"I mean, the traditional view would be that Big Business would want nothing to do with government getting their hands and feet inside businesses and telling them how to operate, particularly on something like that health care, that businesses would want to walk away from it. They don't want the government involved in it. The traditional belief has always been that business is the essence of the free market.
"That's where it's located, and they want nothing to do with government," and that's upside down now. Why does Walmart support Obamacare? Because they can afford it. Their competitors can't. So an alliance with Obama allows Walmart to watch idly while their competition goes out of business, or is really harmed 'cause they don't have the association with Obama, and they can't afford the new requirements.
So Walmart doesn't have to do any better at customer service, it doesn't have to lower prices, it doesn't have to do any better as a business in order to succeed and prosper. All it has to do is become friends with Obama. Same thing with Costco. Did you ever wonder why Costco is in favor of the minimum wage being raised? That doesn't make any sense.
Every business in the world ought to be opposed to the minimum wage going up. But why is Costco fighting for it? (I think it's Costco.) Well, easy. They can afford it. Their competitors can't. They support it. They helped get it passed -- and without having to improve the way they do business at all, their competitors are hurt. That's how the game is played now. And who opposes this? You and me!
We oppose this kind of crony capitalism. What does that make us? That makes us, and the Tea Party the big enemy of Washington. Not just the Democrats, but of Washington. The Chamber of Commerce guys run around; what do they want? Illegal immigration, amnesty. They want it for cheap labor. The Republicans and Democrats are all aligned. Some Silicon Valley groups are all aligned.
Who doesn't want this? You and me. The Tea Party. Why? Free markets. The rule of law. We don't want the country flooded with low-educated poor people that, as you just know, will be a huge detriment to the overall prosperity of everybody who lives here. But we thus become the enemy of Washington. You can look at it as ruling class/country class.
You can look at it as elites versus plebes, as the establishment versus whatever. However you want to term it, the only real enemy of Washington today is the Tea Party, the Republican Party base. That's why all these forces are aligned against us. 'Cause if we ever got our way, all these arrangements would end. (interruption) It's not true of every corporation. Obviously every business is not tied to Obama, but those who are happen to be doing well. Look at the financial services.
This is another point that was made in the piece, and it's right on the money. Look at it. Wall Street's going through the roof. But is there any associated, massive economic growth with it? No. Are there any massive new kinds of really great products out there that you can't wait to get your hands on? No. What's happening is that people are moving money around and making profit on the movement of money, but that's all.
Wealth for the sake of it with no dream attached to it. No great accomplishment, no great service, no great product. But the people involved are getting very, very rich and they're doing it because of an association with the government which allows it -- i.e., the Fed funding it with QE1, QE2, QE3. Well, who would want to upset that? Who's on Wall Street? Major Big Businesses. Always assumed to be what? Free-market Republicans.
Guess what?
No longer.
It's just easier. It's just so much easier to suck up and kiss butt with the administration. Get in tight, get protection, get preferential treatment -- while your competitors don't have it -- and it's a simple way of gaining market share without having to improve your business, without having to make a better product or provide a better service. That's what's happening."
By Epictetus
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