum were between 7 and 9%; under Obama, with the lower tax rates, the GDP growth range has been an anemic 3 to 4%, per annum.  So much for the theory that tax cuts for the rich stimulate the economy; and yet, the GOP still clings to this failed fantasy.

Admittedly, and to some small degree perhaps it’s an over-simplification, but when we wonder why Federal debt has skyrocketed over the last thirty-five years, during the heart of the Reagan revolution, it can be said much of that deficit spending went to finance tax cuts for the wealthy --- that and two failed GOP led nation building exercises (within in the Middle East).  Remember when Mr. Bush (W) entered the White House in 2000, the annual Federal deficit had all been but wiped out.  Bush, and a GOP led Congress, piled on the tax cuts for the wealthy, started two bankrupting wars – essentially fulfilling OBL’s darkest fantasy – and proceeded to send the debt to GDP ratio skyrocketing, again.

More recently, a great deal of the Federal debt, as well as, tax cuts for the wealthy, have been financed by the Federal Reserve’s printing presses (aka debt monetization) and balance sheet expansion.  Like Chancellor Cheney said, “Reagan proved deficits don’t matter.”  Remarkably, deficit spending to finance tax cuts for the wealthy has also coincided with exceptional growth in wage and wealth inequality, and a ruling oligarchy’s formation.  Reduced tax rates over a period of time has the same impact as compounded interest over the same time span.  Great wealth tends to take off exponentially from there, in both a high interest rate environment, or a low tax rate regime (and it really soars if tax rates are low and the stock market is juiced by the Federal Reserve). 

And some wonder how our present Neo-gilded Age came to be, look no further than the Reagan revolution (aka tax cuts for the wealthy). 

Let’s push on.  As the real central point of today’s piece is our Federal government, who owns and operates it, and what exactly to make of Mr. Reagan’s quip, about "the nine most terrifying words," some thirty-five years later.

It’s no secret… President Obama, and the leading presidential contenders, have all spoken of it.   Our democracy it owned and operated by a ruling elite of billionaires, multinational corporations, monopolies and cartels, and even some foreign governments hold unaccountable sway over our democracy.  Left out and underrepresented, if they are represented at all, is America’s poor, and middle & working class families.  In short, arguably, our democracy is a façade for the ruling elite’s hegemonic control.  Messrs. Sanders and Trump, and even Mrs. Clinton, deserve a great deal of credit for banging - the campaign finance reform - gong repeatedly over the last several months.  The candidates who conveniently, do not discuss this issue are almost everybody else in the GOP field, Senators Cruz and Rubio, and notably former Florida Governor Jeb Bush.  I wouldn’t call this latter crew the “damned,” but I would certainly call them, “the owned.”  With the exceptions of Messrs. Sanders and Trump, all candidates are beholding to moneyed interests: Super Pacs, billionaires, and the Wall Street banking cartel, etc., etc.


So who are these predators, who buy our nation’s politicians like they would a discounted throw rug at a local bargain store?   As important – because our government is for sale - could it be argued that these powerful forces are a State within a State, or what is said to have existed, and exists, in Turkey to this very day, a Deep State or Shadow State?  That is to say, since the ruling plutocracy I’m about to name, collectively, owns the majority of politicians, controls the financing of same, and the political parties themselves… have the billionaires, the multinationals, the monopolies and cartels become the government, itself?  After all, they own it. 

So w/out further ado, Dear Readers, here’s a few members of your shadow government, or the puppeteers who tell our U.S. Congress and State legislative bodies – particularly in Red States – what to do:

The Military Industrial Complex:  Ever wonder how an aircraft, the F-35, can have billions in cost overruns, not function, an infinite number of production delays, and Congress doesn’t say, “boo?”  Look no further than Lockheed Martin.  Lockheed, like the rest of the MIC that President Eisenhower warned us against, defines a corporation that loves Big Government.  Government contracts always at the ready, never held accountable, profits are privatized… and losses, cost overruns, and failure are picked by the King Daddy of all Sugar Daddies, Uncle Sam himself.  Failure is rewarded.  Politicians don’t say a critical word, because it’s unpatriotic to criticize the MIC.  And some wonder why after more than a decade of failed nation building exercises, the DOD just recommended launching yet another war to defeat IS in Syria.  It’s because war is the greatest fraud ever created by man, and generates profits on a scale that only billionaires can dream of.  Here, only Senator Rand Paul has the cojones to state the obvious:  The U.S. is bankrupt and really can’t afford the MIC on this scale, or another war – let alone play the world’s beat cop; and yet, we have 800 military bases around the world.  As voters, we let the brave men and women who serve down, daily, when we allow MIC contractors and the War lobby to lure the U.S. into another war.  The MIC is the pinnacle of fiscal irresponsibility.

