Curved_Sw0rd
Just Like That Bluebird
It's not every day a video speaks to you, especially when that video is produced by a big new outlet like FOX. And yet, this ten minute segment from Tucker Carlson managed to do just that.
If you're from or travel frequently through Small Town, USA, the opening will ring true. As a resident of rural America myself I've seen plenty. Abandoned houses, dead factories, everything seems to be falling apart and very little is getting better. And Tucker is correct, the reasons for this are numerous and complicated, but he brings up a salient point; the wealthy and powerful do not look at the economy and the people within it the way they used to.
The super rich of the industrial age like Rockefeller, Carnegie, and Ford, managed to give back to the American people through philanthropy. While remaining rich in the end, nonetheless the effects of philanthropy proved mostly positive, a net gain for the American people out of the pockets of the massively rich. All done willingly.
Compare that to the Rich of today. Now let me be clear here, I'm not a "Eat the Rich" Socialist by any means. But people like Elon Musk and Bill Gates stand out because they've become a fair bit rarer. Instead there's been a rise in more ruthless business practices, such as buying out distressed companies, gutting them, and selling everything to the lowest bidder, even if that bidder is in another country, as Carlson describes. This makes people rich, yes, but it gives absolutely nothing back to the American people. Jobs are lost, and that economic shake-up can have dire consequences for whole communities.
Carlson also singles out Paul Singer, a hedge fund investor who made his fortune by purchasing the Sovereign Debt of countries in financial trouble, waiting for the economy of said countries to stabilize, then suing them to regain his money with interest. This is called Vulture Capitalism. And if it can be done to other countries, it can be done here in the US, allowing Singer and those like him to prey on US companies and communities. The story of the automotive parts company, Delphi, sucking down government bailouts, paid for by tax payers, only to shitcan middle management and move jobs to China should tell you all you need to know.
This sort of thing remains legal because people like Singer use their money to influence our government officials, Singer himself putting massive support towards a SuperPAC focusing on Republican Senators. Were his politics reversed, Singer would just be another Soros, but corruption is old as time, and touches every facet of government.
And now we move on to the town of Sydney, Nebraska. When Singer seized ownership of Cabela's, the company that kept Sydney booming and prospering, the company folded, merging with Bass Pro Shop and getting caught in the pull of Vulture Capitalism, taking Sydney with it. Economic growth halted, and the town has been rotting ever since.
So that leaves a few questions. What can be done about this? While this corporate greed is not the be all end all of what is killing Rural America, it is certainly contributing to the decline. Singer has influence over the Republican party, yet I can't say I'd trust the Democrats to do anything about this practice at all, if not make it worse by making it easier for people like Singer to gobble up Tax Revenue from average joes.
If you're from or travel frequently through Small Town, USA, the opening will ring true. As a resident of rural America myself I've seen plenty. Abandoned houses, dead factories, everything seems to be falling apart and very little is getting better. And Tucker is correct, the reasons for this are numerous and complicated, but he brings up a salient point; the wealthy and powerful do not look at the economy and the people within it the way they used to.
The super rich of the industrial age like Rockefeller, Carnegie, and Ford, managed to give back to the American people through philanthropy. While remaining rich in the end, nonetheless the effects of philanthropy proved mostly positive, a net gain for the American people out of the pockets of the massively rich. All done willingly.
Compare that to the Rich of today. Now let me be clear here, I'm not a "Eat the Rich" Socialist by any means. But people like Elon Musk and Bill Gates stand out because they've become a fair bit rarer. Instead there's been a rise in more ruthless business practices, such as buying out distressed companies, gutting them, and selling everything to the lowest bidder, even if that bidder is in another country, as Carlson describes. This makes people rich, yes, but it gives absolutely nothing back to the American people. Jobs are lost, and that economic shake-up can have dire consequences for whole communities.
Carlson also singles out Paul Singer, a hedge fund investor who made his fortune by purchasing the Sovereign Debt of countries in financial trouble, waiting for the economy of said countries to stabilize, then suing them to regain his money with interest. This is called Vulture Capitalism. And if it can be done to other countries, it can be done here in the US, allowing Singer and those like him to prey on US companies and communities. The story of the automotive parts company, Delphi, sucking down government bailouts, paid for by tax payers, only to shitcan middle management and move jobs to China should tell you all you need to know.
This sort of thing remains legal because people like Singer use their money to influence our government officials, Singer himself putting massive support towards a SuperPAC focusing on Republican Senators. Were his politics reversed, Singer would just be another Soros, but corruption is old as time, and touches every facet of government.
And now we move on to the town of Sydney, Nebraska. When Singer seized ownership of Cabela's, the company that kept Sydney booming and prospering, the company folded, merging with Bass Pro Shop and getting caught in the pull of Vulture Capitalism, taking Sydney with it. Economic growth halted, and the town has been rotting ever since.
So that leaves a few questions. What can be done about this? While this corporate greed is not the be all end all of what is killing Rural America, it is certainly contributing to the decline. Singer has influence over the Republican party, yet I can't say I'd trust the Democrats to do anything about this practice at all, if not make it worse by making it easier for people like Singer to gobble up Tax Revenue from average joes.