When Barack Obama and the democrats passed their monstrous stimulus bill; General Electric was right there trying to figure out how to fleece the taxpayer, according to an article by the Wall Street Journal:
“As the bill worked its way through Congress, GE lobbyists pressed for grants, tax cuts or rebates aimed at businesses GE is engaged in, including provisions worth more than $80 billion for energy projects, appliances, health-care information systems and wind farms. GE would have to compete with rivals for a share of these grants.
When the stimulus package was rolled out, Mr. Immelt instructed executives leading the company's major business units "to put together swat teams to get stimulus money, and [identify] who to fire if they don't get the money," says a person who heard him issue the instructions.”
In the early part of the twentieth century Mussolini’s Italy was the fashion of the day. Time magazine admirably wrote, “Possibly Italy’s Benito Mussolini will be the Man of the Year when his new Corporative State begins to show results.” Many in FDR’s administration admired the dictator.
General Electric president Gerard Swope had fascistic designs on American businesses when he proposed a plan in which trade associations would determine how much each company would produce and its price. G.E. chairman Owen Young stated that a government run economy would involve “the voluntary surrender of a certain amount of individual freedom by the majority and the ultimate coercion of the minority.”
President Hoover dismissed the plan as “the most gigantic proposal of monopoly ever made in history.”
When FDR defeated Hoover, he wasted no time implementing just such measures; it was called the National Industrial Recovery Act: NRA for short. This plan was a boon for big businesses. The federal government used the force of law to stymie smaller competitors, by forcing them to pay above market wages, and to sell their product and services at higher prices. Those who did not comply were fined and thrown into jail. Such laws benefited companies like General Electric. The NRA lasted two years before the United States Supreme Court found the law unconstitutional and was struck down.
Today General Electric is more powerful than ever. It owns networks such as NBC and MSNBC and uses this medium, in the guise of journalism, to propel its interest by attacking those who disagree with the leviathan.
Fox News exposed this journalistic malpractice:
It is time to stop corporate welfare, and laws that favor one company over another.
Source:
FDR's Folly by Jim Powell
New Deal Raw Deal by Burton Folsom, Jr.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125832961253649563.html
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