The Road to Oligarchy
Daniel Greenfield
March 02, 2013

"Regardless of how many wars on poverty are declared and how often calls are issued to make the rich pay their fair share, neither the rich nor the poor will be going anywhere anytime soon. The question is what forces will keep the poor impoverished and where the rich will derive their wealth from.

The founder of Subway recently said that he could not have started up his company today. Similar messages have come from the founders and heads of other major companies. That isn't to say that companies will cease to exist. What we think of as business has been changing for some time.
. . .
IUnder the current American model, a company becomes successful and then begins to lobby Washington to gain a competitive advantage or to avert hostile lobbying directed at negating its existing competitive advantage. That is a perversion of free enterprise, but in much of the world companies begin lobbying first and then become successful. This is the model that has evolved under Obama. And it's a familiar model to anyone doing business in Russia or China. Political connections come first and then the business becomes feasible.

Oligarchy is the inevitable outcome of an economic climate where the governments acts as a gatekeeper to the country's customers. Measures that began as limited safety and fraud regulations have become a comprehensive political economic system that controls every aspect of every economic transaction.

The government creates markets. It creates companies and customers. It sets prices and taxes industries that it does not favor out of business.

Corporate lobbying isn't just about the proverbial 200 dollar screwdriver. It's about making it more expensive for some companies to make screwdrivers than others. It's also about forcing independent screwdriver manufacturers out of business. It's about government grants to make environmentally friendly screwdrivers and heavy taxes on companies that don't make environmentally friendly screwdrivers.
. . ."

- See more at: http://sultanknish.blogspot.com/2013/03/...h.VM7G1i72.dpuf

Interesting read!

Greenfield has become one of my favorites.

as I understand it . . .

When successful companies reach a certain level of success . . .

they get a visit from TPTB.

The new successful company owner is offered:

1. to join the elite as an accepted but !CONTROLLED! member . . . part of the elite cogs in the machine with special perks etc.

or

2. to be bought out.

or

3. to be destroyed . . . including by death, if that serves the machine's purposes best.

There are reportedly not a lot of options offered.

= = = =

The processes your article speaks of are merely the oligarchy's way of doing business . . . part of their KABUKI DANCE as they shuffle Monopoly money and power around.

Quote: Quix wrote in post #4

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as I understand it . . .

When successful companies reach a certain level of success . . .

they get a visit from TPTB.

The new successful company owner is offered:

1. to join the elite as an accepted but !CONTROLLED! member . . . part of the elite cogs in the machine with special perks etc.

or

2. to be bought out.

or

3. to be destroyed . . . including by death, if that serves the machine's purposes best.

There are reportedly not a lot of options offered.

= = = =

The processes your article speaks of are merely the oligarchy's way of doing business . . . part of their KABUKI DANCE as they shuffle Monopoly money and power around.

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Quote: algernonpj wrote in post #5

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Part of what I like about Greenfield's writing is that he explores one small aspect of what's going on around us at a time, in this case the process. I find it enhances my understanding, and makes me think. Plus his writing combines being subtle, poetic, and occasionally wickedly sarcastic.

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