How Elites Control the Way You Think About Economics

**bsnub** · 16-11-2017, 05:07 PM

Since the beginning of our nation, American elites have used their power to justify their disproportionate levels of wealth. Today, those few, those happy few, continue this wicked tradition with disturbing effectiveness. They do so by deploying an assortment of tried-and-true strategies to manipulate public sentiment in order to stay on top of the heap.

These strategies, however, are hardly novel. In fact, the game plan for today’s elite class is largely derivative of tactics used by some gilded individuals and corporate titans right after the New Deal. Kim Phillips-Fein, a historian and author of Invisible Hands: The Businessman’s Crusade Against the New Deal, has spent a lot of time researching just how these economic elites perpetuated self-serving (and arbitrary) economic arrangements.

She told me on our new podcast episode (which you can subscribe to here):

Starting in the 1930s and the 1940s, some American business people were highly troubled by the direction the country was taking—the rise of the New Deal, the rise of the labor movement, by what they thought was a widespread acceptance of Keynesian ideas. [They were concerned by] the idea that high wages mattered more than high profits for driving economic growth and development.

To resist the “creeping socialism,” Phillips-Fein revealed how the rich set up think tanks to pump out anti-labor propaganda, sponsored economists like Milton Friedman and Friedrich Hayek to consort with prominent businessmen, and indoctrinated politicians like Ronald Reagan to roll back economic progress for the many.

These tactics were instrumental in sending the predominant economic narrative back to a “business-friendly” state.

Phillips-Fein’s research on this era of American history is remarkable in that it showcases the wealthy’s blind urge to preserve what is best for them above all else. The irony, of course, is that hoarding wealth and sustaining an economy that only works for a few ultimately ends up hurting the rich in the long run.

As Nick Hanauer, a venture capitalist and Civic Skunk Works’ founder, pointed out in the same podcast episode:

Concentrated wealth and power, in every circumstance, corrodes the public good. [I acknowledge] that hierarchies are necessary and need to exist…[but] massively unequal arrangements are never good. They never work out well… The most inclusive societies are always the most successful.

Yet even in a time when we know that inclusive economies outperform exclusive ones, the rich still insist on keeping America great only for them. In a time of economic plight, they are gorging in front of the hungry.

If you think that image is over the top, how else can you rationalize why and how three men now own as much wealth as the bottom 50% of American society?

When so much money is sucked away from the vast majority, it is inevitable that the social fabric will begin to unravel. The greed of those at the top creates an environment where established interests are raged against and the undernourished and underpaid masses make rash social and political decisions.

Furthermore, an economic system that hoards prosperity fosters hatred for that very system—and that is surely not what the privileged class desires. But that’s what they are getting, because they cannot stop themselves from accumulating more and more wealth.

In his famous book, Capital, Thomas Piketty saw the self-defeating nature of this type of thinking, noting:

The inescapable reality is this: wealth is so concentrated that a large segment of society is virtually unaware of its existence, so that some people imagine that it belongs to surreal or mysterious entities.

It doesn’t take a whole lot to know that the average individual cannot see how the current economic order is benefitting them, they will question the validity of that order. Is it any surprise then that (at least on face value) a majority of millennials reject capitalism? That outcome is clearly not beneficial to elites, yet they are bringing this upon themselves. It is only through their insatiable greed that the American people are now discovering their economic bullshit.

Just look at the reception of the GOP’s “tax reform” plan. A new poll from Quinnipiac shows that the Republican plan is approved by only 25 percent of Americans, with 61 percent believing it will benefit the wealthy most.

The trickle-down narrative propagated by the wealthy and internalized by the masses is finally being challenged. While that is cause for hope, if there is anything that history teaches us, it is that the rich are a resilient bunch and they will morph their self-interest into some other equally insidious rationale or argument.

That unfortunate truth should not discourage anyone, however. The slow, methodical task of eroding exclusive societal arrangements has been the main endeavor of human civilization. As long as Americans become aware (and stay aware) of the wealthy’s tactics, we have it within our power to shape a nation that is built upon shared prosperity.

https://civicskunk.works/how-elites-...s-b531c339c35b

**david44** · 16-11-2017, 05:26 PM

Are you controlled,
or are you able to see through it ?

IMHO the weak and powerless may be unable to refute the lies and injustice but can usually smell the bs, the native Americans and slaves upon which the American Republic was built were impotent but not stupid as a quick glance at their cultures reveal.

You can usually smell the warm aroma of trickledown.Marcuse described repressive tolerance decades ago, I think the issue is not that the powerful resist change but the way forward.

**bsnub** · 16-11-2017, 05:41 PM

Originally Posted by david44

Are you controlled,

No that is why I posted this thread.

Originally Posted by david44

You can usually smell the warm aroma of trickledown

Trickle down failures.

**Latindancer** · 16-11-2017, 05:52 PM

I farking hate capitalism and generally the way business is done in the modern world. What a bunch of users !

And I resent the fact that the rent I pay for my apartment....which is basically a box with utilities attached....pays my landlord's mortgage, leaving me with nothing at the end, and him with an expensive apartment.

**HuangLao** · 16-11-2017, 06:02 PM

How the systems control the way one thinks, generally speaking.
Vacant of independent, critical, challenging, and questioning thought and reasoned perspective.

Nothing new. Continue on your conventional and orthodox path, without room for curiosity or alternatives.
Dumbing down has been the fashion for quite the time.

**Switch** · 16-11-2017, 06:26 PM

So you think you are being fucked over by the rich and powerful?

You are correct.

**Hugh Cow** · 20-11-2017, 09:03 AM

Trickle down economics is just that. A small trickle of crumbs from a very small minority down to the majority. A discredited argument to justify the avaricious capitalism of the wealthy. Bernie Sanders may have not been the right recipe but at least he could've been the catylist for change in th USA .

