A Message From Us Rich Plutocrats To All You Little People

[xchrom]

http://www.businessinsider.com/a-message-from-us-rich-plutocrats-to-all-you-little-people-2012-11


Nick Hanauer


***SNIP

It is something of a puzzle to many of you little people why we plutocrats, who have benefitted most from these trends, view President Obama with such intense disdain. Why, you might ask, given how good the economy has been to you plutocrats, are you so maniacally angry?

“Maybe,” you say to yourself, “I just don’t understand economics.” I’ll let you in on a little secret. You understand economics just fine. What you don’t understand is that this fight isn’t about economics. It’s about status, privileges and power.
People like me don’t hate Obama because he’s going to raise our taxes, although we hate that plenty. We hate him because his views about the importance and primacy of the middle class diminish our status. The threat he represents isn’t economic; it’s existential. It’s not just our pocket books that are threatened, but, more importantly, our prestige and our influence on this country. Our manhood is at stake.

Facts are for little people.

We plutocrats have a long and proud history of controlling human societies, and the belief systems that we create about how the world works enable us to do that. “Earth is the center of the solar system” was a useful one for us in the past. “Lowering taxes on the rich produces growth” is one of our current favorites. You show me an orthodox belief, and I’ll show you plutocrats who benefit from it.


Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/a-message-from-us-rich-plutocrats-to-all-you-little-people-2012-11#ixzz2BpSQnOzg

[n2doc]

1. Excellent n/t

[Starry Messenger]

2. k&r

Shared.

[Delphinus]

3. My goodness.

[OneGrassRoot]

4. That's friggin brilliant. K&R, w/thanks. n/t

[lindysalsagal]

5. And all the other details are irrelevant until you know this.

They are feudalists and will go to their deaths believing they own everything. Democracy is the very last thing these un-americans want, which is why they spend all day accusing "us" of being the problem,and Obama of being un-american.

It's all projection of the overlords. Very very simple.

[woo me with science]

6. K&R

[Hydra]

7. This is a great article

I realized years ago that it wasn't about the money for these people, it was about the power and the freedom from law. Orwell really nailed it in 1984. They would happily downgrade their lifestyle in return for infinite power.

I disagree with why the author thinks they hate Obama, but only slightly. The President feels like he needs to keep the 1% happy in order to keep things going(and him in office), but really, he's not impressed with these privileged assholes. Even if he says the words, the cool disdain he feels for these people comes across when he has to talk about it, and that filters through to us.

They need a high-priest that can convince the masses that the 1% really ARE gods, rather than a group of exceptionally successful looters and exploiters. Why they ran Romney, I'll never know- you can't be the high priest AND one of the "gods" at the same time. People get to see the real face of one of the "gods" and they wonder what the hype is about.

[toby jo]

8. I had the exact same thing going on Romney

We could see it all up close and personal and it wasn't pretty - they blew that big time.

[femrap]

15. Maybe

the 'gods' (PTB) wanted Obama to remain in power so to keep the peons from erupting in massive social unrest? The thought has crossed my mind. Especially when I looked at the group they put together for the Repugnant Primary. What a bunch of losers!!!

I could never see the Xtian Fundies (the good foot soldiers of the repugs) going out and knocking on doors or phone banking for a dude who thinks God lives on the planet Kolob. Now they might have held their nose and voted for him, but I can't imagine much more.

Much of the population who voted for RobMe simply wanted the Black Man out of office. They were motivated by Hatred.

TPTB are not out for money....I get that. It's all about control and manipulation. Many have a sadistic streak and enjoy watching the Former Middle Class and the working poor suffer. They get off on that. It makes them feel powerful and some, aroused.

I believe TPTB/gods have used organized religions for centuries to manipulate and control the masses. And that has most definitely worked. This may be their most powerful tool, in fact. It keeps us killing each other and they sell weapons to both sides.

When faced with one of the PTB or even some Corporate dude who 'thinks' he's rich, the most powerful weapon we have is ridicule and laughter. Point at him and call him silly. Of course, you better run fast before he gets your name!

