image provider

Fat Cats


Denial of Natural Flow Summary
The Root of All Smugness Books
How to Become A Fat Cat DVDs
Bandits Links
Mitt Romney

The wealthy behave so badly because they have a preposterously inflated opinion of themselves. Just what do I mean by badly?

Denial of Natural Flow

The main reason the fat cats are so obnoxious is that they are in denial about most basic fact of capitalist economies. The capitalist system automatically causes wealth to flow from the bottom to the top. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer, even if the wealthy do no work at all. This is because wealthy people earn money automatically just for owning money, usually called interest or investment income. Further, people who own businesses automatically receive a disprortionate cut of the income that each of their employees generates, relative to what each party contributes to generating the income pie.

The Root of All Smugness

If a wealthy person can earn say $10,000,000 a year, they consider themselves 1000 times more worthy than someone who earns $10,000. As such, they see it that the poor should be giving them even more money, not the reverse. They feel they should not be subsidising the poor by paying taxes. They see their privileged state as an accurate reflection of their wonderfulness, hard work, foresight, moral virtue… not primarily as a quirk of the way the economy works. They feel extremely resentful of any measures to slow down the transfer of wealth from the poor to the rich or compensating for it in some way with a reverse flow, or any measure to level the playing field, such as progressive tax rates. They see such measures as robbery because they believe that the trickle up flow is their natural due, their money, their god rewards them with being so superior to everyone else. Their mind set is identical to the land-holding nobility of the middle ages, droit du seigneur. They deny how they really make most of their wealth, preferring a self-flattering delusion instead.

How to Become A Fat Cat

The way I see it, pretty much the only way to get super rich is to take significantly more from others than the value of the goods and service you give in return. Unfortunately, if you want to become super wealthy, you must first became a con man, a parasite and probably a criminal too, but certainly ruthless and unprincipled. You must find some way to anesthetise your conscience. Very few wealthy people are able to generate enough goods and services to honestly justify their massive incomes. Some entertainers and inventors manage it.

Bandits

Did you ever notice that mobsters and con men like Bernie Madoff are extremely generous? They are not under a delusion they worked their fingers to the bone for every penny. They know their money is not really theirs, but money they were able to deflect their way. You don’t see them looking down on the common man. They are under no delusion a god sent them great wealth as a reward for virtue.

Mitt Romney

Mitt Wilbur Romney is the classic fat cat. There are three factors that contributed:

  1. Inherited wealth
  2. Crackpot self-flattering religious beliefs.
  3. Isolation. Romney has isolated himself from anyone outside his clan. All his ideas about middle income people are just Republican fantasies. He has no face-to-face experience to debunk them.

Summary

The fat cats’ delusion about the primary cause of their extreme wealth makes them into Scrooges. They imagine others must be working only 1/1000 as hard as they do, where in fact they probably work harder. The poor just get rewarded less for their efforts. The economy is not a fact of nature, but a sort of game we play to help keep track of who owes whom a favour and to distribute goods and services fairly and efficiently. The wealthy take the game very literally. They believe any way they can con or milk the system is legitimate so long as it is legal and they then thus must fully deserve all they managed to exploit from it. A primitive society would not put up with greedy, thieving, arrogant smug bastards like this. They would kill them or drive them out out, not revere them the way they do in the USA. Morally normal people don’t try to exploit others, even if they could get away with it. That’s why you don’t find many ethical wealthy people.

P.S. Rich people are just ordinary people who were indoctrinated with a set of values when they hung out with other rich people, usually their parents. They are not inherently flawed. Wealth consciousness is a fate that befalls people, one not nearly so fortunate as many imagine. It is just one of the many ways humans fall from grace.

