Update: 1 16 2025: Biden's farewell address: his warning about oligarchs' rule destroying democracy: Biden delivers farewell address, warns of 'oligarchy' taking shape in America | AP News
Update: 2/112025 https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5129353-gop-support-for-musk-influence-with-trump-falls-dramatically-poll/
Update: 1 27 2025. The left thinks Biden should be indicted for letting the billionaires get rich during his term, so he calls them oligarchs. Here is where this "indictment" went off the rails. Yes, the ultra-rich billionaires rose, but it took more than 4 years. That is not the issue: the issue is what the billionaires are doing, which is to take over the political power of the nation, having already conquered the economic power. When they merit an office in the West Wing and whisper daily into Trump's ear, that is when they leap from just a billionaire to oligarchdom. In fact, they are even more powerful than the oligarchs supporting Putin, who simply kills them off if they misbehave. The oligarchs put Putin in power, and once there, Putin kicked them out of his government. That may be the fate of the oligopoly under Trump, too. However, Trump is still consolidating his power and needs their help. Our version deserves the title of oligarch because of their political roles, which lifts them above the other extremely rich. They are robber barons, ok. Not just deserving that indictment as monopolists and vulture capitalists, they have branched out by trying to get more tax relief and do away with environmental and consumer protections and social programs to balance off their assault on the treasury. They stand ready and willing to buy any politician who stands in their way. The political power they now have is what needs to be indicted, along with Trump giving them the seat of honor at his table.
Update: 1 /14/2025
I picked up a disturbing line in last Monday's Rachel Maddow show: " We have already lost our democracy. " . My follow-up question is: Can we get it back, and how can we? Ideas, comments? My own thoughts are that on November 5, 2024, 49.9 of voters handed over governance to this country to an autocracy, fed and influenced by oligarchs, and enabled by his Supreme Court to give him immunity from prosecution for criminal acts while performing his official duties.On January 21, 2025, Trump will finalize the takeover by signing 100 executive orders, mostly concerning the implementation of Project 2025, an attempt to place all power in the hands of the executive branch, and reduce the influence of the two other branches by appointees and threats, including violence. The business community is already falling all over themselves bending their knees, ending DEI, and ending fact-checking, mostly out of fear of the abuse of power, from the DOJ and regulatory agencies.
Continuing the original 12/17/2024 post:Trump's reliance on oligarch contributions to his campaign and his fawning, and surrounding himself, his cabinet, and his advisers with the current crop of the ultra-rich is ripe for a resistance campaign issue for the midterms. Trump's rule by an administration filled with billionaires that he is planning for his next act is a gift to Democrats as they plot strategy for the midterms in 2026 to get back those working-class voters they lost in 2024. Democrats can and should make a bigger deal of class warfare. It is low-hanging fruit, obvious and visible, and Democrats have a tradition and a credible track record of supporting the middle class ' pocketbook interests.
From my blog posting 1/13/2025 :If we have lost our democracy, can we get it back? Preserving and restoration of democracy is not an effective pitch to motivate voters. We just got a lesson in that. In fact, at the risk of stating the obvious, what works is understanding and illustrating what voters feel in their lives and directing messaging to their real-life concerns. If democracy is mentioned, it should be that democracy will and can be the best vehicle to reflect and fix the problems important to "ordinary people" rather than an out-of-control kleptocracy and corruption of a Trump autocracy.
The problem is that in 2024, the fear of the loss of democracy was not taken seriously, not understood, nor urgent, and not relevant to everyday life, in spite of the Democrats making Trump's threat to democracy a major campaign issue. Experience is the best teacher if the connection between who and what is at fault can be made and voters are made aware of how they have been hurt. If and when Trump fails to deliver on such promises as rolling back grocery prices, keeping gas at the pump affordable, stopping inflation, and making health care and general living more affordable, will those swing voters, the non-racist motivated ones, be receptive to the message and will the pendulum swing the other way. The trust in Trump, that whatever he does that is good for him is good for you and me too, is a bond that needs to be broken. Trump will continue to win the race-sensitive part of the MAGA block with his anti-DEI, Project 2025 White nationalist agenda, and cruel immigration policies.
GOP priorities regarding tax policy are designed to make the rich richer by extending the tax cuts the rich love. Either they blow the hole bigger than now in the deficit or cut social programs that benefit the middle class and the working poor. Health care, social security and Medicare are targets, among others. This one issue alone is ripe for class warfare. The burning question Democrats need to ask at every opportunity is "How does that benefit whom" and they need to then be ready to point out their alternatives. The GOP has been handed a gift: recovery from COVID-19, putting the breaks on inflation, and jobs for everyone who more or less paid enough to keep up with inflation. Now, let us see what they do with that.
