Forum Post: An open letter to the One Percent, particularly the ones defending themselves.
Posted 13 years ago on Oct. 11, 2011, 12:47 p.m. EST by quadrawack
(280)
This content is user submitted and not an official statement
To All the One Percenters Defending Yourselves Here
Let's get something straight. I believe in free markets, and I believe in capitalism. My family escaped from communist hell to come to the USA because they believe in freedom. But they also taught me that freedom has massive responsibility.
You're a one percenter? Good for you. I actually aspire to the top 1% as an inventor and an entrepreneur. But let's make something very very clear.
If you're in the top 1%, you don't owe the 99% anything... until you buy our government and bribe our regulators and officials.
But the moment you F--K it up for all of us by bribing regulators, making campaign finance contributions that put in lawmakers that rewrite the laws and regulations in your favor in order to game the sytem, to put smaller competitors out of business, to put mom and pop shops and startups out of business, then we have a problem.
The moment you create cartels by colluding with other players in your industry to monopolize and raise prices and skirt anti-monopoly laws, like what's happened to our broken healthcare system, then we have a problem.
The moment you subvert a financial system, by putting in your middle men (congress and the president) to subvert and get rid of laws so that what was once illegal, not to mention immoral, is legal again, like the quadrillion dollar derivatives bubble that's blowing up, then we have a problem.
The moment you subvert the patent system by changing what was once the BIGGEST job creator of ALL TIME, the first to invent, into the biggest Corporate advantage of all time, First to file, which completely wreck startups abilities to CREATE NEW, REAL, VIABLE JOBS, then we have a problem.
The moment you monopolize the media in conflicts of interest, and then put in your middlemen lawmakers to stem, cut, stop, or destroy the internet's freedoms, which is really a true free market alternative that 50% of Americans are now getting their real news from, then we have a problem.
The moment you've put your middle men to enact tax regulations, so that you're actually taxed LESS for outsourcing jobs and manufacturing to other nations, then we have a problem.
In short, when you do all of the above, using your middle men aka Congress and the President, and you've BEEN doing all of the above for quite some time, decimating our country, hollowing out the golden goose that once brought you, me, and all of us prosperity, and was the beacon of truth that attracted folks like my family to freedom to do, work, be, invent, create, exist, then we have a problem. We have a BIG F--KING PROBLEM.
In short, you one percenters have been unbelievably irresponsible, and socializing your irresponsibility on the rest of US 99%, including the ones who still believe that with inventiveness, innovation, and entrepreneurship, we can rise to the top. As in a true meritocracy. You've subverted that meritocracy, into a FASCIST government, where you pay to play.
The saddest thing of all though, in your short sighted greed, you've created a system that's collapsing in on itself. And yet you STILL don't want to accept responsibility for your part, so you socialized your losses on ALL OF US.
When you've done everything I've outlined above, then there is HELL TO PAY.
Sincerely,
A pissed off 99% who still believes in what once worked. A world that Earl Nightingale spoke of many times in his seminars. It's a world that no longer exists today becaue of YOU ONE PERCENTERS CORRUPTING THE SYSTEM TO HELL.
The final result of capitalism, when we take it down to its granular analysis is greed and the concentration of capital in few hands. After 215 years of American Capitalism we have come to this stage in history where 1% of the population controls the vast majority of the media space, the economy, and our political system. For those who know and understand the nature of capitalism this should not have come as a surprise.... Now, like ever before, capitalism must fight reformists, forgetting all else but self. Consume consume consume until there is nothing left. That's it.
You have a very faulty view on the nature of capitalism. What you are describing happens when central planning meddles with natural market forces. Most of the monopolies and concentrations of wealth are created and fostered by involvement of the Government.
I understand your point. I agree with you that central planning and state capitalism has slowly replaced good old fashion capitalism, but this was always inevitable. You know the problem is that capitalism can never survive without state intervention through the form of bailouts and subsidies. Capitalism, if left totally alone, with out the state structure to support and feed it,will collapse and never reemerge in any meaningful way. Capitalism without state help would drive prices down and eventually consume itself out of existence. Just within the context of American history, if you count all bailouts and subsidies to capitalists, we have rescued capitalism so many times over and over again. This tells you that the system is unsustainable. Capitalism is nothing without the state sector. To teach us a lesson in this, China has all together merged the State/Party/Capital system into one box. Here in America, we like to pretend that our capitalism can survive with out state intervention. That's because we praise capitalism as sacrosanct, beyond any kind of reproach,however this is not true.....With each economic crises worst than the one that proceeded it, we need to really think as a nation and try to figure out what is fundamentally wrong and make meaningful changes to the system, not just the players within that same old system.