Books

book cover recommend book⇒Free Lunch: How the Wealthiest Americans Enrich Themselves at Government Expense (and Stick You with the Bill)to book home
by David Cay Johnston 978-1-59184-248-4 paperback
birth 1948-12-24 age:69 978-1-59184-191-3 hardcover
publisher Portfolio Hardcover 978-1-101-21651-4 eBook
published 2007-12-27 978-0-14-314296-6 audio
  B000YJ67LS kindle
How the American taxation system takes money from the poor to enrich the rich. It is about the fundamental crookedness and unfairness. He names names, how each of the famous rich Americans cheated to get their wealth.
Australian flag abe books anz abe books.ca Canadian flag
German flag abe books.de amazon.ca Canadian flag
German flag amazon.de Chapters Indigo Canadian flag
Spanish flag amazon.es Chapters Indigo eBooks Canadian flag
Spanish flag iberlibro.com abe books.com American flag
French flag abe books.fr amazon.com American flag
French flag amazon.fr Barnes & Noble American flag
Italian flag abe books.it Nook at Barnes & Noble American flag
Italian flag amazon.it Kobo American flag
India flag junglee.com Google play American flag
UK flag abe books.co.uk O’Reilly Safari American flag
UK flag amazon.co.uk Powells American flag
UN flag other stores
Greyed out stores probably do not have the item in stock. Try looking for it with a bookfinder.
book cover recommend book⇒Unequal Protection: The Rise of Corporate Dominance and the Theft of Human Rightsto book home
by Thom Hartmann 978-1-57954-955-8 paperback
birth 1951-05-07 age:66 978-1-57954-627-4 hardcover
publisher Rodale
published 2002-10-04
How corporations have taken control the government and have used terrorism as an excuse to abrogate human rights. How they have used NAFTA and the WTO to squash labour and environmental protection.
Australian flag abe books anz abe books.ca Canadian flag
German flag abe books.de amazon.ca Canadian flag
German flag amazon.de Chapters Indigo Canadian flag
Spanish flag amazon.es Chapters Indigo eBooks Canadian flag
Spanish flag iberlibro.com abe books.com American flag
French flag abe books.fr amazon.com American flag
French flag amazon.fr Barnes & Noble American flag
Italian flag abe books.it Nook at Barnes & Noble American flag
Italian flag amazon.it Kobo American flag
India flag junglee.com Google play American flag
UK flag abe books.co.uk O’Reilly Safari American flag
UK flag amazon.co.uk Powells American flag
UN flag other stores
Greyed out stores probably do not have the item in stock. Try looking for it with a bookfinder.
book cover recommend book⇒Screwed: The Undeclared War Against the Middle Class — And What We Can Do about Itto book home
by Thom Hartmann 978-1-57675-463-4 paperback
birth 1951-05-07 age:66 978-1-57675-414-6 hardcover
publisher Berrett-Koehler Publishers 978-1-60509-869-2 eBook
published 2007-04-28 978-1-4332-1514-8 audio
  B001AFF25M kindle
This book is simple and somewhat repetitive. It argues five main points.
  1. A vigorous middle class is essential for democracy.
  2. Throughout history, the elites have done battle to eliminate the middle class and scoop all the wealth for themselves.
  3. Starting with Reagan, the lower and middle classes in the USA have become poorer while the elite’s wealth has exploded into the stratosphere.
  4. The elites tell all manner of lies to trick the middle class into giving up their power and wealth to the elites.
  5. You have a choice:
    1. government can run things, via representatives responsible to the people.
    2. corporate CEOs can run things, responsible only to their shareholders.
    When you consider the alternative, big government managing society does not look so bad.

Hartmann argues that historically the wealthy elite have always worked to eliminate the middle class and hence stomp out democracy. They can then run things for their own ultimate financial benefit. We are going through a period now where the middle class is collapsing as a result of the corporatocracy and wealth of the tiny elite at the top is exploding. Since they control the media, they spread all manner of myths that make people vote against their own self interest in favour of those of the elites.

The book also discusses how the war business hijacks government to provide it with endless streams of money for perpetual unnecessary war.