That's why I love Anonymous so much. They have no name.

That was a great article....a keeper!

[socialindependocrat]

24. My money is on Romney doing anything the Kochs wanted

I think the Kochs would have ruled the U.S.

and

Then tried to rule the world

Romney is not a billionaire. With his 250M he can still be bought...

[Hydra]

41. Correct

Romney is a 1%er, but not a .1 or .01 percenter. He's not one of their top tier, but he has a lot of the same bad habits they do, and their best weapon is to be mysterious and barely seen, their servants being their "link" to the lower classes.

Romney's utter incompetence and naked greed did not show well this election cycle. He didn't look immortal or like some sort of financial genius, and I think that hurt the 1%'s image.

[geckosfeet]

9. "plutocrats hate regulation for the same reason that robbers hate cops"

A Message From Us Rich Plutocrats To All You Little People

So what’s puzzling you about why we hate Obama? He’s in our way. And that’s a much bigger threat to us than higher tax rates. Our incredible sway over politics, the economy and culture is being challenged.

Repeat after me. You sir, are a job creator and the richer you get, the better off my family will be. Regulation is bad, and the less of it we have, the better off my family will be. Never forget these things. And never forget that the rising inequality you see all around isn’t a sign of decay. It’s a sign of prosperity. Get with the program. Now. Or we will fire you.

I love this for it's cynical irony - "You sir, are a job creator and the richer you get, the better off my family will be. Regulation is bad, and the less of it we have, the better off my family will be."

Sadly, there are a whole lot of sleep deprived people working 12 hour night shifts who believe this...

[Auggie]

10. "Maybe someday I'll give you a job serving me on my plane."

[EarthGurl2012]

11. Wow. The truth at last.

[Xyzse]

12. That's pretty impressive.

He didn't break character.

[silverweb]

13. K&R

[EC]

14. I remember back when it became "the thing" for

the middle class to be able to buy designer labels and a plutocrat was mortified because she was afraid of wearing the same outfit that someone in the middle class would. I don't recall who it was but she threw a fit that they were losing their "exclusiveness". She said they were losing their symbols of high class.

[femrap]

20. Unfortunately

the middle class was buying fashion on credit cards....doing exactly what TPTB wanted them to. Soon, they knew they could pull the plug and put them all in bankruptcy...with NO exclusion for Student Loans.

Going into debt was the part and parcel of the 'scheme' to create The Former Middle Class. I never bought into 'Keeping up with the Jones.'

That massive ad campaign for materialism was successful because it played on people's insecurities...made them believe that having 'things/stuff' was the path to happiness and acceptance. All they got was debt and interest at 25%.

Ever drive through a Former Middle Class neighborhood and wonder why their cars were all parked in the driveways? Their garages were filled w/ 'stuff.' Very sad.

[EC]

23. They are still trying to create

a society of the indentured. Everybody would owe so much that it would be a permanant state of existance.

[femrap]

34. Yep....

Student Loans were the latest new scheme. Those kids should be able to work those loans off by going where help is really needed in this country. That's one idea to lessen their burden.

And to stop the compounding of interest when they're not working/can't find a job. Geez....we're in a f*cking Depression. And it will just get worse. Thankfully we have a President who will not rip away the safety net and turn it into a hammock for the rich.

These rich f*ckers should be glad people have food stamps...otherwise, they might be knocking on their doors! I don't want to see The Police State go into action.

And cut the damn salaries of the presidents and coaches of colleges...that really pisses me off. Let the damn TV networks pay the coaches. One does not go into Academia to get rich, do they???

OSU pays this Dr. Gee way too much. He's a turd. He was prez at Vanderbilt and refused to give the janitors a raise. Glover, the actor, went to help them and a video was made. These people were living in poverty and working very hard. I can't stand him and that little bow tie he wears. He's never done a day of true labor in his pathetic life.

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

42. They were expertly brainwashed to need "stuff" and now their told they're scum because they feel

as though they need "stuff."

I think this the piece is very well done, but not sure the people who need to get it will get it.

