Are you better off now than you were four years ago? If you’re an American corporation, of course you are! While the Great Recession has made life tough for the vast majority of Americans, the bigs have been booking record profits the whole time. That includes Koch Industries, whose president is now warning employees that they may be laid off if Obama wins a second term.
It’s that serious, folks. Apparently plutocrats like the Koch brothers have been keeping thousands of people on the payroll simply out of the kindness of their hearts. Yes, they were shocked and saddened when a majority of the fools voted for Obama the first time. And yes, the Great Socialist’s first term hasn’t been all that bad, profitwise. But if the little people insist on re-electing him, then no more Mr. Nice Guy.
The president of Koch Industries, Dave Robertson, raises the specter of crushing new taxes and regulation and new subsidies for Obama’s “cronies.” He doesn’t need to point out that the self-made Mitt Romney has no cronies. Romney, as we know, has firmly rejected all contributions from political groups funded by corporations — and that’s been tough, because corporate contributors are now running out of offshore storage space for all the cash earned during the last four years.
Seriously, it’s a problem. If you can’t buy elections, what else are you supposed to do with record profits? Hire people?
But it’s really not about the money. Koch Industries has done fine the past four years and would continue to do fine even with Hugo Chavez in the White House. It’s not about taxes and regulation; it’s about big people being able to tell little people what’s good for them. I think Dave Robertson and his employers have earned that right, don’t you?
By the way, for a loving portrait of the Koch brothers and their quest to dominate save America, see this story in the Wichita Eagle.
Thoroughly moderate Mitt
The Man can’t hear you
No time to go wobbly, John
The promises they make
Maybe somebody will throw up
The Koch brothers are desperately trying to buy Arkansas’ legislature this political season. As if getting formaldehyde in one of our beautiful lakes wasn’t enough. I’m sure their goal is to repeal all environmental regulations so they can turn “The Natural State” into The Toxic State for their personal gain.
I hadn’t heard this about the Koch brothers, but Arthur Allen, CEO of ASG Software Solutions sent an email to his workers that they would lose their jobs if Obama won re-election. David Siegel, CEO of Westgate Resorts did the same thing. I guess it’s easier (and cheaper) to use fear and intimidation to influence an election than to just buy it outright.
The Wichita Eagle story has this line:
“Fink told them bluntly that Obama’s administration represented the worst of what Charles and David fear most: a bloated, regulation-heavy, free-spending government…”
So I take it that they’re worried about regulations, because the rest of it sounds like exactly what politicians on both sides constantly strive for (regardless of what they may claim).
And can we all agree to ban the phrase “job creators”? As you point out, record profits are not being used to hire more workers, they are going into the executives’ pockets.