(10 am. – promoted by ek hornbeck)
THE Question – Is America a Democracy or an Oligarchy?
Sen. Sanders: “Right now, what ends up happening, is Big Money interests, whether in fact it is in oil and energy, whether it’s in prescription drugs . . .”
Dylan Ratigan: “BP”
Sen. Sanders: “Whether it is in banking, these guys have huge amounts of money, and the situation gets worse with the recent Citizens United Supreme Court decision, and anyone who stands up to the big money interests can expect a huge amount of 30 second ads against them. That’s the reality. Are we a Democracy, or are we an Oligarchy where the very powerful special interests exert enormous influence over our Government?”
Ratigan: “What’s your answer to that question?”
Sen. Sanders: “I think we’re an Oligarchy and I think it’s getting worse.”
Much more, plus video and transcript below the fold.
Sen. Sanders: “The middle class in this country is collapsing. Poverty is increasing and the gap between the very rich and everybody else is growing wider. And what’s happening with the banks, is one of the reasons that that is occurring, so this is not esoteric. This is our standard of living. This is the survival of the middle class.
There is tons and tons of data that back up the claim made by Senator Sanders that “Poverty is increasing and the gap between the very rich and everybody else is growing wider.”, and it isn’t hard to see when the average real wage (wage growth vs inflation) has been stagnant for decades while the average CEO salary is 100 times what it was a few decades ago/
Compare what Senator Bernie Sanders says about how Special Interests control congress and the disappearing middle class and growing poverty of the average American to Kentucky GOP Senate Candidate Rand Paul, who claims it is “Un-American” to criticize oil polluters, and then ask yourself, who is on my side?
We have seen the failure of the Kaufman-Brown Amendment 33-61 to break up the Too Big To Fail banks, we have seen how the return of Glass-Steagal has failed, and how derivatives reform is likely to fail. Yet again, another vital reform is being watered down, only this time, it will directly lead to the next crash. And yet again, the rich shall get rich will get richer and every one else will get poorer.
When Bill Moyers told America about the fact that 6 Banks Control Wealth = to 60% GNP. And asked the question “Is the U.S. at the Mercy of an Unstoppable Oligarchy?” there is one and only one Senator with the guts to tell us the ugly truth, and his name is Bernie Sanders.
Is America a Democracy or an Oligarchy?
Sen. Sanders: “I think we’re an Oligarchy and I think it’s getting worse.”
Damn right it’s getting worse, the banksters have planned their Plutonomy and are betting on it.
So what else can the non rich do but take the power back?
Peace and love to you
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Crossposted at The Progressive Electorate.com
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and Senator Bernie Sanders
I’m curious how you square all this with your support for the president….
Haha…In fact 1:15 is Real IRA graffiti. There are ETA supporters in that video also…and an ELZN member throwing a Molotov Cocktail…..
Hardly the sort of people Barack Obama would approve of….
is likely to happen in the conference committee to work out the differences between the two bills, as per Politico. That will most likely happen after the run-off between Lincoln and Halter on June 8th. Not that this amendment had any teeth, oversight was blocked which was one of the reasons for Sen. Maria Cantwell’s nay vote.