“Civil government, so far as it is instituted for the security of property, is in reality instituted for the defense of the rich against the poor, or of those who have some property against those who have none at all.” __Adam Smith
Today, to become and remain a billionaire, it is necessary to use power and influence to control government. All who recommend free market principles are not inclined to adhere to free market principles personally. Any individual is better off being free from free market constrains at the same time others are bound by these principles. All make the effort to do so but only the rich have the money and power to take over government and turn their desires into reality. There is only one way to maximize economic growth and level the income distribution.
The benefits of the rich commandeering government extend down to about the top forty percent or so of income earners. The largest benefit is concentrated at the very top. The bottom 60 percent suffer without knowing the cause. Our troops overseas are there to preserve and promote crony capitalism. Young men and women in uniform die on behalf of cronyism. The interests of billionaires are worldwide, and their efforts to rig markets cover the globe. Many who dictate U.S. policy live in other countries. There are the acknowledged governments of the world and then there are the interests of those who have the wealth to dictate policy. Those are the elite of the world and they operate very much like a shadow government that controls all of the others. Whether it is that way by virtue of a conspiracy or the natural playing out of common incentives doesn’t matter. The system is in place.
What is important to remember, is that crony capitalism it is a natural occurrence. Self interest is part of every one of life’s activities. In economic activities, self interest trumps all other incentives. It makes sense that highly intelligent aggressive people would use government or anything else as a means to achieve their goals and aspirations. The poor would do the same but they lack the wits and adeptness to do these kinds of things.
The founding fathers anticipated certain difficulties in basing a government on democratic principles. Crony capitalism is something that went under their radar. Also, we must remember that the founders were the elites of their time. They were practitioners of their time. Before the start of the Revolutionary War, as little as ten percent of the population had grievances with England. By the end of the war, about thirty percent were supportive of the effort. American soldiers were mostly fighting for their lives, food and a little money. The elite were fighting for wealth, power and a way to get more. Without exception wars start for this reason. The poor only see danger in external threats, so they march off in droves to die for causes they don’t understand.
So where does this leave us? There is little chance of solving problems without some insight into their causes. There is hope. When common people experience consistent discomfort, they can and will challenge government. The suffering will be forthcoming. This is what happened during the Vietnam War era. Civil rights is another example. In extreme circumstances ordinary folks will rise up. There really is only one solution and that is in converting to a system where government imposes free market principles and ceases to be platform on which to rig markets.
Americans are a little concerned but are not aware of the gravity of the circumstances. Initially I decided not to use the term fascism because it bothers people, but that is what crony capitalism actually is. There are examples of countries which have died using that system. In the coming days we will see how everyone responds to the coming difficulties. When Americans are under stress, they normally ask for more government, even when government is the cause of the problem. This is what the Russians did after they killed the czar. To do anything better, they would have to know the true cause of their poor circumstances.

Subprime Neighborhood is a tune Curbside Jimmy wrote right ofter the 2008 mortgage crisis. It has been well received ever since.