It is a strange thing to suddenly realize that the country you thought you lived in isn't there any more.
Perhaps it never was...maybe it was just a dream.
In any case, the dream is over.
The Trump boys have big plans for our country.
Sorry, their country.
There's money to be made! Make that MONEY!!!!
Oil to be drilled for, coal to be mined, pipelines to be laid. Federal land to be sold to the highest bidder. All of those National Parks need to be monetized! Otherwise, what use are they?
Away you pesky regulations! You only get in the way of progress; and all in the naive guise of protecting our air and water and health and common heritage.
Fuck that namby pamby shit! There's money to be made! Make that MONEY!!!!
So fuck your health, fuck your feelings, fuck your future.
Fuck your so-called Constitutional rights!
The Constitution is only paper and ink. And ink fades and paper burns.
Gays and blacks and browns and uppity womenfolk and liberals and progressives and environmentalists and humanists and all the bleeding hearts in the fact based community will be taught a lesson now.
And they better not ever forget it:
Rich White Men Make The Rules.
Rule Number One: There's money to be made! Make that MONEY!!!!
Showing posts with label crony capitalism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label crony capitalism. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 21, 2016
Sunday, November 24, 2013
The Game Is Rigged
The game is rigged.
The game has always been rigged.
What has changed is that the occasional bone is no longer thrown to the masses.
Through the years, palliatives such as trust busting, labor laws, a minimum wage, public education, Social Security, the GI Bill, civil and voting rights, food stamps, welfare and Medicare were offered to an increasingly restless public. People who really believed in the unfulfilled, often mythical, promises of "all men are created equal" and "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness".
Not any more. The very very rich, whether human, or super-human (i.e. Corporations) have decided that it's counter productive to their profits to do anything for the rest of us.
And their almost complete control of the media has eliminated the possibility of a true reformer, like Teddy Roosevelt or FDR, changing the rules of the game. Even a centrist like Barack Obama is way too progressive for our oligarchical overlords.
No, better to elect Ayn Rand spouting, trickle down fools, who campaign on the lie that "government is the problem" and then do their level best to make sure that government does not work--except to ensure that the public trough is kept open for only a very select few.
The game has always been rigged.
What has changed is that the occasional bone is no longer thrown to the masses.
Through the years, palliatives such as trust busting, labor laws, a minimum wage, public education, Social Security, the GI Bill, civil and voting rights, food stamps, welfare and Medicare were offered to an increasingly restless public. People who really believed in the unfulfilled, often mythical, promises of "all men are created equal" and "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness".
Not any more. The very very rich, whether human, or super-human (i.e. Corporations) have decided that it's counter productive to their profits to do anything for the rest of us.
And their almost complete control of the media has eliminated the possibility of a true reformer, like Teddy Roosevelt or FDR, changing the rules of the game. Even a centrist like Barack Obama is way too progressive for our oligarchical overlords.
No, better to elect Ayn Rand spouting, trickle down fools, who campaign on the lie that "government is the problem" and then do their level best to make sure that government does not work--except to ensure that the public trough is kept open for only a very select few.
Friday, April 1, 2011
Sticky Fingers
The thing about Arizona corruption is that it's pretty straight forward. Other than Ned Warren's byzantine land deals back in the 60's and 70's, our crooks don't really exhibit much inventiveness. This makes it much easier to follow their crimes--that is, if anyone is paying attention.
John Junker, former CEO of the Fiesta Bowl, is the latest poster boy for Arizona corruption.
The Fiesta Bowl is a big deal. (I read that somewhere.) It's a big deal because it allegedly pumps $200 million into the local economy every year. Just between you and me, I do not believe for one moment that that figure is accurate. A quick fingering of the old abacus tells me that if it were, it would mean that everyone who attends the game must spend about 5 grand each while they're here. Seems a little high, doesn't it? And whatever amount the bowl actually generates, I'm guessing that no more than a fifth, and probably closer to a tenth, of it actually stays in the Valley.
But what do I know? Some expert economists have been paid a lot of money to explain to us disbelievers just how important it is to have The Fiesta Bowl, or the Insight Bowl, or any bowl for that matter. And who am I to argue with "expert economists"? (The underlying theory seems to be that no one will come to the Valley of the Sun in the winter unless there's a college football game to attend. And so all of that money would stay in winter wonderlands like Pittsburgh, Dubuque, or Omaha.)
The Fiesta Bowl's stated goals include "assisting education and being a source of pride for all Arizonans". Well, mission accomplished! Its Board of Directors is made up of some very important people and like most boards they don't do much of anything. Oh, there are functions to attend, and photo ops, and the various perks that come with being on a board, and maybe even the occasional board meeting. But for the most part, they mind their own business. After all, these are important people and they have other important things to do. Besides, the bowl has a large well paid staff, headed by the aforementioned Mr. Junker, who do all of the day to day stuff.
Apparently the day to day stuff included what could be called "bribes", and the misuse of expense accounts on an impressively large scale. Of course, the board is shocked, shocked, to find out that that sort of activity is taking place.
Now, as I am fond of saying, let he who is without sin among you cast the first stone. Let's not be naive here, of course you have to bribe people. What is crony capitalism if not a system of bribes? This good old boy greases the palm of that good old boy and stuff gets done. So and so plays golf with such and such, they have a nice dinner, a few drinks, later they end up at a strip club, because, well, boys will be boys. Now who's going to pay for all that? Well, their employer, naturally. Because they're working. And from such arduous labor much wealth flows...allegedly.
