The Plutocrats are Coming!

Plutocrats have played a prominent role in the 2012 American elections. Plutocracy is basically the notion of rule by the wealthy - it has been used pretty negatively throughout history, but also has been a propaganda tool by some of the worst facist states of our time. There is little debate that we have some sort of plutocracy in America today - especially post-Citizens United, the rich have an inordinate amount of influence in our political system. In the 2010 races, outside money played a huge role in the GOP winning back the House of Representatives, and in this year's campaign cycle, the ultra wealthy are putting in even more dollars, mostly to support Mitt Romney and the Republicans. But...plutocracy isn't necessarily about political ideology - Democrats get plenty of money from the wealthy, too. In recent years, plutocrats have felt more under assault in America than ever before - this may be technically true, because they've been paying historically low taxes, so any interest in raising these rates will threaten them, whether fair or not. With the financial meltdown, there is a greater interest in the wealth gap, which has widened substantially. In the 1960s, workers made a few times less than CEOs, but now, they make hundreds of times less than CEOs. Additionally, plutocrats basically failed...their insistence on deregulation and their risky financial behavior played a major role in the economic meltdown. Of course, the backlash only seemed to solidify in their minds that they know what's right for the country, and seemed to create greater paranoia that everyone is out to get them. The right-wing hasn't helped matters much, though they might be getting their cues from the people who are financially backing them...wait for it...the plutocrats! Just look at who bankrolls the Tea Party, for example - Jane Mayer's famous expose on the Koch brothers is here). The 2012 race seems to bring the issue of plutocracy to the forefront...though, again, both Democrats and Republicans are relying on the wealthy to finance them. For a great discussion of this issue, check out this fantastic discussion on Bill Moyers' show, with guests Matt Taibbi (of Rolling Stone) and Chrystia Freeland (of Reuters).

Credit ratings agencies, the debt ceiling, and AA+

So, apparently Standard and Poor's (S&P) downgraded the U.S. credit rating from AAA to AA+, the first time America has been listed as anything but AAA. Now, there are problems with this move - for one, S&P seems to have screwed up their calculations by at least $2 trillion. They are also the only credit rating agency to downgrade the U.S. to AA+. That being said, this may have an impact on the global financial markets come Monday. Those things are as stable as Charlie Sheen on a bender these days, and this will probably be yet another factor that messes with them (though I suspect the problems in China [where the government is attempting to control an economic growth slowdown], and Europe [where it seems likely that Greece will default, possibly leading Spain and Portugal to default as well], are really what is driving the markets tanking) come Monday. So, you know, panic! There are two points from all of this that I find interesting. One is the main critique from S&P re: the U.S. downgrade. The other is the credibility of credit rating agencies.

Bike-Share programs...are Sinister!

So, I've become a cyclist of sorts the past few years. I love riding my bike in the city, or on trails. It's good exercise, it's fun, it's convenient, and it's good for the environment. There are a lot of us around, especially in cities, where it is often faster to bike somewhere than to take a subway, bus, or (people still do this from time to time) drive. Now, bike safety is sort of a problem - I've been hit by a bad driver, and it is not fun - but hopefully this will improve as we get more bike lanes, etc. And, less crazy bikers - you know, the people who decide to jut in and out of heavy and fast-moving traffic as if they were driving a car.

Anyway, as such, this story caught my eye and reminded me just how crazy some people are in this country, particularly people running for public office. I don't know if it's a secret requirement that you be one of the following before being allowed to run for office in America: a moron, massively corrupt, racist, filthy rich without ever having to work for it, all of the above. It sure seems like it these days, though. Anyway, one of the candidates for the office of Governor of Colorado, Democrat John Hickenlooper, has implemented a bike-share program as the Mayor of Denver that has been incredibly successful. People can rent bikes for pretty low prices, use them in the city when they need them, and drop them back off at a variety of locations. Seems pretty cool, right? Sure. If you hate America!