The influence of kings has not disappeared. Kings, queens and chiefs all evolved along the same path. Back in the old days people banded together for protection. In basic societies, the strongest, most powerful and smartest took control. In return for providing protection this person got to live off the efforts of the others in the group.  Kings, for the most part, are gone but the function of the powerful living off others continues.

Today, billionaires are the new kings. I have explained rent seeking on other occasions. Basically it amounts to using political power to privately impose taxes on society in general. In the days when kings did this, they did at least provide protection.  Today government taxes the population but corporations and certain rich individuals also tax to the overall population.  This presents a problem with lowering or eliminating the corporate income tax. A corporate tax of 35% sounds high and it is when compared to corporate taxes imposed in other countries. American corporations have the power to levy taxes as well as bear a responsibility to pay taxes. Obamacare is a good example of a tax imposed by corporations.  Corporations use political power, literally, to extract money out of the people who occupy the country. Make no mistake, when corporations get laws passed to pay them simply because they exist, that is a tax in every sense of the word.

What we are seeing in the 2016 election process are billionaires panicking over the prospect of loosing their king privileges. It has been long observed that human beings will go to greater extremes to hold on to what they have than they will to gain something new. As the fall election gets closer, the efforts of the rent seekers to hold on to power will become totally viscous.  The common word used to describe these folks is “the establishment.” Do not be surprised at attempts on the lives of candidates they cannot control. Should Americans wise up and unseat a large number of incumbents, do not expect them to leave. Chances are just as good that the president will declare martial law for a transition period and then never end up making the transition.

The establishment, as they are called, have no moral compass and will stoop to murder, theft, violence  or any other method to hold on their enormous power.