One way to understand WHY “America is heading in the wrong direction” is to discover how much THEFT of YOUR former rights and privileges as an American citizen has occurred since 1980.
A list of such THEFT for YOU to consider, of services and rights DENIED YOU begin with these:
– loss of medical services – loss of your right to travel – loss of voting rights
– loss of right to die onYOUR terms — loss of ability to read books of YOUR choice
– loss of workplace safety rights – loss of workplace human rights
– loss of ability to access legal prescription drugs – you’re paying more for power
– you’re being forced to support a church you DON’T attend with YOUR tax dollars
– loss of learning FACTUAL American history and FACTUAL science truths
– loss of ability to earn a living wage with ONE job
– being forced to pay the taxes that rich people and corporations formerly paid
– YOUR children’s public schools deliberately underfunded [so rich and corporations don’t get taxed]
– elementary public services DELIBERATELY underfunded [so the rich and corporations don’t get taxed]
– basic maintenance of public infrastructure not done [so rich and corporations don’t get taxed]

Previous posts dealt with the CORRUPTION of the American legal system, and especially the ORGANIZED plot to place radical right-wing ideologues on the “Supreme Court.” See for YOURSELF the depth of this by reading the “Appendix” of Senator Whitehouse’s “THE SCHEME’: the 80 “Roberts Five” 5-4 IDEOLOGICAL decisions protecting four right-wing goals. And also the supposed “conservative principles” deliberately violated to achieve predetermined results.

The depth of the Far Right plot to destroy Congress as a “democratic” institution is revealed to YOU in Pearl & Payne’s “Tax the Rich,” on page 166. the famous Gilens study that found: “Not a single policy supported by the majority of voters but opposed by the rich and the business community ended up being passed into law.” And – the two confessions [pg. 164] by Republican Representative Chris Collins and Republican Senator Graham: “[ if we don’t pass tax cuts ] ‘The financial contributions will stop.'”

This post is primarily concerned with enabling YOU to understand the equal depth and breadth of CORRUPTION that has occurred at state and local levels since 1980. YOU need to be aware of the “American Legislative Exchange” of “ALEC” and the “State Policy Network” or “SPN” as a BEGINNING.

Remember also the crucial truth in your research: the ENTIRE Far Right works together as a “team.” All aspects of what YOU might be tempted to think of as being “independent’ are NOT!!!!! The billionaire funders. – the political activists – the columnists and authors. – the politicians. – the judges & “justices”. – the R-W media [radio-TV-social media-newspapers-books-magazines-“experts”-etc] – are ALL members of “THE TEAM.” They work together, are often on separate parts interchangeably, to promote the approved messaging.

***** “American inequality didn’t just happen. It was created…Much of the inequality that exists today is a result of government policy, both what the government does and what it does not do.” [Nobel Prize winner Joe Stiglitz]

***** “People who contribute get the ear of the member and the ear of the staff. they have the access and access is it. Access is power. Access is clout. That’s how this thing works.” [U.S. Representative Romano Mazzoli [ret]; in Collins & Yeskel’s “Economic Apartheid”}

1} “American Legislative Exchange” – the following is from Gordon Lafer’s “The One Percent Solution”
“No bill becomes a law without a coalition of political actors behind it. Most of the legislation described in this book – attacks on labor unions, the minimum wage, and public services – has been advanced by a combination of Republican politicians and conservative advocacy groups…
“..behind the Republican operatives, the most important force driving this agenda forward is a network of extremely wealthy individuals and corporations..All three of the country’s largest corporate lobbies – the Chamber of Commerce, National Association of Manufacturers, and the National Federation of Independent Business – are active in state political debates…the Koch-funded Americans for Prosperity has join4d them…several industry and employer associations…Above all, the corporate agenda is coordinated through the American Legislative Exchange Council [ALEC].”
“ALEC. the most important..brings together two thousand member legislators [one quarter of all state lawmakers..] and the country’s largest corporations to formulate and promote business-friendly legislation…The organization claims to introduce eight hundred to one thousand bills each year in the fifty state legislatures, with 20 percent becoming law.
“..the “exchange”..ALEC facilitates is between corporate donors and state legislators. The corporations pay ALEC’s expenses and contribute to legislators’ campaigns; in return, legislators carry the corporate agenda into their statehouses. Member corporations also fund the ALEC-affiliated State Policy Network, whose procorporate think tanks produce policy papers in support of model legislation.”

*****!!!!! – read over the above again!!! What does this sound like to YOU????? Some might use words like “quid pro quo,” or “bribery,” or “corruption.” Defenders will justify this is “normal political advocacy” – in which a person would attempt to use “free speech” to convince legislators – glossing over entirely the fact that MONEY is THE central “convincing” measure – and that without the money, the “advocacy” would be nowhere is powerful. And, YOU???

YOU can read Lee Fang’s “The Machine,” on pages 212-217, 22l- to obtain corroborating material: “Paul Weyrich, an architect of much of the modern right, founded ALEC to help corporate interests establish relationships with state legislators…ALEC directly writes pieces of legislation for state lawmakers and coordinates multistate lobbying campaigns. ALEC has grown precipitously…and includes over 2,000 members, almost all of whom are Republican. Corporate members pay at least $50,000 a year to play a role in the group.”

*** “anyone who has been around..Congress or a state legislature or a city council knows that over time the payoff by public officials for the PAC contributions they receive is real and as sure as the sunrise..contributions constitute gilded corruption that has no sight, no taste, no smell, no feel, no sound, and ..no smoking gun..one reason it ..it is so insidious. the other reason is..everybody does it, or almost everybody.” { senator William Proxmire, “Selling Out’]

*** “..at one time, [Senator Rudy]. Boschwitz actually had his staff give donors different-colored stamps for them to put on..mail they sent to his office to indicate their donation levels in order to facilitate preferential treatment.” [“Selling Out’]

2] “State Policy Network” [SPN] – the following is from Lee Fang’s “The Machine” – “Founded at about the time President Clinton was elected..the State Policy Network..is an organization dedicating to building a conservative infrastructure on the state level that mirrors the right-wing machine that now dominates government on the national level….Staffers for the South Carolina Policy Council took policy recommendations, such as public school privatization and the elimination of environmental regulations from Heritage and modified them to recommend to legislators in the state capital.”
“SPN flourished by serving as a nexus between existing local conservative groups and the national conservative policy centers. Initially, SPN think tanks worked closely with a parallel network of right-wing religious Family Policy councils…”….
“Like most right-wing think tanks, SPN’s Heritage clones are rigidly Republican but maintain a veneer of independence by posturing as simply ideological. SPN think tanks are so sensitive about their image that they explicitly advise their local affiliates to be wary of local media portraying them as “pseudo think-tanks” created “by public relations firms and industry to promote single issues.”……..
“Even the language from SPN groups promising “intellectual integrity” is a carbon copy of a document handed down from political operatives in D.C. The legitimacy of SPN affiliates hinges on the ability of each local think tank to appear independent. But in reality, SPN is just another cog in a corporate-backed right-wing messaging machine.

*** “To widen the market and to narrow the competition is always in the interests of..dealers..to narrow competition must always be against [public interest]..The proposal of any new law or regulation of commerce which comes from this order, ought always to be listened to with great precaution..never to be adopted..but with the most suspicious attention. It comes from..men..who generally have an interest to deceive and even oppress the public..” [Adam Smith]

For corroboration, YOU can read Jane Mayer’s “Dark Money,” pages 345-349: “..Thomas A. Roe, an anti-union construction magnate..went on to found the State Policy Network in 1992, a national coalition of conservative state-based think tanks. By 2012, the network had sixty-four separate think tanks turning out cookie-cutter-like policy papers, including at least one hub in every state.”

*** “Rewriting..economic rules that define our society in the past few decades has been done under the banner of “deregulation”..less government means more economic growth.. The term itself is a misnomer. No society is free of regulation. Everything has rules..our government has enacted new rules..[creating]..not only free markets, but rigged ones. These rules..weakened and even destroyed consumer protections while increasing..power of the already powerful.” { “Free Lunch. How the Wealthiest Americans Enrich Themselves at Government Expense [And Stick You with the Bill”} – Pulitzer Prize winner, David Cay Johnston]

*****. REMEMBER – the above is the tip of the iceberg – much more evidence exists. As Nobel Prize winner Joe Stiglitz said above – the 19870-2024 economic inequality is NOT an accident. “America has been going in the wrong direction”. since 1980 – that was and IS the plan!!!!!! Keeping voting for the post-1980 Republican Party – and YOUR children and grandchildren will continue to suffer, likely even more than YOU – because YOU already DO NOT live in the world those who lived in the 1945-1975 STATISTICAL PEAK of American middle class prosperity did.

This siye has already posted MULTIPLE postings on the FAILINGS [well documented] of the Roberts “supreme court.” See: “The Far Right Threat to Democracy, VII – Corruption of Law and Supreme Court” – May, 2023.

How can we say “the failings of the Roberts “court.”? And. WHY. do we put Roberts “supreme court” in lower case letters? Because: the 1789-1999 progression of American history, American constitutional law, American democracy. Because: The Roberts “court’s” own TRACK RECORD reveals preferred “winners and losers” of their “jurisprudence.” Because: the Roberts “court” has failed to achieve the goals of the Founders – Constitution’s Preamble: “We, the People” ordained the U.S. Constitution to achieve: “a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility..promote the general Welfare..”

Examine the “big” and “small” decisions, 2005-2024. The Roberts “court” rulings have often led to chaos, cruelty, corruption. The Roberts “court” opinions written by “the Roberts Five” [“The Scheme”] reveal a shocking PATTERN of achieving ideological goals of the Far Right, by a stunning. 73-0 scorecard.

Begin with this: from 1789-1999, the virtually unanimous opinion of THE worst Supreme Court decisions EVER were: Dred Scott, Plessy v. Ferguson, Korematsu – all racial, all later corrected. 2000 gave us the infamous “Bush-Gore” decision which should NEVER been undertaken.
Then, some of the Roberts “court” TRACK RECORD: Heller, Citizens United, Shelby County, McDonnell, Dobbs. Plus: denial of court access, forced arbitration, refusal to rule on gerrymandering, union busting, “Shadow Docket” abuse, bogus “religious rights.”

Awaiting America in June, 2024: a decision on whether ANY American president has ANY kind of legal “immunity” – even for criminal acts [something MULTIPLE Founders are recorded as opposing]. If a certain ex-president gets ANY “immunity”. – then, friends, as loyal and patriotic American citizens – YOU. must face this question: Is American democracy over??? Yes, OVER. Kings and dictators have immunity – until 2024, no American president did.

