Zero-tolerance for oligarchs
They have crossed the line from legitimate businesspeople to organized crime.
I am a republican liberal in every way except one.¹ When it comes to the very obscenely rich in the United States, I take an aggressive zero-tolerance attitude. Break their monopolies. Seize their estates. Confiscate their wealth. They have built a system by which to steal our freedom as well as our money. They are criminals. We should treat them as such.
I have been pretty consistent. I have always believed in the fundamentals: enumerated rights, separation of powers, an independent judiciary, and so on. I have believed in an active government that does more than protect individual liberty and property. It should promote civic virtue and advance the common good, too. (These concerns for the republic put the republican in "republican liberalism.") And I have believed in economic equality. To me, taxing the very obscenely rich makes America a place that's fairer and more prosperous for all.
But we are no longer talking about billionaires who merely exploit racism and bigotry to achieve policies, like deregulation and tax cuts. (Think the Koch Brothers.) We are talking about billionaires who are trying to turn themselves into a permanent ruling class presiding over naked structures of exploitation. They have conspired to bribe the president, control the government, drain public coffers, skyrocket public debt, and extort the American people – forcing us to make choices we would not make if we were truly free. (Think Elon Musk.)
At one time, I believed in taxing the very obscenely rich in the interest of fairness, but now I believe that's like taking matches from an arsonist. It might mitigate short-term harm, but won't stop him from finding other ways of burning down the republic. They have grown their vast fortunes through corrupt means, inflicting misery and even death. No one is safe with them around. The time has come for the people to take back what's been stolen from them.
If that sounds extreme, consider this.
Donald Trump and his party are facing a perilous backlash in November. Pollster G Elliott Morris predicts the Democrats have an 85 percent chance of winning the House, a 55 percent chance of winning the Senate. If there were a way of turning back – if there were a means to temper the animosity toward the very obscenely rich for crimes committed against the people – they would be donating to Democrats and Republicans in equal measure.
That is not happening. Of the estimated $1.6 billion being spent on the midterms, not even a quarter of it is going to Democrats, according to the Post. The rest is going to Republicans (64 percent) or special issues (like crypto, etc). Why? Because there is no turning back.
As Paul Krugman said this morning: "So rather than trying to mollify the Democrats and defuse the coming political reckoning, the billionaire class is opening the money taps, going all out to prevent Democrats from being elected. And why not? For Musk, the Koch Brothers, Ken Griffin, Alex Karp and others, hundreds of millions is pocket change, while billion-dollar business interests and, in some cases, possible criminal charges are at stake."
For me, I think the very obscenely rich understand that they have crossed the line from legitimate businesspeople to an organized crime syndicate. I think they also get the broad desire for retribution. So they are paying for GOP campaigns in the belief that normal democratic politics can't save them from what's coming. Only power can save them now.
Which is why I think the Democrats have little to fear about being too extreme in reaction to the oligarchy's power-grab. Indeed, the way things are going – with high food and gas prices, stagnant wages, weak hiring, not to mention lost food stamps and health care, and the intrusion of artificial intelligence and data centers – they risk not being extreme enough.
The damage being done to individuals, families and whole communities must be foremost in the minds of the Democrats once they win back the Congress. If they do not take an aggressive zero-tolerance attitude to what has been the greatest crime spree of our life times, workaday Americans will not only feel betrayed for believing in the Democrats, they will lose hope in the idea of freedom, as it will seem like no one can protect them from attempted domination by the very obscenely rich. If they lose hope in freedom, watch out.
Break their monopolies. Seize their estates. Confiscate their wealth.
In the name of public safety.
Footnotes
¹ For more on small-r republican liberalism, see this post from last month.
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