Australian flag abe books anz abe books.ca Canadian flag
German flag abe books.de amazon.ca Canadian flag
German flag amazon.de Chapters Indigo Canadian flag
Spanish flag amazon.es Chapters Indigo eBooks Canadian flag
Spanish flag iberlibro.com abe books.com American flag
French flag abe books.fr amazon.com American flag
French flag amazon.fr Barnes & Noble American flag
Italian flag abe books.it Nook at Barnes & Noble American flag
Italian flag amazon.it Kobo American flag
India flag junglee.com Google play American flag
UK flag abe books.co.uk O’Reilly Safari American flag
UK flag amazon.co.uk Powells American flag
UN flag other stores
Greyed out stores probably do not have the item in stock. Try looking for it with a bookfinder.
If you ignorantly believe there’s not enough life support available on planet Earth for all humanity, then survival only of the fittest seems self-flattering to warrant magna-selfishness. However, it is due only to human’s born state of ignorance and the 99.99 percent invisibility of technological capabilities that they do not recognize the vast abundance of resources available to support all humanity at an omni-high standard of living.
~ Richard Buckminster (Bucky) Fuller (1895-07-12 1983-07-01 age:87) Grunch of Giants
book cover recommend book⇒Grunch of Giantsto book home
by Richard Buckminster (Bucky) Fuller 978-0-9740605-1-4 paperback
birth 1895-07-12 1983-07-01 age:87 978-0-312-35193-9 hardcover
publisher Book B01HH77632 kindle
published 2004-03
Fuller was one of the first to notice the effects of corporate power and globalisation. He follows the history starting from WW II.
Australian flag abe books anz abe books.ca Canadian flag
German flag abe books.de amazon.ca Canadian flag
German flag amazon.de Chapters Indigo Canadian flag
Spanish flag amazon.es Chapters Indigo eBooks Canadian flag
Spanish flag iberlibro.com abe books.com American flag
French flag abe books.fr amazon.com American flag
French flag amazon.fr Barnes & Noble American flag
Italian flag abe books.it Nook at Barnes & Noble American flag
Italian flag amazon.it Kobo American flag
India flag junglee.com Google play American flag
UK flag abe books.co.uk O’Reilly Safari American flag
UK flag amazon.co.uk Powells American flag
UN flag other stores
Greyed out stores probably do not have the item in stock. Try looking for it with a bookfinder.
book cover recommend book⇒Supercapitalism: The Transformation of Business, Democracy and Everyday Lifeto book home
by Robert Reich 978-0-307-27799-2 paperback
birth 1946-06-24 age:71 978-0-307-26561-6 hardcover
publisher Knopf 978-0-307-26785-6 eBook
published 2007-09-04 978-1-4001-3461-8 audio
  B000VMBYSY kindle
Robert Reich was minister of labour under Bill Clinton. He explains how competition between companies for favourable legislation has lead to a sort of lobbying arms race. He explains the consequences, cheaper consumer prices, but also lower wages and less job security. He points out that corporations have no interest whatsoever in community values. It is pointless to expect them to care about global warming, job security, health care etc. They are purely market-driven. He believes this is as it should be. (I strongly disagree. Corporations should be just as responsible as individuals, and all individuals should be personally responsible for their actions they perform on behalf of the corporation.) However, he calls for citizen involvement in government to ensure issues that affect entire communities are properly addressed.
Australian flag abe books anz abe books.ca Canadian flag
German flag abe books.de amazon.ca Canadian flag
German flag amazon.de Chapters Indigo Canadian flag
Spanish flag amazon.es Chapters Indigo eBooks Canadian flag
Spanish flag iberlibro.com abe books.com American flag
French flag abe books.fr amazon.com American flag
French flag amazon.fr Barnes & Noble American flag
Italian flag abe books.it Nook at Barnes & Noble American flag
Italian flag amazon.it Kobo American flag
India flag junglee.com Google play American flag
UK flag abe books.co.uk O’Reilly Safari American flag
UK flag amazon.co.uk Powells American flag
UN flag other stores
Greyed out stores probably do not have the item in stock. Try looking for it with a bookfinder.
book cover recommend book⇒Bad Samaritans: The Myth of Free Trade and the Secret History of Capitalismto book home
by Ha-Joon Chang 978-1-59691-598-5 paperback
birth 1963 age:54 978-1-59691-399-8 hardcover
publisher Bloomsbury 978-1-59691-738-5 eBook
published 2008-12-28 978-1-4233-4684-5 audio
  B003Z9L4NA kindle
Explains some of the forgotten successes of protectionism and the massive failures of free trade, especially for small countries.
Australian flag abe books anz abe books.ca Canadian flag
German flag abe books.de amazon.ca Canadian flag
German flag amazon.de Chapters Indigo Canadian flag
Spanish flag amazon.es Chapters Indigo eBooks Canadian flag
Spanish flag iberlibro.com abe books.com American flag
French flag abe books.fr amazon.com American flag
French flag amazon.fr Barnes & Noble American flag
Italian flag abe books.it Nook at Barnes & Noble American flag
Italian flag amazon.it Kobo American flag
India flag junglee.com Google play American flag
UK flag abe books.co.uk O’Reilly Safari American flag
UK flag amazon.co.uk Powells American flag
UN flag other stores
Greyed out stores probably do not have the item in stock. Try looking for it with a bookfinder.

DVDs (Digital Video Discs)

dvd cover recommend DVD⇒The Shock Doctrineto dvd home
DVD
byMichael Winterbottom [Director], Mat Whitecross[Director]
birth1961-03-29 age:57
asinB005CFBZAM
upc698452208732

Documents with grisly footage certain themes in US foreign policy ranging from Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Russia, Afghanistan to Iraq including:

  • Imposing Milton Friedman’s shock economics on other countries
  • Use of torture techniques pioneered by Dr. Ian Cameron, terrorising the elderly, women and children too.
  • Impoverishing the masses and incrementing the incomes of the elite 100 fold.
  • Starting wars to distract from economic woes.
  • Supporting military dictators
After viewing this movie you will likely have a strong urge to do some unspeakable harm to Cameron, Reagan, Friedman, Pinochet, Rumsfeld, Thatcher and Bush after seeing what they did and hearing about it from their own mouths. There is a book of the same name by Naomi Klein. She appears several times in this DVD.
German flag amazon.de amazon.co.uk UK flag
Spanish flag amazon.es amazon.ca Canadian flag
French flag amazon.fr amazon.com American flag
Italian flag amazon.it powells.com American flag
India flag junglee.com Barnes & Noble American flag
UN flag other stores
Greyed out stores probably do not have the item in stock
Five Facts About America’s Pathological Wealth Distribution: by Paul Buchheit

This page is posted
on the web at:

http://mindprod.com/money/fatcats.html

Optional Replicator mirror
of mindprod.com
on local hard disk J:

J:\mindprod\money\fatcats.html
Canadian Mind Products
Please the feedback from other visitors, or your own feedback about the site.
Contact Roedy. Please feel free to link to this page without explicit permission.

IP:[65.110.21.43]
Your face IP:[35.170.81.33]
You are visitor number