Then this: intellectual corruption. FIRST: the preposterous “theory” used by “conservatives” to “justify” crazy, often anti-American, anti-Constitutional rulings: “originalism”/”textualism”/”original intent”, etc. Supposedly, post-1980 Far Right Supreme Court “justices” can read 1789-91 tea leaves and find “original intent – that NOBODY else, 1787-1980 discovered. By parsing and torturing, and using 3rd-4th-5th-6th-7th-10th-100th “meanings” of cherry-picked words and phrases – the post-1980 “conservative” “justices” discover – in THEIR minds [or in the feverish workings of R-W “think tanks] – what our Founders “really meant”. [“alternative facts” in action!!!] !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
“Originalism” has been previously [see John Marshall & other Founders], and currently [ Erwin Chemerinsky’s “Worse Than Nothing The Dangerous Fallacy of Originalism”]. – absolutely, and totally DESTROYED. as ANY kind of serious constitutional thought

SECOND: some incredible and stupid “reasoning” supporting Roberts “court” opinions. Heller supposedly finds what five [5!!!] previous Supreme Court rulings ‘missed.” Various “religious rights’ rulings are un-American, against what the Founders repeatedly said & ENACTED, ahistorical. Shelby County claimed “the South has changed.” Texas proved the stupidity of that in less than 24 hours, followed by other states!!!!!! Dobbs is one big historical LIE from beginning to end. No serious American historian could have said these things. All this just a BEGINNING of often mind-bending legal and historical IGNORANCE – which would be comical if those rulings didn’t produce chaos, cruelty, corruption.

THIRD: the role of Roberts “court” opinions in the. THEFT of 1945-1980 American democracy and prosperity. An annonced goal of Roberts “court” supporters, benefactors, defenders, rationalizers is a return to either circa 1950 Virginia, or the 1865-1900 “Gilded Age” [notorious for corruption and egregious income inequality] – depending upon whom is talking. BOTTOM LINE: the Far Right, and their tool – the Roberts “court” – intend to REWRITE. THE. BASIC. RULES. OF AMERICA. – to eliminate post-1900 “progressivism” in ALL forms

Want proof? “originalism” takes YOU back to 1789-1800. To a society where 50% of Americans couldn’t vote and were supposed to be “pregnant, barefoot, & in the kitchen” – most important: silent; to a society where others indentured servants, non-property owners, minorities, had reduced/no rights and largely couldn’t vote; to a society without Social Security & Medicare, or a social safety net; to a society without progressive income and estate taxes [ THE only fair and democratic taxes]; to a society without broad-based public education [the Far Right wants to END public education] – in short: a plutocratic theocracy. Want proof??? – check the Roberts “court” top two major winners!!!!!

Most of the MOUNTAIN of evidence against the Roberts “court” is in plain sight: their infamous rulings. But – significant pieces are not. YOUR research assignments: WHY do the Far Right and Republicans have this mantra on ANY Supreme Court future nominee: “no more O’Connors,” “no more Souters”??????? THIS, ALONE, tells YOU much of what YOU need to understand. Investigate the role of Right Wing law firms. Investigate who Leonard Leo is, and what he has done to the American legal system [also investigate WHO his funders are!!!!!!]. Investigate what the Federalist Society is, WHY they exist, what they do [do, NOT what they say they do!!!], how they claim to be a “check” on the Supreme Court. Investigate the role of Far right “networks” [Chayes & others]. Investigate the funding of all this by R-W billionaires [ WHY they are INVESTING in the changing of American law]]. Investigate WHY former Republican appointed Justice John Stevens famously said he entered the Supreme Court as a conservative, left the Court as a liberal, but – never changed. What is Stevens telling you???????
Find the real answers to these questions – YOU will have many of THE answers WHY. the Roberts “court” is “heading in the wrong direction” – and, is a threat to what American democracy was 1789-1980.

Following is a VERY small part of the MOUNTAIN of EVIDENCE that some are now courageously are now calling “corrupt’ or “intellectually corrupt” “Roberts “court” actions.

1] Every American should read “Appendix A” of Senator Whitehouse”s “The Scheme.” – “The 80”: Decisions by the Roberts Five, 2005-2019. Originally presented in an April, 2019 article for the American Constitution Society, “A Right-Wing rout: What the ‘Roberts Five’ Decisions Tell Us About the Integrity of Today’s Supreme Court.”
The analysis of 80 cases decided by 5-4 pinions of the Roberts Five: Roberts, Alito, Kennedy, Thomas, and either Scalia or Gorsuch – “..each of which served one of the following conservative interests” :
1] controlling the political process to benefit conservative candidates and policies
2] protecting corporations from liability and letting polluters pollute
3] restricting civil rights and condoning discrimination
4]. advancing a right-right social agenda
**** “The final five cases are decisions by the Roberts Five in which no clear donor interests are presently
identified.”

“Where appropriate, the appendix also identifies the judicial principles these conservative justices generally espouse, but which they arguably disregarded in these cases to achieve a desired outcome, including: [1]. stare decisis ; [2]2. judicial restraint; [3] originalism ; [4]. textualism ; and [5] aversion to fact finding.”

*****!!!!!*****!!!!! – NOW. – reread the above quoters from Senator Whitehouse”s “The Scheme.” YOU tell us – what does this sound like to YOU????? The Constitution’s Article III: “The Judges, both of the supreme and inferior Courts, shall hold their Offices during good Behaviour..” YOU tell us: is it possible, in a “democratic” state’s “Supreme Court” to have a 73-0 record on almost ANY kind of cases, most especially when the cases were selected, then ruled on, to achieve “a desired outcome” which benefitted people and groups in one political/economic sphere??????
Leaving aside numerous other ethical issues and question, THIS: is ANY American court supposed to have “a desired outcome”???? Isn’t THE purpose of American courts to weigh ALL the evidence – AND THEN – reach a decision???? Isn’t reaching “a desired outcome” what the courts of Nazi Germany, Putin’s Russia, and current leadership of Communist China. [see Hong Kong} did and do????????
Understand also this: the charges against the Roberts ‘court” are printed and circulated, hence fall under liability law for false statements. To date, no legal proceedings have been begun against Whitehouse.

2] Isaiah 10:1: “Woe unto them that make unjust laws.”

3]. On page 3 of “On Corruption in America,” Sarah Chayes begins discussing “McDonnell v. United States,” under this heading “Dismissing Corruption June 27, 2016”. in which the Roberts “court” unanimously [!!!!!] redefined bribery – more narrowly. this led to cases being dropped, fewer bribery cases being filed. “In the United States, serious and damaging public corruption is not getting punished. That means, by default, that we deem it to be just fine.”

5] U.S. District Court judge Lynn Adelman “..warned that “the Court’s hard right majority is actively participating in undermining American Democracy. Indeed, the Roberts Court has contributed to ensuring that the political system in the United States pays little attention to ordinary Americans and responds only to the wishes of a relatively small number of powerful corporations and individuals.” [“The Scheme,” page 209]

6]. “But antitrust law was not rewritten in Congress: it was vitiated by the judiciary. Four pro-business conservatives joined the Supreme Court in Nixon’s first term. Including..Lewis Powell..the prominent corporate lawyer who wrote the alarmist 1971 [memo]..waring capitalism was under attack. In 1976…Powell persisted, seeing an opportunity to undermine antitrust law.” [“The Economist’s Hour,” Applebaum]

7] “A major goal of the ideologues who nurtured Roberts is cutting odd access to the courts…The ‘original intent’ theory, legal scholars have shown, relies at times on fanciful versions of history as well as third, fourth, and even fifth definitions of words to justify its decisions to deny relief or even access to the courts.” [“Free Lunch”]

8] “In its most extreme disregard for decency, the court held in a 2007 case, Justice Roberts in the majority, that an Ohio inmate must rot in jail until he dies without any review of his case..[even though] the judge made a mistake.”
[“Free Lunch”]

9] “Great is the mischief of a legal crime.” [R.W. Emerson, on the Fugitive Slave Law, 1851]

10] From “Casey” [1992], three Republican=appointed justices: “[O]nly the most convincing justification under accepted standards of precedent could suffice to demonstrate that a later decision overruling the first was anything but a surrender to political pressure, and an unjustified repudiation to principle on which the Court staked its authority in the first instance. So to overrule under fire in the absence of the most compelling reason to reexamine a watershed decision would subvert the Court’s legitimacy beyond a serious question.” {“The Scheme” -***!!! NOTE: these three Republicans refused to overrule ‘Roe v. Wade.” Something the Roberts “court” didn’t. Any questions???]

11] George Washington: “I have often expressed my sentiments, that every man..being accountable to God alone for his religious opinions, ought to be protected in worshipping the Deity according to the dictates of his own conscience.”

12] Barry Goldwater: “Religious factions will go on imposing their will on others unless decent people connected to them recognize that religion has no place in public policy. They must learn to make their views known without trying to make their views the only alternative.”

13] 6/26/22 – New York Times editorial: “The Supreme Court on Tuesday embraced a vision of thr Second Amendment that is profoundly at odds with precedent and the dangers that American communities face today, upending longstanding practice of letting states decide for themselves how to regulate gun possession in public…It was only in 2008..that conservatives on the court divined an individual right to bare arms..” NOTE: which 5 previous Supreme Courts – somehow, in their “ignorance” couldn’t “divine”!!!!!!!!!!! – or make up ]

14]. “The Scheme,” “Appellate Fact-Finding,” pages 202 and following: “The willingness of today’s conservative justices to roam far beyond the judicial record and make up facts in order to reach their desired policy outcome as been eye-popping.” Several cases are presented to illustrate this Roberts “court” practice: MAKING UP. FACTS !!!!!! Would YOU like a judge in YOUR case to “make up facts”??????

15] “The Scheme,” page 24 – Whitehouse explains for YOU how the scheme to capture the Supreme Court unfolded – “..a work of decades, requiring an infrastructure to groom and deploy justices who would be loyal to the forces that secured their appointment…[require] government allies..[require] public relations campaigns…coordination..time..money. A lot of money…….Corporate power lurks behind the Scheme to capture the Court.”

16] “The Shadow Docket How The Supreme Court Uses Stealth Rulings To Amass Power and Undermine The Republic,” by Professor Stephen Vladek, describes the threat posed by the Roberts ‘court” misusing “the shadow docket. So does Senator Whitehouse, in his chapter 20. Just another device to undo the 20th century.

