[One of my oldest and closest friends, Glenn Klotz, is also one of the most politically liberal. Although I usually assume that many, if not most, of those on the left are factually impaired, that is surely not the case with Glenn. He is up on his facts, well read, and can hold his own in any argument. Following is a letter he wrote me when I challenged his heavy skepticism toward New Jersey’s new Governor, Chris Christie. I think the guy will be great for New Jersey, and that he may even prove to be presidential material. Glenn thinks he is just another Jersey pol who ultimately will favor the interests of Big Business over the little guy. RA]
The long and the short of my position politically these days is this: I’m not an ideologue of either the left or the right. I am however anti-Corporatist. As I see it, the problem in this country today, and in particular in New Jersey, is that BIG is everything. Big Business. Big Government. Together, the two dominate the landscape to the exclusion of anything or anyone else. With their overwhelming political power, economic clout and their sheer size, these dinosaur-sized Enterprises and Orgs, both public and private, are squeezing out smaller public and private businesses and institutions. On the private side, you could call it the “Wal-Mart-ization of America” if you like; and on the public side, the tyranny of Big Government over all that is small.
Now, why do I say the tyranny over the small and not the large? Simply because I believe statistics and facts show that in America today, size counts when it comes to how you are treated by public-sector regulators, law enforcement and, especially, politicians. In New Jersey today, and nationally, there is a phrase that sums it up: “The Public/Private Partnership”. The political servants of both parties – corporatists, all — have been promoting this as a good thing for the country, but is it? I believe not. The revolving door lies at the heart of this odious idea, and I know plenty of people who move through these doors — from public agencies to private companies to boardrooms. This used to be called corruption, but these days we seem to accept it as a – LOL! — public virtue to be desired. The result of this so-called partnership in New Jersey and many other states is the near death of small business. Big Corporations such as the ones that run the Atlantic City Casinos are an example. Contrary to what you might think or have heard about the casinos being heavily regulated, they have in fact been given every kind of break — from having their own ABC (Alcoholic Beverage Commission), to endless tax easements, all with very little oversight by the State of New Jersey ( no matter what you may have read to the contrary).
Killing the Golden Goose
I could cite many other large enterprises as examples of how this corporatist model works pervasively. And, again, contrary to what you have heard or read, New Jersey doesn’t have a problem with Big Business, which is neither overregulated nor overtaxed; it is small businesses that are both over regulated and over taxed – nearly to death — and this is the real reason why New Jersey is considered such a poor a place for business start-ups. As for the Public side of the equation, I agree that the relatively generous wages, extravagant pension and health plans so common in the public sector are leading toward disaster. But things got this way because New Jersey killed the golden goose (i.e., small businesses), and because Big Business dominates the State. You can take my word for it. I’ve been to meetings where I’ve heard the pols swear that New Jersey loves Big and hates small anything, business-wise. No matter what either party says, this is how the state’s policies have worked out. So don’t get so excited about [New Jersey’s new Gov. Chris Christie]. He’s just another Corporatist politician that thinks everything will be fine if you just feed the top 2% .
Incidentally, the article you sent me from National Review is dead wrong when it asserts that the rich have fled New Jersey. It’s simply not true. New Jersey has some of the wealthiest suburbs in the country and is filled with wealthy people who want their taxes cut by this Governor because they — like everyone else in New Jersey — feel overtaxed, Overtaxed they are not, though. It is the average slob who is heavily overtaxed. And here’s the problem: If you say the whole mess is the fault of the Public sector, and you react by laying off tens of thousands of teachers, cops, firemen, etc, then the economy will go even deeper in-the-tank. All you will have done is set in motion a downward spiral when the people you have thrown out of work wind up competing with the rest of the 10% unemployed for whom there are no jobs and little hope at the moment .
Wage Freeze Needed
What’s needed, in my opinion, is a wage freeze for all public employees and a re-examination of benefits that everyone agrees are way out of line. On the private side, I’d lower business taxes for all small business ( i.e., fewer than 25 workers) immediately, and also end the sales tax on the services and products provided by these companies. We especially need to encourage young people to open new businesses of every kind in New Jersey, and to give them help in getting started. As things stand, we discourage this; instead, the Corporatists think these folks should either see jobs at Big Companies, or opt for Public jobs (few and far between right now). So we’re locked into a bad place, with little job-creation because all the air ($$) has been sucked out of the room by the public sector for, yes, overly generous pay and benefits; or by large private-sector companies, most notably healthcare firms, insurers, Big Pharma and chemical companies.
As you know, I am not a Reaganite believer in voodoo economics, in that I’m a Progressive. I firmly believe that we had a vibrant “middle class” in this country only because the government created ways to re-distribute income south rather than north. Trickle-down doesn’t work, in my opinion – in fact, does work just the opposite from how it is billed. Attempts over the last generation to grow the economy by making the rich richer have failed the test. All the statistics show that over the course of the last 30 years, despite solid Corporatist politics and voodoo economic policies, the average wage earner has gotten far worse, and wealth distribution is back to what it was in 1928, just prior to the Great Depression. Like the old Progressives of Teddy Roosevelt’s time, and of the FDR era, I believe, as J. Paul Getty once said, that money is like manure –- you have to spread it around or nothing grows. The problem today is that too few good jobs are being created, and that too many obscenely wealthy people aren’t investing in America or its future.
Fortune 500 Rules
Both political parties are wholly-owned subsidiaries of the Fortune 500, and I blame them both for following Corporatist-inspired policies. I laugh when I hear the Right call Obama a Socialist. I wish he were; alas his behavior and his polices speak otherwise. He’s a solid Corporatist if ever there were one. He is in word and deed to the right of Nixon. LOL! Okay, so from a right-winger’s point of view I’m a Commie. But let me ask you this: Do Commies promote small business? We do! Look at China, where there are more small start-ups than everywhere else on the planet combined! How is this possible? It appears the Chinese Communists are more Capitalistic then we are right now, and maybe we should look at why? Anyway, I also believe we need some more large cooperative-type enterprises where workers run and manage their companies. Another Commie idea that seems to be working pretty well today where it has been put into practice.
As for New Jersey, Gov. Christie is popular, but not because of his policies. In fact they are not popular, even if he is. How is this seeming paradox possible? Well, New Jersey voters like strong, male leaders. The people want a Tony Soprano, Mussolini-type at the helm, especially Conservatives who believe in top-down leadership rather than consensus government. The problem for Christie is that he has a Democratic Assembly and Senate to deal with, and they’re going to sabotage him at every turn. Why? Simply because that’s how the game is played in New Jersey. So don’t expect much to change in this state. Christie will end up banging his head against many immovable objects in New Jersey politics, and he will eventually either give up ( the usual route for New Jersey pols) or he’ll compromise his principles away, end up feeding the Corporatist beast as always seems to happen here.
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I have to agree. We work with two big companies that have just about put us out of business. We have them on anti trust, accounting fraud and securities fraud but can’t find a law firm to take the case because the big boys will just tie us up with legal fees. Like Clinton, they blatantly commit these crimes because they can. Until small businesspeople unite and educate their employees, the plunder of America will continue. Let’s hope that there is something left for us to rebuild with once the house of cards collapses.