Furthermore, if a politician is in a position to help the Fiesta Bowl, it would be a foolish, indeed reckless, business practice to not "help" that politician in any way possible. And if some busy body do-gooder has erected barriers (i. e. laws) to stop you from helping your friends, then by God it's your moral obligation to find ways around these barriers (i.e. laws). After all, what kind of person doesn't help his friends? A bad person, that's what kind.
And sometimes you might even help people who aren't your friends in the hopes that they might become your friends. That's called being an optimist. What's that old saying? "A stranger is only a friend you haven't spent thousands of dollars on yet."
I guess once you get in the habit of handing out a lot of cash, it's hard to stop. And finding yourself sitting on about $22 million, with incredibly lax accounting procedures overseeing it, well, a fellow just feels entitled, indeed obligated, to help himself to his fair share. And maybe some more, just for luck.
So John Junker got a little carried away and began spending the bowl's money like a drunken sailor. Five thousand here, ten thousand there, and my personal favorite, thirty thousand plus for his own birthday party. Come on, he's only human. Admit it, you'd do the same if you could get your hands on that kind of loot. In his defense, it was his 50th birthday. And you only have one 50th birthday, so you better have a big party. Otherwise people might think you're a loser. And the CEO of the Fiesta Bowl is not, cannot be, a loser. (I don't remember what we did for my 50th birthday. Probably something with Mexican food, tequila, and a cake from Safeway. Come to think of it, there might have been balloons, too.)
I'm not sure how good the Fiesta Bowl is for the local economy. But it was very good for John Junker and his friends.
John Junker, former CEO of the Fiesta Bowl, is the latest poster boy for Arizona corruption.
The Fiesta Bowl is a big deal. (I read that somewhere.) It's a big deal because it allegedly pumps $200 million into the local economy every year. Just between you and me, I do not believe for one moment that that figure is accurate. A quick fingering of the old abacus tells me that if it were, it would mean that everyone who attends the game must spend about 5 grand each while they're here. Seems a little high, doesn't it? And whatever amount the bowl actually generates, I'm guessing that no more than a fifth, and probably closer to a tenth, of it actually stays in the Valley.
But what do I know? Some expert economists have been paid a lot of money to explain to us disbelievers just how important it is to have The Fiesta Bowl, or the Insight Bowl, or any bowl for that matter. And who am I to argue with "expert economists"? (The underlying theory seems to be that no one will come to the Valley of the Sun in the winter unless there's a college football game to attend. And so all of that money would stay in winter wonderlands like Pittsburgh, Dubuque, or Omaha.)
The Fiesta Bowl's stated goals include "assisting education and being a source of pride for all Arizonans". Well, mission accomplished! Its Board of Directors is made up of some very important people and like most boards they don't do much of anything. Oh, there are functions to attend, and photo ops, and the various perks that come with being on a board, and maybe even the occasional board meeting. But for the most part, they mind their own business. After all, these are important people and they have other important things to do. Besides, the bowl has a large well paid staff, headed by the aforementioned Mr. Junker, who do all of the day to day stuff.
Apparently the day to day stuff included what could be called "bribes", and the misuse of expense accounts on an impressively large scale. Of course, the board is shocked, shocked, to find out that that sort of activity is taking place.
Now, as I am fond of saying, let he who is without sin among you cast the first stone. Let's not be naive here, of course you have to bribe people. What is crony capitalism if not a system of bribes? This good old boy greases the palm of that good old boy and stuff gets done. So and so plays golf with such and such, they have a nice dinner, a few drinks, later they end up at a strip club, because, well, boys will be boys. Now who's going to pay for all that? Well, their employer, naturally. Because they're working. And from such arduous labor much wealth flows...allegedly.
Furthermore, if a politician is in a position to help the Fiesta Bowl, it would be a foolish, indeed reckless, business practice to not "help" that politician in any way possible. And if some busy body do-gooder has erected barriers (i. e. laws) to stop you from helping your friends, then by God it's your moral obligation to find ways around these barriers (i.e. laws). After all, what kind of person doesn't help his friends? A bad person, that's what kind.
And sometimes you might even help people who aren't your friends in the hopes that they might become your friends. That's called being an optimist. What's that old saying? "A stranger is only a friend you haven't spent thousands of dollars on yet."
I guess once you get in the habit of handing out a lot of cash, it's hard to stop. And finding yourself sitting on about $22 million, with incredibly lax accounting procedures overseeing it, well, a fellow just feels entitled, indeed obligated, to help himself to his fair share. And maybe some more, just for luck.
So John Junker got a little carried away and began spending the bowl's money like a drunken sailor. Five thousand here, ten thousand there, and my personal favorite, thirty thousand plus for his own birthday party. Come on, he's only human. Admit it, you'd do the same if you could get your hands on that kind of loot. In his defense, it was his 50th birthday. And you only have one 50th birthday, so you better have a big party. Otherwise people might think you're a loser. And the CEO of the Fiesta Bowl is not, cannot be, a loser. (I don't remember what we did for my 50th birthday. Probably something with Mexican food, tequila, and a cake from Safeway. Come to think of it, there might have been balloons, too.)
I'm not sure how good the Fiesta Bowl is for the local economy. But it was very good for John Junker and his friends.
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