I disagree with this.
What you're talking about is fascism, not capitalism. Capitalism and Free Markets are the two that go hand in hand. The moment you have state intervention in the form of tax breaks, subsidies, government handouts and corporate socialism, we're no longer talking about capitalism or free markets anymore. It's not free markets when a government entity stacks the deck for a favored few. We're talking about Fascism. Benito Mousolini put it best, "Fascism is the corporatization of the government."
If you had a state that stayed strictly outside of capitalism, then you'd see the market really function to eliminate the ones who are fraudulent (via shorting of their stock, customers leaving the company, staff leaving, company goes bankrupt), and the ones who are not. I do agree we need basic regulations like Glass Steagals, anti-monopoly laws, and more importantly anti-cartel laws (which is why our health care system is so effed up.)
But to say that the natural end result of capitalism is in fascism is essentially mixing government system with economic system.
The natural end result of a society that doesn't permit the free market to level the playing field economically certainly DOES end in fascism. Society still dictates the economic system. Governance dictates the economic system, not vice versa.
It fundamentally changes your government system from a democracy into a fascist society. I would argue that democracy cannot function within fascism, so essentially corporatization of government is the death of democracy. That's the reason we have a Constitution that's enshrined. People can go about their economic activities, but keep the economics separate from the government, otherwise you no longer have the government you started with.
You know in theory capitalism is supposed to self check and function independently of government intervention, however, in practice, wherever the capitalist system functions, it does so, by and large, through state sponsorship. Examples of this include bailouts, subsidies, and grants to start ups(think of the millions the Obama administration wasted on a start up solar energy firm last year only)....... We can even take this further and view the military budget as a handout of cash to the high tech weapons industry, which will not survive without these hand outs. Military industry is sometimes converted into civilian use and capital. Another good example of capitalism's dependency on the nanny state is the in the advanced tech sector, like the discovery and marketing of the internet. It took decades of public funding to the universities and research center, in order to bring about the Internet to the market place. the same is true for GPS.......These high tech sectors happen to be the traits of capitalism we praise about our system. However, these sectors could never have come into existence if it weren't for public funds and the state. So when we look at what has sustained capitalism in this country: it has always been tax dollars turned into research and innovation, which was in turn converted to private capital. It is the conversion of capital from public hands into private hands, AKA corporate welfare that has upheld capitalism for so long.....It is hard to think about capitalism outside of this context anywhere besides in text books......However one is never taught this in economics school. I wonder why??
Also I think Adam Smith the guru of all capitalists would fundamentally disagree with your statement that "governance dictates the economic system".....This could not be farther from the truth. "Those who control the wealth of a state are the state". This one has been a more accurate depiction of world history....
Which I would agree if it weren't for the fact that the Russian revolution, Chinese revolution, Cuban revolution, Venezuela (a more recent example) are all examples where the society dictates the economic change and values. I understand that capitalism isn't perfect. However, given that my parent's escaped a horribly repressive communist regime, socialism and communism are much worse. Fascism is even worse than those two.
Unfortunately, until we have a completely decentralized society, capitalism and free markets are the best we've got.
If we however are able to move into a completely decentralized society, that's where I can see a potlatch type economy come into play.
But until then, capitalism and free markets make the most sense.
Well, You know I tend to think that the Russian revolution and subsequent authoritarian communist take overs were a big disservice to the real left wing people movements that have traditionally existed. These movements were democratic and highly progressive, but they faced two intransigent enemies on both sides. On the one hand capitalists were bent on destroying what they saw as a threat to their power; and on the opposite side Stalinist were bent on eradicating the democratic and anti-authoritarian nature of the genuine left. Caught between a rock and a hard place. This has been, in short the history of the real left. example of this can be found in the Spanish civil war of the 30s........I believe genuine leftists must learn from history in order not to repeat it again. .............By the way it's been great to have the chance to talk about these things with you.
Capitalism is the private ownership of the means of production for profit. The goal in capitalism is to accumulate as much personal wealth as possible. Your responsibility is to maximize wealth. In fact, in corporations, it is a legal obligation.
It is a system designed to produce unequal outcomes.
The richer you are, the easier it is for you to accumulate even more wealth, so the degree of inequality continually grows and grows and grows. Capitalism is just a system of concentrating income, wealth, and power - nothing more.
