Dear Friends,
It seems to me, The social contract between those that run our societies, the elite, and the rest of us, has been broken by the elite. The elite have become an oligarchy, the wrong form of aristocracy, and as a result, the average Joe is livid, but doesn’t know what he or she is livid about. Our ignorance allows the elite to manipulate us into doing damage to our own interests while enhancing theirs, which further infuriates us, making it easier to manipulate us… This is why so many people hate the “rich.” Many of us see “the rich” as the problem, but sadly, that is exactly what the manipulators want! We play into their hands when they call for more taxes, regulations and limits on “the rich,” The “rich” never actually get those higher taxes, regulations or limits, we get them instead, which further lowers our standard of living, infuriating us even more…
The contract between the elite in any society and the rest of the people, is the leader gets the best, but has responsibilities for those perks. That is why the chief of a hunter gatherer tribe gets the best meat, his choice of huts, etc… He is the biggest and strongest man in the tribe and if there is a war between tribes, he is expected to lead the other men into battle, at risk to his own life. If a wild animal attacks the tribe, he is expected to fend it off. Those perks of leadership come with responsibilities, those responsibilities are why he gets the extra benefits. That is the paradigm in all human societies everywhere and at every time. The elite get the lion’s share of the goods of society but have responsibilities to the rest for those perks. They don’t come free!
When the social contract between the elite and the people functions, no one has a problem with the tribal chief getting first pick of the meat. When the Chief gets the first pick of the meat, but runs at the first sight of danger, allowing others to die due to his lack of bravery, he quickly becomes loathed. Why should he get the first pick if he doesn’t meet his responsibilities? People get a visceral hatred of him. That is the place our society has got, the elite don’t meet their responsibilities. Instead, they throw the rest of us under the bus at the first sign of trouble, they never lead by example, they protect their interests at the cost to society’s interests, in short they expect us to hold up our end of the contract with no intention of them doing their part. They have broken the contract and so we hold them in utter contempt. The modern elite want those perks for free.
People know it, even if most of us cannot put it into words. So, when some affluent member of the elite calls for more taxes on “the rich,” many people stand and cheer, when an out of control elite politician tells us he or she will control “the rich” with regulations many hold up their fists in support and when a multi millionaire socialist shouts the government must seize the assets of “the rich,” many people rush to the exits to get a share. The actual rich elite never get those higher taxes, regulations or have their assets seized, that os for the people, the non elite. Again, the elite avoid fulfilling their role in the contract and manipulate the people into forwarding an agenda that is counter to the people’s interests, by shirking their responsibility.
When Warren Buffett went on national television, announcing his secretary was paying a higher tax rate than him, there was outrage. The elite solved the problem by raising his secretary’s taxes more, and giving Warren Buffett a billion dollar kickback by vetoing the Keystone Pipeline. That evil oil is still getting to Texas refineries, but on Warren Buffetts trains! Who cares about the added danger of transporting oil by train, Lac Magantic be damned, or the additional cost. In the case of Warren Buffett’s train windfall, courtesy of the US government, he was rewarded for being instrumental in manipulating the people into calling for higher taxes… on themselves! We were made chumps!
Because the actual rich, the elite who are moguls, wield political power and control the means of production, only seek to keep the rest of us down. Joesph Schumpeter argued, the moment someone gets rich, they immediately turn around and close the door behind them. Today the new class, the intelligentsia, control the means of production, have taken the lion’s share of profits, and are the power behind the government, but have abdicated their responsibility to ensure wages grow, the standard of living increases and liberty is maintained. Instead, they work to lower wages at every opportunity with unlimited immigration, enacting by law the Malthusian idea, wages can never grow because there will always be more workers than jobs, they raise taxes on “the rich” but the rich never pay those higher taxes, only those trying to get rich pay them, (you and I) and the elite squander our resources while protecting theirs.
Have you ever wondered why when the tax rate on millionaires was ninety percent in the US, the number of millionaires didn’t go down, only the number of new millionaires did? It was because the elite were using their political power to keep people from getting rich. Holding the rest of us down to protect themselves from competition. By doing so they abdicated their responsibilities to us and society for their own gain. Then they blame the nebulous “rich,” for all the troubles we face because of their shirking their responsibility.
We are angry because we know a scam is being played on us. Most of us, only understand the power contract in human affairs on a gut level, and so can be manipulated by the elite to act against their own interests. I for one, don’t care at all how much a factory worker gets paid, in fact, the more she makes the better, in my view. If a factory worker gets one million dollars an hour, that is no skin off my nose, if an entrepreneur becomes a multi billionaire, I cheer for him, or is an inventor gets millions and acclaim, I am ecstatic for her. When a CEO makes tens or hundreds of millions of dollars a year in bonus’s, wages and perks, while at the same time, making chumps of the shareholders, screwing the workers and poking the customers in the eye, forcing his political, religious and social perspective down the rest of our throats, I become irate. He has avoided his responsibility, the responsibility that comes with those perks to run the company for the interests of the shareholders, provide value to customers and pay good wages to the employees, and that is unacceptable.
Beware of falling for the trap that calls you and I the rich, and thus degrades our standard of living, with our acquiescence. Aim your anger where it belongs, at the new class who shirk their responsibilities, while feeling entitled to the perks they get. Demand they live up to their end of the contract! Else fall for the illusion and become a slave.
Sincerely,
John Pepin
