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Plutocracy 101

Plutocracy 101. “If you’re not angry, you aren’t paying attention.”. Decades in the making….

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Plutocracy 101

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  1. Plutocracy 101 “If you’re not angry, you aren’t paying attention.”

  2. Decades in the making… • Since the de-regulation of financial and post-industrial corporations in the early 1980’s, Americans have witnessed an unprecedented consolidation of financial power in the hands of the very few while at best we in the middle class have worked harder and longer to maintain our comfort levels. • In short, the rich have gotten obscenely richer, and the rest of us are struggling more than ever to stay financially secure.

  3. Where’s Benjamin?

  4. Why aren’t we taxing the rich like we used to?

  5. Because the rich are making the rules that benefit themselves… • In 2009, 60 out of 100 US Senators were millionaires. • One out of three members of the House were millionaires. • Now that the Supreme Court ruled in Citizens United that corporations can give unlimited dollars to congressional and presidential campaigns, the middle class cannot hope to compete with the millions being spent to influence the U.S. Government to look first and foremost after corporate interests. (Source, Holly Sklar, “Imagine a Country”)

  6. So, what can we do? • The richest Americans would like you to think that you are the sum of your possessions (and that the more stuff you have, the better you are), but you possess something so valuable that stores can’t sell it– the ability to think critically. • You must learn to become an advocate for the middle class. Call your state and federal elected officials with your opinions. VOTE. • Consume from local businesses and farms. Boycott big box stores (Wal-Mart, Best Buy, etc.) • Consume less-- be happy because you exist, not because you own stuff. • Refuse to let your destiny be controlled by the people who only see you as a commodity to be exploited.

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