Bombshell: Plutocrats Brazenly Collude to Hurt State Economies and Screw Working People

[xchrom]

http://www.alternet.org/economy/illinois-pension-attack-collusion



These days, many Americans walk around feeling like no matter how hard they work, how much they manage to save or how carefully they plan for the future, the game is rigged against them. They suspect that behind closed doors, CEOs and Wall Street honchos are eagerly scheming to rip them off.

Their worst fears of corruption and collusion just came true in Illinois, where corporate titans were caught red-handed in the act of Rigging the Game.

Let’s step inside a recent gathering of the corporate-backed Union League Club of Chicago, where former Illinois Attorney General Ty Fahner, who now leads a band of plutocrats known as the “Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago,” recently launched into an hour-long diatribe on the evils of state pensions.

Fahner, a top GOP fundraiser, can’t abide the notion that teachers, firefighters, nurses and other public workers in the state of Illinois can still expect a decent retirement. Not a luxurious retirement, mind you — the average pension is $32,000 a year, and most state employees will not receive Social Security. But even a modest retirement for hard-working people is too much for today’s fatcats.

[Downwinder]

1. And people ask me why I don't trust my Government.

[reformist2]

13. The saddest part is how they deliberately make the majority with no pensions angry at the few left

who do get real pensions (I'm not talking about the ersatz 401K plan, which is not a pension.)

[malaise]

2. I always remind folks to read that Citycorp document

from 2005 on plutocratic rule.

[NJCher]

6. I just looked that up

Didn't know about it, so thanks for posting.

I merely Googled "Citicorp document 2005," but adding the word plutonomy would also bring them up.


Cher

[malaise]

9. Excellent

They've been planning 1% rule for some time - ask Reagan. Friedman et al.

[Hestia]

11. Do you have a link? Is it citicorp or citycorp? Is there a title?

Thanks in advance! I tried searching on your parameters and came up empty.

[malaise]

12. The Citigroup Plutonomy Memos: Two bombshell documents that Citigroup's lawyers try to suppress

describing in detail the rule of the first 1%
http://politicalgates.blogspot.com/2011/12/citigroup-plutonomy-memos-two-bombshell.html

[cantbeserious]

3. The Oligarchs And Corporations Own And Control The System

eom

[abelenkpe]

4. K&R

[Baitball Blogger]

5. Hey, if we have proof that local goverments are colluding with select

members of their communities to form racketeering circles, why should we be surprised to hear that those private members are well organized to make sure they get the government's attention?

It's what makes Rotary Clubs and the Chamber of Commerce likely co-defendants with city government.

[certainot]

7. their best tool in every state is RW radio, which piggy backs our universities and is ignored by

the left (except for the stoprush boycott).

walker's best friend is local RW radio and in madison the badgers endorse that station.

mich and mich state endorse 10 limbaugh stations for snyder.

8 tarheels/limbaugh stations in north carolina have been working for alec and the 1% for years pushing the ACORN 'illegal' immigrants voter supression bullshit.

here's a list of 70 + universities that broadcast sports on and endorse 170 limbaugh stations, giving them community credibility and bringing in ad dollars.

https://sites.google.com/site/universitiesforrushlimbaugh/

their best tool is RW radio - 1200 radio stations lying freely to 50 mil a week while the left ignores it.

why is anyone surprised at how badly democracy has been working for the last 25 years, since limbaugh killed the fairness doctrine?

[Snarkoleptic]

8. There's a considerable amount of buyers-remorse over electing Rahm Mayor of Chicago.

(Commercial Club of Chicago) members include the union-busting Pritzers, both Penny and Thomas, a long list of current and recent corporate CEOs and chairmen, influential members of the banking and real estate industries, partners from major law firms, and Rahm as an “honorary members”.

http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2013/07/chicago-ceo-club-with-rahm-and-pritzkers-on-board-pushed-for-chicago-bond-downgrade-whacking-local-investors-and-pension-holders.html

[raouldukelives]

10. All paid for by your local Wall St investor. Make sure to thank them.

Every dollar in Wall St is a dollar against progressive ideals. Is a dollar against freedom, against climate science, against efforts for a better future.
In the past it wasn't quite so obvious, today there is no mistake. If you want to align yourself with republicans and conservative movements. You could do no better than by financing them yourself.