The Koch Brothers and Koch Industries… most of the enterprises and billionaires I’m mentioning in this piece, believe in an Ayn Rand style rugged individualism and a libertarian ideology that says: I made it to the top – exclusively on my own drive and ability, and therefore, I deserve the spoils.  The reality however, is most of these individuals, and multinationals, got to where they are by doing crony deals with government(s).  You know:  tax loopholes, government subsidies, government contracts, privatization, regulatory capture, and even gambling and speculation in exotic financial products (like the swaps & derivatives that took down the economy), back stopped by the American taxpayer.  Koch Industries got their start, when daddy got friendly with Hitler and Stalin.  Yup, you read that correctly… Mr. Fred Koch was in bed with two of the twentieth century’s biggest mass murders, not to mention a socialist and a communist, respectively.  Please don’t look for that information within the bio page of the Koch Industries web site.  It’s not there, nor will you find that Mr. Fred Koch was a founding member of the anti-Semitic and racist John Birch society.  Not content to own the State of Kansas, and enjoy outsized influence within the U.S. Congress, the brothers have promised to spend nearly a billion dollars to buy the White House this election season.  Fortunately, it looks like the American public has caught onto their efforts to subvert democracy and own the executive branch.  Remember, life isn't always better with Koch.

The Wall Street banking cartel:  I’ve spilled so much ink on this cancerous malignancy on the body politic (read here, here, and here again), that words nearly fail me, except to add there isn’t an establishment presidential candidate that hasn’t accepted money from the big banks.  That’s exactly why Mr. Trump and Mr. Sanders scares the hell out of the Street.  There’s a reason why there’s now 60 members within Congress’ House Financial Services committee, it’s because they’re all on the take.  Just remember this: Wall Street after destroying the global economy in 2008 is more concentrated, more powerful, and a bigger threat to the nation, and national security, than it ever was, and we have our crony government to thank for that.  When Candidate Sanders talks about growing wage & wealth inequality in this country, there is no greater contributor to that divide than the Wall St. cartel, which pushes, markets, underwrites, and sells M&A activity.  M&A and industry consolidation (i.e. cartels & monopolies) are known job and opportunity killers.  It’s often the primary reason businesses merge, to cut expense and eliminate jobs (and boost EPS, ROE, and C-Suite pay).  Even if one is of an age, or in a business or company that one feels is immune from M&A, where you feel wage & wealth inequality does not impact you… it certainly impacts many Americans of all ages, particularly younger Americans and their future.  Younger Americans, many with college degrees and exorbitant debt, have suffered the brunt of the Wall Street crisis and the M&A consolidation boom, which helps explain why they are turning out for Senator Sanders in droves.

Sheldon Adelson dreams of a better world, one where the United States answers to Israel.  Now, I’ve gotten nothing against Israel.  I’m a fan.  Like the U.S., however, this Middle East superpower has gone over the top in reaching for the military for every foreign policy problem that comes along.  Israel has a valid excuse, however, they’re surrounded by enemies, and their citizens - many of the Jewish faith - were nearly extinguished by the Koch family business partner, Herr Hitler.  The U.S., on the other hand, has no excuse.  Nor should the U.S. subcontract out its foreign policy in the Middle East to Israel, or any other government – say the highly corrupt Saudis or Oil Monarchies (nor do their bidding or fighting for them).  Yes, Mr. Adelson, casino magnate and billionaire, has a dream, and nearly the entire GOP establishment has lined up to fulfill it for him.  The U.S. spends more on defense than the G-20 combined.  If the DOD and MIC can’t protect the continental U.S. on that budget, than the DOD/MIC – to utilize Mr. Trump’s phrase - should be fired.  Getting involved in foreign conflicts at the behest of foreign governments, or billionaires, is not something our elected officials should be entertaining; but Congress tacitly allows President Obama to do it daily, and w/out holding a vote.

