As long as we all agree that wealth is the real measure of a person's success, Billionaires will continue to tell us what to do. And they will back it up with their army, police forces, drones and Caviar Farts.
If we don't like them telling us what to do, and doing whatever they damn well please, then we had better find another measuring stick for success.
Brains might be a start.
Carl Jarvis
----- Original Message -----From: Miriam VieniSent: Tuesday, March 05, 2013 7:10 PMSubject: Why Is Obama Taking Orders From A Secretive Billionaire?Why Is Obama Taking Orders From A Secretive Billionaire?
Tuesday, 05 March 2013 15:16 By Thom Hartmann, The Thom Hartmann Show |
Op-Ed
Peter Peterson, founder and chairman of Peter G. Peterson Foundation.
(Photo: Lingjing Bao / Talk Radio News)Move over Koch brothers. Get out of
the way Shelly Adelson. There's another billionaire in town, and he's doing
all he can to privatize Social Security and Medicare programs.
Say hello to Pete Peterson.
Petersen is a Wall Street billionaire, who, according to The Center for
Media and Democracy's SourceWatch.Org, almost exclusively uses his wealth to
back numerous organizations and public relations campaigns whose primary
goals are to slash government funding to Social Security, Medicare and
Medicaid.
According to SourceWatch's PetersonPyramid.org, in 2007, after making a
fortune off of the public offering of a Wall Street private equity firm,
Peterson pledged to spend a staggering $1 billion of his personal wealth to
"fix America's key fiscal-sustainability problems."
A vast portion of that $1 billion is going to a shadowy astroturf supergroup
campaign known as "The Campaign to Fix the Debt". But don't let the fairly
innocuous title fool you.
As SourceWatch's PetersonPyramid.org points out, in reality, the "Campaign
to Fix the Debt" is just the latest effort by Peterson and a bunch of his
billionaire friends and corporate cronies to cut away at Social Security and
Medicare, all in the name of fixing America's "debt problem".
While "Fix the Debt" was started in the summer of 2012, before its launch
Peterson was already funding organizations like the "Committee for a
Responsible Federal Budget" and the "New America Foundation." As
PetersonPyramid.org notes, both of these organizations have the same goals
of ultimately privatizing the Social Security and Medicare programs that
millions of Americans rely on to survive.
Peterson also gave millions to support the Simpson-Bowles commission
according to PetersonPyramid.org, a commission who's proposed "solution" to
fixing our debt includes massive austerity-type cuts to this nation's
social-safety-net programs. In fact, Erskine Bowles is a co-founder of the
"Fix The Debt" program Peterson is funding, so it's no surprise that the
recent Simpson-Bowles Catfood Commission 2.0 plan included even more
devastating cuts to Social Security and Medicaid.
Much like the many tentacles of the Kochtopus, "Fix the Debt" is more than
just one campaign. As SourceWatch's PetersonPyramid,org brilliantly points
out, "Fix the Debt" is like a well-organized machine, made up of PR firms,
corporate CEO's, partner organizations, and so-called "state chapters."
Progressives argue that if the so-called "Fix the Debt" goals are reached,
it will worsen the gap between the wealthy elite in America and everyone
else.
But here's the real kicker. Peterson and his "Fix the Debt" campaign have
made it into the halls of The White House.
Many of the CEO's involved with the "Fix the Debt" campaign are the heads of
some of America's largest corporations, and many have testified on Capitol
Hill and met with President Obama directly during discussions on the economy
and the national debt.
And then there are the corporations themselves that are involved in the
campaign. The list of backers is a virtual Who's Who of corporate greed and
corruption, including big banks like Bank of America, Goldman Sachs and
JPMorgan Chase.
Besides defunding Social Security and Medicare, PetersonPyramid.org shows
how "Fix the Debt" may also be a front for exploiting a corporate tax
loophole to its fullest potential. Many of the corporations involved with
"Fix the Debt" pay a negative tax rate - instead of paying taxes, they get
government money back - which is a major reason why we have such a large
federal deficit right now.
These corporations are pushing for a "globally competitive" tax structure
that Citizens for Tax Justice says would increase the US debt by $1 trillion
over the next decade, and would also encourage the offshoring of U.S jobs.
