Plutocracy

[noddy]

I dont think western middle class is any more toxic than Indian or Chinese or whatever.

just that the mythology of freedom loving, truth loving, risk loving, creative, entrepeneurial or whatever is mostly horseshit.

entitled people with rent seeking ambitions rules the world, everywhere. all the time.

[Miss_Faucie_Fishtits]

[noddy]

probably so

still, the problems in society now of plutocrats, rent seeking middle class, industrial robber barrons.

they arent new, or unique, and to think it was different before requires more blue pills than i have in stock.

[noddy]

evidence for the prosecution, part the first.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_p ... experience

[Simple Minded]

That is a POC (Pill of Color), right?

[Nonc Hilaire]

That is a POC (Pill of Color), right?

That pill got me through university.

[Typhoon]

I dont think western middle class is any more toxic than Indian or Chinese or whatever.

just that the mythology of freedom loving, truth loving, risk loving, creative, entrepeneurial or whatever is mostly horseshit.

entitled people with rent seeking ambitions rules the world, everywhere. all the time.

I don't think that the people featured in the article The Miseducation of America’s Elites are in the middle-class cohort.

Rather upper-middle class and/or elite.

I also disagree with regards to current Western vs Chinese elites.

There have been periods in history when the elite class lost all sense of reality. The time leading up to the Reign of Terror in France, the time preceding the Revolution in Russia, and the time preceding the Sacking in ancient Rome come to mind.

Rent seeking is one thing, seeking self-destruction is another matter entirely.

[noddy]

I dont think western middle class is any more toxic than Indian or Chinese or whatever.

just that the mythology of freedom loving, truth loving, risk loving, creative, entrepeneurial or whatever is mostly horseshit.

entitled people with rent seeking ambitions rules the world, everywhere. all the time.

I don't think that the people featured in the article The Miseducation of America’s Elites are in the middle-class cohort.

Rather upper-middle class and/or elite.

I also disagree with regards to current Western vs Chinese elites.

There have been periods in history when the elite class lost all sense of reality. The time leading up to the Reign of Terror in France, the time preceding the Revolution in Russia, and the time preceding the Sacking in ancient Rome come to mind.

Rent seeking is one thing, seeking self-destruction is another matter entirely.

with proviso, that was a "one can too many" frustration rant after a long hard week..

the difference between a plutocracy and a technocracy are largely in the eye of the beholder and the middle class (in its rent seeking entirety) very much wants a technocracy and continues to relentlessly push society in that direction.

the fact they have a plutocracy is somewhat like the deep state vs public service arguments - same thing, different perspective.

the elite schools are just part of that framework and in the broad brush, the urban middle class agree with the agendas, they benefit from them.

urban middle class are absolutely voting for and driving all of this and its not a long term plan, these are not long term people.

their sense of entitlement is so deep and so complete, the thought they might not be on the rent collecting side of all this hasnt even crossed their minds.

when they work that lavender out, thats when the switch gets flipped and the pogroms start.

the chinese elites are mostly just like the western ones in the 50's, how long that lasts and how much the shows of strength actually represent weakness, is another conversation.

[Typhoon]

"The Pill of Murti-Bing"?

[Typhoon]

Taki's Mag - Z Man | When Fools Rule

bigstock-Vector-Cartoon-Stick-Figure-Il-402410855.jpg (59.4 KiB) Viewed 457 times

It is axiomatic that uninformed people are the easiest to deceive. A corollary to this rule is that people are most certain about the things they understand the least. Scientists are well aware of the gaps in their knowledge, but the evangelist is absolutely certain about the truth of whatever he is peddling. Taken together, intelligence and experience lead to prudence, while stupidity and ignorance lead to foolhardiness.

Working backward from this understanding, we can begin to understand why the American ruling class is going insane.
The defining feature of this age is that the people in charge are certain about things that are imaginary.

[Doc]

Taki's Mag - Z Man | When Fools Rule


bigstock-Vector-Cartoon-Stick-Figure-Il-402410855.jpg

It is axiomatic that uninformed people are the easiest to deceive. A corollary to this rule is that people are most certain about the things they understand the least. Scientists are well aware of the gaps in their knowledge, but the evangelist is absolutely certain about the truth of whatever he is peddling. Taken together, intelligence and experience lead to prudence, while stupidity and ignorance lead to foolhardiness.

Working backward from this understanding, we can begin to understand why the American ruling class is going insane.
The defining feature of this age is that the people in charge are certain about things that are imaginary.

