After all, doesn’t their wealth prove their brilliance? And doesn’t brilliance at busting unions and destroying competitors translate into the right stuff for guiding the fate of nations?
I remember a conversation where a group of senior employees were basically worshipping a CEO getting $50 million compensation one year. I pointed out that while he was a good CEO, he would have done the same job for $5 million. Or, if he went elsewhere, there were a couple people in the room who were just as talented.
In my opinion. seriously overpaying a CEO is just wasting money, while worshiping him risks supporting stupid CEOs.
Stop and think about it, and all of us can name CEOs who were kept purely because they were overpaid.
jack Welch, Elon Musk, the CEOs of ENRON and AG, and every executive in the GM building for the last 40 years come immediately to mind.
“In the past I voted Democrat, because they were (mostly) the kindness party. But they have become the party of division & hate, so I can no longer support them and will vote Republican.”
This is actually my main issue with the Democratic Party. It's not the party of division and hate, it's more the party of confusion and uncertainty, but the NaziRepublican Party and the Goebbels-Murdock Pravda network is SELLING it as the party of division and hate.
The Dems don't seem to care about the fact that it doesn't matter if you are the kindest person on earth as long as I'm convinced you are evil.
If they did care, they would do something other than sit in the corner shaking with fear and crying while pointing at the evil NaziRepublican Party and saying "they aren't being FAIR".
Of course they aren't, it's politics. The DNC needs to pull their heads out of their donkeys and begin acting like a political party. They are NOT a charity, and they are NOT supposed to ignore their sworn duty to uphold the US constitution and LOCK UP THE NAZIREPUBLICAN SEDITIONIST TERRORISTS.
I would if I could, they can and they don't. Unacceptable and the reason people like Musk are giving up on the Dems. Me too, I've about had it. If they want my vote, don't tell me how bad the NaziRepublican Party is, how they oppose free market economies and democracy. I ALREADY KNOW THAT BECAUSE THEY BRAG ABOUT IT. They need to tell me, no SHOW ME, what they are doing to meet their constitutional sworn duty to police the congress and the corrupt SCOTUS.
For example, why aren't there OPEN PUBLIC impeachment proceedings against the corrupt SCOTUS judges who perjured themselves during their confirmation hearings? That should have happened in January 2021.
Many if not all of the mega-church and televangelist pastors and con artists who have been operating in the religion and MLM sphere for the last few decades have been selling the prosperity gospel to their audiences. It is essentially the same rotten fish wrapped in shiny giftwrap paper and validated by the wealth and conspicuous consumption of the pastors. Why do Americans in particular eat it up? There are a variety of reasons peculiar to our cultures and history, but mostly because Americans are gullible and prefer a fantasy world to the real world. Hope and an image of specialness are in our DNA. And, that religious influence has been fed to us with our Wheaties for centuries.
Why do Americans (and other nations) allow the wealthy to exercise such power over the governments they elect? It's an excellent question you raise Thom.
You talk about the super-smart, and I'm assuming you're referring to being "intellectually" smart, which I'd agree is of very little value. But all knowledge isn't bad; if it were, I wouldn't be reading your newsletter, but it's your knowledge of our societies you've acquired over years of service that keeps me reading. You're a little hard on religion, and rightly so; religion has been used to control people. But having knowledge of Jesus' teachings is helpful. Jesus spoke about who should be the greatest among us, and it isn't the wealthy; rather, it's the innocent souls such as little children have, and the greatest are also the ones who serve others. Why the emphasis on service? Because seeing in others our brothers and sisters is a prerequisite for understanding the God who created ourselves. And we don't understand anything if we don't understand ourselves. When we get politicians who want to be of service to humanity, then I'll begin to take an interest in our nation. Until then, my "tribe" is with those who do understand service (even if they're involved in a religion), and also with those who are as innocent (and inquisitive) as children.
Yes, Lew, the Fairness Doctrine can't literally return anyway... (and I disagree it's bad idea, but that's moot now anyway). But I like your idea of class action suits. Against the Fox corp and the Murdochs (pere et fils), and individual anchors and hosts. Good idea!
It's also apparent that SCOTUS now cannot be trusted to do anything but try to foist their dangerous religious views on everyone else; they need to be reigned in somehow. Thomas should be Impeached AND removed asap.
