A young child has just been asked to share his treat with others, after all, we know sharing is caring. After a moment of contemplation, a wide grin begins to form on his face and with a slight glare in his eye he replies, “I just want my fair share-which is all of it” (465). This child is Charles Koch, a member of the Koch clan, also known as the 2nd wealthiest family in America. They run Koch industries, which is a company that specializes in “refining, chemicals and biofuels; forest and consumer products; fertilizers; process and pollution control equipment and technologies; commodity trading; minerals; energy; glass; ranching; and investments” (Forbes). This selfish mentality exhibited by the Koch family is one of the driving force behind …show more content…
These reviews truly reflect the underlying message of Jane Mayer’s book, Dark Money, where she attempts to uncover the deceitfulness of the Koch family and much of the wealthy elites, and expose them for all the damage they have done and continue to do to our …show more content…
She postulates how the rich are just better equipped to utlize their wealth to buy political favors, and how they gained “a disproportionate amount of influence” (213). Mayer exposes the fraudulent notion that “every man is equal” in America and instead, replaces this idea with the fact that “it’s not one man one vote anymore. It’s all about the money” (213). According to Mayer, to have a voice, or multiple voices in influencing the decisions and policies of our country, one must have a lot of money. It’s an unfortunate reality that this problem of unequal representation has become the norm in our current political environment. Money and wealth have stripped our American democracy of the very virtue and humanity it was formed to protect, and instead, have provided excessive advantages to the wealthy. A case study performed by two university professors indicate “economic elites and organized groups representing business interests have substantial independent impacts on US government policy, while average citizens and mass-based interest groups have little or no independent influence” (Villadsen). Money has thus become the de-facto standard required to gain the eyes and ears of a politician, and as we all know, only the wealthy have access to that kind of fund. One man no longer equals one vote. Instead, one man with a lot of wealth can somehow
Throughout Saunders’ stories: “ Pastoralia”, "Brad Carrigan, American”, “Jon”, and "In Persuasion Nation"; are themes of violence, dependence, and fate. With these themes Saunders is relaying how money and power are reflected in everyone unconscious mindset: from the higher ups to the “people at the bottom of the heap”. Saunders points out that with that type of mindset is how America is declining not just economically, but as people of morals. We may be trying to “keep positive/think positive” but maybe money is the reason why we’re sinking so low into idleness, impatience, selfishness, and whatnot (Saunders).
“Money and sex motivate people, Andy. And money is the one thing that gets their hands off their dicks and into work” (Prebble, Act 1 Scene 5). And so with dicks and dollar bills flying all over the place, “Enron” by Lucy Prebble opens the curtain for us, the audience and participants of consumers, to look into the backstage of the notorious Enron collapse in 2001, revealing the discourse and bizarreness of the corporate culture. From the coexisting affair and competition between Skilling and Roe, to the hissing raptors eating up debt from the dark basement of Andy Fastow’s office, the darkest characters of Man are brought under examination and questioned with the unethical rise and the inevitable fall of Enron. With its plot rooted from a
Inherited money is held in much higher esteem than earned money in Savannah, Georgia. This is a theme seen throughout Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, John Berendt's non-fictional account of life in Savannah. Characters such as Jim Williams, who worked for their money and brought themselves up the social ladder, are seen as being beneath those who inherited their money, such as Lee Adler. The old wealth tend to look down on anyone who wasn't born with their money. Their views of just about everything, including laws and punishments, differ depending on whether the person in question is of wealth due to blood or sweat.
When describing social stratification in America, the essential variables are economic. This rule is valid for a high percentage of Americans; but looking only at economic stratification especially misses the point when it comes to the gap between the Old Money social elite and the New Money elite. As Francine Ostrower puts it, "the social elite is an elite of status. It is characterized by solidarity within the group, social exclusivity and a distinctive cultural identity…[they are] a core within the larger elite" (1995:12). I will examine one way that this status distinction is preserved: through the upper-class system of philanthropy, the giving of money to causes both charitable and non-charitable. I will argue that philanthropy’s role is in part to distinguish the social elite from other elites, and that this system is maintained through a particular social mechanism that can be modeled using game theory.
