The New Robber Barons

The more I listen to the leaders of the Republican Party, such as Congressperson Boehner and Senator McConnell, the more I realize that the Republicans are still trying to sell us what George W. Bush has already inflicted on us. Under George W. Bush we regressed to a time before Franklin Roosevelt’s reforms and regulations gave us the most stable stock market and prosperous economy any industrial nation has ever achieved. We have even regressed to a point before Theodore Roosevelt fought the trusts that had a strangle hold on our economy. What emerged from this regression are the new robber barons. The sub prime loan debacle, the creation of complex derivatives, and the “shitty deals” Goldman Sachs foisted off on unsuspecting investors were not unlike the watered down stock of worthless companies that the robber barons unloaded on unsuspecting investors. Furthermore, we are seeing the power and wealth of this nation becoming more and more concentrated into the hands of fewer and fewer companies and individuals.

This concentration of wealth and power is social Darwinism rather than capitalism. It does not matter whether you call Social Darwinism the trickle down theory or supply side economics the result is the same. The powerful and greedy few wind up with great fortunes while everyone else struggles just to survive. It is a recipe for disaster. It is what prompted Karl Marx to write Dos Capital. Even President Grant knew he could not let Gould and Fisk corner the gold market, and Teddy Roosevelt knew he could not let Standard Oil corner the oil market and the products made from petroleum. The whole concept behind the free enterprise system is that there will be competition rather than monopolies that hold our economy hostage while exploiting the consumer. What our economy and every economy must have are regulations that prevent monopolies and that prevent any company from becoming too important for us to allow that company to fail. Furthermore, we must have regulations that force companies and brokers to act ethically so that potential investors will not be afraid to buy securities.

So why did the Republicans oppose the modest regulations the Democrats just enacted? Why do they still oppose any regulations at all? It is not too difficult to figure out. They have been bought by the modern robber barons and by the companies that are trying to become monopolies. This is not to say that those same interests cannot also buy Democrats, but it is a more difficult task because of labor unions. The first reason the Republicans rail against labor unions is because labor unions force employers to share a greater share of the profits with their employees. The second and perhaps even more important reason the Republicans rail against labor unions is because labor unions support the candidates of the Democratic Party. Some have cynically but not inaccurately called the political clout of business interests and labor unions a balance of greed. This balance is a good thing because it keeps both of those interests in check. Unfortunately the number of labor unions that still have any political clout is rapidly dwindling.

The most frequent thing the Republican say about any government regulation or program is that it is socialistic. What they want us to forget is that every successful modern democracy, even ours, have an economy comprised of a combination of free enterprise and socialistic regulations and programs. Transportation was so important to our growing economy that the building of railroads was subsidized by land grants from the federal government. Our modern limited access highways were built completely with federal funds. Utilities were so important and expensive to start up that monopolies were allowed but the Public Utilities Commission was established to help control the rates those monopolies could charge. All of those things are socialistic, as are social security, medicare, unemployment insurance, public education and the postal service.

Not surprisingly the Republican Party has generally favored the brand of socialism that dumps money into private companies, which I suppose is why they placed the postal service into the hands of a private company that has to make a profit, thereby guaranteeing that the postal rates would rise faster than they would have if the government was still providing that service. Given their usual position in regard to private businesses, the Republican Party’s opposition to the bill that would make loans available to small businesses so that those businesses can expand and provide more jobs is a glaring inconsistency. This inconsistency only becomes understandable when we acknowledge the fact that those small businesses do not put enough money into the campaign coffers of the Republican Party. In other words, the Republicans consider those small companies and the jobs they could provide to be expendable. Their strategy is to sacrifice those businesses in order to say that the Democrats cannot get this country back to work. It is truly amazing that the Republicans are able to do this with a straight face, knowing full well that they are ones who are stifling the ability of businesses to provide jobs.

The Republican Party, like its powerful and wealthy masters, is motivated by greed and a quest for power. It is not the once proud party whose members placed a limit on what they would do to serve their wealthy and powerful masters or what they would do to regain power. The Republican Party is now the party of the modern robber barons and the bloated entities that nearly sent us into another great depression. It is also the party of Joe McCarthy, Rush Limbaugh, Glen Beck, and the Fox disinformation factory. It is a very bad and destructive joke. Hopefully the middle class will realize that joke is on them and will respond appropriately!