While exploiting a corporate tax loophole isn't a direct goal of "Fix the
Debt," the proposed "globally competitive" tax structure would bring in $134
billion for at least 63 corporations involved with "Fix the Debt," according
to a report by the Institute for Policy Studies.
And, of course, if Social Security is privatized, guess who takes over? Wall
Street takes over. The same Wall Street where Peterson made his money, and
where his buddies are salivating over the $2.7 trillion Social Security
trust fund.
So what's the bottom line to all of this?
Pete Peterson and his strong efforts to privatize Social Security and
Medicare are working. Average Americans have no idea that Social Security is
just fine, and has a $2.7 trillion surplus. Instead, in part because of all
the PR and advertising and hired talking heads from Peterson's various front
groups, Americans - particularly young Americans - are more likely than not
to doubt Social Security will survive as long as they will.
This perception that the social safety net in this country is failing is
helping turn America into a feudalistic state. Like in Dickens' 19th Century
England, the wealthy elite increasingly control everything, and the working
class is forced to live off of billionaire scraps.
Every day that the "Fix the Debt" and other Pete Peterson efforts succeed at
destroying Americans' faith in our own government, We The People lose.
To learn more about Peterson and his campaign, and his millionaire CEO
buddies, go to www.petersonPyramid.org. And spread the word. Our national
wealth, our national retirement and social safety net programs, should not
be handed off to Wall Street.
This piece was reprinted by Truthout with permission or license. It may not
be reproduced in any form without permission or license from the source.
THOM HARTMANN
Thom Hartmann is a New York Times bestselling Project Censored Award winning
author and host of a nationally syndicated progressive radio talk show. You
can learn more about Thom Hartmann at his website and find out what stations
broadcast his radio program. He also now has a daily independent television
program, The Big Picture, syndicated by FreeSpeech TV, RT TV, and 2oo
community TV stations. You can also listen or watch Thom over the Internet.
Related Stories
Wall Street Banker Peter Peterson and the Deficit Ostriches
By Dean Baker, Truthout | News Analysis
Wall Street Donated $41 Million to Supercommittee Members
By Mike Ludwig, Truthout | Report
Wall Street Firms Spy on Protestors in Tax-Funded Center
By Pam Martens, CounterPunch | News Analysis
________________________________________
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Why Is Obama Taking Orders From A Secretive Billionaire?
Tuesday, 05 March 2013 15:16 By Thom Hartmann, The Thom Hartmann Show |
Op-Ed
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Peter Peterson, founder and chairman of Peter G. Peterson Foundation.
(Photo: Lingjing Bao / Talk Radio News)Move over Koch brothers. Get out of
the way Shelly Adelson. There's another billionaire in town, and he's doing
all he can to privatize Social Security and Medicare programs.
Say hello to Pete Peterson.
Petersen is a Wall Street billionaire, who, according to The Center for
Media and Democracy's SourceWatch.Org, almost exclusively uses his wealth to
back numerous organizations and public relations campaigns whose primary
goals are to slash government funding to Social Security, Medicare and
Medicaid.
According to SourceWatch's PetersonPyramid.org, in 2007, after making a
fortune off of the public offering of a Wall Street private equity firm,
Peterson pledged to spend a staggering $1 billion of his personal wealth to
"fix America's key fiscal-sustainability problems."
A vast portion of that $1 billion is going to a shadowy astroturf supergroup
campaign known as "The Campaign to Fix the Debt". But don't let the fairly
innocuous title fool you.
As SourceWatch's PetersonPyramid.org points out, in reality, the "Campaign
to Fix the Debt" is just the latest effort by Peterson and a bunch of his
billionaire friends and corporate cronies to cut away at Social Security and
Medicare, all in the name of fixing America's "debt problem".
While "Fix the Debt" was started in the summer of 2012, before its launch
Peterson was already funding organizations like the "Committee for a
Responsible Federal Budget" and the "New America Foundation." As
PetersonPyramid.org notes, both of these organizations have the same goals
of ultimately privatizing the Social Security and Medicare programs that
millions of Americans rely on to survive.