**VocalNeal** · 20-11-2017, 09:35 AM

Originally Posted by bsnub

American elites have used their power to justify their disproportionate levels of wealth.

In a country started by tax dodgers? I can't believe it.

**bsnub** · 20-11-2017, 09:41 AM

Originally Posted by Hugh Cow

Bernie Sanders may have not been the right recipe but at least he could've been the catylist for change in th USA .

I think he is the right recipe however there were a number of factors that kept him from getting the nomination when it was clear he would have defeated Drumpf. He currently is the favorite for nomination and could yet be president.

Sanders leads potential 2020 Dem candidates in NH poll | TheHill

**sabang** · 20-11-2017, 12:50 PM

It is as obvious now as the lines on one's face, and has been for many years as it progressively deteriorates.
But what are the complacent US people willing to do about it? Absolutely Nothing. Thus your message lacks cogency.

**bsnub** · 20-11-2017, 01:38 PM

Originally Posted by sabang

But what are the complacent US people willing to do about it? Absolutely Nothing.

It is not that simple. Currently the oligarchs via right wing media, think tanks etc have waged a very successful propaganda campaign in an effort to keep people confused, just as the article states they have been doing since the thirties. You only need to look as far as breitbart or fox news to see the evidence of this. The people who tune into this media are fed a steady diet of nonsense, for example the current GOP tax bill and how (falsely) it will create tons of jobs and be great for the middle class. It is these people who are stuck in a rut by the oligarchs and an impediment to change. Currently I think they are somewhere between 25-40% of the electorate. We need large voter turn outs and then you will see real change happen with the election of someone like Sanders.

**RPETER65** · 20-11-2017, 01:55 PM

Originally Posted by bsnub

No that is why I posted this thread.

Trickle down failures.

Please share how you have escaped the grasp of the ultra wealthy.

**RPETER65** · 20-11-2017, 01:58 PM

Originally Posted by bsnub

I think he is the right recipe however there were a number of factors that kept him from getting the nomination when it was clear he would have defeated Drumpf. He currently is the favorite for nomination and could yet be president.

Sanders leads potential 2020 Dem candidates in NH poll | TheHill

Hillary and the DNC rigging the primary,great bunch of people they are.

**AntRobertson** · 20-11-2017, 02:08 PM

Are you actually paid to act as some spam-bot to try and muddy the waters?

If not then you should be. Though not very much.

**RPETER65** · 20-11-2017, 02:14 PM

Originally Posted by bsnub

No that is why I posted this thread.

Trickle down failures.

Please share how you have escaped the grasp grasp of the ultra wealthy.

**RPETER65** · 20-11-2017, 02:17 PM

Originally Posted by AntRobertson

Are you actually paid to act as some spam-bot to try and muddy the waters?

If not then you should be. Though not very much.

Are you implying what I posted is not true, maybe you should call Donna Brazile.

**AntRobertson** · 20-11-2017, 02:19 PM

...around $0.01 per post.

Something like that. Fair market rate/value.

**Klondyke** · 20-11-2017, 02:54 PM

Originally Posted by HuangLao (How Elites Control the Way You Think About Economics)

How the systems control the way one thinks, generally speaking.

How comforting that we have the "recognized" MSM that are not owned by the state (like the others are).

George Carlin on who owns America

**bsnub** · 20-11-2017, 03:15 PM

Originally Posted by RPETER65

Please share how you have escaped the grasp grasp of the ultra wealthy.

What does that even mean? I really do not think you understand what is being discussed here especially since you are one of the sheep.

**RPETER65** · 20-11-2017, 03:23 PM

Originally Posted by AntRobertson

...around $0.01 per post.

Something like that. Fair market rate/value.

so you have nothing.

**AntRobertson** · 20-11-2017, 03:24 PM

That's another $0.01 in the bank!

**RPETER65** · 20-11-2017, 03:29 PM

Originally Posted by bsnub

What does that even mean? I really do not think you understand what is being discussed here especially since you are one of the sheep.

Wrong again, I understand fully what is being discussed here.

That means exactly what it says, you say you are not controlled by the ultra wealthy but you are,if that were not true you would have no income,you would have no city to live in,no means of transportation,need I go on. So I ask again how have you escaped the grasp of the wealthy?

**bsnub** · 20-11-2017, 03:43 PM

Originally Posted by RPETER65

you say you are not controlled by the ultra wealthy but you are,if that were not true you would have no income,you would have no city to live in,no means of transportation,need I go on.

That is the most absurd thing I have read in sometime. So you are claiming that it is not possible to live in a city, have an income or a means of transportation unless I am somehow controlled by the as you put it "ultra wealthy". Repeater666 your stupidity never ceases to amaze me.

**RPETER65** · 20-11-2017, 04:41 PM

Originally Posted by bsnub

That is the most absurd thing I have read in sometime. So you are claiming that it is not possible to live in a city, have an income or a means of transportation unless I am somehow controlled by the as you put it "ultra wealthy". Repeater666 your stupidity never ceases to amaze me.

Of course I am where do you think all the capital comes from to finance all of the things that you rely on,Amazon being one of the largest companies based in your city,owned by one of the top three wealthy in the US,Microsoft Bill Gates one of the top three in wealth in the US.

How ignorant can you be that you do not realize on the fact that you are a slave to big money.

Your stupidity never ceases to amaze me.

You don't get it that you are a slave to everything you hate?

**AntRobertson** · 20-11-2017, 05:01 PM

Wait... you think that companies like Amazon and people like Bill Gates pay for things like transport systems and infrastructure for cities?

Why? Out of the goodness of their hearts? What do you think taxes are for??

At $0.01 you’re being overpaid!!

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