I'd like some actual discussion on this: Paul Volcker - President Reagan's Fed Chair says we're developing into a Plutocracy

by **Rocinante** 2018-10-23, 13:46

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/23/business/dealbook/paul-volcker-federal-reserve.html

If you want some info on Volcker, his Wikipedia article is good. He was fed chair under Carter and Reagan and credited with pulling us out of the inflation crisis. He also was brought in to help Obama with the recovery, and by all accounts, did a damn good job.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Volcker

“The central issue is we’re developing into a plutocracy,” he told me. “We’ve got an enormous number of enormously rich people that have convinced themselves that they’re rich because they’re smart and constructive. And they don’t like government, and they don’t like to pay taxes.”

“Everybody talks about monetary policy,” he said, “but the lesson of all this is we need better, stronger supervisory powers.”

A republican of super solid pedigree is saying that the rich need to pay more taxes and there needs to be more oversight of the financial markets. Exactly the opposite of the current republican platform. What is to be done?

by **Robert J Sakimano** 2018-10-23, 13:55

(I'll stay out of the thread. You're welcome).

by **Rocinante** 2018-10-23, 14:02

Yeah thanks. Your one sentence responses about knuckle draggers are never helpful.

by **Robert J Sakimano** 2018-10-23, 14:03

Rocinante wrote:Yeah thanks.

(you're welcome).

by **steveschneider** 2018-10-23, 14:20

I don't think it's anything new, been going on for a while and he worked for an administration that certainly pushed forward the plutocracy (as well as Bush, Clinton, Bush Jr., Obama etc). I'm reading a Chris Hedges book right now and he pinpoints the start of it all to the early 70's when there was a "Coporate Coup d'etat" that took place and he argues the Sheldon Wolin point of view that we live in an inverted form of totalitarianism.

There was a book written by Robert Frank called Richistan which sums it up. The super wealthy don't shop at grocery stores, fly commercially, drive their own cars, pay taxes, send their kids to public schools and so on. The book argues they have little in common with the citizens in their own country and are pretty much citizens of Richistan. I recommend reading some Chris Hedges it's good stuff to read when the days are getting shorter, the leaves are falling and the cold is coming.

by **Watch Out Pylon!** 2018-10-23, 14:22

Hopefully there is another guy like him waiting in the wings after Trump is out of office. I'm nothing close to an economist so I can't comment on what he thinks about the 2% inflation rate, but the guy has proven he can fix shit. Sounds like he'll be dead by the time we get a new president.

He's dead nuts on regarding today's politicians have no clue how to properly govern. What you get is too many people in places of power who can only talk a good game. All they do is yell about the other side of the aisle fucking shit up. It's was old years ago. It's just laughable these days.

by **Rocinante** 2018-10-23, 18:01

Here's the thing though, guys. It's ok to be rich. Be rich! Have a fuckton of money and never work a day in your life! But if we tax the shit out of you, you'll still be rich, so all good right? No. We need no fucking taxes except regressive ones that mean the poor pay way more of their income in taxes than we ever will, and we need tax havens so that we don't actually pay ANY taxes, and we need to be able to give as much of our tax free money as we want to politicians so that they will never change the laws that allow us to pay NO taxes. And also HEY LOOK GUYS ABORTIONS AND CARAVANS AND TAKING YOUR GUNS!!!

by **Cameron** 2018-10-23, 21:27

Rocinante wrote:Here's the thing though, guys. It's ok to be rich. Be rich! Have a fuckton of money and never work a day in your life! But if we tax the shit out of you, you'll still be rich, so all good right? No. We need no fucking taxes except regressive ones that mean the poor pay way more of their income in taxes than we ever will, and we need tax havens so that we don't actually pay ANY taxes, and we need to be able to give as much of our tax free money as we want to politicians so that they will never change the laws that allow us to pay NO taxes. And also HEY LOOK GUYS ABORTIONS AND CARAVANS AND TAKING YOUR GUNS!!!

Mods please merge with class warfare thread.

I read the OP's article. It was good. I wish the opinions of smart people and experts carried weight in our society. Alas...

by **I.B. Fine** 2018-10-23, 22:01

Cameron wrote:

Mods please merge with class warfare thread.

I read the OP's article. It was good. I wish the opinions of smart people and experts carried weight in our society. Alas...

So true, instead people listen to politicians, collectively some of the least intelligent people, especially when it comes to economics

by **DWags** 2018-10-23, 22:58

Their greatest trick so far is to convince the middle class one or two more shifts at the factory and they’ll be rubbing elbows at cocktail parties with them so they’re getting the votes the need from the people whose shoulders there’re standing on

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I'd like some actual discussion on this: Paul Volcker - President Reagan's Fed Chair says we're developing into a Plutocracy

I'd like some actual discussion on this: Paul Volcker - President Reagan's Fed Chair says we're developing into a Plutocracy

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Re: I'd like some actual discussion on this: Paul Volcker - President Reagan's Fed Chair says we're developing into a Plutocracy

Re: I'd like some actual discussion on this: Paul Volcker - President Reagan's Fed Chair says we're developing into a Plutocracy

Re: I'd like some actual discussion on this: Paul Volcker - President Reagan's Fed Chair says we're developing into a Plutocracy

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Re: I'd like some actual discussion on this: Paul Volcker - President Reagan's Fed Chair says we're developing into a Plutocracy

Re: I'd like some actual discussion on this: Paul Volcker - President Reagan's Fed Chair says we're developing into a Plutocracy