We all know that there is major corruption in our U.S. government and that Wall St. rules DC and buys "our" legislators. It’s certainly nothing new. But it isn’t something we talk about every day, not even here on Kos. The omnipresent corruption often gets pushed to the backburner in favor of exciting races and the outrage of the moment; things that our minds can actually cope with a little more easily; things over which we think we might have some control.
The ostrich syndrome often comes into play when something is just so damn overwhelming and we don’t know what we can do about it except the same ineffective things we’ve been doing: support the politicians we think are less susceptible to the siren call of corruption, make phone calls, support legislation that seeks to amend the problems, sign petitions and attend some demonstrations. You know...all those things that work so well.
And then today I was sent a link to a clip by Dr. Jeffrey Sachs, Columbia University economist…and I was blown away. He pulled no punches. He wasn’t taking about some esoteric theory…he was talking about what is real and now…and he wasn't mincing words. My head snapped out of the sand and I started typing.
Jeffrey Sachs is a world-renowned professor of economics, leader in sustainable development, senior UN advisor, bestselling author, and syndicated columnist. He's been on The Daily Show and The New York Times Magazine called him "probably the most important economist in the world." And while I'm not economic groupie I have read the writings of Stiglitz and Krugman and a couple of others. Yet, amazingly I had never heard of Sachs! How could that be? (she asked herself in horror) And so I was compelled to share my newly found awareness of Dr. Jeffrey Sachs with my family here at Kos.
(Note that the clip is about an hour long
They are tough, greedy, aggressive and feel absolutely out of control...and they have gamed the system to a remarkable extent. And they have a docile President, a docile White House, and a docile regulatory system that can't find its voice. It’s terrified of these banks. If you look at the campaign contributions the financial markets are the #1 campaign contributors in the US now.
We have a corrupt politics to the core...and both parties are up to their necks in this. The corruption is as far as I can see everywhere. But what its lead to is this sense of impunity that is really stunning...and it is very unhealthy. I have waited four, five years now to see one figure on Wall St. speak in a moral language and I've not seen it once.
And if they won't I've waited for a judge, a President, for somebody and it hasn't happened, and by the way, it’s not gonna happen any time soon.