17] The letter from retired judge, James Dannenberg [3/13/20] should be read by EVERY patriotic American.. it’s on pages 210-211 in “The Scheme.: A short summary: “Dear Chief Justice Roberts: I hereby resign my membership in the Supreme Court bar…Your “conservative” majority has cynically undermined basic freedoms by hypocritically weaponizing others..There is nothing “conservative” about this trend…the Court majority, under your leadership, has become little more than a result-oriented extension of the right wing of the Republican Party…I no longer have respect for you or your majority…With deepest regret, James Dannenberg.”

There is. unfortunately, to the damage the Roberts “court” has done to American democracy – which is why this post is included in “The Far Right Threat, “heading in the wrong direction.”

18] !!!! And – the evidence on misbehavior by the Roberts “court” just keeps on coming!!!!!!!!! – today’s newspaper has the
“‘Stop the Steal’ flag flew in Alito’s yard”. story. Subtitled. “Symbol raises questions of ethics and impartiality of high court’s Jan 6 rulings.” America will find out if My judges” will grant “immunity” to the guy who pit them there – just like kings, dictators, and mob bosses – “loyalty” personified

For a “supreme court’ which has specialized in. CHANGING. THE RULES. – “immunity’ for a person tape recorded engaged in unethical and criminal behavior will be the ULTIMATE. RULES CHANGE!!!!!! In 1974, with a different breed of Republicans in office – a president resigned from office. He. DIDN’T. get immunity for Watergate crimes.

Rigging the courts is a MAJOR reason why America is “heading in the wrong direction.”0

The progress of American democracy has been an evolving process since 1789. Slowly, with resistance by “conservative” forces. Gradually, Constitutional Amendments were added, almost always pushing America to honor the words of the Declaration of Independence: “..that all Men are created equal..with certain unalienable Rights..”
BUT – some questions exist:
#! – ask YOURSELF: WHY was it necessary to add this Amendment: “The right of citizens on the United states to vote shall not be denied or abridged..on account of sex.” ??????? WHY was political [and economic power] denied to 50% of the human race????????????
#2 – ask YOURSELF: WHY was it necessary to add this Amendment: “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged..on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” ??? Were some people BORN with the “wrong’ skin color, as members of the “wrong” race????????

Due to the “Progressive ERA,” the “New Deal,” and subsequent further REAL reforms, America slowly became a REAL democracy, l933-l965, in many ways – BUT still with weaknesses. In 1947-75, America became a REAL middle class democracy – with broad economic prosperity – BY DESIGN – laws passed, norms observed. The wealth of America was SHARED !!!!! – BY DESIGN. Ordinary workers had REAL, fair to all, RIGHTS.
BUT – this was “too good a deal” for America’s “undeserving” middle class. There was “too much democracy in the air.” Women and minorities had gotten “uppity.” Things had to change.

1975-2010 “represented a drastic departure”..the “business community..who had benefited most from the American free enterprise system..recognized..the cumulative outcome of past negotiations had been burdensome protective governmental infrastructure..it was not content with..resisting the general trend toward increased governmental intrusions..it seized the ‘reform’ mantle and launched a vigorous counter-offensive aimed at changing the existing institutional arrangements dramatically…This time, the target of the reforms would be “big government,” rather than “big business.”..the goal would be a return to a political economy that more closely resembled the laissez faire benchmark of the Gilded Age..[a] remarkably successful 30-year project ushered in a Laissez Faire Revival that continues to dominate the American political economy>” [“Freedom to Harm”]
[*** “America headed in the wrong direction” is NOT an accident – it has been ORCHESTRATED BY DESIGN !!!!!]

Thew first real billionaire, Henry Ford, happened about 1925. In 2024 America has “a record 813” [Forbes] It also has 5.5 million millionaires {real useable assets], up 62% in the last decade [.0167% of U.S. population]. Little legislation gets passed that †hose .0167% don’t approve {see “campaign contributions”!!!!!]
*** Gaius Petronious Arbiter [27-666 AD]: “What power has law where only money rules?”
*** Gary Wills [“What Jesus Meant”]: “According to the gospels, he [Christ] preferred the company of the lowly and despised to that of the rich and powerful.”
*** Justice Louis Brandeis: “We can have either a democracy..or we can have great wealth concentration in the hands of a few. But we cannot have both.”
***Theodore Roosevelt: “Of all forms of tyranny the least attractive and most vulgar is the tyranny of mere wealth, the tyranny of plutocracy.”
*** Sarah Chayes: “..one certainty..there is no way to access infinite wealth without rigging the system. No one becomes a billionaire honestly.” [“On Corruption in America”]

AN SO – the “rules of America WERE CHANGED, often “legally.” Over the last 50 years, the rich and connected have, one by one, REWRITTEN. THE. AMERICAN. LEGAL. CODES. Taxes on wealth – lowered and eliminated. Regulations benefitting the public, but hurtful to corporate bottom lines – weakened or eliminated. Labor unions – neutered, harassed, destroyed. Access to courts – reduced or eliminated. Jobs – eliminated, off-shored. Attempts to cut, or eliminate Social Security & Medicare – INTENSIFIED. Public property & resources – given away.

THINK of the change from mass middle class prosperity to “America headed in the wrong direction,” 1980-2024, as nothing other than a PLANNED, ORCHESTRATED, PURCHASED, THEFT. The era when America came close to honoring the full realization of 1789-1980 “democracy,” 1947-1975, was. MURDERED by the GREED of the top 1%.
THIS. is a THEFT. of the birthrights of ordinary people, and their children, and their grandchildren, and……..

Consider:
1] “If we desire respect for the law, we must first make the law respectable.” [Justice Brandeis]

2]”during the 20th century, America managed to make its economic and social system both more and more fair and more prosperous. A huge, secure, and contented middle class emerged. Incomes rose in sync. But then the New Deal gave way to the Raw Deal. Beginning in the early 1970s, by means of a long war conceived of and executed by a confederacy of big business CEOs, the superrich, and right-wing zealots, the rules and norms that made the American middle class possible were undermined and dismantled. †he clock was turned back on a century of economic progress, making greed good, workers powerless, and the market all powerful while weaponizing nostalgia, lifting up an oligarchy that served only its own interests.” [Kurt Anderson – “Evil Geniuses”]

3]. “I am of the opinion that a good judiciary lends much to the dignity of a state and the happiness of the people…On the contrary a bad judiciary involverd in party business is the greatest Curse that can befall a country.” {Andrew Jackson]

4]. “I don’t want to know what the law is. I want to know who the judge is.” [Roy Cohen}

5]. “In no other area, observed one scholar, “was the process of strategic investment [by right-wing funders] as prolonged, ambitious, complicated and successful as the law.” The “campaign for the courts,” as a critical organization dubbed it sought “to mold a new jurisprudence” that would radically change” the way justice is dispensed in our society.” In particular, those waging the campaign sought ‘to make the protection and enhancement of corporate profits and private wealth the cornerstone of our legal system.” Toward that end..investors helped fund law-and-economics programs like Henry Manne”s property rights ‘public interest’ law firms such as the Pacific Legal Foundation..”
[ Nancy MacLean: “Democracy in Chains” ]

6]. “The best way to take control over people and control them utterly is to take a little of their freedoms at a time, to erode rights by a thousand tiny and almost imperceptible reductions. In this way, the people will not see those rights and freedoms being removed until past the point at which the4se changes cannot be reversed.” [Adolf Hitler]

7]. “An unjust law is no law at all.” [St. Augustine]

8]. “..a new school of legal thought..’law and economics’..became one of the prime organizers of a regular series of seminars for judges..inculcating legal arguments in favor of network priorities and market-based ethical standards and denigrating the very notion of the public interest…the Federalist Society..subnetwork of legal scholars and practitioners has been crucial to the hydra’s ability to weaponize the justice function..much more radical..What American citizens don’t yet realize..is that ‘this will make it very hard for future democratically elected institutions to govern.'”
[Sarah Chayes: “On Corruption in America”]

9] “Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty – power is ever stealing from the many to the few.” [Wendell Phillips]

10]. “..essentially all..economic gains of the last 20 years have gone to a tiny sliver of the wealthiest Americans, and that’s not by accident..It’s by design. the wealthy have paid for the ability to stand at the drawing board and plan out big parts of the economy so..the whole thing works particularly well for them…Once COVID-19 took hold, we saw exactly how rigged our economy is. In the first six months of the pandemic, 30 million people lost their jobs, and America’s billionaires made $845 billion dollars.” [ Pearl & Payne: “Tax The Rich”]

11]. “The most odious of all oppressions are those which mask as justice.” [ Justice Robert Jackson ]

12]. Henry Manne..created a ‘boot camp’ for law professors in 1971..paid professors from prominent law schools $1000 to attend..The money can from companies including Exxon, General Electric, and IBM…”general counsels of many of these companies were aware..how helpful “Chicago Economics” was in antitrust cases..in 1976, he added a two-week course for federal judges..By 1980, almost 20% of federal judges had attended Manne’s program, by 1990..40%. An examination of judge’s rulings before and after attendance found significant shift toward trust-the-market rulings…
‘to justify the insertion of economics into antitrust law, Robert Bork rewrote history..policy makers across the political spectrum wantred to believe Bork was right…Judges wanted to believe Bork…The F.T.C…won 88%..during the first half of the 1970s. Between 1976 and 1981..won 43%..”
“The courts..continued to roll back antitrust law..Judges replaced the presumption of guilt with a presumption of innocence, and then defined the offense narrowly, rendering illegal conduct unlikely…Public policy..moved in that direction over the last two decades. Regulators brought a dwindling number of enforcement actions; courts kept chipping away at the law.” [Applebaum: “The Economist’s Hour”]

13]. “Judges are but men, and in all ages have shown a fair share of frailty. Alas! Alas! The worst crimes in history have been perpetrated under their sanction.” [ Charles Sumner]

14]. 1966 “class action’ lawsuit rules changes enhanced citizen’s ability to hold corporations accountable, which posed a serious threat to the freedom of American corporations..In a clever turnaround, the business community framed [this] ..as “tort reform.” It devoted hundreds of millions of dollars to a massive public relations campaign aimed at changing public attitude toward the civil justice system with..ultimate goal of returning..to the laissez faire benchmark of the late 19th century.”
“Several themes were endlessly repeated: “personal responsibility,” freedom of customers to pay less for a more risky product; “greedy trial lawyers,” “corporate victimhood” [robbed by undeserving plaintiffs and rapacious lawyers]; “drag on the economy,” “activist judges,” “incompetent juries<‘ “litigation lottery,” “runaway juries” in “judicial hellholes.” All this created a “litigation crisis” talk radio and Fox News drummed into people’s minds. [McGarrity: “Freedom to Harm”]