That said, I spent twenty years in TV; and disagree completely, that MSM is tainted or awful. I know those people. I worked with those people. I grew up with a father in the business who was a respected television journalist for decades. I'm happy to report, you are very wrong in your assessment. The vast majority of MSM journalists (and I include cable here as well) are hardworking, honest, earnest, and are simply trying to present facts and information and the simple truth.
Speaking of “Davos Man” the book (which certainly credits Samuel Huntington for the term) by Peter S. Goodman is a must read. Warning: it is really hard to read without retching over the excesses of greed, hubris and sociopathic behavior that literally is taking us into not just Fascism, but into Feudalism 2.0. All these insane billionaires are going to make their world on our bones.
How do we really raise our children to be leaders who respect both the Common Welfare of our community, and still have an instinct for making difficult choices?
In the past 50 years most of the West have adored the concept of 'letting our children raise themselves' while being busy with ourselves. Our schools and our school boards have stood up against retention and summer schools for children who have failed, year after year, to meet grade level standards, and we have refused to imprison any of the 'nice' people who have failed to uphold basic community standards. Instead we have allowed ourselves to be more concerned about gender issues and vaccinating all our children for an increasing array of illnesses that have not seemed to materialize. We have underfunded our schools and refused to discuss most of our difficult challenges: Where have all the fathers gone? Where have all the male teachers gone? Why are more of our boys showing up in the autism spectrum? Why are women, mothers, grandmothers and teachers, allowing their boys, husbands and absent spouses to make so many poor choices?
Indeed, why have voters been so lazy that they have allowed the rich to 'buy up' and monopolize the entire fabric of our lives? By default, we are left with a lot of men who have never grown up, but now has all the toys, all the guns, all the money and no sense of morals, ethics or respect for anybody that want to do a few common sense things, or help stabilize our communities across time and ages, much as Senator Sanders have advocated.
How come we have allowed discourse, civics and common courtesies to be replaced by rudeness and name calling? How come we have failed to recognize that neither the US, nor the EU can absorb the displaced populations from our wars, trade regimes and energy policies?
It is, perhaps, overdue time for a return to a sense of service and discipline in all areas of our self-governance. Do we we not need to simply stop all our career politicians, and send them home to reflect and share? Do we not simply need to require our young people to serve, again, as we did with the Peace Corps, before we give them a new GI Bill of education? Do we not simply need to decide that Greed corrupts everything and everyone, and that tax rates need to reflect that Biblical wisdom?
Unfortunately, in the US, the Democratic Party and its cadre of well-meaning, well-educated and very righteous leaders have not produced many local or national leaders that a broad voter spectrum can trust. Bill Clinton? Hillary Clinton? Mr. Biden? Maybe that is why Elon is disgusted. But, historically speaking, Mr. Hartman is absolutely correct: Our country was doing a bit better before Reagan and the Bush and the Clintons were allowed to decide for us.
Mr. Hartman's citations:
For governing our nation, I’ll take a Joe Biden or Bernie Sanders over a Jeff Bezos or Elon Musk any day of the week, as the old saying goes.
Wisdom, insight, experience, understanding of the consequences of policy, a deep grounding in the history of the United States and of democratic institutions around the world: I see almost none of these things in most of our nation’s morbidly rich who aspire to public office.
For governing our nation, I’ll take a Joe Biden or Bernie Sanders over a Jeff Bezos or Elon Musk any day of the week, as the old saying goes.
Wisdom, insight, experience, understanding of the consequences of policy, a deep grounding in the history of the United States and of democratic institutions around the world: I see almost none of these things in most of our nation’s morbidly rich who aspire to public office.
Bezos, Jobs, Gates, and a whole host of others learned to dominate the market and their employees. They were not known for being "kind", they were known for being driven. They hired some brilliant teams, then rode herd on them. Is that a talent or just being ambitious?
I've seen Gates interviewed about education, and he acted like what the hell are you asking me for. There are so many experts in that field and others, why WOULD they ask the rich guy? I also question if he would ever have turned to philanthropy without Melinda.
Musk is, well he has told us he is on the spectrum. He is obviously many things, but mature is not one of them. This is the real-life Sheldon Cooper, but without the friends to steer him from time to time. We are watching his mid-life crisis.
I hope people will listen to the audio-book, The Ministry Of The Future. It's about the climate crisis and Geo-politics. It's by Kim Stanley Robinson, a master at sci-fi. The very first part is devastating, but hang in there. He goes to Davos and has his way with them. Just a treat to listen to this book with all the accents and where he takes you.