Exxon Mobil:  Once the most powerful company on the planet, it’s now be taken to task by the AG of NY, and if the New York Times has it correct, possibly the AG of California.   Seems that the planet is dying, and like Big Tobacco before them, Exxon knew and allegedly, sought to cover it up.  Exxon is alleged to have paid off politicians, hired lobbying firms, and bought off academics to provide a thick coat of white wash to cover up all the black - planet killing - goo they pull out of the ground.  It doesn’t stop there however, Big Oil is in bed with some of the nastiest and most repugnant regimes and governments on the planet --- anything to make a buck.  It’s no accident that the U.S. government, and the State Department, often finds itself backing some of these very same dictatorships Big Oil does business with - often with diplomatic, foreign, and military aid.  Exxon, Big Oil, and OPEC have all fallen under hard times with the collapse of world energy markets, but let’s not cry too hard…. For every U.S. recession from the 1970s forward, was proceeded by or accompanied by an oil price shock/increase.  Oil shocks that made Exxon, et al., unprecedented billions.

There’s many more entities and individuals that play a huge role in our shadow government (Cable and internet service providers; the five major corporations that control 90% of our news content; the Airlines; Berkshire Hathaway; Big Ag.; Shadow banking & Private Equity chop shops, etc., etc.), but the roll Big Pharma plays deserves special mention.

Valeant Pharmaceutical:  The U.S. is the only Western democracy still being taken for a ride by these creeps.  Every other country (i.e. The West) knows better than to give a pharmaceutical company a patent, in essence a monopoly on medicine, w/out a price cap and/or price controls.  Otherwise, a country is just begging to be ripped off, particularly when the Federal government in the largest U.S. medical insurer.  For years Big Pharma had told us they need price hikes to cover R&D and expand the pipe line of costly and lifesaving medications.  But they don’t even play that game anymore.  Now, very much like the private equity model, Valeant and other pharma companies, merely buyout competitors, cut labor to the bone, gut R&D, jack up the price of medicine several thousand multiplies over, and extend patents by tweaking the formula of said medication.  Make no mistake about it, Valeant Pharmaceutical, Pfizer, Turing, et al., are killing people with these price hikes (or forcing them to make unconscionable choices between eating and taking medicine) and contrived drug shortages, and their income statements are written in the blood of U.S. citizens.  If that doesn’t freak you out, this next part hopefully will get your attention.  It’s not bad enough that Big Pharma, and Valeant Pharmaceutical, screw over a bankrupt United States for billions and billions of dollars, but in the ultimate act of disloyalty, many pharmaceutical companies have moved their operations offshore to dodge paying U.S. taxes.  (This is a classic example of how the plutocracy runs over the 99% daily.  Not only do we get the shaft with monopolistic pricing, and layoffs due to M&A, but the little that remains of the middle class must pay a higher tax bill to subsidize the Robber Barons, who flee offshore with their billions.)


What’s to investigate?  How about doing your job, Dear Congress, and regulate and cap Big Pharma’s prices?  There’s nothing Ayn Randian about this guy or this guy.  They never invented a lifesaving medication or saved a human life.  They're just vampires sucking on the carcass of a bankrupt and dying nation, called the United States.

Seemingly, our bought and paid for Congress is powerless to act.  If that’s the case, why not dispense with the Congress altogether, or at least downsize the institution and go unicameral?



Some of my conservative friends don’t quite understand one of the key issues of our times: wage and wealth inequality.  That is, once economic and political power begins to concentrate and becomes absolute, the plutocracy – the Shadow State - tends stomp out opportunity, growth, and free enterprise itself, in a quest for hegemonic control and monopolistic profits.  (It’s no accident that the number of business starts ups is declining at a more rapid pace, versus the number of businesses closures… so that the growth of new business is less than the number of business failures.)  That is to say, any threat to the ruling oligarchy's profits must be eliminated.  Mussolini didn’t call it “fascism,” he called it “corporatism,” or government rule by corporations, banks, and industrial interests.  Under corporatism, the government, and its apparatchik, has no vision for the future of the nation or its people - there’s only profits uber alles.  Remember Orwell’s warning in his book 1984:  “If you want a vision of the future, imagine a boot stomping on a human face – forever.”  

Has that day finally arrived?  Many fear it has.

The youth get it.  They recognize that the Deep State, the Oligarchy, has failed them.  That’s why by an eighty-four percent margin, Iowa’s Democratic voters, under the age of 30, support Senator Sanders over the establishment candidate, Hillary Clinton.  Our nation’s youth, and their future, have been robbed to pay for an Ayn Rand fantasy world for the economic and financial elite….  Many of whom, ironically, are highly addicted to Big Government and absolute control.

