I was wondering what could possibly be going on in the minds of the billionaires who have been putting down hundreds of millions of dollars in funding for ultra-conservative tea party groups. Why would they invest so much time and money? How does this fit their interests?
Well, it all makes sense today.
After Bernie Sander's amazing speech on the floor of the senate today. . .
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"If anybody thinks that this government shutdown, or the threats about not paying our bills and driving the world's economy into catastrophic areas thinks that this is an idea that "just occurred" the other day. That a Senator had this bright idea, you would be very, very mistaken.
The fact of the matter is that we have a growing right wing movement in this country being funded by some of the wealthiest people in America, including the Koch brothers. A family that has made their money in fossil fuels and are worth over 70 Billion dollars. 70 Billion dollars is their worth.
And they are worth 70 Billion. They have access to the best health care in the world. They have access to the best housing in the world. Their family members can go to the best colleges and universities in the world, but they are obsessed by, among other things, making sure that 20 or 25 million Americans have no health insurance at all.
Now I am a strong supporter of a "Medicare for All" single-payer program. I don't think that the Affordable Care Act went far enough. But to say at the least that 20 to 25 million Americans can finally have access to health insurance, go to the doctor when they need to go to that doctor, make sure there is no regulations that prevent them from getting care because they have a pre-existing condition.
Can you imaging, Mr. President, billionaires. . . BILLIONAIRES! GOING TO WAR AGAINST WORKING PEOPLE so that they and their kids cannot get health insurance? I mean, I think that is just obscene. That is just OBSCENE!
Let me just quote from the New York Times from yesterday. And its important that people understand, that the fight against the Affordable Care Act is just the tip of the iceberg. That you have families and billionaires like the Koch brothers who not only want to see that we not only don't expand health insurance in this country, they have a long list of issues that they are going after.
In fact, they want to repeal virtually every major piece of legislation passed in the last eighty years that protect the middle class working families, women, children, the elderly, the sick and the poor.
THAT IS THEIR AGENDA!
That is their agenda.
So, it is not a question of opposing the expansion of health insurance through Obamacare, that's not enough for them. What they want to do is end medicare as we know it right now, transform it into a voucher system, give an elderly person $8,000.00 who is dealing with cancer and say, "good luck to you".
They want to make MASSIVE CUTS in Medicaid, they don't want to expand Medicaid, massive cuts! They are very clear about wanting to end social security. They don't believe that the federal government should be involved in retirement issues, end social security.
One of the most amazing things that these guys want to do, our republican colleagues have apparently drank the "lemonade" on this one. is they want to abolish the concept of the minimum wage. The minimum wage is now federally $7.25 an hour. People can't live on that, and their idea is to get the federal government out of the minimum wage issue, no floor, so that an employer in a hard pressed area of Maine or Vermont or Michigan, can pay people 4 bucks an hour, THEY THINK THAT'S FREEDOM!"
So, they can work to get rid of social security, Medicare, the minimum wage, unemployment insurance and every other aspect of protection of the American society from the predatory nature of naked capitalism against the working families of this great country.
AND
They want the U.S. treasury rate to go up.
The treasury rate is making them lose money, they want to be able to make 4 or 6 or maybe 8 percent on their ultra-secure investments. Make all of America pay an additional 8% on all financed purchases, credit cards, everything.
BECAUSE THEY HAVE ALL THE MONEY!
In fact, only recently, they stopped buying treasuries, in expectations that, soon, the interest rates will be going up, way way up.
They get to drive more and more American's into bankruptcy, further dissolve the middle class protections of this country, AND make hundreds of millions of dollars MORE by being able to charge higher interest rates because they successfully DESTROYED THE FULL FAITH AND CREDIT OF THE UNITED STATES.
--when the U.S. credit rating went down in 2011 the average mortgage went up by $100.00 a month.