Bill Moyers on Plutonomy

[Better Believe It]

Bill Moyers on Plutonomy
May 1, 2010

Bill Moyers: Plutocracy is not an American word but it's become an American phenomenon. Back in the fall of 2005, the Wall Street giant Citigroup even coined a variation on it, plutonomy, an economic system where the privileged few make sure the rich get richer with government on their side. By the next spring, Citigroup decided the time had come to publicly "bang the drum on plutonomy."

And bang they did, with an "equity strategy" for their investors, entitled, "Revisiting Plutonomy: The Rich Getting Richer." Here are some excerpts:

"Asset booms, a rising profit share and favorable treatment by market-friendly governments have allowed the rich to prosper... take an increasing share of income and wealth over the last 20 years..."

"...the top 10%, particularly the top 1% of the US-- the plutonomists in our parlance-- have benefited disproportionately from the recent productivity surge in the US... from globalization and the productivity boom, at the relative expense of labor."

"... are likely to get even wealthier in the coming years. the dynamics of plutonomy are still intact."

And so they were, before the great collapse of 2008. And so they are, today, after the fall. While millions of people have lost their jobs, their homes, and their savings, the plutonomists are doing just fine. In some cases, even better, thanks to our bailout of the big banks which meant record profits and record bonuses for Wall Street.

Now why is this? Because over the past 30 years the plutocrats, or plutonomists — choose your poison — have used their vastly increased wealth to capture the flag and assure the government does their bidding. Remember that Citigroup reference to "market-friendly governments" on their side? It hasn't mattered which party has been in power — government has done Wall Street's bidding.

http://www.thomhartmann.com/forum/2010/05/plutonomy


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Read the full Citigroup report "Revisiting Plutonomy: The Rich Getting Richer" at:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/38192371/6674234-Citigroup-Oct-16-2005-Plutonomy-Report-Part-1

[David Zephyr]

1. This is a message that should be read by teabaggers, too.

I always tell rightwingers when I meet them that I understand their grievance against the government, but then I ask them: Shouldn't you be possibly be more concerned about who purchased your government? This, of course, does always seem to strike a chord within their heads.

And then I further pose the follow up: Who do you think is more dangerous to liberty, the bureaucrat or the one that owns him?

The Supreme Court has now ruled that beyond corporations being legitimate people, but that their money is "free speech".

Bill Moyer's commentary on this new, but capsulizing term, Plutonomy, was spot on when he wrote it.

Thank you, Better Believe It, for posting it here. It deserves a lot of visibility. Hopefully with the right wing as well.

K&R. :)

[Better Believe It]

2. Well, I do wish more would read Moyers comments.