Catch-22

European Elites have long been accused of hiding in plain sight by pretending to be socialists.

Sometimes pretense takes on a life of its own.


"Change you can believe in"

Everything under heaven is in utter chaos; the situation is excellent.

Mao Zedong

[Typhoon]

NPR | TikTokers Are Trading Stocks By Copying What Members Of Congress Do

Captain Obvious opines . . .

"If the situation is that the public has lost so much trust in government that they think ... the stock trades of members are based on corruption, and that [following that] corruption could benefit [them]. ... We have a significant problem," said Kedric Payne, senior director of ethics at the Campaign Legal Center.

[noddy]

thats very funny.

[Doc]

NPR | TikTokers Are Trading Stocks By Copying What Members Of Congress Do

Captain Obvious opines . . .

"If the situation is that the public has lost so much trust in government that they think ... the stock trades of members are based on corruption, and that [following that] corruption could benefit [them]. ... We have a significant problem," said Kedric Payne, senior director of ethics at the Campaign Legal Center.

The ultimate tell all book(s) about Wall Street corruption:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/159 ... n_Steffens

The Autobiography of Lincoln Steffens
(The Autobiography of Lincoln Steffens #1+2)
by Lincoln Steffens
4.31 ·
Rating details · 49 ratings · 9 reviews
Rediscover a man Americans turned to not only for news but for humor & wisdom. Growing up in Sacramento, Steffens (1866-1936) was an editor at the NY Evening Post, later at McClure’s Magazine. As popular as he was cantankerous, he brushed shoulders with presidents & corporate barons, tsars & dictators. His efforts to expose corruption took him all over the nation & on to Mexico, Europe & the new USSR, where he made his famous proclamation, ‘I have seen the future, & it works!’ He would later become disenchanted with Soviet communism, & eventually he returned to California, to feel again its ‘warm, colorful force of beauty’ & to write what would become this best-selling memoir. Inspiring, entertaining & lyrical, The Autobiography is the story of a brilliant reporter with a passion for examining the complex & contradictory conditions that breed corruption, poverty & misery.

[Doc]

There is an 'increasing feeling' we are 'losing our democracy'

XxcnvCQAxJA

[Doc]

There is an 'increasing feeling' we are 'losing our democracy'

XxcnvCQAxJA

_rygKbC5gFY

[Doc]

Apparently the Biden regime doesn't like dissidents very much.

https://www.militarytimes.com/news/2021 ... t-charged/

Marine lieutenant colonel who demanded ‘accountability’ in brig, not charged

[Typhoon]

The Spectator | What Functional America wants

An end to disorder and CRT-loving hustlers who fan the flames of hate

The United States is still rich enough to meet higher-order needs and call them entitlements. The decades-long response to race, class and gender proves the point. Americans can fixate on respect, status, self-esteem, hurt feelings and positive recognition because the essentials just happen.

Potable water, traffic lights, microwave ovens and freedom from fear. They are there, like magic. Because all Americans are fed, reasonably policed and more civil than not — this point cannot be overstressed — authorities can sidestep policy basics and empirical findings.

The radical left evidently wishes to dismantle much of what makes this plenty possible — and what many rely on for survival — in the name of social justice. Functional America notices. Yet any rebuke to equity is likely to trigger renewed disorder of the kind condoned by blasé blue-state officials and the Democratic Party in 2020. The state’s clients and their paid handlers intend to keep a catastrophic tribute system and flow of public resources intact, and in many states and localities have the political power to do so.

[Doc]

The Spectator | What Functional America wants

An end to disorder and CRT-loving hustlers who fan the flames of hate

The United States is still rich enough to meet higher-order needs and call them entitlements. The decades-long response to race, class and gender proves the point. Americans can fixate on respect, status, self-esteem, hurt feelings and positive recognition because the essentials just happen.

Potable water, traffic lights, microwave ovens and freedom from fear. They are there, like magic. Because all Americans are fed, reasonably policed and more civil than not — this point cannot be overstressed — authorities can sidestep policy basics and empirical findings.

The radical left evidently wishes to dismantle much of what makes this plenty possible — and what many rely on for survival — in the name of social justice. Functional America notices. Yet any rebuke to equity is likely to trigger renewed disorder of the kind condoned by blasé blue-state officials and the Democratic Party in 2020. The state’s clients and their paid handlers intend to keep a catastrophic tribute system and flow of public resources intact, and in many states and localities have the political power to do so.