Though money may not be the root of all evil, it certainly contributes to inequalities between those on opposite ends of the wealth distribution map. Upward mobility becomes difficult for those whose income does not match that of the wealthy because of the lack of opportunities provided to the people who are in the working class (Marx). Unfortunately, this repetitive cycle of wealth inequality draws parallels with the racial inequalities that are seen today. Statistically, people of color and women collect less revenue than white men, who are less restricted in their mobility, in America (Rowe). According to Karl Marx, money can buy anything from education to beauty, due to the fact that money is valued more than the lives of those who do
Kenneth Vogel’s Big Money explores the invasion of money into our political system. In the novel, Vogel explains one of the most important important events that is currently happening in today’s elections: donors. This, according to Vogel, has been brought on by a ruling in the case Citizens United vs. the Federal Election Commission. The result of this case destroyed finance restrictions, giving Corporations and Unions the same laws of freedom of speech as individual Americans. The novel opens in February of 2012 where Vogel sneaks into a donor banquet. As our current president, Barack Obama, gives his speech, Vogel makes a note of the President’s words. In particular, Vogel focuses on one line “You now have the potential
As long as governments have existed, arguments about the delegation of power have occurred. Time and time again, the highest level of power goes to the highest classes, whether or not the founders of the government decided for it to be that way or not. One such government is that of the United States. Many ideas and suggestions were presented by state representatives during the debate over the principles that would lead to the Constitution. Although this new country was founded on supposedly sound fundamentals, this has still led to some terrible misuses of power. A quote from Alexander Hamilton during debate shows that he believed that the rich deserve an enduring, definite share in the government, and the New York Times article “Too Much Power for the
Jordan Belfort is the notorious 1990’s stockbroker who saw himself earning fifty million dollars a year operating a penny stock boiler room from his Stratton Oakmont, Inc. brokerage firm. Corrupted by drugs, money, and sexuality he went from being an innocent twenty – two year old on the fringe of a new life to manipulating the system in his infamous “pump and dump” scheme. As a stock swindler, he would motivate his young brokers through insane presentations to rile them up as they defrauded investors with duplicitous stock sales. Toward the end of this debauchery tale he was convicted for securities fraud and money laundering for which he was sentenced to twenty – two months in prison as well as recompensing two – hundred million in restitution to any swindled stock buyers of his brokerage firm (A&E Networks Television). Though his lavish spending and berserk party lifestyle was consumed by excessive greed, he displayed both positive and negative aspects of business communications.
The advocacy explosion is strongly linked to the decline of the American political party and the role of the political parties in elections. As interest groups have gained more power and had a larger control over politics and political goods the power that is exerted by political parties has dwindled. The power of the interest group has grown larger with the amount of members and the financial rewards that have come with the new members. In elections interest groups do not usually participate directly with the candidate or the election. Berry points out that “Groups often try to leverage their endorsement to obtain support for one of their priorities” (Berry, 53). With interest groups spreading their resources around the actual election can be affected very minimally by the many interest groups that contribute money to the election. However, the candidates who obtain political office through the help of special interest money still owe some sort of loyalty to the interest group regardless of which party wins the election. This loyalty and the promise of more money in the future gives the elected of...
Witcover, J. (2014, February 21). Wealth inequality contributes to enduring 'class warfare' in politics. Chicago Tribune
...top positions in the governmental and business hierarchy from communal principles and beliefs. Majority come from the upper third of the salary and professional pyramids, their upbringings were from the same upper class, some attended the same preparatory school and Ivy League universities. Also, they belong to the same organizations. The power elite have the power to control programs and actions of important governmental, financial, legal, educational, national, scientific, and public institutions. The ones in power influence half of the nation’s manufacturing, infrastructures, transportation, banking possessions, and two thirds of all insurance possessions. The occupants take essential actions that could affect everyone’s’ life in American society. Rulings made in meetings of significant corporations and banks can influence the rates of inflation and unemployment.
In Junot Diaz’s essay “The Money” he explains where his family stands economically. Stating that his father was regularly being fired from his forklifting jobs and his mother 's only job was to care for him and his four siblings. With the money brought home by his father, his mom would save some. Her reason was to raise enough to send to her parents back in the Dominican Republic. When his family went on a vacation, they came back to an unpleasant surprise; their house had been broke into. Eventually Diaz was able to get back their money and belongings. Diaz returned the money to his mother although she didn’t thank him for it, this disappointed him. Like Diaz I have also encountered a similar situation where I was disappointed. When I was in second grade, my life life took a completely different turn. My dad took an unexpected trip to Guatemala, on his return, the outcome was not what I expected.
In the “Gospel of wealth”, Andrew Carnegie argues that it is the duty of the wealthy entrepreneur who has amassed a great fortune during their lifetime, to give back to those less fortunate. Greed and selfishness may force some readers to see these arguments as preposterous; however, greed is a key ingredient in successful competition. It forces competitors to perform at a higher level than their peers in hopes of obtaining more money and individual wealth. A capitalist society that allows this wealth to accumulate in the hands of the few might be beneficial to the human race because it could promote competition between companies; it might ensure health care for everyone no matter their social standing, and parks and recreation could be built for the enjoyment of society.
William Domhoff’s investigation into America’s ruling class is an eye-opening and poignant reading experience, even for enlightened individuals regarding the US social class system. His book, Who Rules America, exploits the fundamental failures in America’s governing bodies to provide adequate resources for class mobility and shared power. He identifies history, corporate and social hierarchy, money-driven politics, a two-party system, and a policy-making process orchestrated by American elites amongst a vast array of causes leading to an ultimate effect of class-domination theory pervading American society. In articulating his thesis and supporting assertions, Domhoff appeals rhetorically toward an audience with prior knowledge of America’s
Jordan Belfort is the notorious 1990’s stockbroker who saw himself earning fifty million dollars a year operating a penny stock boiler room from his Stratton Oakmont, Inc. brokerage firm. Corrupted by drugs, money, and sex, he went from being an innocent twenty – two year old on the fringe of a new life to manipulating the system in his infamous “pump and dump” scheme. As a stock swindler, he would motivate his young brokers through insane presentations to rile them up as they defrauded investors with duplicitous stock sales. Toward the end of this debauchery tale he was convicted for securities fraud and money laundering for which he was sentenced to twenty – two months in prison as well as recompensing two – hundred million in restitution to any swindled stock buyers of his brokerage firm. Though his lavish spending and berserk party lifestyle was consumed by excessive greed, he displayed both positive and negative aspects of business communications.