Peterson also gave millions to support the Simpson-Bowles commission
according to PetersonPyramid.org, a commission who's proposed "solution" to
fixing our debt includes massive austerity-type cuts to this nation's
social-safety-net programs. In fact, Erskine Bowles is a co-founder of the
"Fix The Debt" program Peterson is funding, so it's no surprise that the
recent Simpson-Bowles Catfood Commission 2.0 plan included even more
devastating cuts to Social Security and Medicaid.
Much like the many tentacles of the Kochtopus, "Fix the Debt" is more than
just one campaign. As SourceWatch's PetersonPyramid,org brilliantly points
out, "Fix the Debt" is like a well-organized machine, made up of PR firms,
corporate CEO's, partner organizations, and so-called "state chapters."
Progressives argue that if the so-called "Fix the Debt" goals are reached,
it will worsen the gap between the wealthy elite in America and everyone
else.
But here's the real kicker. Peterson and his "Fix the Debt" campaign have
made it into the halls of The White House.
Many of the CEO's involved with the "Fix the Debt" campaign are the heads of
some of America's largest corporations, and many have testified on Capitol
Hill and met with President Obama directly during discussions on the economy
and the national debt.
And then there are the corporations themselves that are involved in the
campaign. The list of backers is a virtual Who's Who of corporate greed and
corruption, including big banks like Bank of America, Goldman Sachs and
JPMorgan Chase.
Besides defunding Social Security and Medicare, PetersonPyramid.org shows
how "Fix the Debt" may also be a front for exploiting a corporate tax
loophole to its fullest potential. Many of the corporations involved with
"Fix the Debt" pay a negative tax rate - instead of paying taxes, they get
government money back - which is a major reason why we have such a large
federal deficit right now.
These corporations are pushing for a "globally competitive" tax structure
that Citizens for Tax Justice says would increase the US debt by $1 trillion
over the next decade, and would also encourage the offshoring of U.S jobs.
While exploiting a corporate tax loophole isn't a direct goal of "Fix the
Debt," the proposed "globally competitive" tax structure would bring in $134
billion for at least 63 corporations involved with "Fix the Debt," according
to a report by the Institute for Policy Studies.
And, of course, if Social Security is privatized, guess who takes over? Wall
Street takes over. The same Wall Street where Peterson made his money, and
where his buddies are salivating over the $2.7 trillion Social Security
trust fund.
So what's the bottom line to all of this?
Pete Peterson and his strong efforts to privatize Social Security and
Medicare are working. Average Americans have no idea that Social Security is
just fine, and has a $2.7 trillion surplus. Instead, in part because of all
the PR and advertising and hired talking heads from Peterson's various front
groups, Americans - particularly young Americans - are more likely than not
to doubt Social Security will survive as long as they will.
This perception that the social safety net in this country is failing is
helping turn America into a feudalistic state. Like in Dickens' 19th Century
England, the wealthy elite increasingly control everything, and the working
class is forced to live off of billionaire scraps.
Every day that the "Fix the Debt" and other Pete Peterson efforts succeed at
destroying Americans' faith in our own government, We The People lose.
To learn more about Peterson and his campaign, and his millionaire CEO
buddies, go to www.petersonPyramid.org. And spread the word. Our national
wealth, our national retirement and social safety net programs, should not
be handed off to Wall Street.
This piece was reprinted by Truthout with permission or license. It may not
be reproduced in any form without permission or license from the source.
javascript:return addthis_sendto('email'); javascript:return
addthis_sendto('email');
Thom Hartmann
Thom Hartmann is a New York Times bestselling Project Censored Award winning
author and host of a nationally syndicated progressive radio talk show. You
can learn more about Thom Hartmann at his website and find out what stations
broadcast his radio program. He also now has a daily independent television
program, The Big Picture, syndicated by FreeSpeech TV, RT TV, and 2oo
community TV stations. You can also listen or watch Thom over the Internet.
Related Stories
Wall Street Banker Peter Peterson and the Deficit Ostriches
By Dean Baker, Truthout | News AnalysisWall Street Donated $41 Million to
Supercommittee Members
By Mike Ludwig, Truthout | ReportWall Street Firms Spy on Protestors in
Tax-Funded Center
By Pam Martens, CounterPunch | News Analysis
Show Comments
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