Wednesday, March 13, 2019

Rich kid admissions scandal shows walloping corporate media double standard

I went to Stanford, back when the odds of getting in were a lot shorter. I doubt they’d let my sorry butt near the place, now. Anyway, what most strikes me about the admissions scandal that broke yesterday is the play it's getting in corporate media. Front page headlines, top of the newscasts. They know it’s a good hook.

Just because a handful of B (at best) list celebrities are involved? I don’t think so. They know damn well the public is sick of being screwed over by the rich man/woman, and this is a chance to play into that.

But when you get into wealth and politics, they’re a whole lot less eager to tell it like it is. How often does the wealth of Congress - and therefore the fact that a large majority thereof, especially in the Senate, from both parties, have little incentive to really change a status quo that has been very good for them - make big headlines? And that affects most people’s lives a lot more than who gets into Stanford or Yale.

Of course plenty of people are giving the plutocracy the attention it deserves, on progressive websites and in books. (Here's a relevant item I happen to have ready to hand.) But those are still not where most people get their information.

2 comments:

  1. That's a good article in TruthOut that you cited ... which should really be a reason to follow the money.
    If I understand it correctly, some parents made donations to tax-deductible organizations ... so not only do they get their child into the school they want, but they also get a tax write-off.

    So in this period where some politicians are proclaiming that they are concerned about the national debt ( in case you missed it, Tom Emmer (PartyOfTrump MN-06) has sponsored HRes149 "Recognizing the National Debt as a threat to national security"), shouldn't Congress be alarmed of this tax dodge ?

    That might be hard considering that not only has the GOP lead the reduction of funding for the IRS, but they also passed legislation preventing the disclosure of donor's names to the IRS (see HR 5053 Preventing IRS Abuse and Protecting Free Speech Act) which the Trump Administration has instituted.

    I guess we shouldn't be surprised ... after all, this just seems to be a normal business in the Age of Trump.

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    1. Rep. Emmer must be a little behind the curve, given that GOP "intellectuals" are suddenly a lot less concerned about the natl. debt.

      https://www.axios.com/national-debt-deficit-matter-738423e7-a283-4576-8eda-bdf7f3fe9fb3.html

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