15]. “Power does not corrupt men; fools, however, if they get into a position of power, corrupt power.” [G.B. Shaw]

16] “In most other Western democracies, the legal system has been somewhat sympathetic, or at least relatively impartial..often resisting employer demands, protecting labor at crucial moments, and sometimes even embracing it. [Not America.]. Rarely has the legal system been its advocate, protector, or even a neutral party, and more typically it has been an adversary.
“In early U.S. history, the legal system treated unions as criminal conspiracies; still later, it accepted some strikes as legal in principle but often treated..activities associated with them..as criminal conspiracies.” [Sexton: “The War on Labor and the Left’}

17]. “To usurp supreme and absolute authority..in a free state and subject it to tyranny, the people must have already become corrupt by gradual steps from generation to generation.” [ Machiavelli ]

18] The Koch plan for constitutional revolution
1] a vast legal shift; quietly exacted changes in legal rules to bind citizens; exhibit #1 – forced arbitration. Reagan-appointed federal judge: “This is among the most profound shifts in legal history..business has a good chance of opting out of the legal system altogether and misbehaving without reproach.”
2] a cadre promoting the view of Constitution from a unique era of U.S. history: after the defeat of Reconstruction to the Great Depression: Lochner and Plessy era and a twisted l4th Amendment which enabled an era of unmatched corporate dominance
3] the goal not to shrink big government; the cadre seeks a Constitutional interpretation giving federal courts vast new powers to strike down measures desired by voters and passed by elected representatives; “judicial activism” by Koch-approved judges to secure economic liberty
4] donor networks “pumped hitherto unheard of sums into state judicial races”..as corporate donors invest in judges they believe will interpret the Constitution and..laws in their favor..allow the revolution to go forward…North Carolina insider: ‘Lose the courts, lose the war.’
5] Supreme Court – smart court watchers on Roberts’ Affordable CAre Act case: it’s not the verdict but what Roberts said about the Commerce Clause
6]. three additional battlefronts: a power grab by affiliated state legislators to deny local governments the right to adot policies that depart from the Network model; voter suppression – 2010-2012, 4l state legislators introduced ALEC legislation in 180 bills to restrict voting and gerrymandering by the ‘REDMAP’ plan; the Koch network “secretive operation that conducts political surveilance and intelligence gathering on its liberal opponents..an example the smear attack on Jane Mayer after she exposed some Koch network details. {N. MacLean: “DEmocracy in Chains”]

19]. “The essential claim of the fundamentalist is that he knows the truth..It is an external truth, brought to him by a book, a sacred text, a mullah, a pope, a political visionary, or a religious community with an authority pastor.”
[ A. Sullivan: “The Conservative Soul” ]

20]. “A study by Princeton Professor Martin Gilens shows..between the 1980s and..2020s, policies supported by the rich ended up being passed into law between 60% and 70%…not a single policy supported by the majority of voters but opposed by the rich and the business community ended p being passed into law.” [“Tax The Rich”]

21] “The great can protect themselves, but the poor and humble require the arm and shield of the law.”

Kings and dictators have immunity. Presidents of “democracies” DO NOT.

Are YOU an “original intent” adherent? Consider the following.
– South Carolina Senator Charles Pinckney, a 1787 Constitutional Convention delegate, speaking on the Senate floor, said he and his colleagues did NOT intend the president to have ANY privileges or immunities; that ratification of the Constitution rested on the “express” promise “the new president would be subject to criminal punishment.
– In an essay promoting ratification, House member Tench Coxe wrote the president, “may be proceeded against like any other man in the ordinary course of the law.”
– Future Supreme Court justice James Iredell told the North Carolina ratifying convention if the president “commits any misdemeanor in office, he is impeachable, removable from office, and incapacitated to hold any office of honor, trust or profit.” If he commits any crime, “he is punishable by the laws of his country, and in capital cases may be deprived of his life.” [Note: comments and quotes by Pinckney, Coxe, Iredell from Jamelle Bouie’s “This Whole King Trump Thing Is Getting Awfully Literal”; New York Times; 4/28/24]

Consider also these thoughts and facts:
1]. corruption was the Founders’ NUMBER ONE concern. The word “corruption” was written in Madison’s incomplete convention notes 54 times – in a roughly 110 day convention, lat May – mid September, 1787.
2]. was “immunity” EVER discussed, and in what context, in the 1787-91 period; Philadelphia or state conventions?
3] ” ” ” ” in the impeachment process against President Andrew Johnson?
4]. ” ” ” ” ” ” ” ” ” ” Richard Nixon?
5]. the word “immunity” is NOT in the Constitution – it fails the Alito “test”!!!!!!!
6] kings have immunity, presidents do not; a major part of 1775-83 Revolutionary War era was the arbitrary, corrupt conduct of George III – WHY would America go BACKWARDS to a “king”?????
7]. Gorsuch: “We are writing a rule for the ages.”?!?!?!? – NO they can’t. Amending the Constitution is a process which does NOT involve ANY “supreme court,” let alone this one.
8] a “supreme court” can “interpret” the Constitution – so if “immunity” of a president [or anybody] is NOT in the document, nor is there any hint of it – what about “immunity” is there to “interpret”????? [ they doNOT have the legal power to MAKE UP “a rule for the ages” foe something that DOES NOT EXIST]
9]. the Constitution was written by 55 men, signed by 39, from ALL 13 states, why don’t we have a public forum on the question if ANY president should have a power NOT in the Constitution – why should 6 people have a RIGHT’ to do this?
10]. Trump’s “immunity” argument has been REJECTED by every judge who heard it – what do these 6 “justices” “know” that MULTIPLE courts did not. ***** Research the court statements against Trump!!! – some are decisively in disbelief that such fantasy should even be considered in a “court of law” versus by drunks in a bar.
11]. the case itself is an unnecessary review of a UNANIMOUS 3-judge D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals panel – which forcefully said Trump could be prosecuted – research their words!!!
12]. “justice” Barrett got Trump lawyer Sauer to admit many of Trump’s alleged acts amount to private conduct that would NOT be shielded from prosecution
13]. WHY is this “supreme court” parsing differences between “private and “public” conduct for a president, unnecessarily splitting hairs; how does one decide the difference on ANYTHING that has to do with a presidency charged with 24/7 running a country, a “democracy,” when virtually EVERY word from ANY president is/can be consequential???
14]. when is an American president “off duty”???
15] how can Alito say “I’m not discussing the particular facts of this case.”??? – what do “supreme courts” do, any of them – if they don’t discuss the “particular facts”??? – isn’t that their JOB? Is “justice’ Alito signaling that this “supreme court” is going to. – AGAIN – make something up??? – create some fantasy theoretical scenario – that THIS “supreme court” is now called to “solve” – with “a rule for the ages”???????????????
16]. there is a long lst of Trump actions, publicly recorded, that refute ANY idea he did not try to abuse the powers of the presidency to stay in power – does America ignore this??? – are we now going to have some “rule for the ages” that [for some people] plains all this illegal behavior away??????
17]. how can a “democracy” accept Sauer’s contention a president is free during their presidency to commit lawless acts; subject to prosecution only AFTER impeachment convicts? Didn’t we have a resident who resigned in 1974. who claimed once that if the president does something it isn’t/can’t be wrong? After 50 years, we’re going to debate this again. – ignoring what the men who wrote the Constitution said and intended???
18]. if “no man is above the law” – how can there be a SERIOUS discussion of presidential “immunity”??????
19]. if ANY American has ANY kind of “immunity” – what’s the difference between that and a dictatorship???
20] given the 2005-2024 Roberts “court” track record illustrating their PROFOUND ignorance of American history and legal history/precedent – why trust them to “write a rule for the ages”???

Consider also “
– – is there ANYTHING which displays more hatred and contempt for American democracy than a “supreme court” decision, that in ANY way, grants Trump ANY kind of “immunity,” or some stealth ‘rule” that does it without saying it – a favorite Roberts “court” trick
— should ANY American president have “immunity” for ANY act he/she commits in office that in ANY way subverts his/her office, American democracy, the Constitution, 235 years of historical and legal presidential conduct???
— should ANY mayor, governor, president have “immunity” from criminal prosecution???
– – If Trump is granted, INCREDIBLY, ANY “immunity” – is it over? Is America finished as a “democracy”?

Then this:
— is the “supreme court’s” complicity in subverting accountability and justice obvious enough??? Did 6 Republican “justices” take the case to aid Trump {without admitting it]? If, by their actions, Trump does not go to trials before the 2024 election, no matter what decision the “court” issues, is this a “win” for Trump? [he’s not found guilty]

— is the “supreme court” thereby complicit in. a coup if Trump is elected? If American democracy begins to end with a second Trump presidency, which becomes the autocracy he’s promising publicly, openly – how much credit does the “court” receive” in this coup?

— there have been many accusations of the current “court” violating Article III, Section I: Supreme Court justices “hold their offices during good Behavior..”. Is their action in taking the Trump “immunity” case – which has been condemned as totally inappropriate and “Jaw Dropping” – proof the 6 Republicans are, as some have said “corrupt” or “intellectually corrupt”?

– – is taking the Trump “immunity” case – and doing anything but dismissing it, 9-0, as an outrageous joke – that final proof the 6 Republicans are indeed “partisan political hacks” – which one of them said they weren’t?

– – if there is any doubt of “partisan hackery”, is the proof in the Roberts “court” track record, which includes Heller, Citizens United, Shelby County, Janus, giving certain religious preferred status, denying ordinary citizens access court access, forcing people into compulsory arbitration, undermining environmental protections, attacking people’s reproductive rights, forced taxpayer contributions to a church they don’t attend, making up “legal” doctrines and “tests”, etc., etc., etc. – many in opposition to long-accepted legal principles?

— does this mean that, unlike the former Supreme Courts that ruled against presidents in the 1952 steel nationalization case [during a war]; unlike the Pentagon Papers ruling [during a war]; unlike the Nixon tapes issue [during an impeachment inquiry]. – with an “immunized’ presidency, this would no longer occur???

“At what point, then, is the approach of danger to be expected? I answer, if it ever reach us,
it must spring up amongst us…If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and
finisher. As a nation of freemen, we must live through all time, or die by suicide.”
[ Abraham Lincoln ]

The Far Right has developed a massive plan, at work for 90 years, to subvert the 1775-1980 upward growth of American democracy. This series examines how the Far Right has moved in areas of ideology, legal and constitutional work, legislative changes, corporate policies – ALL to DELIBERATELY subvert and destroy the l947 – 1975 historical, statistical, peak of America as a middle class society designed to work for everybody.