The problem with that, of course, is that the more wealth the rich consume, the less that is available for everyone else, so the more poor everyone else becomes.
So long as you have capitalism, you will have vast inequality in income. And with vast inequality in income, you will have vast inequality in power. And the rich few, with all the power, will always have the means to shape society to benefit them. Everyone else will never get a fair deal in life.
You don't need capitalism to have markets for goods and services or innovation or wealth or growth or incentives or competition or freedom.
Capitalism is not a fair system. It is a system of inequality. It must go.
This is NOT capitalism. You want to see a form of capitalism in action? Look at a rich ecosystem in balance. All niches filled, all energy and matter efficiently used and recycled. You definitely won't find an overall form of communism or socialism there. And yet it's existed since earth began. Look at ancient nations that have practiced a form of capitalism in one way or another and have lasted the millenia, like China or India. No, this is not the final result of capitalism. This is the final result of permitted fascism.
You have to remember that a lot of people against this movement also think immigrants are ruining the nation and bleeding the USA dry with welfare. They think people got what they deserved when the banks seized their homes. They think since they don't have problems that you're just lazy. They obviously haven't seen all the poor people out there working 2 or 3 jobs to support their families.
They don't care about human beings.
It's a sad world actually. The 99%.... well sadly 50% of that thinks we're just lazy poor people who want to freeload.
The sad thing is it's a statistically known FACT that immigrants have been bringing in the new ideas and industries that once made our nation great. About 50-60% of Silicon Valley startup are founded by either Chinese or Indian engineers/scientists/technicians. That's just a small example. I myself am an inventor developing new technologies. But it's incredibly shocking to see how those idiot folks against the movement have NO CLUE just how much large corporations modify the rules to favor them, and not to everyone. Like the recent patent system "reform" that recently passed. It went from First to Invent, which means reward the one who actually invented, to first to file, which means first have the money to put the paperwork of a "maybe" invention into the office. They don't even need a prototype! They can just patent an idea! It's ridiculous, and severely damages startup companies, who are the engine of REAL NEW JOB GROWTH. Startups create the NEW FIELDS that didn't even exist. That's how important they are.
I know when a person contra the movement looks at my face and ethnicity, they won't even think of me as being as American as everyone else. But you know what? F--k em. I'm doing the best I can to serve our country to make us economically viable. Against all odds, and that includes the damn corporations who've subverted our once great system. That's why I'm aligned with OWS.
Indeed this country is founded on immigrants. But 99% of them did not come here for a free ride or handouts. In fact they came here to escape that in a lot of cases. Because it stifles freedom, and erodes ones sense of individualism.They came here, they merged, and contributed. Today many contribute in many ways. Sadly too many in this era of immigrants don't want to merge, and too many are looking for a free ride(because we give it). We need to help each other, but something has to change on that front as well.
Well, this has always been part of the immigrant experience, from the italians, the irish, the chinese, japanese, south east asians, and today's hispanic. I do agree though that we need to end the free ride. My parent's didn't get a free ride, and I grew up poor. We had sponsorship through a church that helped us out, and we were proud to have honest work and an opportunity to get an education. People helped us, no doubt. We worked our way up into middle class and since then we've tried to take every opportunity possible to return the favor to whoever needed help. We believe in karma and paying back our debts (social obligations and favors). That's part of my culture, which I've carried on in addition to my American culture. I'm all for making lots of opportunities available to all, not for giving out free rides. There's a big difference between the two.
For sure. You have to think about the immigrants perspective.
They're uprooting their lives and trying to accomplish something. These are motivated people with a dream to accomplish.
I'm an American citizen. And for that reason alone, I think anyone should have the right to be so.
Yeah because the average TEA partier that wants open immigration so long as the person is not an enemy of the state, a felon in the country of origin which is a felony here and they do not carry a dangerous communicable disease which they have not ability to control or ability to treat.
And that is a fact. You people only listen to what your told by wacko lefties who want to demonize a valid, peaceful liberty loving movement.
Frankly it is disgusting and sad.
Actually what I said is all based on real conversations I've had with people. I don't think I ever mentioned the tea party.
Nice try though.
Why dont I hear more about open immigration then? It is not open to have people here illegally, then say because of that, they violated laws and must be deported. That is designed to make people fail.
Why dont I hear more about open immigration then? It is not open to have people here illegally, then say because of that, they violated laws and must be deported. That is designed to make people fail.
HAHA, tell that to Obama. Last I checked it was a power of the federal government, the congress specifically, to create reasonable laws regarding immigration. But he could easy lead the charge, when has he ever lead?
