I really don’t know much about this man so I have trouble knowing when he is sincere if ever. Yet I am amazed that Charles Koch wrote this: Charles Koch: This is the one issue where Bernie Sanders is right
As he campaigns for the Democratic nomination for president, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders (I) often sounds like he’s running as much against me as he is the other candidates. I have never met the senator, but I know from listening to him that we disagree on plenty when it comes to public policy.
Even so, I see benefits in searching for common ground and greater civility during this overly negative campaign season. That’s why, in spite of the fact that he often misrepresents where I stand on issues, the senator should know that we do agree on at least one — an issue that resonates with people who feel that hard work and making a contribution will no longer enable them to succeed.
The senator is upset with a political and economic system that is often rigged to help the privileged few at the expense of everyone else, particularly the least advantaged. He believes that we have a two-tiered society that increasingly dooms millions of our fellow citizens to lives of poverty and hopelessness. He thinks many corporations seek and benefit from corporate welfare while ordinary citizens are denied opportunities and a level playing field.
I agree with him.
He goes on to speak about his disdain for many of the things government does to make inequality happen. Here’s one that may shock you:
That’s why Koch Industries opposes all forms of corporate welfare — even those that benefit us. (The government’s ethanol mandate is a good example. We oppose that mandate, even though we are the fifth-largest ethanol producer in the United States.)
It does not stop there he goes on to say:
Our criminal justice system, which is in dire need of reform, is another issue where the senator shares some of my concerns. Families and entire communities are being ripped apart by laws that unjustly destroy the lives of low-level and nonviolent offenders.
Today, if you’re poor and get caught possessing and selling pot, you could end up in jail. Your conviction will hold you back from many opportunities in life. However, if you are well-connected and have ample financial resources, the rules change dramatically. Where is the justice in that?
I have written much about the difference between looking for culprits and looking for systems flaws. I have to take that into consideration here for the words he wrote make some sense.
If we are really to have a political revolution it will be one that attacks the system rather than individuals. It has to see that individual humans play roles in the system they do not control it.
Already during this election cycle the power of the Koch Brothers has been tested and found to be less than anticipated.
The libertarian myth, like all economic myths, has some nice sounding ideals and Koch uses many of them to argue for “free markets” for example. He is able to fantasize about free markets because he sees government as the reason they do not exist. In a way he insults his own intelligence by using this ploy.
He also fails to recognize that the Socialist answer to our problems does not mean that government gets bigger or more intrusive. He clearly has not done his homework here. Decentralized worker control of business would not require the kind of government regulation that modern corporate giants do. Strong, controlling central government is a gross misrepresentation of what Sanders is asking for.
So if I was guilty in being surprised by Koch’s statements he is far more guilty in not understanding where and why we disagree.
Nevertheless if we ever get back to real intellectual examination of our problems, maybe, just maybe, there are grounds for some genuine discussion here. Or is it really too late?