In considering the statement: “America is headed in the wrong direction,” perspective is needed. We offer this post:
1] – Declaration of Independence: “..Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness..”
– U>S. Constitution: “We, the People..to..promote the general Welfare..establish this Constitution..”
2] if Joe Sixpack works 18-68, makes $50,000 every year, his LIFETIME income: $2.5 million
– if Suzie Sorority works 22-68, makes $200,000 every year, her LIFETIME income: $9.2 million
– the most important person in the world, U.S. president – makes $400,000 a year
3] SO – if the talents of a major league shortstop “are more rare” than a CEO, WHY in a democracy” which exists to “promote the general Welfare,” does ANY CEO make $5-10-20 million in one year; and WHY are tax laws written to benefit the top 2% rich???????????

4] Once upon a time, in 1947-75, a middle class oriented America existed: “Beginning with the New Deal..and..especially after World War II, our elected leaders worked to build and strengthen the middle class. Government5 invested in the nation’s most valuable assets: the brains of its citizens..government invested in basic sciences, public health and medical research; b uilt..interstate highways..allowed unions to negotiate for higher wages..created a consumer protections and environmental protections. We created a set of rules to make America a land with a large, growing, and stable middle class.” [“Free Lunch”]

So, WHAT happened????? Easy – the “rules” were DELIBERATELY changed – by the rich and corporations. “America is headed in the wrong direction”. BECAUSE. the rich and corporations want that, paid for that, propagandized for that, above all: changed the “rules’ of America to GUARANTEE that. Consider these few [of many] thoughts:

1]. “Rule of law depends not just on what is written down, but also on the behavior of those who interpret and enforce that rule. If these people don’t regard themselves as servants of the law first, partisans second, if they won’t subordinate their political goals to their duty to preserve the system, laws become meaningless and only power matters.
“And what we’re seeing..for years..is an invasion of our institutions by right-wing partisans whose loyalty is to party, not principle. This invasion is corroding the Republic..[is]..very far advanced..
“The Republican Party is dominated by “movement conservatives,” a monolithic structure held together by big money – often deployed stealthily – and the closed intellectual echosystem of Fox News and other partisan media..
“..it”s not just the courts..a growing number of positions in government agencies are being occupied by right-wing partisans who care nothing for, or actively oppose, their agencies’ missions.
“…when the public rejects their agenda..they use their power to overrule the democratic process..they rig the voting process..they strip offices Democrats win of power..When Democratic policies prevail despite all that. they use apparatchik-stuffed courts to strike down legislation on the flimsiest grounds
“..but the game in question isn’t just about perpetuating the assault on health care, it’s about assaulting democracy in general. And the current state of the endgame is probably just the beginning; the worst, i fear is yet to come.” [Nobel Prize winner Paul Krugman: “Arguing With Zombies”}

2] “..the single most powerful and least understated threat to democracy today: the attempt by..billionaire-backed radical right to undo democratic governance…a stealth bid to reverse-engineer all of America…back to the political economy and oligarchic governance of midcentury Virginia..” [“Democracy in Chains”]

3] “During the 1970s, a handful of the nation’s wealthiest corporate captains felt overtaxed and over-regulated and decided to fight back..they launched an ambitious, privately-financed war of ideas to radically change the country..wanted to change how Americans thought..to “save” America as they saw it..by turning the clock back to the Gilded Age…Charles Koch..as Doherty observed, his ambitions were..even more radical: to pull the government out “at the root.”
“The weapon of choice..was philanthropy..the conservative rich created a new generation of hyper-political private foundations..to invest in ideology like venture capitalists..Because of the anonymity…charitable organizations provided, the full scope of these efforts was largely invisible to the public.
“..their war spread from “beachheads” in academia and law to corporate front groups purporting to represent public opinion..As their efforts grew increasingly political, the funders continued to cloak these projects under the mantle of philanthropy..They exercised their power from the shadows, meeting in secret, hiding their money trails..paying others to front for them.” [“Dark Money”]

4] “For the libertarian right, Social Security privatization meant a savvy triple win…it could break down citizens’ lived connection to government… it would weaken the appeal of collective organization…[by enriching capitalists] it would make them eager to lobby for further change..” [“Democracy in Chains”}. ***[Note: note the cruel cynicism here]

5]. The famous “Powell Memo”: “It is essential..spokesmen for the enterprise system – at all levels and at every opportunity – be far more aggressive..There should not be the slightest hesitation to press vigorously in all political areas for support of the enterprise system. Nor should there be any reluctance to penalize politically those who oppose it.” [Note: this corporate lawyer would soon be appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court – where he ceaselessly advocated and worked for “business-friendly” goals – like certain post-2005 “supreme court” “justices”]

6]. “..the power of ideas was enormous..an influential grouping of conservative intellectuals, columnists, religious leaders, political figures, and writers began..a broad attack on the liberal assumptions that had accompanied 30 years of America’s middle class republic..
“..right-wing spokesmen worked hard to change the way Americans think about equality, democracy and freedom.
“..five broad interconnected themes suggest themselves. The Right developed blistering critiques of liberalism in matters of foreign policy, social authority, race relations, the welfare state, and economic equality..it crafted a more “muscular” approach to international relations, called for moral renewal and a restoration of authority in all areas of life, suggested..government and racial preferences and encouraging a “color-blind society,” extolled the creative and democratic power of unfettered capitalism, and articulated a broad celebration of personal freedom, individual opportunity, and economic growth.” [“$ervants of Wealth. The Right’s Assault on Economic Justice”]

7] ***the Right-Wing effort is on-going: “Groups like the Convention of States [[Ron DeSantis..a vocal supporter] have succeeded in getting 19 of the 34 states required to agree to convene a new constitutional convention. The..package of potential changes includes giving “a simple majority of the states” the ability to “rescind actions by Congress, the President, or administrative agencies” [!!! think EPA, labor rights, reproductive health…] empowering Republican officials to nullify any policies they oppose..” [“The Constitution Won’t Save Us From Trump”; Aziz Rana; N.Y. Times; 4/28/24]. [!!!So, now 26 “gerrymandered” conservative states can further extend MINORITY rule over 330 million]

8] “Tyler Cowen..who succeeded Buchanan and now directs the cause’s base camp at George Mason, the Mercatus Center, has explained..with the “rewriting of the social contract” under way, people will be “expected to fend for themselves much more than they do now.” While some will flourish..”others will fall by the wayside.” And because “worthy individuals” will manage to climb their way out of poverty, “that will make it easier to ignore those who are left behind.” Cowen foresees..”we will cut Medicaid for the poor.”..”the fiscal shortfall will come out of real wages as various cost burdens are shifted to workers” from employers and a government that does less…Cowen forecasts, the United States as a whole will end up looking more like Texas.” {“Democracy in Chains”] {Note: read this again, very carefully, to note the cynicism and cruelty of the Right-Wing and their selfish billionaire funders]

9]. “..Amazon, a company that was playing an outsized role in this zero-sum sorting..was an ideal frame for understanding the cuntry and what the country was becoming..There was extreme wealth inequality encapsulated by its founder’s outlandish personal fortune and..modest wages of the vast preponderance of its employees..the nature of..work most of them..engaged in: rudimentary and isolating..on the edge of town, often with unreliable hours and schedules..the immense influence the company had amassed over the country’s elected government..the unraveling of..civic fabric..the company had contributed to, through its undermining of face-to-face commercial activity and..tax base of countless communities. In upending how we consumed..it had recast daily life at its most elemental level.” [“fulfillment”]

10] “In writing this book..I have found myself more and more fixated on one gnawing question. Is what we are dealing with merely a social movement of the right whose radical ideas must eventually face public scrutiny and a rise or fall on their merits? Or is this the story of something quite different, something never before seen in American history? Could it be – and I use these words quite hesitantly and carefully – a fifth column assault on American democratic government?….
“Pushed by relatively small numbers of radical-right billionaires and millionaires..profoundly hostile to America’s modern system of government, an apparatus decades in the making, funded by those same billionaires and millionaires, has been working to undermine the normal governance in our democracy..one such manifesto calls for a “hostile takeover of Washington, D.C.” [“Democracy in Chains”] [!!!seems there WAS a “hostile takeover” attempt in Washington, D.C. just a few years ago!!! – dress rehearsal ???]

11] on the influence of Chicago School economist Milton Friedman..”his free market ideas were based more on ideological conviction than on economic analysis.” Stiglitz and others’ work showed markets didn’t always work well. “Friedman simply couldn’t or wouldn’t grasp these results. He simply KNEW..they had to be wrong.” [Nobel Prize winner Joe Stiglitz: “The Price of Inequality”]. [ “they had to be wrong”!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!; HE couldn’t have been wrong!!!!!]

12]. what went wrong with corporate America: executive compensation, “total pay of the average CEO soared from 42 times that of the average worker in 1980 to 28 times in 2004, a staggering increase unjustified by any remotely comparable business achievement…
“..the culmination of an era in which our business corporations and..financial institutions, working in tacit harmony, corrupted the traditional nature of capitalism, shattering both confidence in..markets and..accumulated wealth of countless American families.
“At the root of the problem..was a societal change..We had become..a “bottomline society.” But our society [measured] the wrong bottom line: form over substance, prestige over virtue, money over achievement, charisma over character, the ephemeral over the enduring, even mammon over God.” [“The Battle For The Soul of Capitalism”]

13] “Chief Justice Roberts..in McDonnell..: “There is no doubt..this case is distasteful. But our concern is with the broader legal implications on the Government’s boundless interpretation of the federal bribery statute..”
“This how corruption gets overlooked in the United States. This is how the wealthier and better educated Americans downplay it. They cast it as an embarrassing aberration, a scandal beneath mention, shrugged off with a roll of the eyes.
“But to regard corruption this way is to dangerously underestimate its significance. Corruption is not an isolated scandal or even a whole stack of them. Corruption is better understood as the deliberate mode of functioning – the operating system.. – of sophisticated , and astonishingly successful networks.
“What makes these networks so effective is..ability to weave across what most people think of as separate, even antagonistic segments of society: job creators and regulators, law-enforcement..out-and-out criminals..These apparent foes..work arm-in-arm within the powerful webs that promote corrupt practices…
“For Justice Robert and his seven colleagues..manifestations of this phenomenon in the United States are beneath their concern. In their view, Then American system is threatened not by corruption but – incredibly – by efforts to fight corruption..the Justice Department’s “boundless interpretation” of bribery laws..
“They could not have been more wrong. At the very moment they were dismissing corruption..corruption was poised to upend the U.S. presidential contest…
“..Trump’s drain-the-swamp administration proceeded to crystalize and put into practice – in barefaced ways unseen in the United States for a century – exactly the type of systematic corruption Americans decry..using their privileged positions to gain advantage for the businesses they continued to run..Meanwhile, the big-business strand of America’s emerging kleptocratic network was awarded control of the agencies whose job it is to protect the public from the worst effects of those businesses” profit-seeking practices..executives and lobbyists-turned-government-officials went straight to work rewriting the rules in ways designed to maximize the gush of money into their collective coffers..” [“On Corruption in America”]

