Always Follow the Money

If I destroy your illusions about corporate America in the next few paragraphs, I don’t apologize. Our nation’s businesses are all about profit, not the product or serving customers. The truth is that they don’t care about anything with the exception of increasing their revenue. I begin with two facts: America is no longer a country, it is a business. The second is that all your questions about our government have a single answer: follow the money.

How Big Business Rapes the American Consumer

In every city there is one supermarket or one supermarket chain which has the highest reputation. Their produce appears fresher, and the aisles less cluttered. Therefore you are willing to pay a higher price. This is marketing. Everything you see is a ruse.

Name brands are not usually better than items priced in the mid-range category or store brands.

The companies which manufacture and package products have their own techniques for increasing their profits. For years I have not purchased a “half gallon of ice cream.” The price is the same or higher, but the package contains only 12 ounces. The same is true for a “pound of packaged bacon.” Its quantity has been reduced to 12 ounces. My favorite bar of soap originally came in a convex shape. It is now concave. The manufacturer claims it is easier to hold. The truth is that it is now concave to reduce the amount of the product by about 25 percent: more profit.

The list goes on and on.

Inflation Is a Smoke Screen: Not Reality

There never was a valid reason for inflation. The real word is “greedflation.” There are no shortages, only intentional “under-manufacturing” of frequently purchased commodities to force an increase in prices.

My point is, there are no good corporations. They are the enemies of the working class. Capitalism always fails, and in the United States we are now ruled by an even greedier plutocracy.

Federal and State Governments Are Complicit

Most of our federal government in Washington ignores these facts. They are owned by special interests who contribute millions of dollars to their campaigns. Our elected officials reciprocate by turning their heads when consumers complain about price gouging.

For everything which happens in America, the reason is based on one fact: “follow the money.” Nothing is done without concern for the super-rich who profit from their crimes.

Every failure by our government is based on our national motto, “profit before people.” Nothing will be done about the increase in mass shootings. Protecting the profits of gun manufacturers and gun sellers will always take precedence over public safety. Healthcare in America is the least effective and most expensive in the world. Universal healthcare is only a dream. Those who “work” on Capitol Hill will always protect the exorbitant income of doctors and for-profit hospitals and medical care facilities. Big Pharma makes profits as high as 1,000 percent on many life saving prescription drugs.

America’s Election Process Is the Most Expensive and Inconsistent in the Free World

America’s election process is ridiculous. No other nation has a campaign season lasting longer than a few months. Our general elections last as long as two years. This results in wasteful spending which runs into the billions of dollars. The truth is that most voters admit that “they learn everything they need to know on television.” If you don’t know the truth, political ads are composed of lies and baseless attacks on each other’s opponents.

Regardless of the issue, it will always lead to the premise of “follow the money.” Here in Nevada, our gas and electric company, NV Energy, is building new plants in the south. Instead of using their profits to reinvest in their own company, they are making consumers pay, allowing the company’s officers to keep their bloated salaries. From March to April of this year our bill increased by 37 percent.

Welcome to America, land of the plutocrat.

Written by James Turnage

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Sources:

Civilization Fanatics Center: The death of Net Neautrality and the Raping of the American Consumer

The New Republic: The United States of Plutocracy

Top and featured image courtesy of Igal Ness‘ Unsplash page – Creative Commons License