General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsObama's policies serve the long-term interests of the 1%.
I don't say this as a criticism, just something that I consider to be a fact.
Needless to say, the rest of us will be better off under Democratic policies as well. But even the richest among us will, in the long-term, be harmed by the destructive policies promoted by the other party.
Conservatives are dealing in economic fantasies these days, and when fantasies eventually meet reality, the results are seldom pretty.
It is remarkable to me how few of the 1% are well-informed enough to realize that the destruction of the regulatory framework that enabled them to become so wealthy in the first place is not a good thing. I don't understand how they can think the impoverishment of their customer-base is going to somehow be beneficial to their businesses. And I really can't understand how they expect Herbert Hoover economic policies to somehow have a different result this time around.
In order to benefit from Republican economics, you need to have:
- at least $3.5 million in net worth (maybe double that if you are married)
- at least $800,000 a year in income
- no more than five or ten years left to live
- no children or grandchildren (that you care about, anyway)
The billionaires pouring millions into electing Republicans are not only greedy, they are incredibly short-sighted.
Warren Buffett became one of the richest men in the world by thinking long-term, making good investments, and being patient enough to wait for those investments to pay off. No wonder he doesn't support the policies of the extreme right. It isn't that he's too nice, it's just that he's too smart.
Vidar
(18,335 posts)elleng
(131,458 posts)dawg
(10,626 posts)I'm trying to point out that the rich 1%'ers who suppport the Republicans are cutting their nose off to spite their face. The problem isn't greed so much as it is short-term thinking.
elleng
(131,458 posts)Your point is correct, of course.
dawg
(10,626 posts)But we shouldn't think it's a bad thing to make life better for those at the top. As long as it doesn't take away from someone else, I wish them all the best.
Personally, I think many of them are "stupid" and only got their money through their sociopathic "people skills". (Skills which, sadly, I seem to lack. )
immoderate
(20,885 posts)As long as it doesn't burden the rulers.
That means we can have sex.
--imm
Robb
(39,665 posts)There are few policies enacted by governments anywhere that impact their long-term interests.
The rest of us, however, have a real interest in seeing more Democrats and fewer Republicans governing us, thanks.
dawg
(10,626 posts)Their tendency towards Hooverism, if left unchecked, will take down our economy and their investments along with it. They believe things that are demonstrably false, and if the goverment is in their hands, they will act on those falsehoods with disastrous consequences.
pinboy3niner
(53,339 posts)Just a fact.
dawg
(10,626 posts)under Obama, at least in the long-term.
The Democrats, whether we like it or not, are a middle-of-the-road pro-capitalist party that favors only moderate levels of government regulation and intervention. The Republicans have turned into moonbats that talk about going back to the gold standard and eliminating the income tax.
If I were rich and greedy, and thought I still had plenty of years left, I would still favor the Democrats. Even if self-interest was all I cared about.
pinboy3niner
(53,339 posts)His tax proposals only accelerate the transfer of wealth from the lower classes to the wealthy.
dawg
(10,626 posts)Either he could make up with the tax cuts through spending cuts, or else he couldn't. If he managed to cut spending enough to offset his cuts, it would end the recovery, consumer demand would dry up, corporate income would go down, and my stock would go in the crapper. I would lose far more wealth than I would ever have paid in taxes.
And if he just lets the deficit go up forever and ever, the inflation monster will eventually come back and the economic value of my millions will start to inflate away.
Either way, in the long-term I'm screwed.
Sensible, stable economic policies that promote a strong middle-class are in my self-interest - even if I'm a rich greedy bastard.
Not to mention the fact that I need to breathe air, eat food, drink clean water, and all that stuff too.
hifiguy
(33,688 posts)The last president who openly took on the MIC and TPTB was JFK and we all know how that turned out. The alternative, however, is unthinkable especially with respect to the SCOTUS.
dawg
(10,626 posts)Romney, by doing exacly what the 1% wants him to do, might just throw us all into destructive cycle of austerity and depression.
At least in the old days, the 1% may have been evil but at least it kind of knew what it was doing. The guys calling the shots on the other side these days are not intelligent or well-informed.
The Iraq was is a good example. Sure, they lied us into it. But they really did believe it would be over in a few months. They really belived it.
They also believe the economy would just take off right now if only they could push through enough spending cuts. And if they take down our economy, they'll go down right along with the rest of us.
TheKentuckian
(25,035 posts)The entire political debate is actually between the short term profits even if it cooks the golden goose and those that want to squeeze the eggs out over an extended time and that is it.
Of course we do better under the long gamers just on stability alone but their is nothing on their agenda intended to benefit us. We are given a hair more breathing room to keep us off the barricades as not to disrupt commerce but they still want low wages, austerity, as little taxes as possible, compliant and eager labor, and to pollute at will they just want to do so in a more orderly fashion and see more than a quarter or two down the line.
rhett o rick
(55,981 posts)you wearing a hoody.
dawg
(10,626 posts)But really, I just think that sane economic policies benefit everyone. Short-term thinking is killing this country.