Is there truly a cabal of wealthy people who secretly control America?

          This is an odd topic, although it is something that has been presenting itself to me more daily. Each day I watch news, read the paper, read on the Web or debate one person or another, it seems that this subject is slapping me in the face. The more I read, the more it seems I am being force fed garbage, something to keep me off the this elusive subject. The Internet is veritable smorgasbord  of conspiracy theories. The news and the papers are obviously controlled by the wealthy elite, so we only get the stories they want us to read. My ideas on the subject are in constant evolution and not 100% clear yet. I just want to present them, just to get them out and hopefully get some input from others. I also want some of these thoughts solid so I can always refer to it.

              I want to start with the Federal Reserve. The Federal Reserve is not controlled by the government, it is controlled by private bankers. Odd, right, one would assume that it was a government entity. For a period of time our dollar was backed by gold. That switched, I apologize  for being vague but I am not going in depth about this part, and money became backed essentially by the full faith and credit of the United States. It is made up out of thin air, it means nothing and comes from no where. That, you would think makes our dollar worthless, but it doesnt. Now every dollar that we borrow from the Federal Reserve, yes our government borrows money from private bankers, has to be payed back with interest. So every dollar created puts the United States further in debt to wealthy bankers. It creates a system of perpetual debt, leaving the super wealthy in control of our government.

            Let’s move to Citizens United next. This ruling by the Supreme Court allowed dark money to flood into our politics. Dark money is money that comes from unknown sources and cannot be accounted for. It also allowed individuals to contribute more to political campaigns and to be able to hide who it was contributed to. Let’s be very clear, this does not benefit the poor or middle class. I gave $15 to President Obama  in 2012 and $10 in 2008. There is a new bill Republican lawmakers are trying to pass that would triple the amount people could contribute without declaring any of it. Now interesting statistic I keep seeing is that 94% of candidates that raise the most money win. Now Congress had a 9% approval rating yet 94% were reelected. I hope you caught that anomaly as well. 9% approval is very very bad. Interestingly, just for example, the Koch Brothers contributed approximately $325 million, that is accounted for in the last election cycle. That is according to the Washington Post. Now how does that help the poor?

             Now to Voter I.D. laws. Who do voter i.d. laws affect? The poor of course! The rate of fraudulent voting of the sort Republicans are trying to stop is about .00002%. Does that really seem like something that would warrant this much action? Especially because Republicans have seemed reluctant to take any action at all. Why is this an issue? In 2008 when then Senator Barrack Obama was running for President, the poor overwhelmingly voted for him. His speeches motivated the country and helped assuage voter apathy. 93% of the African American vote went to President Obama and minorities  as a whole were generally in his corner. How can the wealthy elite keep their puppet in office if people vote? They cant. They had to do something, their lobbyist marched into our capital to manufacture a new issue. Voter fraud. By requiring I.D., people who live in inner cities and do not drive, nor have the finances to own a car could not vote. Unfortunately for the wealthy we were protected from poll taxes. But it didn’t end there, Republicans ended early voting or shortened it, closed polls early, created long lines by having less polls, machines switched votes from Democrat to Republican and they even used voter intimidation. In 2014, about 30% of the population or less voted. It seems they got their sheep back in the herd.

            Those are the big ones I wanted to cover. But here is more food for thought. The rolling back of part of the Civil Rights Act that helped protect minorities rights to vote in districts that have had past issues. Low wages and the decimation of Labor Unions. Unions were the middle classes great protector. The continual attempts to decimate the EPA. Saying the EPA makes it where business can’t compete because of regulations. The illegal foreclosures by banks, who paid a pittance of a fine and didn’t have to give the homes back. Bank executives getting bonuses while crashing the economy, destroying people’s pensions, 401 KS and decimating our workforce. No prosecution of any of these people who committed illegal acts, while our prisons are over crowded by poor people with Marijuana offenses. The complete control of the mass media, holding each to their own standards and showing a blatant avoidance of the truth. In fact, many tell outright lies more then they tell the truth, Fox News. The worse part of this is the absolute ignorance of so many Americans. The easiest way to make the middle class forget about the rich, is to make them hate the poor. We are so gullible.

