Today's Wall Street Wealthy Make the Robber Barons Look Good

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Cassandra, how well-named you are! Thank you for joining this discussion. With a bit of salt and satire, '
tried to sow some seeds from the Gilded Age onto our troubled lot today. I appreciate the rhymes and other comments and remarks on this "rich" topic. Thanks to Abraham Lincoln, who made it an official national holiday in 1863, Thanksgiving is tomorrow. I Happy Thanksgiving. everybody!

Jamie Stiehm of DC 12:19AM November 24, 2011

Let's see:
Henry Ford:
Union buster.
Hitlers first financial sponsor.
Nazi profiteer.
Frick:
Union buster.
Financial thug who though nothing of back-stabbing his business partners.
Yea, all-round nice guys!

enzo of DC 1:45PM November 23, 2011

This is too funny.
Frick was exactly what both the Right, the Left, the Tea Party, and OWS all rail against - totally ruthless and morally corrupt businessmen/financiers who brooked no opposition to their goals, ambitions, and collection of wealth.
Frick was a rabid union hater who resorted to armed put-downs of union organizers (Homestead, with attendant deaths on both sides), was pretty much responsible for the Johnstown flood that killed so many.
He ruled his workers with an iron fist - safety was lax, hours long, pay low for the hazards faced, and environmental pollution high.
Frick was universally considered a monster, even by the standards set by the rest of the robber-barons of the time, and by the robber barons themselves.
The fact that he did indeed donate a lot for public good is indisputable, but to somehow think that the absolves him of all of the rest of his behavior is really absurd.

junior of DC 12:05PM November 23, 2011

cassandra of pa.i commend you for your acuity on a very complex subject.today there are few,if any,individuals in the mold of mr. frick,or henry ford.they believed that a rising tide should lift all boats.today theres a mind set that a select few should ride on the crest of high tide.this is born out by the fact that wages ,for those fortunate to have a job,have been stagnant,or in some cases regressed.
this is not the recipe to return this country to greatness.

bruce b of NV 5:18PM November 22, 2011

Henry Clay Frick had the safest mines, his workers lived in the best homes, and his company store did not rip off the miners but had competitive prices with regular retail stores.
He built hospitals for his workers and held garden contests for the women of the patches. In fact, he bought their produce to sell in his stores.
Above all that, when he died his net wealth was nearly two hundred million dollars he gave twenty-five million to his family (an additional six or seven million to his daughter Helen) and the remainder, over 145 million, the bulk of the estate, to museums, parks, universities, hospitals, and more.
Yet it is hard to find any monument in his honor. His name is seldom written without a condescenting comment.
Henry Ford had the right idea: when he built the model T he increased the salaries on his assembly line workers so they could buy his products. The economy cannot improve if people are reduced to serfdom and cannot buy.
Todays 1% don't have an agenda that includes responsibility to others or a love of country.
We need term limits, no lobbying, a control over executive salaries, more than two legitimate parties, and honest, updated regulations on everthing from airlines to Wall Street to truth in advertizing. Who among our legislators has the COURAGE to care more for the people than for themselves.
Stand up and be counted. If we all refused to pay on our credit cards what would happen?
If we all moved our accounts to credit unions, what would happen?
If all doctors gave one day a week to a free clinic, what would happen?
If we refused to buy medicines from companies who are hording and holding illegal copyrights, what would happen?
The power is ours.
ps reading some of the other comments all I can say is you deserve what you get. These viscious attacks on individuals are reminiscent of fascism and nazism. Now who brought that process to the American political system? I know, do you?
There is room here for everyone: liberal, conservative, and moderate. We work best when we stop accusing people who have a different outlook and try to find a way for everyone to have a piece of the pie.
THAT IS NOT WHAT IS HAPPENING NOW.

Cassandra of PA 2:38PM November 22, 2011

The U.S robber barons built
Vast fortunes on the peoples' backs.
Perhaps in philanthropic guilt,
Some gave good works in public acts.
But more importantly they brought
Order out of chaotic times.
The best economy was wrought,
Helped by the robber barons' crimes.
The Wall Street wealthy of today
Will not repeat the Gilded Age.
The rich are like children at play,
Letting loose more chaos to rage.
One day all wealth will all be spent,
Won't be pretty where it all went.

