RebelCapitalist: Financial Information for the Rest of Us | How Does the Financial Oligarchy Affect the Rest of Us?

How Does the Financial Oligarchy Affect the Rest of Us?

Sep 30, 2009 | By: Mr_Blue | Tags: financial oligarchy, income inequality

The magnitude of income inequality in the U.S. is disturbing and dangerous. But it is tolerated by us and policy makers. Why? Could it be because we believe in the myth of the “American Dream”? Or is there something else at play?

When we have such huge disparities in wealth (See this discussion on income inequality) those at the top are more likely to want to protect their position - its human nature. Right? But is it fair? The people at the top levels of income have huge sums of money at their disposal to protect their interests. How do they protect their interests? One way is through lobbying policy makers in Washington D.C. to make sure no laws are passed that could potentially hurt their economic interests. The rest of us don’t have such a benefit of wealth.

For example, in 2007, according to a report by Essential Information and The Consumer Education Foundation entitled “Sold Out: How Wall Street and Washington Betrayed America, there were 3,000 registered lobbyists working on behalf of the financial sector - that is 5 lobbyists to 1 congressional member. The report also shows that from 1998-2008 Wall Street investment firms, commercial banks, hedge funds, real estate companies and insurance conglomerates made $1.725 billion in political contributions.

These lobbyists and political contributions were not in Washington to just monitor the situation - they were there to effect change and to protect the financial oligarchy’s interests. Financial de-regulation was a major cause of our financial crisis and it was these lobbyists and political contributions that helped with financial de-regulation. The “Sold Out” Report details 12 steps that led to our financial crisis. Oh, BTW, it was a bi-partisan effort to de-regulate the financial sector and help strengthen the financial oligarchy. Of course, all of this was done at OUR EXPENSE.

Are you pissed yet? If so, contact your congressperson or senator in Washington and let them know you want strong financial regulatory reform and you want a strong Consumer Financial Protection Agency.

Good luck.