When I was a little boy, maybe third or fourth grade, I asked my dad what the difference was between Republicans and Democrats. There had been a boy on the playground who was going around threatening to beat up any kid who said he was a Democrat. I messed around with him by going, “I’m a Democrat… OK, I’m a Republican. No, I’m a Democrat…” I wasn’t too worried about getting beaten up… he was a fat kid, so I knew he couldn’t catch me. (I still remember his name… He’s probably the president of his local RNC.) But later, I figured I’d get to the bottom of the whole thing and try to figure out what I really was.
Many parents would have told their child not to worry
about such things at such a tender age. But Dad told me something I’d never
forget. He told me, “Republicans want the
rich to get richer, and the Democrats want the poor to get richer.”
I thought for a second and said, “Then I’m a Democrat.”
Dad said, “Good boy.”
In the fifty-plus years since then, I’ve never seen any evidence that Dad was anything but 100% right with that call. Everything Republicans do is for the ultimate goal of improving the lives and bank accounts of the rich, even if it’s just pandering via religion to stay in power. It used to be subtle, but no longer.
Such open market tampering should be illegal… It probably
is for the president via the Emoluments Clause, which states that a president
may not profit from the office. But here he is anyway, making stock trades
where he can create motion in the market just by saying something. So when he talks
about a company or industry, he knows the inevitable result in the market, so before
the speech, he either buys or sells, depending on where he KNOWS the stock is
going.
It’s like he’s Biff in Back to the Future 2, making bets
based on a sports almanac from the future, which shows all the winners. And no
one will do jack shit about it. The Justice Department is no longer an entity
that enforces the law, they are the president’s personal legal team.
Prosecuting him is not in their charter. But watch them charge Nancy Pelosi
with the same thing!
Yeah, the Republicans have been howling about Pelosi’s
stock trades for years, and ignoring their own Congress critters who do the
same thing. Bills have been introduced to outlaw stock trades by sitting Congress
people, but, surprise-surprise, have not gotten any traction in getting passed.
It’s like with term limits. Why would they want to
eliminate a perk of their own job? It’s in their interest to keep things the
way they are. That especially goes for those who aren’t already wealthy, which,
granted, are few and far between. Even though the congressional salary
of around $175k sounds like a lot to Middle America, it costs a fortune to live
in the DC area. Apartments and real estate in the DC metro area are obscenely
expensive. And it’s not like you always get bang for your buck, either. It’s
not that the places are that great; it’s that they're near DC, that’s it. It’s
like the LA of the East Coast, only with lousier weather.
As far as I’m concerned, they should establish
Congressional Barracks, like a complex of row houses, earmarked for Congress
and even support staff (who REALLY get reamed on cost of living). With housing
covered, they can pass a law banning stock trades for all government officials.
Transgressors would get hit with loss of the amount used for purchase or sale,
with an equivalent fine to boot.
Whatever the details, our elected officials should not be
using their positions to enrich themselves, especially not by manipulating the
markets and then using insider knowledge to profit.
Another peek into the Republican psyche comes from this article on Shark Tank’s token money-worshipping rich prick, Kevin O’Leary:
The complete quote from the headline: “I hope they work for my
competitors.” This is the Republican philosophy in a nutshell,
regarding how they view non-rich Americans. We’re just cogs in their personal
machines that convey dollars upward to them. They don’t care about our quality
of life, our opinions, what makes us happy, or anything else. We are a resource
to exploit for their own gain. They would rather we just thank them for keeping
us busy.
Once upon a time, such things were never stated
publicly; one could only surmise such a stance from evaluating their
corporate policies. But the current regime has emboldened the 1% to seek out the
same kind of praise and adulation for being large and in charge that the
president craves so much.
They want to demand company loyalty, applying
pressure to work longer and harder for less and less. And then they display no
such loyalty back, rolling out layoffs and job eliminations to keep the bottom
line where they want it. It’s not like they’re going to cut back on executive
bonuses, are they?
They demand everything, give you as little as possible in
return, and cut you loose at the first sign of trouble. That’s the corporate
American way, which is synonymous with the Republican way.
And somehow, they get people to keep voting for them, showing how they are true masters of manipulation.