Maybe President Reagan had a point…. Government is the problem, particularly when it is owned and operated by the one percent and for the one percent.   Pretty scary isn’t it?   The ten most terrifying words in the English language are: "I’m from Valeant Pharmaceutical, and I’m here to help myself."

The Reagan revolution is dead.  Nobody – not even die hard Republicans – believes in trickle-down economics (and demographics and time are not on the GOP’s side).  Unfortunately, as the Congress is dominated by a gerrymandered and purchased GOP, this fiscally irrational ideology just might be with us for a while yet.  Sadly, in addition to bankrupting the United States, Mr. Reagan’s revolution also had the consequence of concentrating wealth to unaccountable extremes, creating a ruling oligarchy, and the greatest tragedy of all, smeared the economic model of capitalism with a third string substitute, job killing monopolies and cartels. 

Let’s call it what it is: Guilt by association.

Copyright JM Hamilton Publishing 2016

Friday, January 22, 2016

Eminence Front


Eminence Front

I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that his justice cannot sleep forever.
 
-Thomas Jefferson

By J.M. Hamilton (1-22-2016)

After a lifetime of voting Republican, in 2008 I took the plunge and voted for my first Democrat, President Obama.  The soaring rhetoric, the pitch for change, it put the hook into me.  At a time when the nation needed (and still does) a substantial economic and political overhaul, President Obama appeared to be our man.  In 2012, I, like many, realized that the President we were sold hadn’t performed as advertised.  In fact, President Obama seemed more like a moderate republican, and most notably, not a single Wall Street CEO entered a jail cell.  

Still, in 2012, the President was clearly the lesser of two evils:  GOP or GOP-Lite?

Yes, holding my nose, I’ll have the latter, please. 

Fear for the future of my immortal soul dictates that I vote for the Democratic Party, or Evil-Lite.

Unfortunately, President Obama’s eloquence is only matched by his preternatural ability to speak out of both sides of his mouth.  This year’s State of the Union was going along pretty well, until there it was: the sales pitch for the plutocracy and the proposal that Congress authorize yet another free trade agreement.  Free trade agreements have gutted the same middle & working class families….  the President, allegedly, is the standard barrier for.  (The irony is President Transparency didn’t share the highly touted TPP agreement with the American people, until November 2015.)  And now the push to cram it through.

It’s not all bad.  President Obama has chipped around the edges on social policy, which seems to be the GOP-Lite Party’s way of saying:  “Yeah, I’m in bed with the plutocracy, but at least I’m not in bed with the red necks, clinging to their guns, nescience, and racism.”  Yes, we get it… If you’re a “successful” democratic politician, seemingly, you’ve successfully negotiated that Faustian deal with the plutocracy, while celebrating gay and women’s reproductive rights - both highly credible and worthy causes.  (Admittedly, some of my frustration with the President is due largely to the Republican led Congress, which is intent on thwarting the President purely out of malice.  Clearly a situation that is neither Obama's fault or within his power to control.  The President also deserves credit for protecting the U.S.; zero 9-11 terror events under his watch, so far.)  The question, however, remains can Dems find a President, who can walk and chew gum at the same time?  That is to say, a Democratic President who has the courage to: advance economic and political civil rights issues for immigrants, minorities and ordinary Americans; address economic inequality and wage theft in our society; and hold the malefactors of wealth – the monopolist and plutocracy – accountable for the Great American robbery that transpires daily?

When it comes to economic policy and economic freedom from the tyranny of want, there is, and has been, no presidential candidate harkening back to President Roosevelt and his proposed Four Freedoms.

At least it has been that way up until now.

Sparked by voter outrage at the manner in which the elite have pigged out at the government’s trough, at the expense everyone else, two populist candidates have arrived.  For the first time certainly in my memory, we have two legitimate candidates who are not beholding to special interests, and in particular, the bankocracy.

Meanwhile, back at the Plutocratic Party, all the candidates miraculously and suddenly want to demonstrate their populist cred.  Whether it is Ms. Clinton, Senator Cruz, or Mr. Bush… the more they attempt to sound like they’re authentic populists, and have always been on the ninety-nine percent’s side, the more they come off as plutocratic tools.

Mrs. Clinton, in particular, like her husband before her, is known for taking millions in Wall Street money (not unlike Senator Cruz).  Wall Street banks are known for taking down the global economy and ushering in the worst economic depression, since the Great Depression; Wall Street’s crimes against the American people are both extensive and notably, marked be recidivism. 

