New York: The Committee to Save the 1%

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1. Peter Smyth says:

   August 2, 2014 at 11:12 am

   We need to understand that this not new in American politics. Teddy Roosevelt fought he same thing (read The Bully pulpit).
   The difference is that we don’t have the great journalists of his time, nor do most citizens pay attention. Except to Fox News.

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   • Chiara says:

     August 2, 2014 at 1:38 pm

     I think it’s different than the trust-busting days because of the privatization of formerly public services.

     TR’s Masters of the Universe got plenty of government subsidies for railroads and mining and manufacturing but they were not actually profiting off privatizing public schools and social services and the criminal justice areas (jail, prison and post-release supervision).

     There’s a direct incentive now. They don’t even have to make or create anything. They just capture a (formerly) public sector, get rid of the unions, contract it all out, and presto! That’s a whole slew of new “private sector businesses”. They can take apart something like an elementary school and have 3 or 4 contractors- staffing, maintenance, meals and transportation. The contractor doesn’t even have to be “the employer”. They can sub it out one or two or three times, all the way down to the lowest level of employment which is temps.

     The “school” is a hollow shell. (At least) four private entities get a cut of every education dollar that used to go to public employees.

     They’re not creating anything new. They don’t have to add any value. They’re just replacing public sector with private sector.

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     • Peter Smyth says:

       August 2, 2014 at 3:13 pm

       Chiara, the big similarity is that money, the 1% was buying government – the politicians. There just aren’t many cases where the interests of the monied classes didn’t have priority in what we call democracies.
       The big difference might be that today it’s better organized and structured.

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2. Communist Teacher says:

   August 2, 2014 at 11:32 am

   This is valuable intelligence for the us, to positively identify some of the individuals and corporations that are directly responsible for lost jobs, home evictions, falling wages, attacks on public sector workers, shrinking social services for the poor, sick and elderly, and in general for the misery and suffering of the 99%.

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3. Communist Teacher says:

   August 2, 2014 at 12:37 pm

   correction, ……intelligence for us,……

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4. Memphis Louie says:

   August 2, 2014 at 5:52 pm

   Notice NY State Chancellor Tisch’s Corporate linked husband (Loews) benefits nicely from the largesse of NY State. She needs to be removed from that position based upon all of the potential conflicts that relationship causes. It is not a matter of great reporting that Elliot Spitzer was exposed…there was a powerful group of people who wanted him out of office because of what he knew and where he was taking NY. His indiscretion was exposed by powerful people who needed to take him out of government. This article is both enraging and frustrating…we are up against some powerful forces and those in government find it much more practical to go along than take a stand. PATHETIC!

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5. Linda says:

   August 2, 2014 at 8:18 pm

   The banks are scared that Sen. Brown of Ohio may be the next chair of the Senate Banking Committee. He “won’t go along”. The nation needs more politicians like Brown, Warren and Sanders. And, fewer oligarchs, like pete peterson, john arnold and eli broad.

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