#100 - Crony Capitalism
The latest news in the Bush administration's secretive maneuvers to undermine the public good is that they have laid off many of the Internal Revenue Service tax estate lawyers who audit the very richest Americans (you may need to log in or purchase this article, but you will not be taxed for looking at it). You know it's bad when you are rooting for the I.R.S. and for lawyers.
What this article reminded me of is that the ideology of the Bush administration is ultimately not preemptive strikes, neo-conservatism, compassionate conservatism (remember that one?), merging church and state, or even getting reelected. The driving motive for this administration is and has always been good, old-fashioned crony capitalism, pure and simple.
Whether channeling zillion-dollar, no-bid government contracts to the Halliburton elite in exchange for mismanagement and outright fraud or repealing the estate tax or reducing the enforcement power of government over the environment, our food, or collecting taxes, the Bush administration is about separating the super-rich from the rest. When all else fades to tatters and meaningless chatter, this is the guiding principle of the current regime.
PS Another good recent article about this topic.
24 July 2006