Among Wall Street’s crimes over the last decade are: rigging the commodities markets; colluding on setting the inter-bank lending rate, or LIBOR; misleading clients and investors on rigged mortgage backed securities and CDOs; money laundering for drug cartels; accounting shenanigans and off balance sheet transactions (read Repos); aiding and assisting the wealthy in tax avoidance; gambling in high risk private equity transactions w/ the taxpayers' money; buying out the U.S. Congress to do their bidding; writing their own reform laws – a la Dodd Frank – and then lobbying to overturn key parts of their own reform law, successfully I might add; running a gambling racket with swaps & derivatives products - worth hundreds of trillions - that is backstopped and supported by the American taxpayer; accepting trillions in bailouts and still engaging in the aforementioned behaviors (and then lobbying lawmakers for austerity for the American people); and on and on and on.  And apparently, some judge has now made insider trading legal.  

All these unethical behaviors take billions out of the economy, and out of the hands of legitimate investors, and place said billions into the hands of Wall Street banks and shadow bankingIt’s like SPECTRE (Special Executive for Counter-intelligence, Economic Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion) is running the global economy, and is the master puppeteer of our purchased Congress and presidential candidates.

Let me ask my readers a question, what other industry could pay a quarter trillion in fines and still report billions upon billions in profits, quarter after quarter? And this vertically integrated industry has its hands in everyone’s pocket, from several different angles, and is impervious to change.  In fact, Wall Street banks have grown larger and more concentrated.  The drag and the gravitational pull the cartel holds on the American and global economy is unprecedented, and its very existence is a tax upon the lives of 99% of Americans.

Infamously, it was Bill Clinton and Treasury Secretaries Rubin and Summers (backed by a Republican Congress, and particularly former Texas Senator, Phil Gramm), who are responsible for the end of the Glass Steagall, and the swaps & derivatives deregulation, that set in motion the financial Armageddon that destroyed the global economy.  (The fallout of which we are still dealing with to this very day.)  In many respects, the nation owes the Clintons a debt of gratitude for exposing the scale and magnitude of our crony/insider economy and government, and the depths of its depravity.  If a Democratic President, and a rather smart one, can be so easily manipulated by Wall Street aristocracy, than where does that leave the Republican Party?  

Wallowing in the mud, per the usual?

No wonder then that Mr. and Mrs. Clinton suffer no angst at taking in millions in Wall Street speaking fees and campaign contributions; no wonder then that Mrs. Clinton sophistically argues a political misdirection play, when she says the ’08 crisis wasn’t caused by the termination of Glass Steagall, but rather, the issue is shadow banking.  Admittedly, her statement is partially true…. Both shadow banking and private equity are in dire need of serious regulation and control; but no intelligent voter should be disabused of the fact that the Wall Street cartel (Old Too Big to Fail & Jail) must also be broken up, and Glass Steagall re-implemented.  And yet, the billionaire class – hunkered down at Davos – supposedly hasn’t a clue as to why the global economy, eight years later, has never really gotten back on its feet?  (It could be debt to GDP ratios across the globe are at an all time high, especially China's?  In America the sky high debt to GDP ratios financed tax cuts for the rich for the last 35 years.)

The problem is Mrs. Hillary Clinton, and nearly the entire GOP field, represent the establishment politics that have driven the U.S. economy into the ground for the 99%.  While for the 1%, it's business as usual and record profits (made to order, via Fed fueled financial engineering).

Even if you were to give Hillary the benefit of the doubt, and if past is prologue, it would be completely fatuous to believe Mrs. C has changed her stripes, why gamble on a presidential candidate who is mired – neck deep – in scandal, is under investigation by the House of Representatives and the FBI, and whose very name is synonymous with moral hazard? 

Which brings us full circle back to the two political outsiders, both of whom enjoy highly sound prospects for obtaining both the Democratic and Republican Party’s respective nominations, Messrs. Sanders and Trump.

Mr. Trump has his own baggage that he must contend with…. He’s flip-flopped on numerous issues.  The Donald, a former liberal on many social issues, is now a Republican?  And then there’s the manner in which he’s earned his billions, by playing the system that he now says is broken.  Let’s see, Mr. Trump made billions off a system that he now says is contaminated and has taken a sledge hammer to the middle class, the crony economy.  Something doesn’t quite ring true here.  Now…  the Teflon-Don, out of the kindness of his Trumpian heart, is going to save us from the very system that has made him billions?

