Jon Queally at Common Dreams writes—Historian's Advice to Davos Elite Worried About Pitchforks: 'Stop Talking About Philanthropy' and Start Paying Higher Taxes:
While the private jets have mostly left the airport outside of Davos, Switzerland following the conclusion of this year's World Economic Forum, a little noticed exchange that took place during the annual gathering has picked up steam in recent days showing what it looks like when some of the world's richest people are confronted by someone willing to call literal "bullshit" on the we-can-save-the-world-with-charity mantra that dominates among the global elite.
If the world's richest and most powerful are worried about a so-called popular "backlash" in response to the global economic system they defend—and largely control—Rutger Bregman, a Dutch historian and author of the book Utopia for Realists, during a panel last week titled "The Cost of Inequality," said the pathway is not complicated. "The answer," he said, "is very simple: Just stop talking about philanthropy, and start talking about taxes."
"I mean we can talk for a very long time about all these stupid philanthropy schemes," Bregman added. "We can invite [U2 frontman] Bono once more. But, come on, we've got to be talking about taxes. That's it. Taxes, taxes, taxes. All the rest is bullshit in my opinion." [...]
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QUOTATION
“The genius of the current caste system, and what most distinguishes it from its predecessors, is that it appears voluntary. People choose to commit crimes, and that's why they are locked up or locked out, we are told. This feature makes the politics of responsibility particularly tempting, as it appears the system can be avoided with good behavior. But herein lies the trap. All people make mistakes. All of us are sinners. All of us are criminals. All of us violate the law at some point in our lives. In fact, if the worst thing you have ever done is speed ten miles over the speed limit on the freeway, you have put yourself and others at more risk of harm than someone smoking marijuana in the privacy of his or her living room. Yet there are people in the United States serving life sentences for first-time drug offenses, something virtually unheard of anywhere else in the world.”
~~Michelle Alexander, The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness (2010)
TWEET OF THE DAY
BLAST FROM THE PAST
On this date at Daily Kos in 2006—Shifting Focus On Domestic Spying:
In just about a week, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales will appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee to discuss the legality of President Bush's domestic spying program. While we've (rightfully) been focused on the Supreme Court debate, the media has already begun to sweep this scandal as well under the rug. Bust this excerpt from an ABC News poll article:
NSA -- A better result for Bush, noted above, is the apparent lack of traction for critics of the warrantless NSA wiretaps. A clear majority now says such wiretaps are acceptable, 56 percent, compared with 43 percent who call them unacceptable. That compares with a closer 51 to 47 percent split earlier this month.
Most polls have approval of the program hovering around 50%-55%. FISA and FISA courts and warrants and probable cause are complicated subjects, so it's understandable that many Americans view this issue as a simple false dichotomy between civil liberties and security. Karl Rove and the Republicans have already planted the seed in the media and the talking points have taken firm root: this may or may not be outside the law, but don't we want to spy on terrorists?
On today’s Kagro in the Morning show: The shutdown endangered security clearances for Trump’s loyal ICE agents (but never Jared's, of course). Facebook blocks tools revealing political ad targeting data. Impeachment note: Elliott Abrams is back. Again. Trump’s new tactic: redefining emoluments.
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