Emerging in the aftermath of the financial
crisis is a world order dominated by a few governments and corporations that
have unprecedented control over global resources and appear to have
little-to-no-regard for the welfare of the vast majority of the world’s
populace, even within developed economies such as the U.S.
Monopoly capitalism is name of the game.
During the height of the great financial crisis, secret Federal Reserve loans
to the biggest banks totaling $7.7 trillion enabled them to reap $13 billion in
profits[i].
As of 2010, six U.S. banks, held assets in excess of 63 percent of the U.S.
Gross Domestic.[ii]
Monopolies are not restricted to finance: energy and food industries are also
very consolidated. For instance, three companies control ninety percent of the
global grain trade (Archer Daniels Midland, Bunge, and Cargill) and Monsanto
monopolizes seventy percent of the transgenic corn market and more than eighty
percent of the transgenic soybean market.[iii]
While U.S.
corporate profits have reached unprecedented levels, both in absolute dollars
and as a share of the economy, unemployment is at its highest level since the
Great Depression.[iv]
Over fourteen percent, or one in six Americans, lives below the official
poverty threshold.[v]
The top .1% of the U.S. population, about 315,000 individuals, receive half of
all capital gains on the sale of shares or property and these gains constitute
sixty percent of the total income made by the Forbes 400.[vi]...
to be continued
[i] Bob Ivry, Bradley Keoun and Phil Kuntz . Secret Fed Loans Helped Banks Net $13B. Bloomberg.com (2011, November 27):
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-11-28/secret-fed-loans-undisclosed-to-congress-gave-banks-13-billion-in-income.html.
[ii] Bill Moyers, Simon Johnson and James
Kwak Bill Moyers Journal [on-line]
(2010, April 16): http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/04162010/profile.html.
[iii]
National Family Farm Coalition. “Food,
Inc. and Fresh: Facts and Solutions Needed to Fix the Food System.” NFFC.Net (no date): http://www.nffc.net/Learn/Fact%20Sheets/food%20inc%20and%20fresh.pdf.
[iv]
Henry Blodget. “Here Are
Four Charts That Explain What The Protesters Are Angry About...”Business Insider (2011, Oct 15): http://www.businessinsider.com/here-are-the-four-charts-that-explain-what-the-protesters-are-angry-about-2011-10?utm_source=twbutton&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=bi#ixzz1b3DqeIBh.
[v]
Frances Fox Piven. “The War
Against the Poor.” TomDispatch.Com (2011,
Nov 6): http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/175463/tomgram%3A_frances_fox_piven%2C_the_war_on_the_home_front/#more).
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