Indeed



BTW The above tweets were deleted by Twitter

[Typhoon]

FT | ‘An inherent conflict of interest’: US officials under pressure over trading [paywalled]

Outrage over unfair market opportunities spurs lawmakers to pursue bills banning active investing by public officials

In mid-December, Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic Speaker of the House of Representatives, brushed off calls for legislation to ban trading by members of Congress with a throwaway comment that has come back to haunt her.

“We are a free-market economy,” she told reporters at the time. “They should be able to participate in that.”

Pelosi’s quip was criticised for being tone-deaf not just because of her status as one of the wealthiest members of Congress, but also for the fact that it was made amid a growing outcry inside the Washington bubble and across the US over controversial investments by public officials.

Now the issue is coming to a head after a clutch of lawmakers this week introduced legislation that would ban or severely curtain active investing by their colleagues.

In the past two years, US lawmakers including Richard Burr, the North Carolina Republican senator, have been accused of improperly trading on confidential information about the pandemic. And Jay Powell, Federal Reserve chair, is battling a reputational crisis after three senior officials resigned following disclosures of questionable trades — including the central bank’s second-in-command Richard Clarida, who stood down this week.

In a separate but connected development, federal judges have been criticised for failing to recuse themselves from cases involving companies in which they or their families owned shares.

It is wild that members of Congress have appeared to use their inside knowledge for financial gains

Chris Collins, a former Republican member of Congress, was convicted and sentenced to jail in January 2020 for participating in a scheme to commit insider trading, before being pardoned by former president Donald Trump.

According to the most recent OpenSecrets data from 2018, Pelosi’s net worth was $114.6m, making her the seventh-wealthiest member of Congress at the time.

The Speaker’s husband, Paul Pelosi, runs Financial Leasing Services, a San Francisco-based real estate and venture capital investment firm. The latest congressional disclosures show Paul Pelosi bought millions of dollars worth of call options in several companies last month alone, including Google parent Alphabet, Roblox, Salesforce and Disney. The trades made a splash on video app TikTok, underscoring the extent to which the issue is resonating beyond the Beltway.

The furore over powerful people having unfair opportunities to profit from investments has spurred cross-party momentum to crack down on securities trading in all three branches of the US government in an effort to disentangle Washington’s ties with Wall Street and corporate America.

According to a poll released this month by the conservative Convention of States, 76 per cent of Americans believe members of Congress and their spouses have an “unfair” edge in financial markets, with just 5 per cent saying they should be allowed to trade.

“I think the American people, they get why this is problematic. It undermines their confidence in government. It makes it look like they are really there to serve their own personal financial interests rather than to serve the public good,” said Virginia Canter, a former ethics officer to presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton and the IMF. She is now at Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics, an advocacy group in Washington.

Politicians are taking notice. Late last year, a group of Senate Democrats, including Sherrod Brown, the chair of the banking committee, proposed legislation to ban Fed officials from trading individual stocks, as Congress began to turn the screws on the US central bank.

$1.6m
Median net worth of US Senators
Lawmakers are also pursuing curbs on their own activities too. This week, Jon Ossoff and Mark Kelly, Democratic senators from Georgia and Arizona, respectively, introduced a bill that would force members of Congress, their spouses and dependent children to place their investments in a blind trust. Abigail Spanberger, a Democratic member of the House of Representatives from Virginia, and Chip Roy, a Republican House member from Texas, have been championing similar legislation for months.

“This is about key steps to affirm that trust that people have in us, to make sure that people know that we are working on their behalf, to remove doubt, and to not only avoid impropriety, but . . . the appearance of impropriety,” Spanberger told the Financial Times. “I do think that there is momentum to it. For some people, it would be a real mind shift.”

Josh Hawley, the Republican senator from Missouri, introduced his own legislation this week that would ban members of Congress from holding or trading individual shares, saying it was “time to stop turning a blind eye to Washington profiteering”. 

Kevin McCarthy, Pelosi’s Republican counterpart who could become the next Speaker if his party regains control of the lower chamber in this year’s midterm elections, has also spotted a political opportunity. He has reportedly told allies he is interested in limiting or banning lawmakers from trading stocks if his party takes the reins.

Josh Hawley, the Republican senator from Missouri, introduced legislation this week that would ban members of Congress from holding or trading individual shares © Bloomberg

Abigail Spanberger, a Democratic member of the House of Representatives from Virginia, said new rules were needed ‘to not only avoid impropriety, but . . . the appearance of impropriety’

Yet some experts say a crackdown could have unintended and risky consequences and make public service less appealing to those who amassed significant shareholdings before entering government.