14] “The game here, as before, was to defend an extreme free market ideology..didn’t just deny facts os science. They denied facts of history..If Carson was wrong..the shift in orientation might have been wrong too. The contemporary environmental movement cold be shown to have been based on a fallacy, and the need for government intervention in the marketplace would be refuted.” [“Merchants of Doubt”]

15] The Buchanan/Koch plan for America: a return to Harry Byrd’s 1950 Virginia [“a most thorough control by an oligarchy”]; uncontested sway of the rich; use of right-to-work laws and other ploys to keep working people powerless; ability to fire dissenting public employees at will; targeting educators in particular; use of voter suppression to keep the “wrong” people away; “state’s rights” to deter federal government from promoting equal treatment; hostility to public education; a regressive tax system; opposition to Social Security and Medicare; “parsimonious response” to public needs of all kinds. [“Democracy in Chains”]

16] James Madison, “Federalist Papers” #39: ‘..we may define a republic to be a government which derives all its powers directly or indirectly from the great body of the people..It is essential..that it be derived from the great body of the society, not from an inconsiderable proportion of a favored class of it..”

17]. Theodore Roosevelt: “The citizens of the United States must effectively control the mighty commercial forces which they themselves have called into being..The absence of effective state, and especially, national restraint upon unfair money-getting has tended to create a small class of enormously wealthy and extremely powerful men, whose chief object is to hold and increase their power.”

II. RELIGION – was one of the Founding Generations four major fears. Amendment I: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion..” An “established” church is an official state church. Several European nations had one. America was NOT going to have an official state church. Consider this small beginning of evidence:

18] Four 1776-1800 state constitutions prohibited a “religious test for office”. [Article VI}; eight states banned an active minister serving in their government; ten had language banning an official state church

19] 1776 North Carolina Constitution, Articles XXXIV: “..neither shall any person, on any pretense whatsoever, be compelled to attend any place of worship contrary to his own faith..nor be obliged to pay, for the purchase..[of]..the building of any house of worship, or for the maintenance of any minister or ministry, contrary to what he believes right…all persons shall be at liberty to exercise their own mode of worship..” {“Faith of the Founders”; Gaustad]

20]. “These values, democratic and Christian, are being dismantled, often with stealth, by a radical Christian movement, known as dominionism..Dominionism seeks to redefine traditional democratic and Christian terms and concepts to fit an ideology that calls on the radical church to take political power. It shares many prominent features with classical fascist movements.” [“American Fascists”; Hedges]

21]. “For too long..America’s Christian nationalist movement has been misunderstood and underestimated..It is not a social or cultural movement. It is a political movement, and its ultimate goal is power..to replace our foundational democratic principles and institutions with a state3 grounded on a particular version of Christianity..what some adherents call “biblical worldview” that also happens to serve the interests of its plutocratic funders and allied political leaders..” [“The Power Worshippers”; K. Stewart]

22] Randall Terry; “Our goal is a Christian nation. We have a biblical duty..are called by God to conquer this country. We don’t want equal time.. don’t want pluralism.”

23] “Theoconservatism teaches that a secular society is both undesirable and unsustainable; that for most of history the United States has been a thoroughly Christian nation founded on absolute moral principles that make no sense outside of a religious context…that the solution to secularization is to bring modern America [back] into line with the moral strictures of biblical religion.” [“The Theocons Secular America Under Siege”; D. Linker]

Do YOUR own research – in known, factual, mainstream, REAL sources:
– – WHY was “corruption” THE number one fear of the Founding Generations?????
— WHY is 1980 a. dividing point in most American political, economic, social history???
— WHY is the Far Right attempting to ERASE all progressive laws, norms, policies [THE basis for the 1947-75 middle class STATISTICAL golden age of prosperity???

Is it over??? Is America about to complete the shift from a “democracy” to a theocratic plutocracy with a president who has “immunity” from actions taken in office??????? America’s FAR RIGHT WING ‘team” hopes YOU won’t object. This radical, reactionary, TEAM now has maneuvered this possibility before the Roberts “supreme court,” where 6 reactionary “justices” are poised to – not only delay 3 trials of the perpetrator to after the 2024 election – but to engage in “writing a rule for the ages.”!!!!! In judging this possibility, consider:

1] corruption was the Founding generations NUMBER ONE concern. Madison’s incomplete notes for the roughly 110 day 1787 Constitutional Convention has “corruption” written down 54 times.

2] Research: was “immunity” EVER. discussed during the 1787-1791 period – at the Philadelphia meetings, or, at the 13 state constitutional meetings???

3] Research: was “immunity” EVER discussed during the impeachment process against President Andrew Johnson?

4]. Research: was “immunity” EVER discussed during the impeachment process against Richard Nixon?

5] the word “immunity” is. NOT. in the Constitution – thus, it fails the Alito “test” – you can’t have it if it doesn’t exist in the Constitution!!!!!!!!!

6] kings have immunity – presidents do NOT; a major part of the 1775-1783 revolutionary era was the arbitrary, corrupt conduct of George III – why would America go backwards to 1775??????

7]. Gorsuch: “We are writing a rule for the ages.” NO they can’t [constitutionally]. Amending the Constitution is a process which does. NOT. involve ANY “supreme court,’ let alone this one

8] a Supreme Court can “interpret” the Constitution, so if “immunity” of a president [or anybody] ISN’T in the document, nor is there ANY hint of it – what is there to “interpret??? ***They do not have the Constitutional power to make up “a rule for the ages.” That was done in 1787.

9]. the Constitution was written by 55 MEN, signed by 39, from all 13 states – why don’t we have a public forum on if ANY president should have a power NOT. in the Constitution???

10]. Trump’s “immunity” argument has been REJECTED. by EVEERY judge who heard it – what do the 9 [6] “justices’ know that multiple courts did not??? Research what those courts said!!!!!

11]. the case itself is an unnecessary review of a UNANIMOUS 3-judge D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals panel said – and forcefully said in no uncertain language that Trump could be prosecuted. Research their explicit language!!!!!

12] “justice” Barrett got Trump lawyer Sauer to admit many of Trump’s alleged acts amount to private conduct that would. NOT. be shielded from prosecution

13] why is THIS “supreme court” parsing differences between “private” and “public’ conduct of a president, unnecessarily splitting hairs?: how does one decide the difference on ANYTHING that has to do with a presidency charged with 24/7 running a country, a “democracy,” when virtually EVERY word from ANY president is/can be consequential???

14] when is an American president “off duty” ?

15] how can Alito say “I’m not discussing the particular facts of this case”????? – what does ANY court do??? – isn’t that their job??? how can they issue a coherent decision if they don’t address the “particular facts of this case”???????????
*****is this a clever way for fogging things up – a clever way to find the perp innocent, by going off into hypotheticals that may or may not occur – bur have only tangential, at best, relationship to what occurred 2017-2021???

16]. there is a long list of Trump actions, publicly recorded, including “perfect phone calls,” that refute ANY claim that he did not try to abuse powers of the presidency to stay in power – does America ignore this???????? ***think of a kid, brought to the principal’s office for punching another kid in the lunchroom – witnessed by dozens – who denies he punched the other kid – is he gonna get off scot-free?

17]. how can a “democracy” accept Sauer’s contention a president is free during their presidency to commit lawless acts; subject to prosecution only AFTER impeachment convicts. So for 4 years, the person runs amok – like a king, or dictator???

18]. if “no man is above the law” – how can there be a SERIOUS discussion of presidential immunity – in the “supreme court” no less???????? If ANY president is above the law, we have. NO DEMOCRACY

19]. if. ANY American has ANY kind of “immunity” – what’s the difference between that and a dictatorship??? Dictators, like the king we got rid of in 1776-83, have immunity

20] given the Roberts “court” track record [Citizens United, Shelby County, gun cases, Dobbs, religious “rights” cases, and MUCH MORE] illustrating their profound ignorance of American history and legal precedent – why trust them as the people who “are writing a rule for the ages”???????? [ Dobbs is a TOTAL BIG LIE: first state law against abortuon was 1821, colonists brought English abortion common law here, etc; on gun decisions, the Roberts “court” cherry picked one state law later overturned – against 3 others who wanted gun restrictions, first concealed carry gun law: 1813, etc.]

***If YOU are a patriotic American – then YOU have much to be concerned about. If YOU are upset over government in your life, then a president, any president, who has “immunity” from consequences over what he does in office – is a FAR bigger threat to YOU, and ALL other Americans than ANY president from 1789 – forward, ANY president.
Speak out now, or, YOU just may soon be living in a dictatorship. o

1] billionaire Leona Helmsley: “We don’t pay taxes; only the little people pay taxes.” [“The Cheating of America;” Lewis and Allison, Center for Public Integrity]

2] “In 1988…commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service, testified before the Senate Finance Committee that noncompliance with the Internal Revenue Code – tax avoidance and tax evasion – costs each taxpayer more than $1,600 a year.” [“The Cheating of America”] *** Note: – this was in 1988 – what do YOU think this tax cheating costs YOU now!!!!!!

