 |
| This month's New Yorker cover. |
[One longtime money manager] added that he was disappointed that members of Congress from New York, especially Senator Charles E. Schumer and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, had not come out swinging for an industry that donates heavily to their campaigns. “They need to understand who their constituency is,” he said.
Schumer and Gillibrand's constituency is the entire population of New York: representation shouldn't be weighted based on wealth or campaign donations. A piece like this supports the view that our economic problems stem from a deeply unrepresentative political system. It's why cases like Citizens United are so harmful and it's something I catch in interviews with protesters. Observers are saying the protesters should be working through the existing political system (and in a way I agree), and that they should be lobbying for more fair taxation etc. But there is a growing sense that the political system itself is deeply flawed, and any attempt to work through it will just be trying to push reform through an institution controlled by the very actors that need to be changed.
Anyways, give it a read.
Goodness gracious. I really dunno what to say about this other than that it is a little disgusting. These people seem to be acting like cartoon characters of themselves. The image of them sitting in top hats and smoking cigars isn't hard to imagine when they are referring to the protesters as a "flash mob of slackers" or a "ragtag group looking for sex drugs and rock 'n' roll" Are you kidding me? Ive never really considered these protests as a means of directly antagonizing the 1% but rather an attempt to change the system that allows them to exist but now I kinda wish they were being attacked directly.
ReplyDeleteI feel like these executive types should at least be smart enough to be self aware of how they sound. Can they really believe the protests are so insignificant that they can talk like this? I would say that this only makes them even harder to relate to but they don't even seem to be aware that relatability is an issue. That right there alone is indicative of the class divide that is becoming increasingly recognizable in this country.
Obviously the "They need to understand who their constituency us" comment is beyond disgusting but also lies in the realm of these people being seemingly unaware that they need to control their public image let alone that they have one. Im not saying it would be ideal if these people tried to disguise the unsavory parts of our political system (like the increasing fusion of politics and money) but the fact that they don't even see a need to disguise it is even worse. The dangers of our political system becoming more and more reliant on financial backing should be a distinct worry on peoples minds but it seems we have a rare opportunity where the people propagating the problem don't see the obvious need to pull the wool over our eyes. It may indeed be time for a change but if we wait to long this window of open opportunity may close.