King George the Second

In one of her last columns before her death, Molly Ivins in answer to King George’s claim that he was the “decider” pointed out that "no, George, we are the deciders , the people and the Congress elected by the people". It happens now that only 36% of the people support his policies. So who are the 36% who applaud him so enthusiastically? They are in large part men and women of the New York Stock Exchange. When he visited the exchange recently, the reception was over whelming. These are his champions. These are the leaders of mega-corporations and world finance whose profits have gone through the ceiling since this administration has been in office. And they were showing their gratitude. George has made them richer than ever. The petroleum industry which is tied firmly to the administration has had unbelievable profits this past year. For example, Exxon-Mobil had a profit of $35.9 billion, breaking all records in our history. Chevron topped out 3 years in a row. Conoco Phillips broke all records. Shell increased its profit to $25 billion. Boeing has reached new heights earned from the production of military aircraft and other hardware. And as long as this administration relies on war rather than diplomacy to implement its foreign policy, the military budget will continue to grow and the petroleum and military industries will continue to profit shamefully. Obviously wars are great for the families who don’t have to fight them and the rich continue to get richer. Note that the top 1% of income earners own 35% of the wealth of the country, but the lower half (50%) own only 2.5% of the wealth. And the gap gets wider.

Reference:

Znet