The unelected rulers of the United States met with their president last week to set things straight. Obama has made some nasty public remarks about their activities of late. The heads of fifteen banks, including Bank of America, J.P. Morgan and Citibank were invited to the White House to “ease tensions” according to the media. In actuality, the unelected rulers of society were there to remind the president and his party that they call the shots and it is they who finance the apparatus; the Democratic Party serves their
interests first—the market economy must be defended.
Obama has not been alone in his criticism. The public disgust at the excesses flaunted by these folks as people lose their jobs and homes has the potential to get out of hand; politicians had to pretend to be sympathetic and angry at the culprits but they’ve gone too far.
Consequently, the big bourgeois struck back, threatening to extend and solidify its strike of capital if the attacks don’t stop. As reported earlier in the week, Federal Express threatened to cancel orders for 30 planes from Boeing at the mere thought of pro-Union legislation making it through Congress.
The taxes on the AIG bonuses are the focal point but it is what they represent that really matters. The Democratic administration cannot be seen as legislating serious curbs on capital accumulation and the rights of the bankers to do what they want with what they mistakenly refer to as “their” money. Alongside this, the ideological war against the market, the demand for state intervention in the form of increased regulation, and headlines in Newsweek claiming “We’re all socialists now” is putting class issues too firmly in the limelight.
Barak Obama and other bourgeois politicians would have reminded these folks that it is much more difficult for them politicians as they are the public face of the regime; they have to get elected. But the meeting was fruitful and the new face has been presented to the US working class.
The AIG bonuses issue is pretty much dead, “the issue has not gone away” said Harry Reid, the Democratic leader in the Senate, but informed the press that the Senate version of the bill was “on hold”. Obama has “pushed back” after his initial outbursts and warns people not to “demonize” investors and entrepreneurs.
The old unity card is being played to the hilt much like it was in order to get people on board with the Iraq invasion. Obama called for shared sacrifice and his press secretary, Michael Gibbs announced that, “Wall Street needs Main Street and Main Street needs Wall Street and everybody needs to pitch in….we’re all in this together” (1)
The unelected rulers of society agreed. “If there is a big lesson, it’s that you can’t distinguish Main Street from Wall Street” echoes Lloyd Blankfein, the head of the moneylending firm of Goldman Sachs who was at the meeting. “It was a cooperative, pleasant meeting….” said BofA chief Kenneth Lewis. "You can't distinguish Main Street from Wall Street?" Millions of Americans losing their homes might take exception to this view. The 400,000 or so children that the World Health Organization estimates will die each year due to the economic crisis might take exception also if they had a voice. Their grief stricken families will certainly take exception to it. Democrats and Republicans in Washington have not.
Many of these moneylenders go from firms like Goldman Sachs directly in to public office, a lucrative slot that facilitates the plundering of the wealth of workers around the world. Robert Rubin was another one. He was at Goldman for 26 years and served as Clinton’s Treasury Secretary. He also worked for Citigroup for eight years for a meager $126 million. Hank Paulson, former Treasury Secretary under Bush and former Goldman Sachs Chairman is estimated to be worth over $700 million. By mere coincidence, Goldman Sachs received billions of taxpayer money, some $12 billion by accounts, from the AIG bailout. How many lives would this save?
These people are thieves and the system they support is rotten to the core.
The unelected rulers society were very happy with the outcome of the chat they had with their political representatives; they needed to remind them whose interests it is they really represent. Elected representatives must resist public pressure and do their job. The Financial Times reported the good news to its readers:
“Following the meeting, the bankers appeared on US television to salute the president, commending his understanding of the issues facing the financial services industry and the economy.” **
Good thing we’re all in this together
(1) Financial Times 3-28-09 Obama Soothes Strains on Bonuses
(2) ibid
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