written 30
June 2018
published 7 July 2018
My father's generation put their
lives on the line in World War II to defeat fascism, defined by Italian
dictator Mussolini as "state powers used for corporate profits." It is sad to see that while America won that
war, we seem to have lost in the long run.
From a holistic perspective, the
capitalist system of exclusive gain is contrary to nature, thus inevitably
fails. Fascism is the darkest side of capitalism,
and some American industrialists helped the Nazi powers, despite the
totalitarian racism, because of the profit to be made. After the war, the CIA helped Nazi's escape
to South America because we wanted their networks in eastern Europe to spy for
us against communist Russia.
Throughout US history, the Supreme
Court judges have been mostly corporate lawyers, which explains the persistent
rise of corporate power over workers, leading to unfettered corporate money in
politics, while restraining political funding by unions. The insane fiction of corporate personhood is
part of this process.
Previous administrations have occasionally
used political power to enrich their friends, but sought to keep these
financial transactions out of the public eye, knowing they look bad, and are often
illegal. The Trump administration
doesn't even pretend to care how it looks, or if laws are broken. The stage is being set for an American
Emperor, where the law is what he says it is.
Contrary to his campaign promise to "drain the swamp in
Washington", he is on a swamp breeding program.
This is the first president to
retain control of his economic investments while in office. He said he was giving financial control to his
family, but they are part of his While House team. He frequently travels to his Mar Lago hotel, enriching
himself with each trip. In a blatant
"pay to play" episode this May, he threatened trade sanctions against
the Chinese company ZTE, then reversed himself after the Chinese loaned his
hotel development in Indonesia $500M.
Trump's appointments to head government agencies
are fraught with conflicts of interest. He appointed Ajit Pai, a former executive for Verizon,
to head the FCC. Pai has regulated the
end of net neutrality, which will allow his former company to choose whose
messages get to the public by charging higher rates for faster service. Pai is currently working to end the Lifeline
subsidy program, which helps poor people afford web access, enhancing the
digital divide, leaving more Americans behind.
Betsy DeVos, a lifelong advocate of
using taxpayer money to fund private and religious schools, is Secretary of
Education. She has repealed efforts to
make school loan repayment easier, even when schools go bankrupt, allowing
for-profit schools to rip off their students.
She is working to limit consumer protection against school loan
providers, and protects abusive school loan collection firms. When appointed, DeVos listed more than 100
financial conflicts of interest, including investments in school loan
collection agencies and for-profit schools.
Scott Pruitt, head of the Environmental
Protection Agency, is opposed to the mission of the EPA. A staunch climate denier, he has received
campaign funds from the fossil fuel industry for years. He is against government regulation of any
kind, preferring industry self-regulation. Since EPA regulations were put in place because
industries refuse to regulate themselves, putting profits over people, Pruitt's
actions are total betrayal of the American public. A 2018 study in the American Journal of
Public Health found that Pruitt's EPA had adopted a pro-business agenda unlike
that of any previous administration. Pruitt
has been so flamboyant that he is the focus of 12 investigations into spending
habits, conflicts of interest, extreme secrecy, and poor management
practices. Even some conservative
Republicans are calling for his resignation.
Previous administrations, both
Republican and Democrat, have included some self-serving, incompetent, and
corrupt individuals. In the Trump
administration, unrestrained greed and self-promotion are the name of the game,
and his appointees have risen to the challenge.
This is America today, where being rich or famous is all that counts. Competence, critical thinking, and moral code
are not necessary or valued. It is
understandable why the wealthy approve this situation. It is less clear why a portion of the
non-billionaire class supports this kleptocracy.