3]. changes in tax policy “helped level the playing field.” Top 1950s rate was 52%. “..class divide..had started to come down n the 1940s, when the gap in wages between rich and poor shrank significantly..Economists would..call this era “the Great Compression”..making this an unrivaled age of American egalitarianism..In 1952 the share of national income going to the top 10% was 33%. In 1962 it was 34%. In 1972 it was..34%. The rich were getting richer, but not disproportionally to everyone else.” [“The End of Loyalty”]

4] Adam Smith: tax maxims: taxes should be based on ability to pay. Those who “enjoy [more] under protection of the state” should pay more. [“Adam Smith”; P. Hanley, editor]

5]. “Tax Tricks”: #1: Carried Interest: “The Billionaires’ Loophole”; #2: “The Estate Tax: How We Crated an American Aristocracy”; #3: Sidestepping Taxes: “The Stepped-Up BASIS”; #4: Annuity Trusts: “Don’t Trust This system”; #5: “Let’s Play Switch and Swap: The 1031 Like-Kind Exchange”; #6: “Help the Rich by Pretending to Help the Poor: Opportunity [for Rich People] Zones”; #7: “Just Passing through: The Pass-Through Deduction”

6]. “Gouverneur Morris, one of the more influential delegates to the [Constitutional Convention] believed the rich would act in ways to oppress everyone else.” [“The Crisis of the Middle-Class Constitution”]

7] “..it’s increasingly clear..inequality isn’t good for economic growth. A 2014 study by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development found..countries with more inequality had less growth..also distorts public policy..” {“The Economists” Hour”]

8]. “..the concept of private gain from taxes being applied with growing success within the United states by some of the richest Americans. What happens next illustrates how thoroughly our government has been captured by the rich and powerful. The Yankees and Mets went to the Internal Revenue Service for a special dispensation known as a private letter ruling..true even if the letter is bad policy and even if it contradicts the law…”just one problem..the IRS is under no obligation to issue a private letter ruling…Instead Korb allowed the richest among us to get what they wanted, even though he..concluded..the law itself did not allow the result.” [“Free Lunch”]

9] “..taxes are used to incentivize behaviors that are good for the nation and discourage behaviors that are destructive…This is where Reaganomics has not only screwed average American working people but screwed American business – particularly small and medium-sized businesses.” [“Why the Corporate Tax Bracket Should Go Back To 52%”; Thom Hartmann; The Progressive Populist; 3/15/24]

10]. Adam Smith: “It is not very unreasonable that the rich should contribute to the public expense, not only in proportion to their revenue, but something more than in that proportion.”

11] “Corporate Tax Tricks”: #1: “Multinational Money Game: International Profit Sharing”; #2: “Giving Away The Store: Our New Territorial Tax System”; #3: “Over There, Over there: Relocating Assets Overseas”; #4: “Stocking Up On Loopholes: Stock Options for Executives”; #5: “Look Fast! Oh, You Missed It: Accelerated Depreciation” [“Tax The Rich”]

12] “The Reagan tax cuts should have discredited supply-side economics. The evidence of failure was..the fact..even after growth resumed..the presumed supply-side benefits did not materialize..supply-siders overestimated the influence of taxation..failure of Reagan’s tax cuts to deliver faster economic growth forced the government to borrow money on the largest scale since World War II.” [“The Economists’ Hour”]

13] “For years..[Amazon].. managed to keep its tax bill down..by claiming so few profits – the focus was on..driving rivals to the point of extinction..now it was..racking up profits, it was [paying few taxes]..funneling profits through an office in Luxembourg, Amazon avoided paying the U.S. government $1.5 billion…In 2018, it would pay zero corporate income taxes for the second straight year, despite doubling its profits to more than $11 billion..it would so successfully game the tax code..it would receive a $125 million rebate…from 2009 to 2018, the company paid an effective tax rate of 3% of its profits totaling $26.5 billion.”[“Fulfillment”]

14] following are some examples of “just how thoroughly government became the servant of the rich..”;
– billionaire Warren Buffett’s company has a two-thirds-billion dollar, interest-free loan from our government for more than 28 years
– ex-President George W. Bush owes his fortune..to a sales tax increase..funneled into his pocket, a fortune further enhanced by..paying millions less in income taxes than he should have
– Paris Hilton has resources to cavort shamelessly because her grandfather, thanks to government, snatched a fortune away from poor children
– Donald Trump benefits from a tax,..enacted to help the elderly and the poor, but part of which is now diverted to his casinos [all examples provided by “Free Lunch”]

15]. Adam Smith: “It must always be remembered..That it is the luxuries, and not the necessary expense of the inferior ranks of people, that ought ever to be taxed.”

16]. “Lies and Liars”: #1: Corporate tax cuts create jobs; #2: Private-equity investors are job creators [and deserve a special tax break]; #3: People who invest i the stock market are job creators [ and deserve a special tax break]; #4. Business owners are job creators; #5: Taxing capital gains discourages investment; #6: Rich people’s charity does so much good in the world that if we tax them, they won’t have enough money to help poor people; #7: It’s their money; #8: Politicians care just as much about their constituents as they do about their donors; #9: Tax cuts for rich people will trickle down to regular people; #10: Rich people should be trusted [“Tax The Rich”]

17] “While the donor class reaps ever greater tax breaks, and corporations generous to political campaigns pay less and less..the rest of us are paying a greater share of the taxes. Not only that, poor people are now more likely than the rich to get audited.” [“Is That A Politician In Your Pocket?” – Part Six: “Our Treasury is Being Plundered”]

18]. “..a key reason..wages are stagnant or falling for most..is a tax rule enacted in 1986..Reagan signed a law that said so long as the money was owned by offshore subsidiaries, American companies could hold unlimited amounts of cash..a key reason companies..siphon profits out of the United States..” [“The Fine Print”]

19] “In 1978 California voters passed Proposition 13, which promised relief from rapidly rising property taxes. Howard Jarvis and other promoters..talked incessantly about how good it was for homeowners. The truth was..two-thirds of the savings went to industry, business and landlords like Jarvis.” “Free Lunch”]

20]. Adam Smith: “The necessities of life occasion great expense of the poor. they find it difficult to get food, and the greater part of their little revenue is spent getting it. The luxuries and vanities of life occasion the principle expense of the rich..Itr is not unreasonable that the rich should contribute to the public expense..”

21]. “Unrigging The Economy Through The Tax Code”; #1: Equalize Capital Gains and Ordinary Income tax rates for incomes over $1 million: #2: End the Bracket Racket: create lots of brackets at much higher rates; #3: Tax The Rich!: implement a wealth tax; #4: Stop Letting Investors Delay Tax Payments on Capital Gains: mark-to-market taxation; #5: Make Corporations Pay Taxes Where They Really Make Their Profits: end profit-shifting; #6: Make Sure They Actually Pay: fund the IRS. [“Tax The Rich”]

22]. “..if democracy is to regain control over the globalized capitalism..it must invent new tools..The ideal tool would be a progressive global tax on capital, coupled with a very high level of international financial transparency.” [“Capital in the Twenty First Century”]

23]. “..so far this year 39 cents of every dollar paid in individual income taxes is needed to simply pay interest on the national debt.” [“Taxes increasingly paying for the past, not the future”; Penny & Minge; Mpls Star-Trib; 4/17/24]

24]. Adam Smith: “..as Henry Home [Lord Kames] has written, a goal of taxation should be to ‘remedy inequality of riches as much as possible, by relieving the poor and burdening the rich.”

25] “This broad rise of corporate power meant riches for the corporate elite that were beyond imagining before President Ronald Reagan signed into law the ‘Ecnomic Recovery Act’ of 1981. The philosophy of “trickle-down economics” has led to worsening conditions at the bottom of society – a shredding of the social safety net..among modern nations America..has by far the highest level of child poverty.” [“The Fine Print”]

26]. “There is no valid reason why investors should pay lower tax rates on their income than people who work pay theirs ..investors already have all the incentive they need to invest..” [“Tax The Rich”]

27] The 2004 tax holiday: $312 billion allowed back into the USA at “token tax rate of 5.2% – less than the rate actually paid by individuals and families earning $30-40,000. The only beneficiaries were the select corporations.. and their executives…no measurable benefit for the nation.” [“The Betrayal of the American Dream”] *****see Constitution’s Preamble requirement: ‘..to promote the general Welfare..”].

28]. James Madison, in Federalist Number 10, described special interests as THE great threat to American democracy, curbing those interests as THE great work of government. [“The Economists’ Hour”]

29] “In 2021..the Internal Revenue Service failed to collect $688 billion in unpaid taxes because it didn’t bother to send dunning letters or to conduct audits of wealthy individuals or corporations.” [“What If We Had $4.5 Trillion a Year to Spend on Ordinary People?”; Ted Rall; The Progressive Populist”; 3/15/24]

30] “I hope we shall crush at its birth the aristocracy of our moneyed corporations which dare already to challenge our government in a trial of strength, and bid defiance to the laws of our country.” [Thomas Jefferson; ll/16/1816]

31]. After the above serious, factual points – time for a little comedy:
– Tom DeLay: “Nothing is more important in the face of a war than cutting taxes.” [R-TX; 3/12/2003]
– Rush Limbaugh: “..there is no tax cut that needs to be paid for..” [5/23/2003]
– Newt Gingrich: “I favor a zero tax on savings and job creation.” [R-GA; 1997]
-oo

Now that YOU, like other honest lower 95% Americans paid their taxes by yesterday – reflect on how the richest, most powerful DID. NOT. Below are just a few things to keep in mind, as Congressional Crazies in the U.S. House claim they’re doing all their grandstanding because they want to “stop waisting tax dollars.”!!!!! – Well, think on the following, many of which are well known:

1]. “..125,000 Americans making between $400,000 and $1 million a year have simply refused to file taxes since 2017.” [S. Kolhatkar; The Progressive Populist; 4/15/24]

2] University of Texas law professor Johnson and colleagues “have shown how Congress, by closing loopholes could raise $1 trillion each year without any new taxes or rate increases.” {“The Fine Print”]

3] For the first time EVER, in 2012 more than half all income went to the richest 10%; “the richest 400 individuals now exercise degrees of influence over society comparable [to] rulers of ancient Rome.” [“The 1% Solution”]

4] “Between 1987 and 2013, the number of billionaires rose according to ‘Forbes’ from 140 to 1,400 and their total wealth rose from 300 5o 5,400 billion dollars.” [“Capital in the Twenty First Century”]

5] in the 1932-1980 period, the top U.S. tax rate averaged 81%; the top estate tax rate 70% and over. [“Capital in the Twenty First Century] ***** Remember – 1947-73 is the middle class statistical golden age, THE era of a broad prosperity. If YOU wonder why 2024 isn’t that – remember these numbers – AND which Party cut them, often.]

6]. Ending a tax loophole for “private equity” means $35-50 billion ANNUALLY. YOU can inform yourself about the “merits” of “private equity” from Morgenson & Rosner’s “These Are The Plunderers. How Private Equity Runs – and Wrecks – America,” and Mother Jones’ special report, “Looted. How private equity is stripping America for parts” in the May-June, 2022 issue. And, there is much more; damage to health care, damage to local newspapers, etc., etc.

