Modern-day nihilism threatens our way of life

By Steven I. Platt The Daily Record Newswire The effects of the recession have lingered on for everyone who hasn't benefited from what financial op-ed columnist Steven Pearlstein describes as "the financialization of the U.S. economy." Financialization of the economy and the excessive risk-taking associated with it takes place when the interests of the stockholders (in reality, the Management Class) become the focus of large corporations to the virtual exclusion of the interests of customers, employees and society at large. This process, which columnist, Dana Milbank describes as "revving up the engine of influence" has often been lamented as the price we pay for living in our brand of democracy. Perhaps, it is no more complicated than that! The groups that are largely driving our broken politics are precipitating what economist Robert J. Samuelson characterizes as a "crisis of the old economic order." Allan Sloan, senior editor-at-large of Fortune magazine, who describes himself as "an angry moderate who has finally gotten fed up with the lunacy and incompetence of our alleged national leaders," suggests that this crisis is caused by "knuckleheaded politicians driving us into a ditch." These "knuckleheaded politicians" were born as a result of the union of money, networks and power of such respected organizations as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers and the Business Roundtable. They, in turn, created other organizations with such innocent-sounding names as Citizens for a Sound Economy, FreedomWorks, the Taxpayer League, etc. Those organizations, with their ability to access clever and skilled lawyers and the financial resources to pay them along with a Supreme Court majority, which -- in the face of 40 years of precedent to the contrary -- now holds that "corporations are persons," enabled them to enjoy some threshold successes. They attained what were then limited goals of minimally reducing corporate tax rates and reducing, or at least pushing back against, some arguably burdensome and unnecessary regulations as well as some meddlesome regulators whose judgment was lacking and/or who were incapable of applying a rigorous cost-benefit analysis to their work. Somehow, somewhere, the backing of these organizations for candidates and organizations whose platforms supported limited government morphed into backing for "knuckleheaded politicians" and political organizations who, as a result of a strange combination of zealotry and naiveté, interpreted this support as a license if not a mandate to abolish all regulation, all taxes and most government. This would include in varying degrees (which can be verified by watching the Republican debates and the work of Congress), the privatization of public schools, cutting back on basic research on which manufacturers base their product development, shutting down regulatory agencies that protect the public from dangerous products as well as businesses from unscrupulous competitors and the privatization of the public infrastructure that transports our supplies and finished goods, to name only a few. Let us hope this modern-day nihilism which is on display daily in Washington will not prove to be contagious and infect the states. Its symptoms can be spotted early and easily. There is a massive loss of memory, which is either brought on by a collective case of political and economic amnesia or a reaction to some food or medicine that causes delusional or hallucinatory ramblings that the financial crises of 2008 was a dream like the season of "Dallas" that turned out to be a season-long dream. That dream -- subprime mortgages, too-big-to-fail banks, unregulated derivatives -- didn't happen! Indeed, the crisis of 2008 never happened and nothing needs to be done to prevent it from happening again. But the crisis of 2008 was not a dream. It was painfully real, created by corporately financed right-wing zealots who now are not interested in advice or direction from the corporate interests who made their careers possible. There is still a way to get their attention, however. As Machiavelli, said, "It seems best to me to go straight to the actual truth of things rather than to dwell in dreams." When the right-wing zealots who were elected finally run out of their corporate money, cut them off until they recognize they cannot ignore their backers with impunity. ---------- Steven I. Platt, a retired associate judge on the Prince George's County Circuit Court, writes a monthly column for The Daily Record. He can be reached at info@apursuitofjustice.com. Published: Thu, Dec 22, 2011