The average TEA partier only sees immigrants coming here illegally with no direction or leadership from the people with the responsibility to deal with it. And yes, many do react irrationally, but most want reasonable laws within the parameters I stated above.
Oh and BTW, if you spoke with those people and explained what I stated above most would go "Oh gee, I never looked at it that way...Your right."
A requirement of Capitalism is the ability of individuals to cross borders safely and quickly to seek work, pleasure or move to a place that better suits them or to put it simply: To be free.
Say that to a TEA partier and they will think twice about their ignorant/reactionary ideas.
Another TOP post of the day,,, if not the week!
A lot of us aren't the only one's pissed off.
http://www.zerohedge.com/contributed/conservatives-and-liberals-agree-end-malignant-symbiotic-relationship-between-big-govern
Conservatives and Liberals Agree: End the Malignant, Symbiotic Relationship Between Big Government and Big Corporations
All quite true, and although I'm all in favor of taking down today's ineffective and inefficient Top 10% Management Group of Business & Government, there's only one way to do it – by fighting bankers as bankers ourselves. Consequently, I have posted a 1-page Summary of the Strategic Legal Policies, Organizational Operating Structures, and Tactical Investment Procedures necessary to do this at:
http://getsatisfaction.com/americanselect/topics/on_strategic_legal_policy_organizational_operational_structures_tactical_investment_procedures
Join
http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/StrategicInternationalSystems/
if you want to support a Presidential Candidate at AmericansElect.org in support of the above bank-focused platform.
nicely said
amen
This is well written and I believe correct.
This is why I advocate the appropriate of Goldman Sachs, for starters. All Goldman Sachs assets -> greek debt, student loans.
The problem is not the top 1%. Most of them are professionals and small businessmen, who have earned their money the old fashioned way, and not nearly rich enough to influence national politics. The real problem is the top .01%. These are the people who are rich enough to influence national politics in their favor, and do. (A few are on our side, notably Gates, Buffet, and Soros, billionaires who actually think they should pay more taxes.)
Equally to blame are the politicians who have sold their political souls to these people and corporate "contributors", particularly financial firms. The politicians (both parties) have received far too little recognition for their central role in creating this mess. Every one of them who voted for two deregulatory bills in 1999 and 2000 is responsible for the financial collapse, recession, and mass unemployment; along with Bill Clinton, who signed them.
Where exactly do you live with capitalism. The last time I check free markets did not allow for government bail outs or corporate welfare.
So, My family is almost in the 1% category and yet YOU and your like call me greedy! Lets get something straight here, I worked my butt off to get where I am today and I apologize for none of it, period! Anybody can do what I did and make it big in the US. As far as I am concerned everyone one of you are nothing more than liberal socialists who want to redistribute MY hard earned money and wealth and YOU want to give it to those who haven't or won't work for it. Everyone of you is a hypocrite plain and simple. I will not be told what I can and cannot do with my money, not by you or by the government. Go out and earn it!
you should be taxed like everyone else. or should there be a special category for you?
You didn't even read the letter. It addresses those who CORRUPTED THE GOVERNMENT to get rich. Not regular entrepreneurs like me who play by the rules.
You FAIL.
Try again.
"I" did read it, do you think blame should fall to the, dealers, the players or the house that set's the rules (world wide) that sucks everybody in into thinking that the big double on the craps table may be a safer bet instead of the numbers you can put your money on and take out before somebody throws craps (where as double you only get one shot and can't).
How about for those who didn't want to play in the house, didn't want to play with that system, shouldn't have to be oblidged to pay for the liquor and recovery costs of those who did play and lost. Especially when I don't even know them.
Exactly, and when some realize that they really were never really on the same page (a.k.a. sucked in), well that's when the numbers change and things get really interesting. These are our children, honor them. A simple ? for anyone (a challenge if "you" will). In looking @ the numbers given as actual fact on any scale, who knows of more people that have lived over 70 (or even till ETC.), compared to how many that "they" knew that have passed on? % wise, WHADDAYA GOT? (LOVE-n-STUFF) DONNIE Salem Mass. EST. 1626 P.S. Everybody shouldn't have to read dates on tombstones to know which side of "any" scale, went through the floor. P.P.S. There was a report not to long ago, about 4,000 people that were dead still receiving checks, but there was nothing on "where" those monies were really "ending" up (or what exactly was/is being done about that). +
Well,
I'd say if Ben Franklin (the original) were receiving a social security check, then we've got some serious accounting problems.