This is a good summary of the GOP's legislative agenda: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/
The most damaging blow to democracy was Citizens United where contributions could be hidden by corporations in lobby and interest groups and political committees. We used to be able to see who contributed. Now they are hidden thanks to the absurd Scotus opinion corporations are people and have rights Musk was brazen. Nothing hidden there:$ 277 million. https://www.msn.com/.../elon-musk-put-277-million-into... If there is one change that would help democracy survive as it was meant to be, it would be to undo the Citizens United opinion. The other would be to undo political gerrymandering, another bad Scotus opinion. This permits those with money to determine the outcome of representative bodies by threatening to provide enough money to "primary" someone who steps out of line. Musk just did it. Republicans dismiss Elon Musk's threats after bill rejection
This is not just a USA problem, but a world one. Update 1 20 2025: Billionaire wealth surged in 2024, says Oxfam as world leaders meet for Davos
Update 1 16 2025: Those who own the message media can control minds. The oligarchs are well on their way to doing it:
Mark Zuckerberg Drops DEI And Fact Checking - Search News
Donald Trump has threatened to shut down broadcasters, but can he?
Elon Musk, a person who could fit the definition of an oligarch, has recently become Trump's alter ego. Now that Elon Musk seems to be running the transition and Trump sits in Mar A Lago nodding his head, Musk deserves real scrutiny. Do we really want that powerful influence over Trump by Musk, who is revealing himself as a neo-Nazi sympathizer? He just congratulated the AFD party in Germany for its recent showing and called it the savior of Germany, a party widely recognized by many as a neo-nazi party. It should not come as a surprise. Trump has given American neo-Nazis a public platform since taking over Twitter (now X).
He is under scrutiny by the Securities and Exchange Commission for failing to comply with the SEC rules in his purchase of X. https://www.cnbc.com/2025/01/14/sec-sues-musk-alleges-failure-to-properly-disclose-twitter-ownership.html In the newTrump regime, we should be watching what happens with this suit and whether it is dropped.
Some (writing opinions) even think Musk wants to rule the world. This would explain his meddling in other countries' affairs. We used to dismiss a person who pulls the world's strings as nothing but a paranoid delusion. That thought the Musk would attempt to be such a force is frightening. Elon Musk seeks to install himself as global dictator – and 'so far it's working': expert
Update: 1 14 2025 In reaction to rumors that Musk is considering buying TikTok and Zuckerberg caved into Trump and stopped fact-checking on Facebook, this is very important; non-profit media is launching an effort to keep social media out of the hands of billionaires. In the meantime, like never before, social media should be treated as people's opinions but not as a source of credible facts and data. My policy is to list the sources of my facts and data cite and what is influencing my opinions on my blog or on social media postings. https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/a-30-million-campaign-to-free-social-media-from-billionaire-control-is-now-underway/
In 2024, Democrats raised the fear that oligarchs would damage democracy (https://mufticforumblog.blogspot.com/2024/10/democracy-has-oligarch-problem.html) and instead made combatting MAGA's extreme positions on choice and minority rights and other cultural issues their prime issues.Harris did her best to talk about grocery and gas prices and the high cost of housing and presented some constructive ideas to deal with it, but Trump, the ever real estate promoter and con man, sounded more credible, pointed to low prices pre COVID to make America great again though he had no plans. We know how that turned out. We also know he can't deliver, already saying" it is too hard to do it." Now, in Trump.2 it appears that the middle class and working families will also be the victims of the oligarch influence over Trump.
The rule of billionaires in this second Trump administration is likely to be Trump's Achilles heel. Dems can take aim at those super-rich to the extent that billionaires 1) do not know what wage earners have to do to make ends meet and 2) don't care because they only see public policy good that increases their wealth in tax policy and deregulation. 3) Billionaires often see offsetting the cost of their tax cuts and the damage of doing that by cutting social security health care, feeding the poor, etc, that make the middle-class and working poor's lives easier. Therein lies the reasons Dems can and should engage in class warfare as a contrast to their policies that help wage earners and, the middle class and the needy. They have a track record of advocating, supporting, and protecting the middle class that the GOP does not have. Trump's billionaire appointees plan is a new opportunity ripe for attack not available to Democrats in 2024.
https://mufticforumblog.blogspot.com/2024/11/resistance-is-not-enough-democrats-have.html
HOW BILLIONAIRES GET POLITICAL INFLUENCE
Post 2024 election, the billionaire contributions to Trump continued per this meme, data unverified but worthy of attention: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/18SyzrraVK/
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BILLIONAIRES AND OLIGARCHS Are all billionaires oligarchs? I have my own take on that. Oligarchs are those who participate in an oligarchy. is an interesting evolution of the usage of the word oligarchs that has roots in economic terms, in how many limited numbers of companies control a "market', or specific sectors of the economy.
Oligarchs also wield more power than just in business. They are politically involved and control more than one power center, such as the media and political positions, informal or formal. An oligarch is now most frequently associated with political power. Not all billionaires are oligarchs, but an oligarch is usually a billionaire or at least a multi-millionaire.