Supposedly there are righties who watch Stephen Colbert and believe he is one of them. How they could miss the point of his lampooning is beyond me. That many could have seen this brilliant piece of satire and thought it was anything but a crushing blow to one of their sacred cows is shocking and depressing.

[femrap]

43. My computer is getting

old so I can't see the Colbert clip, but I think I remember seeing it.

Some people are just dumb....they do not understand satire. I mean if they are voting for RobMe and live in a little house and drive a beat-up car, you know something is wrong.

When I see a crappy car w/ Repugnant bumper stickers and the owner is getting in or out, I say, "I bet you're glad that there isn't a law against being stupid." I keep walking and they just stare at me. I'm in my car or in the store before it hits them that I may have insulted them.

However, one of these days I could be shot in the back.

Bless the young folks, the Afro-Americans, the Latinos and Latinas, the single women and everyone else who voted for Obama. What a relief.

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

44. To jog your memory, it involves him drinking a beer. In fact, here's a piece from the Daily Kos that

discusses it and provides a transcript. http://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/07/29/888672/-MUST-SEE-Stephen-Colbert-destroys-deficit-hawks-and-Reaganomics-too

I often feel like saying something, as you do, but I don't want to get shot. Be careful and stay safe. I confine most of my venting to yelling at idiots on tv or those outside of my swiftly moving vehicle.

Just before the election I passed a run down, tiny house with RomRy and local R signs on their lawn. I yelled, "What is wrong with you?!! You live in a shack! Mitt Romney does not give a shit about you!!" My friend, who was driving, was startled. She's a lib, too, but suggested I just calm down. Not always easy for me.

[femrap]

45. OMG....

that is just too damn funny! I'm keeping that. I used to be able to watch Colbert. F*cking technology always making my 'stuff' obsolete.

I live in an apartment with pretty thin walls so I can't yell as loudly as I want to since the neighbors will complain and my lease will not be renewed. Like I care. So I do my yelling in the car with its 'I'm the 99%' little sticker on the bumper.

I don't watch anything on TV that could cause me to yell...I mute or turn the channel very quickly. I bet I could be the champ at a Remote Control Change the Channel Contest. Real life is frustrating enough.

I've had old dudes come after me in the parking lot. And I give them a mouthful of crap. I think I scare them. One guy got back in his truck and left. Because I just don't care if I get shot....just so I don't see it coming....and it kills me instantly.

Except maybe now I'll care a bit more, because it looks like things are possibly getting better. We'll see. I remember 4 years ago when Obama made Cabinet Appointments, I was very pissed. And if he nominates BOWLES, I'll scream no matter where I am.

I've already emailed Obama about Tax the Rich Already...and I got a nice form letter back. Never got an answer before. On pretty WH email paper.

I don't think I've ever liked 99% of the rich people I've met. Ever read, "Deer Hunting w/ Jesus" by Joe Begeant? He died fairly recently...I really miss him. He really hated the rich. I bet he's smiling now!!!

[PD Turk]

22. Back in the mid-late 60s

My uncle was a trucker and he scored a job working for a Teamster freight company. I remember going to see my cousins at the new house he was able to buy for them in a better neighborhood. I can still remember Uncle Jim talking to the neighbor over the fence who was a bigwig surgeon. My uncle told him he was a truck driver and the doc was a little taken aback that he could afford that house on a trucker's pay. Uncle Jim explained that he was a Teamster and was paid decently for driving a truck 70 hours a week.

After my uncle went back in the house, my cousin and I were playing near the fence and we could hear the doc and his wife sitting on their patio talking. They were appalled that a simple trucker should make so much money that he could afford to move in next to them.

It wasn't long , maybe a year and a half later Uncle Jim sold that house and bought a little farm out in the country.

[femrap]

35. What a great

memory. Thanks for sharing. Being in the country was probably much better. I wish I had a little farm...I grew up on my grandparent's farm. It was my grandmother's family that owned it but her husband decided it should go to the only boy in the family.

None of his kids could be bothered with farming so he leases it out for corn and soybean. My mom has her tiny house on the farm. All the kids have built big houses on the farm and one of them took over the Big Red Brick house where Grandma raised her kids. I lived there for awhile when my mother got divorced.