I'm with you, wherever, whatever, whenever reading, comprehension and writing are not equally applied it is there as well as then that mathematics and science will always fail. Let's hope something unknown doesn't find what may remain of "mankind" and say, they must have done this without a written language, because all we can find are piles of what ever they call paper, w/ what looks like whatever they call numbers (but maybe they would be wiser than that. ( : + : )
For the 1%:
http://occupywallst.org/forum/to-all-the-people-who-are-against-this-movement/
Cogently stated - thank you.
All or any anger towards "certain private sector(s)" sitting on any monies (that haven't already been straight up extorted), lacking in positions of employment, may deserve a dope slap, but please, lets be Candid, monies would (or will) be freed up immediately after "project save own ass" (whatever the F-bomb that is), quite frankly the off loading of all the B.S. that they have been selling us (at a steady continuous major profit). The rallying speeches have been spoken, the dire exclamations of the need for known alternative fuels laid out, the facts for more deregulation proven incorrect, what may sell today may not sell tomorrow. Many are waiting to see (or find) the next big thing (the direction we must go from here). Confidence would return, investments would be made if people understood exactly what the F-bomb and they could believe it. Someone is intentionally keeping everyone at each others throats so that nothing gets done. +
Yeah, they're called the Banksters.
Yes sir (but not all), welcome back to us, now let's make sure it isn't the same people doing it to all of us. These are our children, honor them. Historically speaking (and correct) the "European Aristocrat(s)" have been trying to pull this country (and it's PEOPLE) into every endless imaginable conflict, that they ever could/is at all possible. Where did they get the idea to begin w/ looking into greener alternative fuels (solar, wind, HYDROGEN, ETC.) ? From "US" (?) just talking about it for over fifty years. Instead of under the table deals (in total contradiction of any leadership set course), what do you think would happen, if instead of making promises (a.k.a. wrong deals ETC.) into ensuring that the flow of oil (as well as it's usage ETC.) continue, they would do if "WE" announced tomorrow that since it is clear "that all cooperation has gone out the window", "The United States" has decided to begin manufacturing it's own HYDROGEN (and using "it" just like scientists have wanted) as a main alternative fuel/power source/ETC., by using the other methods (solar/wind/NOT EXCLUDING "IT"/ETC.) to do it? "Most sincerely", (LOVE-n-STUFF) DONNIE Salem Mass. P.S. EST. 1626 If a nuclear enriched pellet could run a super aircraft carrier for ten to fifteen years ETC., how much HYDROGEN (as an energy alternative) could that same "PELLET" produce? +
Which is why I fully support decentralization and breaking up of monopolies and cartels. Starting with the Fed.
It would first help to know who the dealer really is, and whose the house etc., maybe "we" have all been sucked in.
Thay's what, hopefully, an audit of the fed would reveal. Unless there's dozens of shell corporations behind that to convolute the trail...
Maybe saying that although we can understand a public servant not being taxed for their elected positions, but their is no reason why they shouldn't pay taxes (subject to fine, perjury, etc.) into whatever else they have their hands into/combined w/ the removal of any that weren't (a.k.a. appointed/not elected) somehow sharing the same rights (etc.) from prosecution as those that were, would save ($) everybody the trouble of trying to find evidence w/ something that doesn't make sense to anybody (even them).
AMEN Thank you! I am posting and reposting this!
Your welcome.
My definition of the 1% - those corporations or individuals that buy their representation in our government.
To the 1% - PLEASE, keep your money! BY ALL MEANS - KEEP IT ! Keep it out of my government. Because it's my government too!!
1% buys their representation, 99% are left with the scraps.
Agreed
We need serious election reform to get all of the money out of the political system. Publicly fund campaigns and elections. Put the government back in the hands of ALL of the people.
I think we should start with our government - "Occupy Congress", not "Occupy Wall Street". I know we should condemn both, but for example do you condemn the business person who attempts (and/or succeeds) to corrupt the government? or do we condemn the government for being corruptible?
http://www.JeffBlock2012.com
What do you do with a rotten apple? You throw it away. What do you do if you have a dozen rotten apples? You look in the barrel for what's causing the rotten apples. Our government is a dozen rotten apples. We have to look for what's causing the rotten apples. That means Wall Street.
I agree, both Wall Street and our Government are "in bed" together. But I don't agree with your "causation" conclusion. Our government systems leave themselves wide open for corruption, like a cookie jar with no lid. We need to put a lid with a lock on the cookie jar.
Or just get rid of it all together.