However, Putin's regime is supported by what Russians call oligarchs...very rich Russians who act on Putin's behalf (or meet unfortunate deaths if they do not). It has become more of a political term than a business/market term. The term oligarch resembles the US. It has become a political description of a billionaire tied up in political power that resembles the Russian counterparts. I see it in that context.
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Is Trump an oligarch? If not, he is at least an aspiring one. He acts like one and surrounds himself with bonafide ones to such an extent that at least he appears to treat them as his peer group. Recently, in the passage of the continuing resolution for keeping the government open and his failure to get what he wanted (ending the debt ceiling), he looked like he bowed to his peer, Elon Musk, and Musk's attempt to blow up the bi-partisan deal reached earlier.
This is a potential issue, and to the extent those like Elon Musk and others hurt ordinary Americans, it needs to be followed closely. It also depends upon the messaging skills of Democrats to make the connection, to date, at best, poor. The opportunity is there. Not only is it a class clash, but it also has practical consequences that will hurt Americans in their gut of pocketbook issues. If what the oligarchs do appears to be self-serving, wealth-building while the rest of us take it on the chin can become a major issue. It is especially ripe if what appears to ordinary people is that those like Musk who proposes hurting and cutting out federal programs such as Obamacare and Social Security, consumer protections from abusive business practices and unsafe products are the oligarch's way of offsetting the tax cuts and regulatory requirements.
Is Elon Musk an oligarch? He fits my definition of an oligarch, and he is an example of one who attempts to influence political policy and candidates to benefit him. Musk controls many sectors, including automotive EVs. social media via Twitter/X , and space exploration.He seems to think at this moment that he also controls Congress, the executive branch, and the GOP. MAGA seems willing to dance to his tune. The significance of the House vote on whether to shut down the government or fund it on December 20 was that even Elon could not control that. Trump looked like he, too, was dancing to Musk's tune, following his lead on the budget ceiling, which both Musk and Trump failed to get it included in the final version.
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Musk proposes to cut out the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau so he can avoid regulation when he turns X( formerly Twitter) into a consumer bank and service site. He also wants to destroy reports of Tesla crashes. Bad for business. (per an expose by Rachel Maddow 12/16/2024) and Trump team set to end key vehicle safety rule opposed by Elon Musk's Tesla: report So now the oligarchs are proposing to cut the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau over outrage that $35 late fee is being reduced to $5 in the waning days of the Biden administration. The yelp from the finance companies over this outrageous money/profit generation that screwed consumers is heard on FOX. Whose side is MAGA on? The finance companies or their loyal consumers? Obviously, those getting screwed by this are the consumers; those demanding this profit center are the finance companies. Let's see how this one plays out.https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/cfpb-has-been-an-absolute-disaster-ej-antoni-explains-what-doge-should-cut-first/
Google AI summary: AI Overview
Credit card late fees are a major source of profit for some financial services companies. In 2022, credit card issuers collected over $14 billion in late fees, which was more than 10% of the $130 billion in interest and fees charged to consumers.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) recently finalized a rule that caps credit card late fees at $8 for the largest credit card issuers. The average late fee before the rule was $32. The CFPB estimates that the new rule will save Americans an average of $220 per year.
Now that Elon Musk seems to be running the transition and Trump sits in Mar A Lago nodding his head, Musk deserves real scrutiny. Do we really want that powerful influence over Trump by Musk, who is a neo-Nazi sympathizer? Are there other dark corners in Musk's head? This one should set off some alarm bells: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/20/world/europe/elon-musk-afd-germany.html He just congratulated the AFD party in Germany for its recent showing and called it the savior of Germany, a party widely recognized by many as a neo-nazi party. It is anti-immigrant to the extreme. How the Magdeburg Christmas Market mass killing affects German views of immigrants just might become even more extreme since the accused perp was an immigrant from Saudi Arabia Germany Christmas Market Attack: How Saudi Arabia Responded - Newsweek It appears that Musk even sees himself as the Secretary of State or Trump's mouthpiece on the Magdeburg, AFD issue. Is he or is he also not in charge of Trump's foreign policy? He told the German president he was a fool and ought to resign. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/elon-musk-s-controversial-demand-after-magdeburg-tragedy/ar-AA1wh6dx?
Musk's X (formerly Twitter) let neo Nazi's have a flourishing platform
HOW BILLIONAIRES GET POLITICAL INFLUENCE
"The single biggest target of billionaire campaign spending has been the historically tight presidential race. Nearly $600 million was spent in support of the two major presidential candidates, either through their respective fundraising committees or super PACs spending on their behalf (see below). The great bulk of that money backed former president and current Republican nominee Donald Trump, who benefited from over $450 million of billionaire donations–more than three times as much as Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee, who was the beneficiary of $143 million of billionaire contributions. That’s a 75%-25% split in Trump’s favor. " Billionaire Clans Spend Nearly $2 BILLION On 2024 Elections - Americans For Tax Fairness
Musk recently just threatened to use his money to "primary" candidates, Democrats and Republicans who do not fall in line in 2026.
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