According to Merriam-Webster, a populist is someone who is, “a believer in the rights, wisdom, or virtues of the common people.” Historically, populist movements have gone beyond elevating the common man, and have condemned the institutions that make up the status quo. Today’s populists call themselves the Tea Party movement, and my gut tells me they are a different breed of populist.
The vast majority of Tea Party types are disaffected conservatives and libertarians. I know the Sarah Palins of the world want us all to believe there are as many frustrated Democrats and independents in the Tea Party crowd as there are angry Republicans and libertarian leaners. Nonsense. The Tea Party folks are for limited, constitutionally constrained government, minimal regulation, low taxes, and a minimum of bureaucracy. People who believe in that kind of stuff most likely have never met a Democrat.
But here is where it gets interesting. I don’t believe these people are anti-establishment, or anti-Ivy League education, or anti-bank, or anti-business. But they are against establishment types, Ivy League school graduates, bankers and businessmen who are able to stack the deck. Big businesses, big banks, and well-educated people are all fine and even virtuous, so long as they have to play by the same rules as the rest of us. Let the big bank, the big car company or the big brokerage house go down if it fails. Don’t allow Goldman Sachs to be a feeder system for the executive branch.
The 21st Century populist is not a Kansas farmer protecting agrarian interests, or a union member trying to “get his” from a Pittsburgh steel company. Today’s populist is simply saying that he/she wants a fair shot, and does not want to be taxed to pay off the moron who drove Bank of America into the ground. Seems reasonable to me.
“Big businesses, big banks, and well-educated people are all fine and even virtuous, so long as they have to play by the same rules as the rest of us.”
This has never been a reality in this country’s history.
“Let the big bank, the big car company or the big brokerage house go down if it fails.”
The world is not that simple. The collapse of Lehman Brothers almost single handedly brought down the global financial system on a Monday morning. Had the government allowed AIG to completely unravel, there’s a good chance that every major banking institution in this country would have declared bankruptcy within a week’s time. Liquidationism is easy to talk about, not realistic to apply.
“Today’s populist is simply saying that he/she wants a fair shot, and does not want to be taxed to pay off the moron who drove Bank of America into the ground.”
Who do you think that “moron” is? Middle and lower class Americans chasing their piece of the dream for the most part. Isn’t that who your movement is supposed to be defending?
…and oh bye the way….it’s ironic that you chose Bank of America as your example considering that B of A. is the nation’s largest commercial bank, holding almost 12% of this nation’s total deposits (over a trillion dollars). Think about that. That’s a lot of Kansas farmer and union steel worker money to put in the hands of the FDIC, should we choose to adopt the liquidationist principles that are becoming so popular these days.
BofA is also Countrywide, Struppster.
And then there’s Obama populism…
“commercial bank” only in name. I hear you Dadster.
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