“At the end of the day, the access to information on Capitol Hill is pretty significant, it is essentially equivalent to the access to information you get in the boardrooms of public companies,” said Jay Clayton, the former chair of the SEC who is an adviser at Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, a law firm.

But lawmakers should not be too “blunt”, he warned. “You want people invested, riding along with the American economy — you need to draw on private sector expertise in government.”

Others say the behaviour of many public officials has simply become too egregious to ignore, including after it emerged last year that a large number of lawmakers had violated disclosure obligations about their financial transactions required in a 2012 law enacted by Obama.

“How can you have a member of Congress making a decision about healthcare, and regulating the healthcare industry or taxing medical devices, when they are loaded with healthcare company stock? That is an inherent conflict of interest,” said Richard Painter, a former White House ethics lawyer in the George W Bush administration. “That is a huge problem with respect to the credibility of Congress.”

Meanwhile, the political push for stricter trading rules is mostly being driven by a younger generation of lawmakers who are eager to confront the old guard on Capitol Hill, where wealth and power are often paired.

According to 2018 data compiled by OpenSecrets, the median net worth of Senate members was just over $1.6m, while in the House it was just below $500,000.

“Members of both parties are realising that it is just sort of politically dumb to be playing in the stock market when they have that kind of access to inside information,” said Craig Holman of Public Citizen, a consumer rights advocacy group. “Even if they are not doing insider trading, it looks like it.”

A White House official declined to endorse any specific legislation, but said Biden believed “all government agencies and officials, including independent agencies, should be held to the highest ethical standards, including the avoidance of any suggestion of conflicts of interest”.

The issue is resonating on the 2022 campaign trail: John Fetterman, a Democratic candidate for Senate in Pennsylvania, backed a trading ban for members of Congress this week, as did Democratic and Republican primary candidates in several other states.

“I don’t think there are any Republican or Democrat [voters] in Pennsylvania who are like, ‘I want my member of Congress to be able to buy and trade stocks,’” said Joe Calvello, Fetterman’s communications director. “It is wild that members of Congress have appeared to use their inside knowledge for financial gains while we are in the middle of a pandemic where working class people are just struggling to get by.”

[Doc]

FT | ‘An inherent conflict of interest’: US officials under pressure over trading [paywalled]

Outrage over unfair market opportunities spurs lawmakers to pursue bills banning active investing by public officials

In mid-December, Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic Speaker of the House of Representatives, brushed off calls for legislation to ban trading by members of Congress with a throwaway comment that has come back to haunt her.

“We are a free-market economy,” she told reporters at the time. “They should be able to participate in that.”

Pelosi’s quip was criticised for being tone-deaf not just because of her status as one of the wealthiest members of Congress, but also for the fact that it was made amid a growing outcry inside the Washington bubble and across the US over controversial investments by public officials.

Now the issue is coming to a head after a clutch of lawmakers this week introduced legislation that would ban or severely curtain active investing by their colleagues.

In the past two years, US lawmakers including Richard Burr, the North Carolina Republican senator, have been accused of improperly trading on confidential information about the pandemic. And Jay Powell, Federal Reserve chair, is battling a reputational crisis after three senior officials resigned following disclosures of questionable trades — including the central bank’s second-in-command Richard Clarida, who stood down this week.

In a separate but connected development, federal judges have been criticised for failing to recuse themselves from cases involving companies in which they or their families owned shares.

It is wild that members of Congress have appeared to use their inside knowledge for financial gains

Chris Collins, a former Republican member of Congress, was convicted and sentenced to jail in January 2020 for participating in a scheme to commit insider trading, before being pardoned by former president Donald Trump.

According to the most recent OpenSecrets data from 2018, Pelosi’s net worth was $114.6m, making her the seventh-wealthiest member of Congress at the time.

The Speaker’s husband, Paul Pelosi, runs Financial Leasing Services, a San Francisco-based real estate and venture capital investment firm. The latest congressional disclosures show Paul Pelosi bought millions of dollars worth of call options in several companies last month alone, including Google parent Alphabet, Roblox, Salesforce and Disney. The trades made a splash on video app TikTok, underscoring the extent to which the issue is resonating beyond the Beltway.

The furore over powerful people having unfair opportunities to profit from investments has spurred cross-party momentum to crack down on securities trading in all three branches of the US government in an effort to disentangle Washington’s ties with Wall Street and corporate America.

According to a poll released this month by the conservative Convention of States, 76 per cent of Americans believe members of Congress and their spouses have an “unfair” edge in financial markets, with just 5 per cent saying they should be allowed to trade.

