Corporatism

America is not the same democratic republic it once was!

Exclude that exclamation for a second, I don't put it there to show my enthusiasm for my point, but rather to catch your eye!

I almost want to say that we are not even a democratic republic at all, but I'm afraid that would not be entirely accurate, because we still vote, we assemble ourselves, and we still have freedoms that would permit us to continue to use the rationale that we are a dem. repub.

With that said, I aim to focus on the negative: we aren't a dem.repub.

On the face of things, we certainly are. We hold elections for president, senate, representatives, and even house districts. From the level of state, to county, big and small, we vote. Thus making is a democracy.

We are not a true democracy. A true democracy is defined when all people come together and vote on every issue, an example of this would be the entire population of the U.S. (300+ million) voting on healthcare, amendments to the constitution, gun control, immigration, etc. So thereby we are not a true democracy, but a democracy of representatives, or a representative democracy.

Of all the issues in government today, and of all the obstacles facing our country, and of all the 'diseases' that face our nation, whether economically, militarily, judicially, or democratically, the biggest threat we are faced with is a result of unregulated capitalism; corporatism.

There needs no debate on the matter; corporatism is not capitalism. Corporatism is a form of government; government that is influenced directly by business. Corporatism occurs when there is a failure of government to abide by its own rules (in America, this is a very shortened definition).

Many of the founding fathers, from George Washington, and Benjamin Franklin, to later presidents, to economists (Adam Smith), and even later high military brass (Douglass MacArthur, Dwight Eisenhower), all warned of the possibility and danger in corporatism.

Corporatism is not something that creeps up naturally upon, and in direct contact with government. It is actually a way of business that is run, fueled, and directed by a select few individuals, namely those who are of the highest tax bracket (specifically the top 1%, with the top 1% of the top 1% holding the most considerable power).

Corporations who seek higher profits are known to submit requests to governments to see where they might earn the largest buck. Shell corporations, and any sort of corporation that falls under the S-corp definition has a great incentive to list their headquarters offshore, and move many of their manufacturing plants offshore so as to avoid American government taxes; however, by way of selling their products or services to Americans they generate the highest amount of revenue (the dollar is still the most valuable form of note in the world), while avoiding the high overhead of paying American payroll taxes, FICA, SS, Medicare, SUTA, FUTA, etc. Even if their manufacturing plants are located in the U.S. they are only subject to state income taxes, and small amounts of tax liabilities that are not subject to larger percentage of fed taxes that would otherwise be due to Uncle Sam. On top of all this, they can completely remove their own influence on the economy (dollar influence on local, and national economic scales) by banking with the Swiss, where they can escape any sort of withdrawal tax as they would otherwise experience if they conducted their banking operations within America (we see this everyday in taxes encumbered as we withdraw funds from our 401k, IRA, and mutual funds). Outsourcing jobs is another excellent way to cut overhead costs, and avoid the U.S. tax system.

These are just a few of the ways corporations (Wal-Mart, Shell, ChevronTexaco, Exxon, etc) can cut overhead costs and experience maximum net gross profits, and maximum business growth. All of it is completely legal (as fair), so long as their U.S. taxes and business operations abide by the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP).

The accounting, is pretty tricky. Although Obama has taken measures and steps of regulating wall-street and corporations, against fraud (undoing what the Bush administration did), he has not appointed enough regulators, and has failed considerably to enact enough critical laws that would help prevent against such corruption (the governments own Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is evidence alone). By enacted laws (not enough), but failing to enforce enough of them, we will still see corruption that will cost us billions of dollars; more has to be done (death penalty anyone?).

Let's quickly examine a few corporations (I can go into more detail if necessary, however my aim here is only to give you an idea of how corrupt our government is, while keeping things at a very easy-to-understand level).

Cabelas, and Bass Pro Shops: Yes, the sporting goods stores that we all love to visit. They're huge, their beautiful, and they have nearly every piece of outdoor equipment every made. Clean, neat, shiny, and so enticing! They provide thousands of jobs, donate to local and national charities, and even donate and assist in local communities, aye... so marvelous!

On the face of things, they look like the greatest stores in the world; the Wal-Marts of the outdoor sporting world. Wrong!

Everyone, I mean, every single store was built with your money... not their own money like most businesses (specifically smaller business), but with YOUR money!

How do they do it?

Easy! First, they research the demographics to find the best suitable location; next, they inquire the local government and petition for tax-breaks, subsidies, and other incentives, all while telling the county officials "our store will bring in millions of dollars of revenue, as people flock from all over to come here and do their shopping", this sounds good to the local government officials (county/state/city officials) because they earn revenue through the taxes they charge on the store, employees, items bought, and items sold, as well as FICA, SUTA, and payroll taxes. However, some officials might express concern, such as "what are the environmental impacts of building such a large store?", "will this really benefit our economy?", "why do you need tax-breaks, subsidies, and other incentives to build your store when your profit margins are so great that you can build these multi-million dollar super-stores anywhere?"... the answer comes from the lawyers, and representatives of the store (remember, I'm focusing on Cabelas, Bass-Pro Shops. Wal-Mart can also be included in this group): "You either give us what we want, or we will work with your neighboring county, and make you regret it."Alas, here the officials, many of whom are good natured people, are stuck the middle of a two-way intersection. Do they give the stores what they want, at the cost of the tax-payer, or do they pass up the opportunity, and watch as the next county over experiences outward growth? Naturally, they almost always agree to the conditions the store reps request.

Why? Because it looks good on the face of things. These stores bring in tourists, and people from all over who come not just to shop, but to eat at the local restaurants, stay in the local motels, etc. That is no doubt something very good. However; at the same time they are increasing local taxes, whether it be property taxes, water taxes, road taxes, or the introduction of a new tax, which, over time, will be higher than the taxes charged to the store, and the revenue earned through the increase in tourists and out of state shoppers; so in the long run, the local economy typically loses money, and if they don't, the state economy will see a deduction in the amount of a fund(s).

The biggest example of a corporate corruption (I'm getting closer to how this relates to the government on a macro-scale, and how it effects the entire world) lies with the military-industrial complex. This is exactly what MacArthur and Eisenhower (among the many notable names over the life-span of the U.S.) warned about.

War is perhaps the single most effective business growth, or business death tool.

JPL, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Haliburton, Exxon-Mobile, Shell, Remington, Bushmaster, and many, many others experience growth in ways unimaginable otherwise.

They continue wars through their influence of politicians, that can be seen in plain sight, through donations, and through the use of lobbyists.

Lobbying, and unrestricted political donations (as allowed by a recent Supreme Court ruling, evidence that corruption has now climbed to the ranks of the Supreme Court) should be illegal. They are certainly unconstitutional, and were adamantly and vehemently warned against by past generations of great men and women.

These corporations are very good at what they do, and their influence has no bounds. If they want war, they can pay politicians X amount of dollars, and have them vote the way that is best for them. Thereby stealing the peoples power of voting rights indirectly, and changing the whole political landscape of our government, and essentially, the direction of our nation.

"I am concerned for the security of our great Nation; not so much because of any threat from without, but because of the insidious forces working from within."-Douglas MacArthur

"No nation could preserve its freedom in the midst of continual warfare."-James Madison