SWITCH FROM DEMOCRACY TO PLUTOCRACY

This morning was a great morning on Chris Hayes’ show UP on MSNBC. One of many ‘take-aways’ was a thought provoking discussion on the direct relationship between energy corporation profits and plutocracy. Energy companies are extremely profitable. The more they earn the more they can influence government, which means they can afford to operate within the laws because the buy congressional representatives to make laws they under which they can operate. For the naive among us, energy companies cannot buy Democrats but Republicans votes are for sale. They both can, and are, being bought; it is just that the Democrats cost more, which makes no real difference if you have all the money in the world. For example, how else could you explain why there is a law that says energy companies receive government subsidies? Of course, you could believe what those who voted for the law tell you. Their stories will tear at your heartstrings, which is that they are trying to support struggling small oil drilling companies. Still, the huge companies get huge subsidy checks paid for by taxpayers.

By means of this blog, I point out that more and more big corporation executives control us, which means true representative democracy, a republican form of government, is becoming more and more outdated. What is going on resembles what some call landscape amnesia; the snow on the mountain top is just a little less than it was last year but 100 years ago the mountain top was thick with snow. It is time we wake up and see what is happening. Democracy started when we shook off King George III but business ethics started to change with Cornelius Vanderbilt and his government controlling interstate steamship and railroad corporations, which huge energy companies have now replaced. We have been moving steadily toward a plutocracy.  Look at coal politics in West Virginia and oil politics in Texas. Look at what Enron, and energy-trading company did to Gov. Gray Davis in California, the largest and most economically powerful states in the Union was manipulated by a business corporation; Darryl Issa, a current member of congress financed the recall that elected Schwarzenegger. He is the richest man in congress and he is chair of the House of Representatives Government Oversight Committee. I mention this only to show how deeply embedded plutocrats are in Washington. The big question is how can we stop the corporate overreach or are we doomed to be slaves of corporate executives—that is, people we cannot vote out of office?