When Grandma's kids were grown and had started their own families, a new one-story ranch was built for the 2 of them to live. It was right across the street from my mom's little house so I spent a lot of time there. The son got the Big Red House. I was the only grandkid she would let hang around her house.

Once her son asked her to babysit his three kids and she said, "I'm done with taking care of kids." But she and I got along fine. I really never required babysitting. I think I was always an adult. Well, until I was a teenager.

Why shouldn't someone who works 70 hours a week make a good living? I've always thought that unions should have spent time trying to unionize Pink Collar jobs.

[PD Turk]

37. great story

Too bad more of the younger generation never followed their parent's path into farming, I wish I could have had that opportunity.

Uncle Jim wound up selling the farm and moving away from Oklahoma to Mississippi in '79. My cousin wound up back in Oklahoma, he lives just up the road from me. He turned out to be a hell of a guitar player, plays in a local band around Tulsa. He's the other left winger in the family, strong outspoken progressive. I don't know if he's a DUer or not, haven't asked him, I'll have to ask next time I see him

[Spitfire of ATJ]

16. The reason the rich hate Obama is they expect to be loved, honored and obeyed.

[PD Turk]

17. perfectly written

This perfectly explains why the rethugs were trying so hard to suppress the report that came out a while back that shows tax cuts for the rich don't create jobs.

[patrice]

26. Agreed! Perfect, in fact, DELICIOUS!

[mick063]

18. Plutocrats meet France

The razor would quickly make you STFU.

That is what happens when you piss off the peasants.

[WillyT]

19. HUGE K & R !!! - Thank You !!!

[femrap]

21. Hey, is this dude

pointing to his widdle dick or is he simply demonstrating what it looks like?



He is the one who brought up the subject of 'manhood.'

[renate]

33. I think he's being very subtly awesome

He sounds so much like the plutocrats who mean it that I'm still not 100% he doesn't... but I think he's just being clever:

When Jack or Mitt or I call ourselves “Job Creators”, it isn’t because it’s true or that there is any evidence for it. It’s because being a job creator puts us right at the center of the economic universe – where we deserve to be. This belief system isn’t just convenient to us, although it is. It’s essential in order to justify our status and power.

snip

You need to understand that as job creators, at the center of the economic universe, the better we do, the better it must be for you. In particular, the richer we get and the less constrained by law and regulation we are, the more jobs will trickle downward. Basically, the less we plutocrats contribute to society in tax, and the less constrained we are, the better it is for you and everyone else. And you thought we didn’t care!

[femrap]

36. It is so

very subtle that I don't see it and in particular, I don't see awesome anywhere.

I see Truth. Do you think he's playing 'Colbert?'

That's how rich people think. Really. You remember how Mi$$ talked about the 47% when he thought no one was listening but his rich pals?

Are you looking at his hand gesture?

Forget it...Mercury is retrograde and communications have been a mess.

[sibelian]

38. I think he's being a total jerk.

It's obviously satire, but it reveals nothing we didn't know, isn't funny at all and it affords him the vicarious pleasure of pretending to be bucking the system without actually bucking it.

[patrice]

25. big PHAT K&R!

[snagglepuss]

27. K & r

[southmost]

28. this is satire like from The Onion

amirite?

[PD Turk]

39. if it is satire

he managed to hit the truth nail square on the head with it

[WCGreen]

29. The movie, The Unsinkable Molly Brown was all about status and they made fun of it big time...

Remember this is when the people at the top were paying a top marginal tax rate of 90%. And that was under Eisenhower. Kennedy was the first Democrat who brought the marginal tax rates down.

That's the Hoity Toity hated Roosevelt so much because they viewed him as "traitor to his class..."

[Uncle Joe]

30. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, xchrom.

[sibelian]

31. I'm not impressed. nt.

[theKed]

32. The comments section on the article

is just ... clueless.

[ronnie624]

40. And how.

I read a few dozen, then had to stop; nothing but gibberish there.