General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Who did you support and VOTE for President in 1992? Primary/General [View all]Ichingcarpenter
(36,988 posts)While the net worth of the average American family declined, the Forbes 400 richest families in America saw their collective wealth increase by 300%! Did any other American families see their net worth triple? Even double?
However, the stunning gains by the very rich did not result from the success of hard work or as a reward earned by expanding the nation's prosperity to the benefit of all.
The triumph of the forces of special privilege with its devastating consequences to the entire nation, was engineered with the complicity of Washington's entrenched politicians, Democrat and Republican alike.
Our democratic system has been the object of a hostile takeover engineered by a confederacy of corruption, careerism and campaign consulting.
And money has been the lubricant greasing the deal. Incredible sums--literally hundreds of millions of dollars--from political action committees (PACs), lobbyists, and wealthy patrons have flooded into the campaign war chests of Washington's entrenched political elite--Democrats and Republicans alike.
Seeking to secure careers of unlimited tenure, these politicians use this cash to fuel monstrous campaigns. Captained by political consultants, these campaigns are designed to crush any challenge to their power.
And, of course, the forces of greed are rewarded richly for the campaign contributions. Unjust tax breaks are only one form of acknowledgement. Agreeing to look the other way, these politicians opened the door to the plunder of Savings and Loans and a merger mania which gutted some of our most respected companies.
The insatiable appetite for campaign dollars has turned the government into a stop and shop for every conceivable greedy and narrow interest.
The quid pro quo could not be more straightforward. The legality of the barter cannot mask its inherent corruptness. Nor can any degree of dissembling obscure the truth that this bargain has been executed--almost without exception--to the detriment of the national interest and at the expense of the American people.
The cost of this corruption has been staggering. Can it be a coincidence that our cities became engulfed in a flood of rising crime and rampaging drugs exactly when the poorest among us were experiencing drastic reductions in their standard of living?
Together, private greed and corrupt power have launched a deadly assault on our common values.
To rationalize greed, they championed materialism and self-interest over moral responsibility and community. "What is in it for me?" To protect their power they inject poisons into the body politic; appeals to fear and selfishness replace calls to hope and sacrifice.
More: http://www.4president.org/speeches/jerrybrown1992announcement.htm
He was ahead of his time then and now.