The amalgamation of major industries and government has created an omnipotent, fascist, oligarchical regime that benefits the few and sacrifices the many. A partnership was developed long ago, giving birth to and nurturing the confluence of power which affords exclusive benefits to business and government. Every major industry in the United States is in bed with the government. This orgy of political and business interests has cost us dearly.
The people have lost their freedoms, liberties, and rights. Hard work and achievement is punished. Individual behavior, choices, and responsibility are castigated. Property is plundered. Generational theft is revered.
Laziness and consumption is rewarded. Debt, profligate spending, and currency debasement are now core principles of government and society. Government limitations and dictates regarding preferences and choices are celebrated. Property means government’s discretion over who owns what and how much. Medicare and Social Security encourages older generations to steal from their children and grandchildren.
The Rule of Law and limited government has been decimated by arbitrary and capricious dictates. The Constitution means whatever nine unaccountable, unelected, politically connected lawyers in black robes claim it means. Judges treat the Constitution as political play-doh, molding it into something that conforms to their personal policy preferences rather than confining government to powers delegated by the Constitution.
The alliance of economic and political interests obfuscates the real issues. Consequently, the people are confused about the current situation. Is capitalism and business greed to blame? Is government to blame? Are the political parties to blame and, if so, which party? The answers may appear complicated.
The telecommunications/media, financial/banking, energy (oil/gas/coal/nuclear/green), education, health care and pharmaceutical, and the military industrial complex illustrate how private business interests and government interests are essentially one in the same.
Private business uses the coercive nature of government for their own competitive advantage. Instead of competing in free markets where failure and success is dependent upon others desire or need for a product, businesses use government to 1) eliminate/stifle competition 2) to subsidize costs 3) use the law to force products on consumers 4) increase profits and/or guarantee sales/revenue.
Likewise, government enacts laws, policy, and regulations to manipulate the tax code, pick economic winners and losers, and control the money supply and the cost of money. In exchange, businesses fund political campaigns and candidates. This quid-pro-quo is rotten to the core.
Politicians are clever creatures. They’ve learned from the failures of communism and realized there is no need to own the means of production when you can control business and industry through a system of privileges and emoluments, and one of coercion and punishment. Indeed, this is advantageous to the seasoned political as they define the rules of the game and they officiate the game. Moreover, if their policies result in negative political consequences they can point their bony fingers at greedy businesses.
Meanwhile, Wall Street and the banks are bailed out. Automotive manufacturers are bailed out. The rewards are privatized and the risks are socialized. Government spies on the people aided and abetted by the telecommunications industry. Healthcare insurers and pharmaceutical companies support the Affordable Care Act because the law creates a captive customer resulting in more profits due to higher prices. We are witness to the largest orgy of government and business largesse in our lifetimes. The few are enriched while the many are sacrificed at the altar of so-called government compassion and benevolence.
It is the confluence of business and government that concentrates wealth into the hands of the few. The few are the winners hand-picked by their political prostitutes elected to pass and enforce laws. Monopolies in the free market system are deemed as unfair as the free market itself. These two culprits become the strawman argument for bigger government and more laws and regulations under the guise of leveling the playing field and helping the disadvantaged.
Today’s markets are a result of the amalgamation of business and government using coercion and limiting choices and opportunities. Prices are fixed in some cases, manipulated in others, and influenced by government laws and regulations. Capital is directed and controlled by the money supply and the cost of money (interest rates). The value of the currency is debased by government to advance their interests at the expense of the people. Innovation is discouraged or encouraged depending on the prevailing interests in Washington. The new playing field is heavily mined by laws and regulations put into effect as a result of the government and business alliance. Consequently, there is less competition and more monopolies (or near monopolies) while those considered disadvantaged grows proportionally. Successful navigation of the mine field requires your acquiescence to and partnership with government.
This is the modern day meaning of capitalism and politics. By no means should you conflate this with free markets as those haven’t existed in decades. Free markets are voluntary, private exchanges between two parties. Today, capitalism means to use the power of government to ensure economic success and to boost the company’s stock price. In return crony capitalists fund the political campaigns of politicians who are more than willing to prostitute themselves to gain and hold onto political power.
Naturally, none of this would be possible without substantial support of the electorate. This is accomplished through the tax code, entitlement programs, and other government goodies to ensure the status quo is maintained. Socialism is the mechanism to ensure the people are comfortable in their servitude to government. The people are amused by and kept comfortable with their smartphones, sports, reality television, video games, music videos, big screen TVs, and their government programs. Their mind-numbing servitude to their political masters all but ensures the status quo continues while sacrificing their children’s future for some comforts today.
Our political and economic system is a blend of fascism and socialism. It’s fascist because it is a centralized autocratic government run by a small cabal of politicians, exalting nation over individuals, instituting severe economic and regulatory control, and suppressing any opposition to their dominion. It is socialist because of the redistributionist nature of government taking property from those that earned and owned it, and giving to others something they have absolutely no rightful claim to.
For the politician plausible deniability is the chief concern. If politicians can bail out Wall Street and the banks, receive political donations from those bailed out, and then blame Wall Street and the banks for the misfortunes of the middle class it is a win-win situation for them. The politician is attempting to deceive, manipulate, and cajole you so you’ll vote for him next election cycle while blaming all your economic woes on capitalism and greed.
Meanwhile, the same politician is stealing from you to bail out his buddies on Wall Street, passing legislation assuring millions of new health insurance customers at higher rates, or providing a tax break to the telecommunications company while they work with the government to spy on you. The same politician is running up debt to provide risk and tax free capital to his business allies across all these industries.
The economic and political system is broke and broken. Both political parties are to blame. The ruling class is to blame. Most importantly, we have to blame ourselves as this behavior continues unabated while we are distracted by the bread and circuses of our time: smartphones, video games, sports, and reality TV.
A Citizen's View by Scott A. Strzelczyk 
A disgustingly accurate description of the current status quo. ~Reality for Dummies~
The choir agrees fully with the facts as you’ve elucidated them, but there aren’t enough of us to make the critical difference. But as the Unaffordable Health Care Act crashes and burns, there will be a lot more of us as those losing their health insurance will get a crash course in just how incompetent, indifferent, lazy & corrupt big government can be and is.
The fiasco unleashed by a brain-dead massive Act will reveal just how astonishingly stupid the Left is with their fantasy utopian pipe-dream of a transformed nation, -transformed not by real-world economic forces but by arbitrary and non-professional academic think-tank visions disconnected from reality.
The fantasy health-care Titanic will be smashed on the rocks of reality, -and the eyes of millions will finally be opened to what has been done under the table and behind their backs and right in front of their ignorant and naive faces, -promulgated by lies and deceit.
Ben Franklin warned us what would happen when people discovered that they could vote themselves money….Ben was a pretty smart fellow.
The Time Has Come For 51