In Part I, we explored the failure of a petition set by a concerned anonymous citizen, to be saluted for his endeavor, regardless of its failure. Noting that roughly 11,000 American citizens signed the petition, there appears to be at least a growing concern, and conscientiousness for the future of the country. However feeble the petition was at end, informed individuals see the threat of a self-regulated Commercial Bank (Wall Street paradoxically ‘regulating’ itself) and the merit in taxing that financial behemoth — that of reinvesting in the society that allows for that turnover in principal.
The turnout of this petition is viable in that it indicates the percentage of the population that is a step closer to embracing the Millionaire’s Estate Tax. Not too far behind it is the shift from commercial, privately operated banks that work for their self-serving interests, towards state-regulated public banks. Meritocratic Democracy will not perpetuate the casino-style gambling techniques used by Wall Street; it will, however, screen economically talented citizens for their empathy, altruism, and propensity to serve the community. No more closed-door deals for haughty avarice! Hence, true transparency and screening (e.g., MRI scans or lie detectors) are an utmost requirement. If you can’t cope with that, then you need not apply; go to Las Vegas and take your chances with your own money! And no — money acquired through legalized thievery is not yours. To reiterate, Wall Street spends enormous amounts of money on lobbying; hence, the laws that permit their accumulation of wealth are illegal in any form of justice, but especially in that of Meritocracy. This money is made with relative ease — stock market investments, monopolization of resources, and high-interest-rate loans are the source of their wealth. Once you follow the money, trickle-down theory does the contrary to what it states. The new public officials of banks will serve based on merit and far-sighted planning, as well as altruism, contrary to the short-sighted extravagance of the current officials running banking institutions. Their merit will be attributed to long-term planning, whereby consideration for the national funds is paramount to a successful and truly rational economy, as it permits the reinvestment of resources that ensure its citizens’ future. The economy is in shambles due to the negative reinforcement that attributes success to accumulation of wealth, propagated by bribery of the legislative, judicial, and executive branches that push laws that embrace laissez-faire trade, and remove any transparency of those transactions. That’s rather ironic, to witness our government impose suck-up laws that benefit banks and corporations, rather than the people they are intended to represent, according to the Constitution.
“The duty of government is to leave commerce to its own capital and credit as well as all other branches of business, protecting all in their legal pursuits, granting exclusive privileges to none.” — Andrew Jackson, who triumphed over reauthorization of the national bank, which would have benefitted financial elites
Apathy is an epidemic due primarily to the source of our leisure time activities, how we spend our time, why we spend it that way, and how it influences decisions that are “out of our reach”. [1]
“For the most part, the news media ignores the poor. Unnoticed are forty million poor people in the nation … ” [1]
“Each year the Census Bureau releases a new report on poverty in our society, and its results are duly reported in the media … It ignores the human tragedy of poverty — the suffering, indignities, and misery endured by millions of children and adults. Instead, the poor become statistics rather than people.” [1]
“The media will provide us with sensational stories about welfare cheats, drug addicts, and greedy panhandlers … While the behavior of the more affluent offenders is considered an ‘impropriety’ and a deviation from the norm, the behavior of the poor is considered repugnant … and worthy of our indignation and resentment.” [1]
“When the media does cover the poor, they are often presented through the eyes of the middle class. Rather than focusing on the plight of the poor, these stories are about middle-class opposition to the poor. Such stories tell us that the poor are an inconvenience and an irritation.” [1]
“They (media) routinely center on Black urban population and focus on perceived personality or cultural traits that doom the poor. While the women in these stories typically exhibit an ‘attitude’ that leads to trouble or promiscuity that leads to single motherhood, the men possess a need for immediate gratification that leads to drug abuse or an unquenchable greed that leads to the pursuit of fast money. The images that are seared into our mind are sexist, racist, and classist. Census figures reveal that most of the poor are White, not Black or Hispanic, that they live in rural or suburban areas, not urban centers, and hold jobs at least part of the year. Yet, in fashion that is often framed in an understanding and sympathetic tone, we are told that the poor have inflicted poverty on themselves.” [1]
“Given the extent of poverty in the nation and the impact it has on us all, the media must spin considerable magic to keep the poor and the issue of poverty and its root causes out of the public consciousness.” [1]
“Much of the information provided to us by the news media focuses attention on the concerns of a very wealthy and privileged class of people. Although the concerns of a small fraction of the populace, they are presented as though they were the concerns of everyone.” [1]
“Society pages and gossip columns serve to keep the social elite informed of each others’ doings, allow the rest of us to gawk at their excesses, and help to keep the American Dream alive.” [1]
The general public is sedated and rendered docile by the media, and consequently left unable to grasp the opportunity, let alone seize it. The media also encourages apathy towards the less fortunate as it turns the other cheek. No one cares about the neighbors who just got evicted (orchestrated by Wall Street’s success) when they see and aspire to catch up on — and keep up with — the Kardashians’ conspicuous, consumptive lifestyle. What this nation needs now, more than ever, are its most credible and determined citizens to lead the path to prosperity for all, to express what is most beneficial for the general welfare.