Ima Ryma of IL 4:36AM November 22, 2011

Stiehm ,
You leave out the biggest robber of them all , Obama , he takes our tax dollars to feed his union cronnies or any other green group he can get votes from . G.E. in the Whitehouse , tax dollars going where ? 4 trillion dollars in 3 years , we got what ( non union people ) ? Bigger goverment that we can't afford . How about the millionaire politicians we have that weren't when they were elected ?
You don't think Obama and his cronnies along with Al Gore aren't laughing all the way to the bank ? . Ask Warren Buffet , he made out real well with Obamacare passing .
Stiehm , do have a tent on Wall Street , if not you need one .
Obama , late to the ground game and now no middle ground , he never wanted a middle ground , he wanted to divide through class warfare , he's wanted to get the 48% that pay no fed income tax over 50 % . He encouraged the Wall Street protesters while taking huge amounts from Wall Street donors , Stiehm , no problems ?
One more point , if not for the goverment more people might be willing to invest and take risks , Obama and his "helping the economy" has done nothing except crush it and discourage it .

Hunter of WI 8:53PM November 21, 2011

John Wayne of NM
Hi Bud. Missed your solid views on site.
Wanted to buy UAL today but the stock just sinks. Dow just fluctuates, sometimes big time, with little upside to expect a profit. Yes, that dirty word Profit. Workers wants to be paid but that is good. He's paid by his skills and ability. Investors put up the time, skills and abilities, and risk money, but worker gets paid. The dirty crusades think us capitalist are over compensated. Like 10 in Fannie & Freddie got $$$ 35 million in bonus. Lost $$$ billions and want MORE MONEY to make up for the loss. Bill C. bad housing plan is growing BAD still today... This is another downfall to a better economy.
Bill Gates was in the bottom 99 %. The dude lived the American dream and now in top .00001 %. Gates created how many jobs ??? He created a new universe. Some day another Bill Gates will change our world again. I believe is already in the works. A breakthrough in alternative energy that will shake the universe. Breakthrough that makes carbon energy obsolete in our future. Being cheaper and cleaner. Maybe then we subsides oil (ha-ha). Gas burning cars are outlandishly high as alternative energy cars are now by market not government regulation..
Liberals are a small segnment of Americas population. Don't expect a lighting bolt to strike them to get them thinking real. They live in a world of their own. When Kerry bought his boat he bought non-American. He parked his boat in another State to save taxes. Kerry fights for his liberalism in Congress but conservative with his OWN money. Would discuss Teddy but let the dead rest in their grave.
Perhaps later I will critique this liberal's, poor soul, article. Even though I hate to add comments to her article. Barry did not get Bush tax cuts to rich done by executive order. It took passage by House & Senate. There was need for this, but Reid said no to raising debt ceiling when Democrats OWNED Congress. Reid wanted Republican House, in 2011, to take some of the BLAME. Democrats continue this PUT THE BLAME ON US. Only thing different they stopped the RACIST BULL, for it does not work.
With no change by them since Nov. 2, 2010, expect NASTY to get worse.
I try to get answer to WHEN HAS TAX INCREASES ON RICH GAVE MORE REVENUE TO GOVERNMENT THAN TAX CUTS. They will answer another question but not that. They must believe tax cuts to rich cost government revenue. Facts be denied...
Investments will be minimum in this barryland. Jobs created on a must do. Germany not willing to bail out and reduce debt to 40 % to socialist Countries. Those bad capitalist Germans. Worse off in America are liberal States like CA. More secure are conservative States like TX. To me there seems to be a theme to this. Liberals you think will see ? America began its slide to crumbles with Bill C., lawyer obama, and Acorn insisting unqualified home buyers be given loans for homes (reason for recession). Bush warned but ignored.
Have a good day guy...

Bill Hedges of MO 4:27PM November 21, 2011

Stiehm says, "....Of everything President Obama has done to the economy, his extension of the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy late last year was probably his worst choice."
Stiehm is the classic example of:
“None so blind as those that will not see.”
Matthew Henry (1662-1714)
English Presbyterian minister and writer
I've been off-line lately as I've grown far too frustrated to continually explain reason and rationality to "hardened concrete" like Jamie Stiehm and her misinformed friends ......there is simply no absorption there!
I'll ask my learned colleagues, Bill Hedges, R.L. Schaefer, Angelina Montez, or Hunter of WI., et al, to attempt their hand at getting Steihm to "see the light".
Have a good day, guys & gals.

John Wayne of NM 2:23PM November 21, 2011