I remember a conversation where a group of senior employees were basically worshipping a CEO getting $50 million compensation one year. I pointed out that while he was a good CEO, he would have done the same job for $5 million. Or, if he went elsewhere, there were a couple people in the room who were just as talented.
In my opinion. seriously overpaying a CEO is just wasting money, while worshiping him risks supporting stupid CEOs.
Stop and think about it, and all of us can name CEOs who were kept purely because they were overpaid.
jack Welch, Elon Musk, the CEOs of ENRON and AG, and every executive in the GM building for the last 40 years come immediately to mind.
Elon Musk said:
“In the past I voted Democrat, because they were (mostly) the kindness party. But they have become the party of division & hate, so I can no longer support them and will vote Republican.”
This is actually my main issue with the Democratic Party. It's not the party of division and hate, it's more the party of confusion and uncertainty, but the NaziRepublican Party and the Goebbels-Murdock Pravda network is SELLING it as the party of division and hate.
The Dems don't seem to care about the fact that it doesn't matter if you are the kindest person on earth as long as I'm convinced you are evil.
If they did care, they would do something other than sit in the corner shaking with fear and crying while pointing at the evil NaziRepublican Party and saying "they aren't being FAIR".
Of course they aren't, it's politics. The DNC needs to pull their heads out of their donkeys and begin acting like a political party. They are NOT a charity, and they are NOT supposed to ignore their sworn duty to uphold the US constitution and LOCK UP THE NAZIREPUBLICAN SEDITIONIST TERRORISTS.
I would if I could, they can and they don't. Unacceptable and the reason people like Musk are giving up on the Dems. Me too, I've about had it. If they want my vote, don't tell me how bad the NaziRepublican Party is, how they oppose free market economies and democracy. I ALREADY KNOW THAT BECAUSE THEY BRAG ABOUT IT. They need to tell me, no SHOW ME, what they are doing to meet their constitutional sworn duty to police the congress and the corrupt SCOTUS.
For example, why aren't there OPEN PUBLIC impeachment proceedings against the corrupt SCOTUS judges who perjured themselves during their confirmation hearings? That should have happened in January 2021.
Thanks Thom. I cant help wondering if there's any way out of the mess this world is in.
Many if not all of the mega-church and televangelist pastors and con artists who have been operating in the religion and MLM sphere for the last few decades have been selling the prosperity gospel to their audiences. It is essentially the same rotten fish wrapped in shiny giftwrap paper and validated by the wealth and conspicuous consumption of the pastors. Why do Americans in particular eat it up? There are a variety of reasons peculiar to our cultures and history, but mostly because Americans are gullible and prefer a fantasy world to the real world. Hope and an image of specialness are in our DNA. And, that religious influence has been fed to us with our Wheaties for centuries.
Why do Americans (and other nations) allow the wealthy to exercise such power over the governments they elect? It's an excellent question you raise Thom.
You talk about the super-smart, and I'm assuming you're referring to being "intellectually" smart, which I'd agree is of very little value. But all knowledge isn't bad; if it were, I wouldn't be reading your newsletter, but it's your knowledge of our societies you've acquired over years of service that keeps me reading. You're a little hard on religion, and rightly so; religion has been used to control people. But having knowledge of Jesus' teachings is helpful. Jesus spoke about who should be the greatest among us, and it isn't the wealthy; rather, it's the innocent souls such as little children have, and the greatest are also the ones who serve others. Why the emphasis on service? Because seeing in others our brothers and sisters is a prerequisite for understanding the God who created ourselves. And we don't understand anything if we don't understand ourselves. When we get politicians who want to be of service to humanity, then I'll begin to take an interest in our nation. Until then, my "tribe" is with those who do understand service (even if they're involved in a religion), and also with those who are as innocent (and inquisitive) as children.
Yes, Lew, the Fairness Doctrine can't literally return anyway... (and I disagree it's bad idea, but that's moot now anyway). But I like your idea of class action suits. Against the Fox corp and the Murdochs (pere et fils), and individual anchors and hosts. Good idea!
It's also apparent that SCOTUS now cannot be trusted to do anything but try to foist their dangerous religious views on everyone else; they need to be reigned in somehow. Thomas should be Impeached AND removed asap.
That said, I spent twenty years in TV; and disagree completely, that MSM is tainted or awful. I know those people. I worked with those people. I grew up with a father in the business who was a respected television journalist for decades. I'm happy to report, you are very wrong in your assessment. The vast majority of MSM journalists (and I include cable here as well) are hardworking, honest, earnest, and are simply trying to present facts and information and the simple truth.
