Warren bares the warren of greed

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“There is nobody in this country who got rich on his own. Nobody. You built a factory out there — good for you. But I want to be clear. You moved your goods to market on the roads the rest of us paid for. You hired workers the rest of us paid to educate. You were safe in your factory because of police forces and fire forces that the rest of us paid for. . . . You built a factory and it turned into something terrific or a great idea — God bless, keep a big hunk of it. But part of the underlying social contract is you take a hunk of that and pay forward for the next kid who comes along.”

 

Yes, those were the words of Elizabeth Warren.  Dr. Warren was appointed to head the Congressional Oversight Panel on TARP.  She successfully stood up to the Treasury Department, Wall Street, among others.  She explained complex issues- correctly- in plain English.  (We have plenty of other use plain English- but either provided chicanery or buffoonery.) She was the architect of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau- and the first choice to lead it.  But as the enemy of the Republicans (and Wall Street, who seem to control the Republican Party), that was not to be.

The fact of the matter is that most Americans, nay- most people- have not a clue about finance and/or financial products.  So, there is no way consumers can be well-informed enough on their own to insure that markets are efficient or that there is vigorous competition in the financial arena.  It doesn’t help that credit card agreements and mortgages are rife with legalese, go on for pages, and demand that any disagreement be subject to arbitration and not the courts, where damages can be limited and the less well-heeled client is at a disadvantage (i.e., the consumer).

Of course, there are those that are aghast at Elizabeth Warren’s quote.  Who believe implicitly in Howard Roark (fictional character in Ayn Rand’s The Fountainhead).  That one man (and it’s almost always a man) can and does do everything all by himself.  Requiring the help of no other.

But the fact of the matter is that Dr. Warren is right.  Steve Jobs could never have designed his Apple products, without the pioneering work of Xerox’ Parc laboratories and Allan Kay (for which no royalties were paid).  Sir Alexander Fleming would not have been able to detect penicillin had it not been for Leeuwenhoek (the microscope) and Robert Koch, among others.  The modern dialyzer would not be around without the pioneering work of Drs. Abel and Roundtree, Kolff, Kill, and Scribner.

Contrary to the opinion of George Will who asserted (and seethed that it was not true) that John Kenneth Galbraith (the Affluent Society, 1958) wrote “corporations’ marketing powers — basically, advertising — are so potent they can manufacture demands for whatever goods and services they want to supply”.  That is not exactly a quote from Galbraith, but the intent of his writing was that is not always the norm, it certainly is a fact- a substantial truism. It also is being extended now as corporate America is funding candidates (even obliquely, by running their own advertising campaigns).

And, while Americans- and the world- may not understand finance, they understand the fundamental changes that have occurred in the world.  Instead of progressing and growing economic power for the people, the richest 1% have now garnered more than they have had since the days of the Robber Barons.  And, as such, they understand the need for – and the desire for a champion- such as Elizabeth Warren.

To quote John Donne:  No man is an island, entire of itself.

Roy A. Ackerman, Ph.D., E.A.

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23 thoughts on “Warren bares the warren of greed”

  1. Elizabeth Warren is my hero. She is 100% driven by the best things for the people. It takes courage to be her! I will contribute as best I can for her run for Senator. I can’t imagine a better person to have in Congress, to try to get things turned around. If nothing else, she’ll be outspoken!

  2. I agree most people don’t have a solid enough education on business and finance. Warren’s quote is right. Why on earth would anyone ever believe you can become a billionaire without help? But what’s the point of all this quote, I ask? Is it hard for everyone to understand that each of us have a small part in how corporations are run and how the rich make their money?

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  4. Thanks for sharing yet another perspective and look at what’s happening in the world in a way that makes sense Roy. The concept that collaboration and holding up someone else can actually move your business forward is so lost on many people but I think it truly is the way society will save itself.

    No one is meant to go it alone in this life, I’m so glad I have people like you in mine.

    1. I am honored by your comments, Bonnie!
      We all need to recognize the basics- we need to progress together. I believe even the 1%’ers recognize this- and we’ll see some (very small) action to try to confuse the masses, sounding like larger action, and continue to pillage the middle class.
      Roy

  5. I wonder. If more people actually understand will we be able to change it or as we understand will we buy into the philosophy and become like those who are owners and profiteeers.

    1. To some degree, this is among the many problems that result from poor educated students, Roberta.
      Finance is one of those areas where most folks are deficient. I remember filling in for a year teaching at one of the local universities- remedial math. (This was during the “open enrollment” in college fiasco days.)
      I could not get the kids to pay attention whatsoever. Even though they knew they needed to pass an exam to enter the university as fully enrolled students.
      So, I asked them… When you go to a shop and give the clerk a twenty, how do you know you are not being cheated when you get the change? (Obviously, this is way before the explosion in credit/debit cards; it was 1980…). I explained to them they need to be able to understand how sales tax is computed, how much their purchases total, and then obtain the change.
      It worked. But, that was only 40 students.
      A very, very small start.
      Thanks for commenting!
      Roy

  6. I love the quote from Elizabeth Warren and I totally agree with her. The graph is shocking.
    The public truly needs to be educated about financial matters. Thanks for this post, Roy!

    1. Glad you liked the post, Janette!
      That quote is an eloquent version of what most scientists know. Business folks don’t like to agree with it- but it’s true. We all build on what we learned from others- and from our failures.
      Roy

  7. Excellent article, and so true. Year after year, I have watched as the division between corporate wealth and middle America has widened. An economic gap I fear, that has gone beyond the point of no return. We need more people, such as you, publishing information and educating people on a level they can understand. Potent information.

    1. Cathy:
      Thanks for dropping in and providing your comments.
      I don’t think we are past the point of no return- unless we do nothing about it. We need to tax those corporate executives that are paying themselves (forgot that chicanery about ‘board approval’) 50 -200 times what their average employees get to earn. And, then complain they need to run lean and mean! Lean on the benefits and lean on the employees to pick up the slack for their mean layoffs and terminations.

      Roy

  8. That graph Roy is jaw dropping. As I am sharing this post with my husband we kind of both agree that there seems to be a huge disconnect between employer (I don’t care if you are corporation or not) and employee. I remember the days of companies celebrating the employee as they were valuable asset to any company’s bottom line.

    Are we off base?

    BTW Roy, good article as usual and always informative.

    1. Lynn:
      Thanks so much for your kind comments.
      And, no, I don’t think you are off-base. My next two articles (in the queue) in this mini-series on the economy will hopefully amplify your thoughts and answer your question.
      Roy

  9. This is exactly what I share with my coaching clients…whether they are taking on an illness, being a caregiver, starting a business or…well, the list is endless. You can NOT do it alone. We don’t live in a vacuum. It is not the human experience. We are all connected and we all need the support and help of each other to go through this journey. A pitcher doesn’t win (or lose) the world cup on his own. And, if the team owner gets greedy and stops paying players what they are worth, eventually it impacts the level of success of the team. It is time for a change and this is a great article explaining easily and clearly why.

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