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Paul B. Farrell
March 29, 2011, 12:01 a.m. EDT
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New Civil War erupts, led by super rich, GOP
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Why spending data should hurt, not help, stocks
By Paul B. Farrell, MarketWatch
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. (MarketWatch) "” Yes, tax the Super Rich. Tax them now. Before the other 99% rise up, trigger a new American Revolution, a meltdown and the Great Depression 2.
Revolutions build over long periods "” to critical mass, a flash point. Then they ignite suddenly, unpredictably. Like Egypt, started on a young Google executive's Facebook page. Then it goes viral, raging uncontrollably. Can't be stopped. Here in America the set-up is our nation's pervasive "Super-Rich Delusion."
A splinter group is blamed for smashing windows and attacking police vans as tens of thousands march against government cuts.
We know the Super Rich don't care. Not about you. Nor the American public. They can't see. Can't hear. Stay trapped in their Forbes-400 bubble. An echo chamber that isolates them. They see the public as faceless workers, customers, taxpayers. See GOP power on the ascent. Reaganomics is back. Unions on the run. Clueless masses are easily manipulated.
Even Obama is secretly working with the GOP, will never touch his Super Rich donors. Yes, the Super-Rich Delusion is that powerful, infecting all America.
Here's how one savvy insider who knows described this Super-Rich Delusion: "The top 1% live privileged lives, aren't worried about much. Families vacation at the best resorts. Their big concerns are finding the best Pilates teacher, best masseuse, best surgeons, best private schools. They aren't concerned with the underlying deterioration of America or the world, except in the abstract, because they aren't directly affected by it. That's not to say they aren't sympathetic, aware, or don't talk about the issues you bring up. They are largely concerned with protecting and enhancing their socio-economic positions, ensuring their families live well. And nothing you write about will change things."
Warning, in 2011 that attitude is delusional, deadly, yet pervasive in America.
Our top 1% honestly believe they're immune, protected from the unintended consequences of beating down average Americans for three decades with the free-market, trickle-down Reaganomics doctrines that made them Super Rich.
They honestly believe those same doctrines will protect them in the next depression. Why? Because they have megabucks stashed away. Provisions for the long haul. Live in gated compounds with mercenaries guarding them.
They believe they'll continue living just fine in a depression. But you won't. Nor will your retirement. Neither will the rest of America. And still the Super Rich don't care, "except in the abstract, because they aren't directly affected."
Warning: The Super-Rich Delusion has pushed us to the edge of a great precipice: Remember the Roaring Twenties? The Crash of 1929? Great Depression? Just days before the crash one leading economist, Irving Fisher, predicted that stocks had "reached what looks like a permanently high plateau."
Yes, he was trapped in the "Great Gatsby Syndrome," an earlier version of today's Super-Rich Delusion. It was so blinding in 1929 that the president, Wall Street, all America were sucked in "¦ until the critical mass hit a mysterious flash point, triggering the crash.
Yes, we're reliving that past "” never learn, can't hear. And oddly it's not just the GOP's overreach, the endlessly compromising Obama, too-greedy-to-fail Wall Street banksters, U.S. Chamber of Commerce billionaires and arrogant Forbes 400. America's entire political, financial and economic psyche is infected, as if our DNA has been rewired.
The Collective American Brain is trapped in this Super-Rich Delusion, replaying the run-up to the '29 Crash.
Warning: Mubarak, Gaddafi, Ali, Assad, even the Saudis also lived in the Super-Rich Delusion. Have for a long time. Were vulnerable. Ripe for a revolution. They, too, honestly believed they were divinely protected, chosen for great earthly wealth, enjoyed great armies.
Paul Farrell writes the column on behavioral economics. He's the author of nine books on personal finance, economics and psychology, including "The Millionaire Code," "The Winning Portfolio," "The Lazy Person's Guide to Investing." Farrell was an investment banker with Morgan Stanley; executive vice president of the Financial News Network; executive vice president of Mercury Entertainment Corp; and associate editor of the Los Angeles Herald Examiner. He has a Juris Doctor and a Doctorate in Psychology.
Stocks rose Monday on what investors thought was strong economic news. Unfortunately, the report actually showed sluggish consumer spending, writes Rex Nutting.
12:32 p.m. March 28, 2011
"Tax the Super Rich now or face a revolution http://on.mktw.net/hmONLo" 12:09 a.m. EDT, March 29, 2011 from MKTWFarrell
"New Civil War erupts, led by super rich, GOP http://on.mktw.net/eRBaOu" 6:01 a.m. EDT, March 22, 2011 from MKTWFarrell
"Toxic Charlie Sheen virus infects Wall Street http://on.mktw.net/dRvVjl" 11:33 p.m. EDT, March 14, 2011 from MKTWFarrell
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