If we know nothing else about Mr. Trump… if there’s been one constant in Mr. Trump’s life, it is this:  He is a tireless self-promoter, and he’s damn good at it.  Does one think for a  minute his behavior is going to change, if by some twist of fate he magically enters the White House?  

To be sure, JMH believes Mr. Trump can win the Republican nomination.  And if I’m completely honest with myself…  among a very weak, establishment GOP field, and if one is so inclined to let their lizard–id take over, he’s probably the best Republican candidate for the job.  As Bill Maher recently noted, there’s days where Mr. Trump sounds like Noam Chomsky; but unfortunately, there’s also days where Mr. Trump sounds like Adolph Hitler, particularly when he runs down – and backs over - immigrants, minorities, and Muslims.

So that leaves us with one remaining populist, named Mr. Bernie Sanders.  This man has held constant to his beliefs, and has never once sold out.  He believes in a kinder and gentler America, and despite the “socialist” moniker, don’t look for any May Day parades when Mr. Sanders enters the White House.  He was liberal when it was cool; he was liberal when it wasn’t cool (vis a vis the bulk of the last 35 years).  And he’s a liberal today.  If Mr. Sanders is a socialist, than the oligarchy is communist, such is their love-fest with U.S. and global governments - which they raid and loot daily.  A President Sanders will do everything is his power to take back this country from the plutocracy, who own and operate it; that is to say, Mr. Sander will do his best to take this nation back from the control freaks and sociopaths who make up the billionaire class (if nothing else, he’ll obstruct the brutes).  This campaign season, there’s only one candidate who can take on the mantel of FDR and his proposed Four Freedoms, and the rise of Mr. Sanders’ couldn't be better timed.

The demographic tide, and the nation’s mood, is on the Senator’s side.  As for the Hitler/Stalin loving Kochs, well they are about to discover that they cannot purchase the presidency, once again…

That’s exactly how it should be for a Republican party that continues to doubling-down on fear, racism, and xenophobia.  A President Sanders may hold the elite accountable for driving this nation to her knees.  Candidate Trump, on the other hand, blames immigrants and the poor for the nation's problems.  It’s the key dichotomy in this race, whom do you blame for the nation’s economic problems: the poor and the disenfranchised, or the malefactors of wealth and privilege?  Given U.S. patrimony, as a nation of immigrants, it’s really something to see Mr. Trump work a room and stir up animosity and bile.  Meanwhile, the House of Parliament considered this week whether or not to ban The Donald from the U.K.  Like our incompetent U.S. Congress, their English counterparts debated and talked, and took no action.  They didn’t even hold a vote.  Sound familiar?




The Eminence Front, the Clintons & Plutocracy Inc., will swear that Mr. Sanders is unelectable…. Just like former President Bill Clinton swore up and down that a certain black man couldn’t be elected either, back in ’08.  That was mighty white of Mr. Clinton, and then as now, the Clintons are 100% wrong.  Senator Sanders is electable, and the Clintons (and what Heidi Cruz refers to as “investors”) are scrambling like its 2008 all over again.  Such is Senator Sanders’ growing wave of popular support, notably by a 2 to 1 ratio, among the nation’s youth (our future). 

Sorry plutocracy: you own the GOP, you even own Hillary, but you’ll never own Senator Sanders.  And that’s exactly why in 2016, the gentlemen from the Bronx just might go all the way.

At the end of the day, this presidential campaign is defined by an electorate that is fed up with the Clintons, the establishment, cronyism, and all the inside the Beltway minions, who pollute Washington and our State governments.  All the patsies and parasites, bought and paid for by the oligarchy, who are the equivalent to political toxic waste - dumped upon our hallowed democracy… Americans are disgusted and repulsed by it all.  K Street, you listening? 

Despite the Fed smoking up the printing presses in an attempted cover up of Wall Street’s crime wave, the odiferous stench of corruption did not go away.  It still hangs in the air like a dark and putrid cloud.  The Federal Reserve, owned by Wall Street, only made the crime and treason worse, and fueled greater wage & wealth inequality (via easy money for the 1%).

As for the insiders, and the establishment, do yourself a favor and run…  and that advice is free.  The American electorate has woken from its slumber and they are pissed, that is to say, establishment presidential candidates need not apply.  The electorate appears to plan on taking back the government from the Deep State cabal and the Star Chambers:  the Business Roundtable and the Chamber of Commerce.

