Consent Of The Governed

I found this quote from Marriner Eccles, written in 1933 on "Naked Capitalism". Basically, this is what FDR did, and the rich have hated him ever since.

"It is utterly impossible, as this country has demonstrated again and again, for the rich to save as much as they have been trying to save, and save anything that is worth saving. They can save idle factories and useless railroad coaches; they can save empty office buildings and closed banks; they can save paper evidences of foreign loans; but as a class they can not save anything that is worth saving, above and beyond the amount that is made profitable by the increase of consumer buying. It is for the interests of the well to do – to protect them from the results of their own folly – that we should take from them a sufficient amount of their surplus to enable consumers to consume and business to operate at a profit. This is not “soaking the rich”; it is saving the rich. Incidentally, it is the only way to assure them the serenity and security which they do not have at the present moment."

Here's another little quote from that blog (Naked Capitalism) contained in a post about how Greece, Iceland, and others, have opposed foreclosures:

"Ultimately, government relies on the consent of the governed. Even the Soviet Union in its most authoritarian days was able to keep up aggressive suppression and purges up only for a few years. East Germany famously relied on the Stasi, which were effectively citizen enforcers. A broke country like Greece can’t afford the security apparatus to bulldoze its citizenry.".

It's time for our leaders to begin to understand this. Small scale demonstrations like "Occupy Wall Street" will only grow. Suppression of those sentiments will only lead to a far larger upheaval at some future date -- unless the underlying reasons are dealt with. "Consent of the governed" is ALWAYS the operative concept.

Please follow link to original on "Naked Capitalism"