A Reaction to Lilly Ledbetters Letter to Mitt

You have got to be kidding me? said Bill incredulously. What do you mean? asked Sue with a shocked expression as she stopped from dicing her share of vegetables for the stir fry they were working on together. You think that Lillys letter is unreasonable? How could you of all people say such a thing? demanded Bill in his eager thirst for knowledge. I didnt say that it was unreasonable. I said that it was ridiculous to write a letter like that to Mitt Romney. Looking up from the leeks he was working on, Bill asked, I still dont understand where you are coming from, Sue. I think that it is a very reasonable request. Oh it is, I dont disagree with her concerns at all. I just think that to ask someone like Mitt Romney to check into something like that is ridiculous. She had piqued Bills interest. She could tell. Go on, he replied curiously. Smiling that she had his undivided attention, she continued, As Ive said before, to become as rich as Romney, you must think of yourself first and foremostoh sure, in front of the cameras and media you put on a show. To build alliances that are fortuitous for you, you go through the motions and advertise the fact. Like that ad that showed Romney helping his business partner find his daughter? Exactly, he did a great thing in finding the young woman but cheapened it by advertising his greatness to the world. Just like the fairy tales and legends did for the kings and queens of old. Yes, that is it. But why exactly do you think that Romney is a ridiculous channel to go through about such a subject? asked Bill hoping that he finally thought of the right question to ask. Think about it. There is such an emphasis on me and what is in it for me in a capitalist systemnot a free market system, but a capitalistic system.

Thats the very hallmark of capitalism. Yes, said Sue with a bewilder stare, There is something like it to some extent in a free market system as well, but the emphasis is on profitability by efficiency and being challenged to out produce the competition. The emphasis is not on me. Okay, I can buy that, said Bill. The major difference between capitalism and the free market is that capitalism is antifree market. It is all about the profitability to the capitalistthe guy who supplies the capital. It is about more and more for me. If there is only a perceived limited amount of resources, that means if I want more, there will be less for you. Who cares about you? It is all about me, the capitalist. I am Caesar. Again, you have learned very well. These are people who are all about themselves. I gave you a job so it would be nice if you kissed my ass once in a while attitude. Yes, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, and others came up with wonderful ideas, but it was the work, sacrifice, skills, and dedication of many others who brought those mass fortunes into being. These are egomaniacs who are addicted to money, power, and influence. Just like Pompey the Great who made a massive fortune from the hardships of others personal disasters. Wasnt it Pompey himself who came up with the advertising accolade of Great? Yes he did as did Michael Jacksons promoters naming Michael the King of Pop. It is advertising. Elvis was named the King by fans and critics. Yes, and the ads catch on and are believed. So very true, but now, lets get back to my original thought. Capitalism is all about separation, segregation, and inequality. Think about it. You have classes assigned in the very definition of the word. You have the Capitalist who supplies the capital and thus claims his profitskind of like a kid who doesnt get his way. If he doesnt get his way, hell take his ball and go home. Wow, you see that all the time with these huge corporations. If the workers demand more of a share, the capitalist just higher Chinese who are forced to work at a literal gun point. There is no such thing as an American Companyall companies are privately owned. That is why I have always preached about employee ownership or coops. Makes sense, but lets again, return to your original thought. I am learning so much today, remarked Bill.

It is simple. Capitalism is all about whats in it for me. A capitalist is the one with the advantage. Just look at contracts; there are always terms and conditions. If you dont like it, thats too bad. I am big and powerful enough that I will get someone elses business. In order to maximize profits, you need inequalities. You need separation. Just look around you. Everyone has been taught to think of themselves. They all believe that amassing a huge amount of money will solve their problems. People are selling out their beliefs, their families, their religions, their ethics, and their relationships every single day to acquire money. Look at how many marry for money or status. They need us to be thinking of ourselves. They need us to be separated. If we worked together, we may find that we dont need them. If we looked out for each others wellbeing, we would have to rely on them less and less. If we learned that it is more important to have friends and family than things, the capitalist might actually have to work. What you are saying from this and the last time we talkedwhen we talked about prisonis that they would like us to be like Nazi Germany, Soviet Russia, or Pyongyang where everyone is suspicious of everyone else and no one knows who they can trust so they turn their total allegiance to the plutocracy. They in turn live a nice long wonderful life full of the finest that is available. Loyalty to Caesar is so important in capitalism. By keeping us afraid and separated, they can count on our loyalty to keep each other in check so that they dont have to hire armies as in the old days of nobility to keep the sheep in line and the capitalist on top enjoying the cream of our labors with little personal effort of his own. We give it readily to them with the hopes of being recognized and getting larger shares of table scraps. Why did you say capitalism is anti-free market? Capitalism is all about profit margins. To increase profit margins there are pressures on keeping prices at a maximum, revenue at a maximum, and costs down. To maximize profits and revenue, you need to penetrate as many markets as possible. To penetrate well, you must keep prices and costs in line with what the local markets can afford. In the long run, the various margins of both balance out. But the main thing is to keep it all flowing. To stay in one place or to offer a limited choice can create stagnation. You need growth and excitement. So you are forced to penetrate all the markets that you can. To maintain your personal life standard, you must continuously look for opportunities and growremember, these are people who want more and more. They are addicted to money and power just as a drug addict is addicted to heroin. And in the wake of the growth, many smaller businesses are driven out of the market. That is why when we travel from city to city throughout the nation, we see all the same stores and businesses. Eventually, we may only see one business in one industry in every city, said Sue thoughtfully.

