DailyKos provides a Bernie Sanders post: Astounding: David Koch’s 1980 VP Run: Kill Medicare, Social Security, Minimum Wage, Public Schools.
The Koch Brothers “philosophy” was opportunistically termed “libertarianism,” and they invented a political party to go with it. It sounds so much more attractive than The Greedy Oligarchic Bastards Party, doesn’t it?
But what’s interesting and mightily scary is that in 1980 the Kochs laid out what precisely their label “libertarianism” means: kill off government and let us do our jobs of grabbing as much money as we can and controlling everything on this earth and since we’ve gotten rid of government agencies established so that You Little People could complain, don’t bother to complain any more because we’re not listening and we don’t care. The Kochs are saying, “We are running things now.” (I’ve just re-read Lord of the Rings, and this is sounding eerily like what the hobbits faced when they returned to the Shire.)
Read the linked list. You’ll notice that the Kochs set out decades ago with a program, and have made substantial inroads. This is a check list, and I can hear the brothers sitting around going, “Yup, done that, yup done that…”
Look at these excerpts I pulled out. They’ll show you how much the Kochs have managed to accomplish in demolishing our democracy so far:
“We urge the repeal of federal campaign finance laws, and the immediate abolition of the despotic Federal Election Commission.”
Just did that, thanks to the Five Supremes!
“We oppose any compulsory insurance or tax-supported plan to provide health services, including those which finance abortion services.”
Got the entire Republican House and Red State governments working almost exclusively on this!
“We propose the abolition of the governmental Postal Service. The present system, in addition to being inefficient, encourages governmental surveillance of private correspondence. Pending abolition, we call for an end to the monopoly system and for allowing free competition in all aspects of postal service.”
Done! The Post Office is now unsubsidized, forced into an irrational government-imposed policy regarding funding its pension system, and unnecessarily struggling to compete with the higher charges of FedEx and UPS. (If you can figure out why people are paying more to corporations to do what the USPS does for a lot less, do let me know. I fail to understand it.)
“We demand the return of America’s railroad system to private ownership. We call for the privatization of the public roads and national highway system.”
Done! The railroad system is barely subsidized any longer by the US government and Chris Christie privatized the GWB, so that’s a solid move. And today, because of decades of no government money provided for repairs so that the Palisades Parkway has become a designated moon-like cratered landscape; and because the Kochs somehow didn’t put their money where their mouths are to buy a vital artery and rebuild it, the Holland Tunnel-bound Pulaski Skyway is closing half its lanes for two years.
“We advocate the complete separation of education and State. Government schools lead to the indoctrination of children and interfere with the free choice of individuals. Government ownership, operation, regulation, and subsidy of schools and colleges should be ended.”
On its merry way to being done! It’s called charter schools.
“We oppose all government welfare, relief projects, and ‘aid to the poor’ programs. All these government programs are privacy-invading, paternalistic, demeaning, and inefficient. The proper source of help for such persons is the voluntary efforts of private groups and individuals.”
Done! Republicans in Congress just forced radical cuts to the food stamp program, in lieu of cutting ‘aid to the rich’ programs.
This should frighten you as much as it frightens me. The list lays out the Kochs’ Final Solution.