Saturday, April 4, 2015

Warren Buffett: Citizens United pushing us towards a plutocracy



Warren Buffett and I think alike - in this particular instance, at least.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Warren Buffett is living proof that one does not have to be a
raving rabid GOP to be successful. The fact is that many multimillionaire are not right wing fanatics.

Bill Garthright said...

True. The problem, Anonymous, is that it's always easy to believe what you want to believe. Thus, if you're wealthy, it's easy to believe that tax-cuts for you will benefit everyone.

Once you've bought into that, it's natural to think that 'your side' in politics is right about most other things, too. At least, your sympathies will lie with them.

Also, even people who inherited their wealth think that they deserved it - and that they deserve it now, because they work hard (which might well be true). Again, this is natural. Everyone wants to feel good about himself.

If you have wealth and power, it's just very easy to see that as a good thing. And no matter how much you have, it's human nature to want more. The rich have problems, too. Remember how Ann Romney complained about how tough they'd had it? She really believed it.

Don't get me wrong, Anonymous. You're absolutely right. Not every multimillionaire is a right-wing fanatic. But the wealthy tend to support the Republican Party because the Republican Party benefits them.

Many of the wealthy support the GOP, but are frustrated with the right-wing crazies when it comes to social issues. However, they're still willing to use those people to get what they want, just as they've long used racists with their notorious 'Southern strategy.'

It's always easy to believe what you want to believe. It's not inevitable, especially if you're not a faith-based thinker, but that tendency is always there. It's there for all of us, because we're all human.

Warren Buffett is in the minority. He's certainly not the only multimillionaire (billionaire, in his case) who thinks this way, but there are reasons why unlimited campaign donations are a huge benefit to the Republican Party, rather than to both parties equally.

Thanks for the comment.