Until the people are granted a Customized Education, and their propensity for junk entertainment is dispelled, they will not have a legitimate chance to achieve mastery over subjects that directly affect their livelihoods. Customized Education is the missing puzzle piece to deliver optimum sovereignty. We’re not talking of sovereignty of the plutocrats, who vehemently oppose and trample any dissidence of equal opportunity, especially of education. Ivy league schools are reserved for the few who, by chance, are lucky to receive the means to be the next generation of leaders. The princes of European blood lineages are back, but this time they use the illusion of equal opportunity of suffrage and education, exempting matters of relevance that directly affect the people. Economics is widely ignored, yet we revere the bill, the credit card, that gets us vacuous objects. (96% of currency is fiat; the rest is digital, hence worthless unless the people continue playing into the ideology of Reaganomics.)
Neoclassical economics is founded on the assumption that an economy can grow with little or no regard to the resources that allow for economic growth of that country. In practice (as is taking place now) it negates any notion of regulation towards the conservation of resources, e.g., timber. It is not surprising that that economic school of thought was endorsed and made acceptable to the general public by individuals such as Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan. In practice it emphasizes the worth of a product based on demand, rather than on the effort and cost it took to create that product — e.g., a tawdry object may be worth more than a painting by Michelangelo.
Sound familiar? Sweat shops abroad are sustained by this notion. Nike and Tommy Hilfiger are examples. Further, neoclassical economics place product value on the cost to make it, rather than on the highest standards of social capitalism, which serves as a mediator between the resources available and the amount of those resources that can be held by any entity, such as a person, company, or state.
Given that wealth is accumulated and allowed through the concatenation of a society’s infrastructure, a basic citizen income is absolutely necessary in order to keep its economy stable, i.e., all citizens of Meritocracy will be granted the basic means to employ their aspirations. This is where the Millionaire’s Estate Tax falls into play. It redistributes excess wealth for the reinvestment of the state, which in turn provides for all its citizens’ needs and makes them productive. The disparity between the richest and poorest in a nation will be of a ratio between 1:6 – 1:20, to serve as motivation while preventing classes from exhibiting superiority over the others, as is at present. This will be beneficial to the environment, as companies will think twice before adopting policies that pollute the resources of others. We’re all in this world together, so we ought to regard an attack on the environment as an intrinsic attack on us, our family, our community (including unborn generations), our country, and our only home — Earth.
It’s time to end the two-tier system. Too long have we endured this lame justification of economic extinction, i.e., social darwinism. Too long have we sleepwalked through our ambition for the American Dream. It’s time to create the reality of that dream (without the “American” bias). It must be delivered for the liberation of the oppressed people, the unsung geniuses, the uneducated of this once great nation. This will be accomplished through the systematic integration of a Meritocratic Democracy: Social Capitalism, The Millionaire’s Estate Tax, Qualified Universal Suffrage, and Customized Education — in short, the apex of an enlightened humanity.
As for the No-Show — hey, no prob, Rob. We got this. At this very moment, our readers are heading over to our volunteer page on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/groups/130493880401821/ . They’re putting their talents and skills to work to bring about what they know is possible: Equal Opportunity for Every Child.
“Most societies have an elite. An elite tries to stay in power, and the way they stay in power is not merely through controlling the means of production, to be Marxists, i.e., controlling the money, but by controlling the cognitive map, the way we think — and what really matters in that respect is not so much what is said in public, but what is left undebated, unsaid.” — Gillian Tett, “Four Horsemen”, Renegade Economist, http://youtu.be/AWKx0PS3wDw
— (Media Magic-Making Class Invisible. Gregory Matios. RCG: An
Anthology 8th Ed. 2013, 2010 Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.)