Many of the same people who say a President Sanders is an impossibility, said that of the current White House occupant.  In the year of our Lord 2016, nobody is perfect, nobody is pure, and absolutely nobody walks on water.  But Senator Sanders is close enough... I think he'll do.  This nation could use a President who represents the interests of the common wheel, as opposed to an elite few.  A President Sanders means we no longer have to choose between the lesser of two evils.

Get ready… it’s about to get interesting.


P.S.  Some of my younger readers maybe unclear on what exactly a "liberal" is, so please allow me to take a crack at a definition.  A liberal is a person who believes capitalism - with government guidance and where necessary, intervention - can be engineered for the benefit of society as a whole, instead of an elite cadre of insiders.

Copyright JM Hamilton Publishing 2016

Note:  The list of Wall Street crimes was updated since the original write up release.

Saturday, January 9, 2016

Addiction to Power


Addiction to Power

“Power is the ultimate aphrodisiac.” – Henry Kissinger

“Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.”  - Abraham Lincoln.

By J.M. Hamilton (1-9-2016)

We’ve all seen the clinical trials where a rat or a monkey becomes addicted to meth, cocaine or heroin (perhaps even Oreos), and ultimately, elects the drug being administered over the necessities of life: companionship, food, and health.  And we’ve also seen the consequences, mental and physical, when the drug under study is taken away. 

Addiction often occurs when use of a substance floods the brain with either dopamine or serotonin, chemicals that naturally occur within the brain.  The resulting feelings of euphoria can become so intense that it results in compulsive behavior focused upon recreating the experience, over and over.  The compulsion can become so great that immediate gratification becomes primary, and health, relationships, work, and long term planning suffer.  As a result, dysfunction and poor judgment often sets in for many addicts.  There is said to be a genetic link to addiction, and undoubtedly - emotional, environmental, and psychological components as well.  While most studies and the DSM (the bible of the mental health community), focus on alcohol, hard drugs, nicotine, and prescription meds when explaining addiction and recommending treatment, there is also relatively newer interest in behavioral addictions.  

In other words, behaviors that create the same chemical/neurotransmitter release within the brain, seen in people who are addicted to drugs.  Such behavioral addictions may include gambling (which is already recognized by the DSM), sex, and quite possibly power.

During the holidays, J.M.H. wrote a piece entitled, Affluenza, where it was noted that many members of the elite community exhibit psychopathic and sociopathic tendencies.  Today, we take this analysis a step further, and examine how the power dynamic maybe habit forming, indeed – addictive, and the consequences for society.

Some mental health professionals have noted that power increases dopamine in the brain, not unlike some of the aforementioned drugs.  The surge in dopamine, created by obtaining power or positions of authority, can be highly addictive.  The chemical surge strengthens cognitive power, and further boosts sex drive, confidence, and feelings of euphoria.  The downside is power, and the resulting chemical overload, may also boost anxiety, paranoia, and restlessness.  Kicking it up a notch further, power and the flood of neurotransmitters to the brain can create arrogance, impatience, and a complete lack of empathy (witness, Messrs. Shkreli & Pearson – Big Pharma tycoons, and All-Star sociopaths).  Take away the power, and the individual is often left with a very nasty hangover or worse, withdrawal.

At least one psychologist notes that power brings about a desire to control events and surroundings.  Makes perfect sense… a person who craves drugs wants to control their flow of drugs to keep their high maintained; accordingly, a power addict too, wants to control events so as to maintain power and the high their power generates.

Are we witnessing a power addiction in the formation of a U.S. oligarchy that control and own the highest offices of government?  What about the string of Republican presidential candidates making a pilgrimage to Las Vegas to meet with Mr. Sheldon Adelson, a casino magnate and billionaire (the very same magnate, who recently purchased a Las Vegas newspaper, so as to presumably control local news media content)?  With government co-opted and owned, the billionaire class can write tax law; privatize government; subjugate regulatory bodies; and start wars, which generally generate obscene profits.   The financial and political elite can even max out a government’s credit line, much like private equity chop shops have been known to destroy businesses and jobs for quick financial gain. 