Speaking of “Davos Man” the book (which certainly credits Samuel Huntington for the term) by Peter S. Goodman is a must read. Warning: it is really hard to read without retching over the excesses of greed, hubris and sociopathic behavior that literally is taking us into not just Fascism, but into Feudalism 2.0. All these insane billionaires are going to make their world on our bones.
How do we really raise our children to be leaders who respect both the Common Welfare of our community, and still have an instinct for making difficult choices?
In the past 50 years most of the West have adored the concept of 'letting our children raise themselves' while being busy with ourselves. Our schools and our school boards have stood up against retention and summer schools for children who have failed, year after year, to meet grade level standards, and we have refused to imprison any of the 'nice' people who have failed to uphold basic community standards. Instead we have allowed ourselves to be more concerned about gender issues and vaccinating all our children for an increasing array of illnesses that have not seemed to materialize. We have underfunded our schools and refused to discuss most of our difficult challenges: Where have all the fathers gone? Where have all the male teachers gone? Why are more of our boys showing up in the autism spectrum? Why are women, mothers, grandmothers and teachers, allowing their boys, husbands and absent spouses to make so many poor choices?
Indeed, why have voters been so lazy that they have allowed the rich to 'buy up' and monopolize the entire fabric of our lives? By default, we are left with a lot of men who have never grown up, but now has all the toys, all the guns, all the money and no sense of morals, ethics or respect for anybody that want to do a few common sense things, or help stabilize our communities across time and ages, much as Senator Sanders have advocated.
How come we have allowed discourse, civics and common courtesies to be replaced by rudeness and name calling? How come we have failed to recognize that neither the US, nor the EU can absorb the displaced populations from our wars, trade regimes and energy policies?
It is, perhaps, overdue time for a return to a sense of service and discipline in all areas of our self-governance. Do we we not need to simply stop all our career politicians, and send them home to reflect and share? Do we not simply need to require our young people to serve, again, as we did with the Peace Corps, before we give them a new GI Bill of education? Do we not simply need to decide that Greed corrupts everything and everyone, and that tax rates need to reflect that Biblical wisdom?
Unfortunately, in the US, the Democratic Party and its cadre of well-meaning, well-educated and very righteous leaders have not produced many local or national leaders that a broad voter spectrum can trust. Bill Clinton? Hillary Clinton? Mr. Biden? Maybe that is why Elon is disgusted. But, historically speaking, Mr. Hartman is absolutely correct: Our country was doing a bit better before Reagan and the Bush and the Clintons were allowed to decide for us.
Mr. Hartman's citations:
For governing our nation, I’ll take a Joe Biden or Bernie Sanders over a Jeff Bezos or Elon Musk any day of the week, as the old saying goes.
Wisdom, insight, experience, understanding of the consequences of policy, a deep grounding in the history of the United States and of democratic institutions around the world: I see almost none of these things in most of our nation’s morbidly rich who aspire to public office.
For governing our nation, I’ll take a Joe Biden or Bernie Sanders over a Jeff Bezos or Elon Musk any day of the week, as the old saying goes.
Wisdom, insight, experience, understanding of the consequences of policy, a deep grounding in the history of the United States and of democratic institutions around the world: I see almost none of these things in most of our nation’s morbidly rich who aspire to public office.
I like that last sentence; a new way for me to see it.
Bezos, Jobs, Gates, and a whole host of others learned to dominate the market and their employees. They were not known for being "kind", they were known for being driven. They hired some brilliant teams, then rode herd on them. Is that a talent or just being ambitious?
I've seen Gates interviewed about education, and he acted like what the hell are you asking me for. There are so many experts in that field and others, why WOULD they ask the rich guy? I also question if he would ever have turned to philanthropy without Melinda.
Musk is, well he has told us he is on the spectrum. He is obviously many things, but mature is not one of them. This is the real-life Sheldon Cooper, but without the friends to steer him from time to time. We are watching his mid-life crisis.
I hope people will listen to the audio-book, The Ministry Of The Future. It's about the climate crisis and Geo-politics. It's by Kim Stanley Robinson, a master at sci-fi. The very first part is devastating, but hang in there. He goes to Davos and has his way with them. Just a treat to listen to this book with all the accents and where he takes you.
You really nailed this subject, Thom!