The Big Corporations Run This Country  

by
February 5, 2011

Do you ever wonder why our politicians keep allowing the big corporations to send thousands of our factories and millions of our jobs to China and other low-wage countries?

Even someone without a high school diploma realizes that closing a local factory, sending the jobs to China, and firing the local workers is bad for the local economy. But, this gutting of our economy continues. Why?

The answer is that the big corporations run this country. We have become an oligarchy, and our politicians must obey their corporate masters.

To run a state-wide or national political campaign, it takes millions of dollars in campaign donations. And these donations come from the very wealthy and moneyed elite in this country, which derive their money from corporate jobs, stock options, stocks, etc.

And in the recent Citizens United court decision, the Supreme Court declared that corporations are persons, and can spend unlimited amounts of money on a political campaign, as long as the money is not given directly to the candidate or the expenditures of money by the corporations are not coordinated with the candidates. And this will make the big corporations even more powerful at election time.

Yes, we do have two major political parties, but the the main difference is that the Democrats tend to be more covert in their support of the big corporations. The Democrats want to give a few crumbs to the poor and working poor, while the Republicans generally want the corporations and wealthy to keep more.

Both parties want to send the jobs to China, help the big banks by buying their bad assets, etc., but the Democrats want to at least help those who lost their jobs with extended unemployment benefits, etc. The Democrats sometimes appear to feel sorry for the American workers, after sending their jobs to China.

On the other hand, the Republicans tend to favor a “do-it-yourself” approach after they send American jobs overseas. Which means that the American workers should not expect any government help when they lose their jobs.

The politicians appear to live in some kind of economic fantasy world in which everything will be fine, if we train for some other job, etc. The Republicans think that we need more self-reliance: Don’t depend upon the government, do it yourself. Even if your old job paid $30 per hour, take that new job paying $8 per hour at Walmart, etc. While the Democrats tend to think that the government should help re-train us for new jobs, etc.

In 1960, this Republican self-reliance would have been great advice. Jobs were plentiful. Our economy was booming. But today, many workers are having their lives crushed forever as they lose a well-paying factory job, and they are unable to find a comparable job—or any job. And because of the “multiplier effect,” for each factory job that is directly lost, another 2-4 jobs are lost in the economy.

The politicians tell us that we don’t need to actually make things in a factory anymore—we can all do service jobs. Of course, this is absurd. Service economies don’t create wealth for the middle class in large countries. Maybe a little country, like the Cayman Islands, can prosper with a service economy based on tourism and banking, but not a large economy.

We have sent tens of thousands of our factories to China, and now China has a booming economy. And we are left with 14 million jobless American workers, with another 9 million working part-time who would like to have a full-time job, but can’t find one.

Industrialization is what created the middle class in this country, and as we send our factories to China, we will be left with a post-industrial society with wide-spread poverty and a few very rich people at the top, like they have in these third-world countries.

But, the big corporations are able to keep increasing their quarterly profits by using cheap foreign labor instead of the more expensive American workers. And the big banks are able to keep making big profits by having the government buy their bad investments. etc. And the banks are also able to make billions by keeping their credit card schemes going.

The trick is to keep the American voters thinking that they have a real choice at election time. It is like the parent who gets two dresses out of the closet for the child to choose from for school. The child thinks that she is making the choice, but the parent really made the choice for the child.

The American voters are only choosing from the candidates presented by the big corporations in this country. Often, there are differences on the social issues, like abortion, gun control, gay rights, etc., but the corporations don’t really care very much about these issues.

Of course, social issues are a great way stir up the emotions of the voters and keep us divided. By having control of two major political parties with differing views on the social isssues, the big corporations can always present a candidate that will be acceptable to the voters, regardless of the current social climate at election time.

But, it is the big economic issues that the corporations care about: like keeping wages low in this country by allowing a flood of immigrant workers; sending the factories to China; outsourcing jobs to India; buying the bad assets of the big banks; low tax rates for the rich, etc. And the politicians generally agree on these type of items.

Yes, the big corporations control this country.

One Response to The Big Corporations Run This Country

  1. Katie on September 23, 2011 at 8:00 pm

    Oh yes, the corporations do control this country! It makes me sick to see all our jobs going overseas. I have predicted a recession for years. How can the economy survive with so many out of work? Sending jobs to other country apparently is not enough for the big chiefs, they want more money. GREED, is what this is. Even those doing service jobs are suffering. Retailers preach customer service and have surveys that are reviewed every day,and it is always the workers fault if the scores are not what they should be. This,in spite of the fact that they keep cutting hours, leaving few people on the floor to do the job. I work for a retailer who is now offering early retirement to all workers across the country who are 55, worked for them for 20 years, and are participants in their pension plan. For this they want to give me $500 a month as a pension, with an extra $550 for a year to help with expenses! If I leave I lose health insurance which is now $100 a month, it will be 627 a month. Also I would lose life insurance, for both me and my spouse, along with vision, and dental. I also contribute to a 401k which they match up to a limit. They are offering no compensation to give all of this up. The 550 a month is a bribe, you only get it if you sign a waiver saying you won’t sue for anything, ever. They must think we are all stupid. Then we read about the millions that the new ceo will get and the ousted ceo will get. NO one needs that kind of money, especially off the sweat of people that are forced to do more and more all the time for minimum wage.

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