“I think the American people, they get why this is problematic. It undermines their confidence in government. It makes it look like they are really there to serve their own personal financial interests rather than to serve the public good,” said Virginia Canter, a former ethics officer to presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton and the IMF. She is now at Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics, an advocacy group in Washington.

Politicians are taking notice. Late last year, a group of Senate Democrats, including Sherrod Brown, the chair of the banking committee, proposed legislation to ban Fed officials from trading individual stocks, as Congress began to turn the screws on the US central bank.

$1.6m
Median net worth of US Senators
Lawmakers are also pursuing curbs on their own activities too. This week, Jon Ossoff and Mark Kelly, Democratic senators from Georgia and Arizona, respectively, introduced a bill that would force members of Congress, their spouses and dependent children to place their investments in a blind trust. Abigail Spanberger, a Democratic member of the House of Representatives from Virginia, and Chip Roy, a Republican House member from Texas, have been championing similar legislation for months.

“This is about key steps to affirm that trust that people have in us, to make sure that people know that we are working on their behalf, to remove doubt, and to not only avoid impropriety, but . . . the appearance of impropriety,” Spanberger told the Financial Times. “I do think that there is momentum to it. For some people, it would be a real mind shift.”

Josh Hawley, the Republican senator from Missouri, introduced his own legislation this week that would ban members of Congress from holding or trading individual shares, saying it was “time to stop turning a blind eye to Washington profiteering”. 

Kevin McCarthy, Pelosi’s Republican counterpart who could become the next Speaker if his party regains control of the lower chamber in this year’s midterm elections, has also spotted a political opportunity. He has reportedly told allies he is interested in limiting or banning lawmakers from trading stocks if his party takes the reins.

Josh Hawley, the Republican senator from Missouri, introduced legislation this week that would ban members of Congress from holding or trading individual shares © Bloomberg

Abigail Spanberger, a Democratic member of the House of Representatives from Virginia, said new rules were needed ‘to not only avoid impropriety, but . . . the appearance of impropriety’

Yet some experts say a crackdown could have unintended and risky consequences and make public service less appealing to those who amassed significant shareholdings before entering government.

“At the end of the day, the access to information on Capitol Hill is pretty significant, it is essentially equivalent to the access to information you get in the boardrooms of public companies,” said Jay Clayton, the former chair of the SEC who is an adviser at Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, a law firm.

But lawmakers should not be too “blunt”, he warned. “You want people invested, riding along with the American economy — you need to draw on private sector expertise in government.”

Others say the behaviour of many public officials has simply become too egregious to ignore, including after it emerged last year that a large number of lawmakers had violated disclosure obligations about their financial transactions required in a 2012 law enacted by Obama.

“How can you have a member of Congress making a decision about healthcare, and regulating the healthcare industry or taxing medical devices, when they are loaded with healthcare company stock? That is an inherent conflict of interest,” said Richard Painter, a former White House ethics lawyer in the George W Bush administration. “That is a huge problem with respect to the credibility of Congress.”

Meanwhile, the political push for stricter trading rules is mostly being driven by a younger generation of lawmakers who are eager to confront the old guard on Capitol Hill, where wealth and power are often paired.

According to 2018 data compiled by OpenSecrets, the median net worth of Senate members was just over $1.6m, while in the House it was just below $500,000.

“Members of both parties are realising that it is just sort of politically dumb to be playing in the stock market when they have that kind of access to inside information,” said Craig Holman of Public Citizen, a consumer rights advocacy group. “Even if they are not doing insider trading, it looks like it.”

A White House official declined to endorse any specific legislation, but said Biden believed “all government agencies and officials, including independent agencies, should be held to the highest ethical standards, including the avoidance of any suggestion of conflicts of interest”.

The issue is resonating on the 2022 campaign trail: John Fetterman, a Democratic candidate for Senate in Pennsylvania, backed a trading ban for members of Congress this week, as did Democratic and Republican primary candidates in several other states.

“I don’t think there are any Republican or Democrat [voters] in Pennsylvania who are like, ‘I want my member of Congress to be able to buy and trade stocks,’” said Joe Calvello, Fetterman’s communications director. “It is wild that members of Congress have appeared to use their inside knowledge for financial gains while we are in the middle of a pandemic where working class people are just struggling to get by.”

A great deal of information on this subject can be found here;

https://unusualwhales.com/i_am_the_senate/full

Congressional Trading in 2021