7] “An analysis released Jan. 3 shows that in 2022, the wealthiest people in the United States collectively held a “staggering” $8.5 trillion in wealth that is not – and might never be – subject to taxation..” [The Progressive Populist; February 1, 2024]

8] “Between 2013 and 2018, leading U.S. billionaires paid an average federal tax rate of just 4.8%, according to previous ATF analysis.” [The Progressive Populist; 2/1/24]. *****Were YOU lucky to pay YOUR taxes at 4.8%????????????

9] Recently released statistics by Popular Information report, shows American corporations guilty of $163.3 million in WAGE THEFT to over 200,000 American workers in back pay not given. [The Progressive Populist; S. Pizzigati; 2/15/24]

10]. Between $400-600 billion in taxes is NOT paid each year – 61% of that by the top 10% [“Tax The Rich”]

11] $0 percent: what 91 profitable 2018 Fortune 500 companies paid in taxes – this includes Amazon. [Tax The Rich”]

12] 61% of American corporations, 39% of large corporations – paid $0 corporate income tax, between 1996-2000;
— the corporate share of total U.S. tax burden in 2003: 14.4%; it WAS about 50% in 1940;
— the CBO says ordinary American’s taxes will increase $1.86 trillion, 2008-2013 – BUT corporate taxes DROP $327 B!
— because of loopholes, the U.S. corporate tax is 3rd LOWEST worldwide as a percentage of GDP
[ the above from Parade magazines ‘Intelligence Report,” 4/13/2008: “are You Paying for Corporate Fat Cats?”]

13] 100 companies RENOUNCED. THEIR. U.S. CITIZENSHIP, 1983-2015 – to avoid taxes [Mother Jones; Mar-April, 2015]

14] $0 – what 55 large U.S. corporations paid in 2020 federal income taxes; saving $8.5 billion if taxed at statutory rate – AND !!!!! – they got back $3.5 billion in tax rebates !!!!!!!!!!! [Public Citizen News; July-Aug, 2021]

15] $1 billion – total of Amazon subsidies and tax abatements from state and local governments, 2007-2017; Amazon had “a whole department tasked with securing subsidies”. [“Fulfillment”]

16] $47 collected – for each $1 spent by the IRS on “targeted enforcement efforts” that focus on high-income taxpayers
— $6 collected by the IRS for every $1 spent in recovered unpaid taxes; AND – 3 times that indirectly due to deterrent effect. [“American Amnesia”]. **** so WHY do Republicans want to [& did} slash the IRS budget??????? What tax cheats don’t pay – YOU do, either in higher taxes, or in reduced/eliminated services. Think of American government, at all levels, as a “business” – it provides services/products – but needs revenue to do it, & “stay in business”

This ISN’T “rocket science”. – because of corporate and top 2% tax cuts, 2024 America is NOT. the country it was, before 1980. YOU can confirm the NUMBERS yourself, just research 1947-1979 income and wealth distribution and tax burden. – compared to 1980-2024 income and wealth and tax burden. What mainstream economists and scholars have found; EVERYTHING has been shifted to benefit the rich and corporations, post-1980.
The American national debt, for 1789-1980 – ALL expenses [wars, depression, investments in people and infrastructure, etc.] , had resulted in a TOTAL U.S. debt of LESS than $1 trillion – you read that right LESS THAN $1 trillion. In 2024 it is over $30 some trillion. What happened??? Start with the Reagan, Bush II, Trump tax cuts – WHO got the main benefits. The immoral Trump tax cuts were passed. KNOWING. they would blow up the U.S. national debt – the Trump tax cut alone is responsible for about 25% of the U.s. national debt.
SO – when the Republican Congressional Crazies theatrically scream about “cutting waste” – ask them why job #1 isn’t the obvious: end the Trump tax cuts, end the Bush II tax cuts, end the Reagan tax cuts. This is a simple math problem – like YOUR kids learn in school. When the hole is too deep – stop digging!!!
It is also a morality and fairness issue. In a “democracy,” why do the rich kids get the biggest share????? In 1947-73, when America had a “progressive” tax structure – America was at its STATISTICAL peak for the entire population. That’s when America lived up to the Constitution’s Preamble: “..to promote the general Welfare..”
This is also a CORRUPTION. issue. The rigged U.S. tax structure was bought and paid for – by “campaign contributions” and other payoffs – by none other than the THREATS TO DEMOCRACY – corporations and the rich. Keep voting for the FAR RIGHT – the current Republican Party – and you’ll get more of this. NOT because this post says so – but the NUMBERS. in the post-1980 Republican track record prove it.
CORRUPTION is de-finding the I.R.S. – so it CAN’T prosecute the rich and their corporations, because the I.R.S. doesn’t have the numbers of agents, nor the up-to-date technology – by CORRUPT REPUBLICAN design and intent. It’s called paying off your wealthy “campaign donors”. – by actual confessions.

What if Fred Rogers campaigned for the presidency in 2016 – and won !/!/!

What if Rogers won on a campaign of happiness and hope – instead of rage and resentment?

What if Rogers campaigned on “Will You Live In My Neighborhood?” – and it was understood that the “neighborhood” was America itself?

Fred Rogers: “I think that those who would try to make you feel less than who you are, I think that’s the greatest evil.” [DVD: “Won’t You Be MY Neighbor”]

What if the tidal wave of Americans who elect3ed Rogers also elected a loving, positive, “democratic-minded’ Congress?

What if these Congress Critters were so intimidated by the Rogers landslide – they actually listened to what Rogers said – AND – what the American PEOPLE were saying: they wanted a better and kinder country, a country that actually cared for its citizens, a country that enacted policies and programs that benefitted the lower 90%???

what if Rogers’ entire term was something like the reforms of 1933-36? Programs with the impact of Social Security, recognition of worker rights, programs and policies to aid “the forgotten man,” programs for FAMILY farmers, TVA, enforcing anti-trust laws, re-instituting the Glass-Steagall Act and “Truth-in-Securities Act, universal child care, universal health care, programs to retrain workers victimized by “off-shoring,” tax and other policies that encourage manufacturing in the U.S.. a RETURN to tax policies of 1933-1980 with a top marginal tax rate of 81%???

Fred Rogers: “Let’s take the gauntlet and make goodness attractive in this so-called next millennium. That’s the real job we have. I’m not talking about Pollyannish kind of stuff, I’m talking about down to earth actual goodness. People caring for each other, in a myriad of ways, rather than people knocking each other off all the time…The only thing that really changes th world is when somebody gets the idea that love can abound and can be shared.” [DVD: “Won’t You Be MY Neighbor?”]

What if America cared first and most about children – instead of corporations and the rich??? What if the ONLY tax cuts were for people having children and child care??? What if America ensured it’s children’s futures by nurturing them, by providing THE top education in the world {& paid the teacher salaries to attract the best]??? What if America was concerned enough to seriously fight pollution from fossil fuels instead of subsidizing fossil fuel industry???

What if America had a president who questioned the idea “..a child is appreciated for what he will be…A great consumer some day, the quicker we get them to go out and buy, the better.”??? [DVD: “Won’t You Be MY Neighbor”]

Fred Rogers: “I think that those who would try to make you feel less than who you are, I think that’s the greatest evil.” [DVD: “Won’t You Be MY Neighbor?”]

What if America had a president who said: “I like you as you are”??? Instead of demonizing immigrants, gays, women, “disloyal” people???

What if, under President Rogers, people stopped deliberately hurting others by spreading false rumors, by posting fake images, by falsely slandering others; AND – that people were ASHAMED to have done such things to innocent others???

What if America had a president who didn’t do things for people because it would help him, but because it was the right thing to do???

What if, under President Rogers, America had a government that actually enforced the REQUIREMENTS of the Constitution’s Preamble: “..a more perfect Union..establish Justice..insure domestic Tranquility..promote the general Welfare..”??? Especially – “..promote the general Welfare..”

What if America had a president who said: “Love is the root of everything.”??? [DVD: “Won’t You Be MY Neighbor?”]

What if America had a president, who when Black people were being denied rights to use swimming pools, had Black Officer Clemmons share his wading pool and towel on live TV??? [DVD: “Won’t You Be MY Neighbor?”]

What if, under President Rogers, America actually honored and enforced the words of the Declaration of Independence: “..all Men are created equal..endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights..among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness..??? Most especially “..the Pursuit of Happiness..” – on YOUR terms [as long as you don’t hurt others] – AND – the U.S, Government tried to make this possible???

What if America had a president who said “Love is what keeps us together and afloat.” – instead of stoking hatred and grievances based on falsehoods??? [DVD: “Won’t You Be MY Neighbor”?]

What if the 2017-18 and 2019-2020 Congresses, listening to what Americans said they want, actually enacted policies and programs that honored those wishes:
1] an end to the religious war on people’s reproductive Constitutional rights and freedoms – so that trained medical people, NOT politicians made life-and-death health care decisions?
2] and end to the religious war on LGTPQ Plus people. [see John 13:34]
3] strict controls on guns: mandatory background checks [89%]; banning assault weapons [63%]; banning high-capacity magazines [64%]; nationwide data base on tracking gun sales [60%]; red flag laws and more.
4] a rational immigration system that both protects American sovereignty with an orderly process, and allows qualified immigrants.
5]. democratic voting procedures: laws preventing state legislators overturning elections [69%]; universal vote-by-mail [60%]; make it easier to vote; ending gerrymandering.
6]. providing Medicare for all Americans [69%] – and, an end to price-gouging by drug manufacturers; an end to profit-taking in medical care over patient care.
7]. racial justice: 86% agree racism is a problem; 87% say books discussing race or slavery should never be banned.
8]. raise taxes on the wealthiest 2% [71%] – and – end the tax loopholes used by the top 2%.
9]. eliminate the Social Security income tax cap.
10]. increase public supports like Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
11] overturn the Supreme Court’s “Citizens United” decision; strictly regulate or sharply reduce/eliminate effects of “campaign donations” on all levels of government.
12]. roll back the Trump 2017 tax cuts; impose a 4% surtax on income over $5 million; impose a 3% surtax on corporate income over $100 million

If YOU say Fred Rogers could never be elected president – what does that say about America, about US???

What does it say about America – IF – we think a man who devoted his energies/career to helping children grow and feel good about themselves – could NOT become president???

What does it say about America – IF – we wouldn’t vote for a man who GENUINELY believed “Love is what keeps us together and afloat.”???

[note: the above polling work included 2022 efforts by Pew Research Center, National Election Studies, Gallup, ABC/Washington Post, CBS/New York Times, CNN. Steve Corbin, 9/9/22 New York Times: Americans agree on about 150 issues – including the 12 above. In other words, “division” is being manipulated for political gain]