Getting Past Stars and Swipes Forever [View all]

[marmar]

from Too Much: A Commentary on Excess and Inequality:


Getting Past Stars and Swipes Forever
June 29, 2013

Back in 1776, public-spirited patriots emerged from the ranks of colonial America’s privileged. But our corporate elite today seems to offer up only thieving, tax-dodging parasites. Why such a contrast?

By Sam Pizzigati


Almost ten generations have come and gone since 1776. Yet the giants of 1776 still fascinate us. Books about Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and George Washington still regularly dot our best-seller lists.

What so attracts us to these “founding fathers,” these men of means who put their security, their considerable comfort, at risk for a greater good? Maybe the contrast with what we see all around us.

Today’s men of means display precious little selfless behavior. Our CEOs, bankers, and private equity kingpins remain totally fixated on their own corporate and personal bottom lines. They don’t lead the nation. They steal from it.

So who can blame the rest of us for daydreaming about a time when a significant chunk of our elite showed a real sense of responsibility to something grander than the size of their individual fortunes? ...................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://toomuchonline.org/getting-past-stars-and-swipes-forever/#sthash.wxROlhsv.dpuf