Plutocracy in brief

The Short Version of

Is the U.S. now a Plutocracy?  Who Cares?

By Richard W. Geiger

www.savingrepublic.blogspot.com  or

www.social problemsrg.blogspot.com

It occurred to me that the Plutocracy blog is getting a bit lengthy due to my need to be thorough, understandable, and as persuasive as possible.  The blog is divided into sections from A to G.  I’ll try to summarize what each section is about.  That way the reader can use their time most productively rather than trying to read the whole thing.  If you are on one of the sites named above you have probably used the Firefox Browser to get here.   The main post on Plutocracy follows this one.

What this blog is about:  Plutocracy means “government by the wealthy” and “a group of wealthy people who control or influence a government”.

A.      ECONOMIC INEQUALITY

1.      Personal Income

This section presents numerous references designed to inform the reader about the very real disproportionate distribution of financial income.  The reader will learn that, in 2012, 15.5 million Americans earned more than $114,000 annually.  That 33% of American households had annual incomes exceeding $77,000.  That there were more than 46 million Americans living in poverty.  That included 2.8 million children living in conditions classified as extremely poor.

2.      Net Worth

This section cites numerous references to demonstrate changes in net worth that have occurred in the United States as well as in the world in general.  The reader will be shown that the net worth of the wealthiest earners has been increasing for several decades while the net worth of the less wealthy has been decreasing.

3.      Summary

This section presents the argument that although money moves from the Upper Class to the Middle and Lower Classes, more money has been flowing from the bottom to the top than vice versa.  The result is greater economic inequality.

B.      POLITICS AND WEALTH

1.      Congress

This section presents evidence based on research that U.S. Congressmen are more responsive to their upper class constituents and discusses why that is.

2.       Upper Class and Government

This section describes how tax dollars help to grow and maintain incomes for the Upper Class.

3.       Entitlements

This section addresses the following question: Where does the money the government expends on entitlements end up?

4.       The Supreme Court

This section notes that the Supreme Court decisions seem to favor the members of the economic Class to which the Justices belong.

5.       The Common Good

This section suggests that the Upper Class does not care about the Common Good of all Americans more than they care about money and power.  The issue of Global Warming is used as an example.

6.       Trade Agreements

This section is based on research about NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) and the new Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Trade Agreement.  The research suggests that the TPP Agreement will have more negative effects on the average American wage earner and on the Common Good than NAFTA had.     

7.       Legislation

How can you tell if legislation is designed to enhance the Common good or to benefit the Upper Class?  This section contrasts modern legislation with the WPA and CCC programs of the Great Depression.

C.      PSYCHOLOGY OF THE RICH

Does it ever seem to you that wealthy people are narcissistic, self-focused and entitled?  This section cites research that supports that view.

D.      MATERIALISM

The discussion in this section suggests that the root of the problem of American plutocracy, as well as the solution to the problem, involves the materialistic nature of American society.   Plutocracy is a threat to the Republic.  Materialism allows, encourages, and helps sustain Plutocracy.  Rather than increasing national security, materialism makes America more vulnerable.  Materialistic values held by the Lower and Middle Classes allow the Upper Class to grow its disproportionate share of wealth and power.

E.       DOING NOTHING

This section discusses the long-term result of doing nothing to stop the wealthy from controlling the government of the U.S.  That result is the antithesis of the Common Good. This section also describes the rights and opportunities that every citizen should possess as part and parcel of the Common Good.

F.       HARD WORK AND CLASS

This section discusses the relationship between work and economic gain and the necessity of hard work to establish and maintain the Common Good.

G.     CONCLUSION

            This section discusses which institutions cannot be depended upon to promote and enhance the Common Good.  It describes some of the things that caring people can do.