          Is it a true conspiracy? Did I paint a clear enough picture? The answer to both, I don’t know. The idea is still coming together for me as I dig through more and more. It is a theory, but truth, not sure yet. This I will say. There is an eternal battle going on in America. At its root is income inequality, which is at its highest since the 1920s. The DOW Jones is setting records dailly, but we are only getting minimum wage jobs. Why? 95% of the wealth made over the last six years has gone to the top 5% of the population. Class warfare is undeniably one of the biggest issues in America. It seems as if the wealthy elite have clung to power for so long, that any perceived attempt to dislodge them from power will be met with fierce resistance. Even at the loss of our great country. Cabal or greedy men? They might be one in the same.

Temp. Employees hiring marks a less committed relationship between Corporation and employee.

                One corner of the U.S. ecomomy is hiring prolifically, temp. Workers. Many large companies are moving towards hiring temp employees. WalMart, General Motors and PepsiCo are a few of the largest. There are currently 17 million temp.employees or 12% of the entire workforce in the nation.

The temp. hiring shows many employers are looking for cheap solutions. Temp. hiring has jumped abput 50% since the worst of the Great Recession ended. There are now 2.7 million temp. employees, the most on record since 1990. This trend is a way for companies to avoid paying employees well, as well as avoiding to provide Health Care for employees. These companies are making very high profits, but refuse to treat employees better. High bonuses go to CEOs while workers barely get raises.

Temps. recieve low pay, few benefits and zero job security. Temp. employment offers little stability and forces families into tougher situations. It causes employees to constantly change jobs, as well as shifts, making it difficult for families to adapt. Thess hiring tendencies show the true disconnect between corprations and people. WalMart alone is detrimental to government spending. WalMart is basically subsidized by our Federal Government. Low wages cause employees to qualify for Government Assistance, the SNAP Program, medical assistance and Home Heating Assistance. One WalMart store in Wisconsin cost taxpayers $900,00, one store.

President Obama over the last 5 years has presented Congress with a Jobs Bill and a Veterans Jobs Bill. The 2 Bills together would have created approximately 2 million more jobs, almost the same amount as Temp. employees. Senate Republicans Filibustered both and House Republicans unanimously voted against both Bills. Much to the chagrin of Republicans, President Obama and Democrats have the economy headed in the right direction. Republicans Union Busting Bills and lackadaisical approach to jobs is hurting the U.S. worker. Over the last 4 years, Republicans have produced 44 Anti-Abortion Laws and 71 Pro-Religious Laws, but zero JOBS.

Corporations are paying employees with debit cards whose fees push them below the minimum wage.

             The U.S. Attorney’s Office has asked the U.S. Department of Labor to look into the use of debit cards to pat employees to determine if federal action is necessary. The action was sparked by a Pennsylvania lawsuit against McDonald’s. McDonald’s paid the employee with a debit card. Heidi Havens, department spokeswoman for the DOJ would not comment on what the Labor Department is investigating.

The employee was paid with a debit card, it had bank fees that included $1 to check the employees balance, $1.50 to withdraw cash and $15 to replace a lost card. The employee was under the impression the pay was $7.44 an hour. The employee refused to use the debit card because the fee deductions could bring the hourly rate below the Federally Mandated minimum wage of $7.25. The Labor Department said if the fees do not bring the wage below $7.25 it does not violate the Fair Labor Standards Act.

The employee said the debit card was the only option to recieve pay. McDonald’s refused to use a paper check or direct deposit. Rather than incur the fees the employee quit. Mike Fusco, spokesman for JP Morgan Chase in New York City, said he couldn’t comment on a specific case. He did say his company provides debit cards as an option to recieve wages. He also said there are ways for employees to access their cash for free. He believes debit cards offer much more efficiency and fraud protection.

The suit that was filed seeks an unspecified amount of monetary damages and asks for punitive, compensatory and liquidated damages, plus lega fees and litigation costs against McDonalds. It is against the companies ill-gotten gains contrary to justice, equity, good concious and Pennsylvania law.

What person wants a fee riddled debit card instead of a paper check or direct deposit. This is a freedom no one thinks about. I work for my check, I don’t want a card that takes away my money through fees. $7.44 is not much anyway and McDonald’s and JP Morgan Chase seem to have a scam going on. Obviously the politics are simple, Democrats are against it, Republicans are for it. Typical if it is corporation or people, Republicans choose corporations.