Just like the ultimate monopoly or capitalist dream worlda Marxist state like North Korea. Yeah, it is amazing how things have been so distorted and twisted that very little is what it truly is anymore. Well, please finish with your thoughts on Ledbetters letter. Think of all we have just talked about. Mitt wont respond because he knows who butters his bread. Caesar, responded Bill with a smile. Exactly, to give true equality would be very problematic for capitalist. The Civil Rights Movement already hurt them. Before they could hire African Americans for a fraction of what they were paying whites. It was legal and it helped to keep profit margins strong. This letter is asking Mitt to go to his masters and tell them to please be a little more caring of others and share. They are backing him with the idea that they will make them richer. Wow, this addiction must be serious. It is. Think about it. Leopold II of Belgium had everything of comfort that anyone could possibly imagine in his time. He would have been lucky to have known what sweat was. Yet, it was not enough. He had to take over central Africa and turn it into a wide awake nightmare of a living hell for the people there so that he could have more. Nazi Germany too, Hitler was a monster, but like Mitt, you have to wonder who his masters were. Who was the big money that backed the Nazi movement? You know it had to be the big industrialist. The Nazis got rid of the main enemies of capitalism; unions, communists, anyone who was smart enough and brave enough to point out things like Ledbetter, and unity. True, all loyalty went to the party and not to each other. No one could trust anyone but the party and their companies. All loyalty was to the party and companies. Anyone who stood up for others were shipped off to places like Dachau. Everyone was afraid, shopping, and looking out for just themselves. A Capitalist dream world, no, Mitt wont respond because he wants to play it down for his masters. He wants to keep them happy by keeping their profit margins healthy, growing, and strong. I see what you are saying. He is all about making them happy so that his table scrap will be the presidencyhis addiction along with the fiscal prosperity he hopes to achieve after his term. The only hope for Ledbetters concern is for a strong united front of the people. That is why capitalist are so afraid of communism that they would back someone like Hitler, Peron, Battista, the Shah of Iran, or Pinochet. If the people would only realize that communism is all

about helping one another, unity, equality, understanding, sharing, caring, for friends, family, neighbors, each other and if the people actually did that, the capitalist would tremble. That is why they are so afraid of individuals like Ledbetter. Unity and equality would dissolve profit margins. The capitalist might have to break a sweat to support themselves instead of just sitting back and enjoying the fruit of others labor. I understand completely now. You do support Ledbetters proposal, but in todays society, you dont think that it will do any good unless people wake up and take back their nation, their communities, and their lives. They wont. Everyone has been conditioned to being afraid and thinking of only themselves. They dont know how to anymore, they dont know who to trust. It could start if they would just reach out to their friends and neighbors and start to share and help. We need to unite. We need to help one another and share. It is what made this country great and strong, said Sue as she went back to her dicing, We need to be more rams and less sheep. Its funny that there was such a huge expense on distorting the truth about communism. They support every economical type except that because it is a system where the power is truly in the hands of the people and their communities. There would be very little need for the positions that make all of these power hungry money addicts happy. But yet, they do more to support places like the Peoples Republic and Vietnam. They are Marxist States, they are extreme forms of capitalism known as monopolies and their respective plutocracies enjoy a wonderful level of living from the labors of their people by selling it to the highest bidders. Those bids are still low enough to increase the profit margins. It is all about their money, not Mrs. Ledbetters. She is just a sheep that needs to remember her place in the herd. Render unto Caesar that which is Caesars and that to the Lord which is the Lord, said Bill smiling. Kiss me, you fool, said Sue as she got up and jumped onto Bills lap.