We, the People, call Barry C. Lynn to testify on “The new Monopoly Capitalism and the Economics of Destruction”
[note: Lynn’s testify is a small sample of data and analysis found in his book: “Cornered’]
Lynn: “I believe it now to be an incontrovertible fact..the people who control our financial systems and market systems – and through them the real economy of our nation – have already made absolutely clear they will not abide any fundamental changes in how these systems are regulated unless compelled to do so..They have already demonstrated a stunning ability to disregard the structural flaws and fragilities of the financial system itself. the avarice of these individuals trumps any concern..their actions might endanger their own children, let alone the wellbeing of the nation and the world.”
Lynn: “The meltdown of 2008..[revealed]..the structural monopolization of so many systems has resulted in a set of political arrangements similar to what we used to call corporatism..our political economy is run by a compact elite that is able to fuse the power of our public government with the power of private corporate governments in ways that enable members of the elite..to offload their risk onto us but also to determine with almost complete freedom who wins, who loses, and who pays.”
Lynn: “A generation ago a highly sophisticated political movement appeared in the United states..dedicated to taking apart the entire institutional structure..put into place, beginning in the mid-1930s, to govern our political economy by distributing power and responsibility among all people. The goal of this new movement was to enable the few, once again, to consolidate power entirely in their own hands.”
“That’s why one of their very first targets was our antimonopoly laws..to justify this, these revolutionaries preached an alternative philosophy..free market fundamentalism..a sort of organic mechanism that worked best if left untouched by human beings..the political lies that have been framed by the free-market fundamentalists and the economically deranging effects of these lies..[are the consequences we now face].
Lynn:”..Wal-Mart is under constant pressure from financiers to improve its margins..the easiest way..is to take business from other retailers..Wal-Mart is all but compelled to use its immense power to extract concessions from all those under its sway.”
Lynn: “..over the last generation a few people among us have resurrected Morgan’s centralized planning state – mostly without our even noticing the fact – and now use this private state to direct most of our consumer economy.”
Lynn: “..almost all lines of business in our consumer economy have been remade according to the principles espoused by John D. Rockefeller..The practical result is..a few immense trading companies..govern almost all the industrial activities on which we depend, and they back their efforts with what amounts to police power. This tiny confederation of private corporate governments determines who wins and who loses..”
Lynn: “When we were sold..globalization in the 1990s, we were assured..the new system would be safer and more resilient…..it could have been. Instead, we stopped enforcing..antimonopoly laws and allowed our financiers to rationalize our political economy as they alone saw fit.”
Lynn: $3 to $13 wheat in 2008 “was because the cumulative changes made in the name of “deregulating” our commodities markets in the last two decades made it easier for speculators routinely to manipulate the price..Just as similar changes..made it far easier for speculators to manipulate the prices..for our oil, natural gas, cotton, rice, even ship bottoms.”
Lynn: “A 2006 study by the American Medical Association made clear consolidation among health insurers is creating near-monopolies in virtually all reaches of the United States…….in 166 of 294 metropolitan areas, a single insurer controls more than half the business..”
Lynn: “..the single biggest problem with the physical stability of our industrial and financial systems is that we have seated almost complete control over these institutions and hence the real properties held within them, in a class of people whose interests are served not by building things but by breaking things.”
[note”. YOU might remember a slogan of the now authoritarian “high tech industry’ has been this: “move fast and break things.” YOU might also recall this book: “The Man Who Broke Capitalism” [considered a genius before he wasn’t!]. You might recall JohnDean”s “Broken Government.” Or, YOU can just think about all the things in 2024 America that aren’t quite right – which have been broken by greedy top 1% members and corrupt politicians [the ones who voted for the 2017 Trump tax cut – passed KNOWING it would add to the national debt; passed KNOWING t favored the rich, the powerful, the connected. As Lynn and many others have said – based on DOCUMENTATION – the 2024 America is not what existed during the golden middle class era of 1947-73 – because it was ‘too good of a deal” for them. Again – do YOUR homework. The facts are there [not erased yet b y Republican governors] – what Lynn said above is simply the truth – the rich and corporations wanted to return to the 1865-1901 “Gilded Age” – and have largely succeeded.}
Lynn: “..monopolization also helps to explain such otherwise mysterious phenomena as the following: Why it’s so hard to launch a successful small business; Why so many jobs were moved offshore so quickly; Why it’s so difficult to control medical costs; Why it’s taken so long to blend cleaner technologies into our cars and our homes; Why the quality of our food, drugs, and toys is declining; Why the U.S. trade surplus is so huge and persistent; Why corporate managers outsource so many activities; Why corporate profits reached such record heights just before the fall; Why the powerful keep getting more powerful.”
Lynn: “A generation ago a highly sophisticated political movement appeared in the United States..dedicated to taking apart the entire institutional structure..put in pace, beginning in the mid-1930s, to govern our political economy by distributing power and responsibility among all people. The goal of this movement was to enable the few, once again, to consolidate power entirely in their own hands.”
With Justice For All 