TheWiseOldFart

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart “America is a business, not a country.” This was a line spoken by Brad Pitt in a movie more than a decade ago. Sadly, it is based on fact. In 2024 our nation’s greedy corporations have left capitalism behind, and have created a Plutocracy. Our country’s 760+ billionaires have complete control of the former Grand Old Party, and partial control over some Democrats. They make every decision which will affect your life and the lives of those you love. At the top of the “worst of the worst” is America’s petroleum industry. They have lied to the American people throughout my 77 years. Whenever they find the smallest excuse, they raise prices unnecessarily. Although they have few restrictions about where they are allowed to drill for oil and gas, no new refineries have been built in more than three decades. THE TRANSPORT AND DRILLING FOR PETROLEUM PRODUCTS ARE  DANGEROUS TO HUMAN LIFE AND THE ENVIRONMENT Drilling for petroleum products is a dangerous profession. Even m

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart The United States of America has become a Plutocracy thanks to the anti-American efforts of those who call themselves “conservatives,” the TEA Party and the Freedom Caucus. Our country is no longer a Democratic Republic, as designed by our Founding Fathers. It is now under the control of 765 billionaires. If you are angry about the 40 percent increase in your grocery bill, I understand. If your utility bill has risen by 30-50 percent, I feel your  anger. If you live on a fixed income, and your overall cost of living has increased by 30-70 percent, you should hate corporations and your government which are complicit with the wealthy to make your lives more difficult. The average Social Security COLA is less than four percent. Both the 2010 and the 2020 Decennial Census’ revealed a disturbing fact. Adjusting for inflation, the average working family has not received an increase in their income for nearly 40 years, while the number of billionaires and millionaires

  Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart   Grocery prices, up more than 30 percent: Energy bills raised by more than 50 percent: Tickets for movies increased by 100 percent or more: Tickets for sporting events and concerts higher by as much as 1,000 percent: Amusement Parks have increased they prices to a level completely unaffordable to the average family: and Restaurant prices have become too expensive, preventing anyone from enjoying the experience more than once or twice a year. The Social Security increase for 2024 was a meager 3.2 percent. All these facts are the result of corporate greed and their arrogance which allows them to believe that their bloated profits will continue to increase. Capitalism and its extension, a plutocracy, cannot exist if the nation’s citizens lack an income which allows them to purchase goods and services. Both the 2010 and 2020 Decennial Census exposed one fact which could end corporate dominance in America. Accounting for inflation, the average American worke

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart   When Bill Clinton left office in 2001, our nation no longer had a deficit. He eliminated the national debt and left his successor with a surplus for the first time in many years. However, George W. Bush placed our nation in two costly and unwinnable wars. His fiscal policy, originated by Ronald Reagan in 1981, known as “trickledown economics,” failed miserably. These factors led to the Great Recession and the destruction of the housing market. However, the super-rich continued to receive huge tax breaks. Their numbers grew under the failure of another right-wing president. Trump reduced taxes once again on corporations and the wealthy. When he failed to lead our nation in the fight against the Covid-19 coronavirus in 2020, another recession neared and our economy crashed once again. He left the economy in shambles for President Biden to repair. He, too, chose a policy of trickledown economics. The lesson I give you is simple and proven by historical fact. The

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart   [Plutocrats: an elite or ruling class of people whose power derives from their wealth.] The entire right wing of our political spectrum is owned by billionaires. In 2017, a plan to move our capitalistic society into a plutocracy was completed by a wannabe billionaire who was pretending to be our president. The situation began in 1981 when another failed “Republican” was inaugurated. Ronald Reagan’s lies fooled many real Americans, including yours truly. I will tell you the truth no one else is willing to offer you. The TEA Party was created by the Koch brothers with the assistance of other billionaires. Its purpose remains gaining complete control or our nation’s government to secure their personal ambitions. This group of anti-Americans gave birth to an even more radical and destructive group calling themselves “the Freedom Caucus.” In 2016, billionaire Robert Mercer took control of Donald Trump’s campaign in August and the rest is part of America’s dark hist

  Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart   [Plutocrats: an elite or ruling class of people whose power derives from their wealth.] The entire right wing of our political spectrum is owned by billionaires. In 2017, a plan to move our capitalistic society into a plutocracy was completed by a wannabe billionaire who was pretending to be our president. The situation began in 1981 when another failed “Republican” was inaugurated. Ronald Reagan’s lies fooled many real Americans, including yours truly. I will tell you the truth no one else is willing to offer you. The TEA Party was created by the Koch brothers with the assistance of other billionaires. Its purpose remains gaining complete control or our nation’s government. This group of anti-Americans gave birth to an even more radical and destructive group calling themselves “the Freedom Caucus.” In 2016, billionaire Robert Mercer took control of Donald Trump’s campaign in August and the rest is part of America’s dark history. Mercer is the fina