Can we also see the power addiction in the formation of monopolies and cartels throughout the U.S. and global economy, with record M&A?   Monopolies, of course, are a control freak’s fantasy, since monopolistic pricing power is the ultimate form of economic control.  Moreover, if a group of control-freaks can buyoff elected officials and the legislative body – government power being the only countervailing force that can mitigate the effects of exceptional financial power – well then, the game is all but sewed up and in effect, rigged.

None of this is to say that all men and women who come into power turn out badly or become addicted to power.   There are a few examples in history where power did not become a corrupting influence.  President George Washington comes to mind, who is said to have walked away from the presidency, and power, on several occasions.  To this day, there are still a handful of public officials, who recognize power’s corrupting influence, and can simply take it and not become corrupted by it, or leave it.  However, judging from some of many tenured officials in the U.S. Senate (there’s more than 20 septua- and octogenerians), the Congress, and the Supreme Court, those individuals who can walk away from power’s addictive qualities are far and few between.   Those who come into power within the economic and financial sectors of the economy appear, in many instances, to have an even harder time walking away from power.  Many are carried out.  The few that can walk away from economic power often go into philanthropy, quite possibly to assuage feelings of guilt on how they amassed their fortunes.

Recognizing powers addictive qualities is key to understanding: those who are attracted to power; power’s corrupting influence; and what can be done to contain and mitigate the absolute corruption that all too often follows.  If power were a drug we could take it away from the addict.   But power is obtained within events, times of upheaval, and is driven by behavior.  All we have to do is look at history to see how power’s corrupting influence, and the megalomania that all too often ensues, ends badly…. with empire after overextended empire falling into disrepair and ultimately, the dust bin of history.

Key to addressing these addictive qualities would be to place obvious limits on power, that is to say, take away the rewards that attract the wrong element.  For the public sector, we are talking term limits; limits upon campaign finance and the time frame of the campaign season (w/ all additional campaign contributions collected, above a certain cap, going to charities or to pay down the national debt); and driving a wedge in the revolving door between the government and the private sector, and v.v.  If a candidate could not become rich obtaining higher office, America might find itself with an entirely different leadership type.  Imagine that.

For the private sector, controlling and containing the darkest elements of economic and financial power means an independent and vigilant government that not only fights against the formation of cartels and monopolies, but breaks up existing combinations with monopolistic pricing power. Where grants of monopoly and patents are afforded by the government, pricing and profit margins must be heavily regulated, so that the public and the public trust are not abused.  Here, name your favorite - or most loathed – cartel with monopolistic pricing power, such as:  Big Pharma, Big Oil, the DOD, Wall Street banking, the Airlines, Cable & Internet providers, and News Media content providers, etc., etc., etc.

In addition, vigilant government leadership means taxing existing wealth that has grown to heretofore unimaginable extremes, due to a rigged system and a prolonged Neo-gilded Age.  It also means maintaining a healthy fourth estate, with a wide diversity of opinion, and keeping it out of the hands of the elite and privileged few.  The current business communities fixation on stock price and EPS…  at the expense of long term growth, R&D/CAPEX, improving worker pay/aggregate demand (and hence, top line growth), and better customer service…  Must also be addressed.  Much of this will likely come naturally, when cartels and monopolies are broken up and forced to compete.

It’s called a free market economy, as opposed to the crony economy that Americans are faced with today.

 



Ironically, if a person going through drug detoxification does so under a doctor’s care, they are said to be going through “withdrawal.”  However, without certified professional oversight, and when the drug of choice is self-administered, the person going through withdrawal is labeled an “addict.”  Does this mean with board of directors’ or government certification, the power junkie becomes a Senator, SCOTUS member, or CEO….  as opposed to just another power addict?

To be sure, America needs driven personalities and leadership.   But both the leaders actions and drives should be continuously examined and questioned, with full transparency to all.  That is to say, so that the public can ascertain when a leader is acting:  in the general interest of clients, their constituents/employees, and society; or when a so-called leader has crossed the Rubicon and gone full blow megalomaniacal, answering only to calls of their own aggrandizement and the accumulation of money and power.

Is the leader in a position of power to help others, or are they there to help themselves?

It’s a problem we see with our billionaire class daily, even when said billionaire professes to have the interests of the public at heart.

See the lab rat repeatedly bang on the lever to feed their jones? 



P.S.

J.M.H. has made similar observations before:  If the human race is to evolve & survive, will someday future generations look back upon our history only to realize that the world, for the most part, has been frequently led by those who were incapacitated by an addiction to power?

Copyright JM Hamilton Publishing 2016