The Citigroup Plutonomy Memos: Two bombshell documents that Citigroup's lawyers try to suppress, describing in detail the rule of the first 1%
Here are some quick excerpts:
"We will posit that:
"1) the world is dividing into two blocs - the plutonomies, where economic growth is powered by and largely consumed by the wealthy few, and the rest.
"2) We project that the plutonomies (the U.S., UK, and Canada) will likely see even more income inequality, disproportionately feeding off a further rise in the profit share in their economies, capitalist-friendly governments, more technology-driven productivity, and globalization."
"There are the rest, the “non-rich”, the multitudinous many, but only
accounting for surprisingly small bites of the national pie."
According to the memos, "the top 1% of households account for 40% of financial net worth, more than the bottom 95% of households put together."
And we can see that one of their chief concerns is democracy and the principal of one-person-one-vote:
"Low-end developed market labor might not have much economic power,
but it does have equal voting power with the rich."
In the second memo we find:
A third threat comes from the potential social backlash. To use Rawls-ian analysis, the invisible hand stops working. Perhaps one reason that societies allow plutonomy, is because enough of the electorate believe they have a chance of becoming a Pluto-participant. Why kill it off, if you can join it? In a sense this is the embodiment of the “American dream”. But if voters feel they cannot participate, they are more likely to divide up the wealth pie, rather than aspire to being truly rich.
Here is where we first learned of the secret Citigroup memos for the 1%:
Bill Moyers signs off his last broadcast with an editorial discussion on why plutocracy and democracy don't mix:
A more comprehensive article can be found at Politicalgates Blog