Many, including President Obama, are throwing around the word Populism. The President is pounding the lectern as he campaigns for whom he calls the “ordinary people” and against the Wall Street “fat cats.” Populism is supposedly political ideas and activities that are intended to represent ordinary people's needs and wishes. The big question that might be asked is just who are these ordinary people? Some will argue that in modern society, fractured as it is into myriad interest groups and niches, any attempt to define the interests of the "ordinary people" will be so general as to be useless. Let us see if we can find some of these folks in a hypothetical little town in Illinois, population 1,000.
Mary Jones wants to build a microchip manufacturing plant in Pleasantville, Illinois. She is planning on hiring 300 employees, mostly white collar engineers and blue collar technicians. Most of the employees are married with husbands and wives who will be looking for employment in the area, and many have children that will attend school in the area. They will need housing, schools, banks, doctors, grocery stores, gas stations, restaurants, cell phones, electric lights, clothing stores, car dealerships, and access to the internet and radio and TV stations. Teachers will be employed at the schools, along with administrative personnel and cafeteria workers. Doctors will move into the area and hire nurses and office workers. The grocery stores will hire managers and clerks and butchers and bakers. The restaurants will hire cooks and waitresses, and the clothing stores will hire clerks and managers. If enough stores are needed by Mary’s employees then a Mall might appear, with movie theaters and food courts.
The residents of Pleasantville move into apartments or start looking for their dream homes, going to realtors such as Remax and Century 21 which are listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). The baker goes to the car dealership to purchase a van to transport baked goods, a dealer in Ford products which is also listed on the NYSE. Trucks from out of town bring in everything from gasoline to french fries, representing companies such as Knight Transportation, also traded on the NYSE. Trains stop and bring fruits and vegetables from California and Mexico and cars from Tennessee and Japan and office supplies and books and car parts and furniture: Companies such as the Burlington Northern Railroad Company, also traded on the NYSE.
Century 21 and Ford and Knight Transportation and the Burlington Northern Railroad are all companies whose boards of directors and shareholders are considered “fat cats” by President Obama. What the President does not understand is that these shareholders are school teachers, businessmen, doctors, pilots, and factory workers. More than 60% of the population of this country owns stock in companies that are publicly traded on Wall Street – are they all “fat cats?”
My question to you, Mr. President, is just who are the “ordinary people” that you are looking out for? You have said, “Democrats work for the little guys on Main Street while Republicans do the bidding of Wall Street.” You just do not understand – it is all tied together! You cannot distinguish between the person eating at McDonalds with the persons working behind the counter at McDonalds with the stockholders of the Wall Street firm and the McDonald’s board of directors. Put excessive controls on Wall Street, which usually equates to higher taxes, and you ultimately hurt the “ordinary people” eating in a fast food restaurant, or buying homes, or going to the doctor, or riding a train, or buying a new cell phone.
But let us finish looking at Mary and her microchip manufacturing plant. Mary goes to the local branch of a Wall Street “fat cat” bank for a loan to start up her company. Unable to compete in the banking industry with the government controls in place the bank cannot make the loan that Mary needs. Mary goes elsewhere to start her company and Pleasantville remains in a state of stagnation or the population begins to decline as people move on to areas where they can find work. Mary might even end up receiving that loan from China and starting her business there.
Mary Jones wants to build a microchip manufacturing plant in Pleasantville, Illinois. She is planning on hiring 300 employees, mostly white collar engineers and blue collar technicians. Most of the employees are married with husbands and wives who will be looking for employment in the area, and many have children that will attend school in the area. They will need housing, schools, banks, doctors, grocery stores, gas stations, restaurants, cell phones, electric lights, clothing stores, car dealerships, and access to the internet and radio and TV stations. Teachers will be employed at the schools, along with administrative personnel and cafeteria workers. Doctors will move into the area and hire nurses and office workers. The grocery stores will hire managers and clerks and butchers and bakers. The restaurants will hire cooks and waitresses, and the clothing stores will hire clerks and managers. If enough stores are needed by Mary’s employees then a Mall might appear, with movie theaters and food courts.
The residents of Pleasantville move into apartments or start looking for their dream homes, going to realtors such as Remax and Century 21 which are listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). The baker goes to the car dealership to purchase a van to transport baked goods, a dealer in Ford products which is also listed on the NYSE. Trucks from out of town bring in everything from gasoline to french fries, representing companies such as Knight Transportation, also traded on the NYSE. Trains stop and bring fruits and vegetables from California and Mexico and cars from Tennessee and Japan and office supplies and books and car parts and furniture: Companies such as the Burlington Northern Railroad Company, also traded on the NYSE.
Century 21 and Ford and Knight Transportation and the Burlington Northern Railroad are all companies whose boards of directors and shareholders are considered “fat cats” by President Obama. What the President does not understand is that these shareholders are school teachers, businessmen, doctors, pilots, and factory workers. More than 60% of the population of this country owns stock in companies that are publicly traded on Wall Street – are they all “fat cats?”
My question to you, Mr. President, is just who are the “ordinary people” that you are looking out for? You have said, “Democrats work for the little guys on Main Street while Republicans do the bidding of Wall Street.” You just do not understand – it is all tied together! You cannot distinguish between the person eating at McDonalds with the persons working behind the counter at McDonalds with the stockholders of the Wall Street firm and the McDonald’s board of directors. Put excessive controls on Wall Street, which usually equates to higher taxes, and you ultimately hurt the “ordinary people” eating in a fast food restaurant, or buying homes, or going to the doctor, or riding a train, or buying a new cell phone.
But let us finish looking at Mary and her microchip manufacturing plant. Mary goes to the local branch of a Wall Street “fat cat” bank for a loan to start up her company. Unable to compete in the banking industry with the government controls in place the bank cannot make the loan that Mary needs. Mary goes elsewhere to start her company and Pleasantville remains in a state of stagnation or the population begins to decline as people move on to areas where they can find work. Mary might even end up receiving that loan from China and starting her business there.
…In another part of the country John Smith wants to build a McDonald’s in a refurbished area of Detroit. He is planning on hiring 25 employees…
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