The pitchforks are coming... (income inequality)

[tmleadr03]

You probably don’t know me, but like you I am one of those .01%ers, a proud and unapologetic capitalist. I have founded, co-founded and funded more than 30 companies across a range of industries—from itsy-bitsy ones like the night club I started in my 20s to giant ones like Amazon.com, for which I was the first nonfamily investor. Then I founded aQuantive, an Internet advertising company that was sold (http://allthingsd.com/20120702/microsoft-writing-off-nearly-all-of-the-6-3-billion-it-paid-for-aquantive/)to Microsoft in 2007 for $6.4 billion. In cash. My friends and I own a bank. I tell you all this to demonstrate that in many ways I’m no different from you. Like you, I have a broad perspective on business and capitalism. And also like you, I have been rewarded obscenely for my success, with a life that the other 99.99 percent of Americans can’t even imagine. Multiple homes, my own plane, etc., etc. You know what I’m talking about. In 1992, I was selling pillows made by my family’s business, Pacific Coast Feather Co., to retail stores across the country, and the Internet was a clunky novelty to which one hooked up with a loud squawk at 300 baud. But I saw pretty quickly, even back then, that many of my customers, the big department store chains, were already doomed. I knew that as soon as the Internet became fast and trustworthy enough—and that time wasn’t far off—people were going to shop online like crazy. Goodbye, Caldor. And Filene’s. And Borders. And on and on.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/06/the-pitchforks-are-coming-for-us-plutocrats-108014.html#ixzz35wag2kXE

[<MADDOG>]

It will be more than pitchforks if the gimmedats discover the EBT stipend can only buy a loaf of bread...

[Rooskibar03]

My first thought was this was your personal story, followed quickly by my second thought, why the hell does he need to work in a garage turning wrenches for a living?

Then I clicked the link.

[Monky]

I read the article in full and I'm still wondering howTF he plans on getting the ceo's to agree to cut their profit margin. He certainly does not mention that he is willing to lose out of his own pocket his '1,000 times median income' that he currently makes. Where does he think this magic increase will come from and what is he doing to address his and corporate greed across the board. The billionaires aren't going to give out of their own pocket. Prices will rise and the new $15/hr minimum wage when adjusted for the new cost of living will simply be the same poverty level it is now.

I hate corporations who have billions and don't invest in the betterment of their employees. It is however never going to change as long as those in charge want to keep their own bottom line high and keep their investors happy.

Should walmart (since it was an example) accept a $10 billion loss on profit, simply by paying it's employees more? Name a single one of their board... Or stock holders would accept a change in their dividends and paycheck.

It's feel good bs. Would I love it to happen? For companies sitting on billions to take care of those in the trenches... Yes. It just will never happen. Ever.


Sent by a free-range electronic weasel, with no sense of personal space.

[tmleadr03]

I read the article in full and I'm still wondering howTF he plans on getting the ceo's to agree to cut their profit margin. He certainly does not mention that he is willing to lose out of his own pocket his '1,000 times median income' that he currently makes. Where does he think this magic increase will come from and what is he doing to address his and corporate greed across the board. The billionaires aren't going to give out of their own pocket. Prices will rise and the new $15/hr minimum wage when adjusted for the new cost of living will simply be the same poverty level it is now.

I hate corporations who have billions and don't invest in the betterment of their employees. It is however never going to change as long as those in charge want to keep their own bottom line high and keep their investors happy.

Should walmart (since it was an example) accept a $10 billion loss on profit, simply by paying it's employees more? Name a single one of their board... Or stock holders would accept a change in their dividends and paycheck.

It's feel good bs. Would I love it to happen? For companies sitting on billions to take care of those in the trenches... Yes. It just will never happen. Ever.


Sent by a free-range electronic weasel, with no sense of personal space.

Fuck, the only comma I have in my bank account is on the debt side and I sent my shop manager to school this weekend out of state. LOL.

[<MADDOG>]

It is however never going to change as long as those in charge want to keep their own bottom line high and keep their investors happy.

One could argue the higher management and the investors/stockholders are both the 1%.

I also find it curious that the Tea Part and OWS movements both have a common thread: remove the influence of business in government.

[<MADDOG>]

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-06-28/martin-armstrong-warns-civil-unrest-rising-everywhere-wont-end-pretty

Martin Armstrong Warns Civil Unrest Is Rising Everywhere: "This Won't End Pretty"

The greatest problem we have is misinformation. People simply do not comprehend why and how the economic policies of the post-war era are imploding. This whole agenda of socialism has sold a Utopian idea that the State is there for the people yet it is run by lawyers following their own self-interest. The pensions created for those in government drive the cost of government up exponentially with time. The political forces blame the rich and this merely creates a class warfare with no resolution for the future. Even confiscating all the wealth of the so-called rich will not sustain the system. Consequently, we just have to crash and burn and start all over again.

The Guardian reported that some 50,000 people marched in London to protest against austerity. They cried: “Who is really responsible for the mess this country is in? Is it the Polish fruit pickers or the Nigerian nurses? Or is it the bankers who plunged it into economic disaster – or the tax avoiders? It is selective anger.”

The exploitation by the bankers has been really a disaster. They have been their own worst enemy and in the end, they have become the symbol that inspires class warfare if not revolution. They are not the representatives of those who produce jobs. They are merely those who wanted to trade with other people’s money for free. When they win, it is their’s, but any losses are passed to the taxpayers. Bankers should be bankers – not hedge fund managers who keep 100% of the profits using other people’s savings.

The repeal of Glass Steagall was the final straw that broke the back of the world economy. That was the single worst act that could have ever been done and we are now paying the price in spades. The collapse from 2007 has wiped out even the liquidity of the markets. The second worst act was the creation of the euro when the real goal was the federalization of Europe from the outset. That undermined the entire European banking system and has led to a serious undermining of the entire global economy.

The solutions from politics will always be the same – grab more power. We are in a downward spiral of liberty and how far we go down this path to the future will be determined by the people and if they at least wise up and see this is not class warfare, it is the people against government. This is why I say career politicians are dangerous for they can be bought way too easily as Clinton was to open the flood gates for the bankers.

This is not going to end pretty. The question is when does society wake up? Just how high will this price be that we have to pay? They will blame the rich and the idiots will cheer – get them. What will happen when there is no more wealth to hunt? We end up with a communist state by default – no wealth, just career politicians who blame everyone but themselves.