A very interesting article showed up in the news today. Little was known about those who quietly funded this latest US administration. Until now. And this story brings a lot of head-scratchers and shakers about what is going on, into a much clearer focus.
http://www.cbc.ca/news2/interactives/sh/wex94ODaUs/trump-robert-mercer-billionaire/
Hopefully people can digest this with an open mind, without it turning into a bi-partisan battle.
Essentially, the current US government is mostly owned by so-called “instant billionaires” who made their money with hedge funds, using complex computer programs to predict obscure trends (often chaotic and detrimental to the society), and not just profit off them . . . encourage them just so more money could be made for the sake of making more money. (As good capitalism teaches, the capital is the important factor . . . not the society on who’s back the money is made).
As an employee of one of them apparently with a bit of a conscience has said (and lost his job for).
“One of Magerman’s cautions about “instant billionaires” is that they really don’t understand what the government is for. They didn’t get rich by providing the goods, services and infrastructure that bring people into direct contact with their community and its interests — they got rich in financial markets, making money for the sake of it.”
Such reclusive, dis-associated people see little use for “the little people”: and are quite amused that they got “the little people” to bring their desires to fruition. They profit no matter what the economy does — so they can use their political pawns to fire up the economy or to drive it into trillions of dollars of debt and impending insolvency and collapse. Their key desire is to “shrink the government to the size of a pin-head”, because they have never engaged with it nor seen the value of it or of the “common worker”. They want it all to tumble down. So they don’t care if future administrations are saddled with trillions in debt. They actually prefer a buffoon in office so people’s faith in government is eroded. They don’t care if government departments caring for things like the environment or the social safety-net or the arts — are run by people who have actively lobbied against their value — or if many other departments slowly languish and die from inept leadership . . . or no leadership. (Just look at all the government agencies slashed by the current administration — and the number of programs profiting the wealthy while running up the deficit AND building mistrust in leaders).
And these high-and-mighty-yet-socially-disassociated string-pullers . . . really rather like it when they can get the ignorant masses to carry their cause for them: not caring in the long run whether they prosper or fail, live or die.
Because they will hedge funds and profit outrageously (up to 80% return in good years, 20% in bad years), no matter what holds together or falls apart.
© 2026 – SoulSequel
10 responses to “The President’s Money-Man”
There is a real challenge going on in first world countries where money equates with success. It has been planted in the minds of everyone and points mean more than productivity.
Wolf of Wall Street should be an education in the mental sickness of wealth. Instead, for many, there is a “I wish I was him” attitude, especially in those that use wealth as a measurement of their own self esteem.
Government is out of control. Get in a candid conversation, if you can, with someone directly involved in governing and you will discover that the “system” is so messed up that individuals can no longer make an impact, no matter how idealistic their objectives are. As one said to me, ” you either learn to swim in the cesspool, or you sink” that is a direct quote from an elected Member of Parliament that I knew before he was elected.
Government at all levels becomes more about individual self interest that it is as representing the wishes of constituents. That is what partisan politics has become.
@spitfire3dc
Here’s the problem though:
We have almost total unified consensus that the governmental system has become corrupt; and that we are past the point where “one good person” can make a demonstrable difference. So the next step is . . . .
*And that’s as far as we get! We fall into boondoggles of assessing blame as part of some feeling-charged political game.
Or become despondent and disassociate from the greater whole.
Or become weepy dreamers holding that everything will be “fixed” when more people agree that we are right.
Or become desperate and look to install “messiahs” who are radical enough we feel they might buck the system and “save us”.
You say government is out of control.
I would counter that people are out of control . The perfect cocktail of feelings (greed, fear, selfishness, desperation, despondency) make us all equal participants in what is transpiring under, around, and on top of us. If we could master these feelings (master, not abolish), we would be in a far better place to exercise control over not just ourselves, but over the social construct we are all a part of.
There is no “pill” or easy fix. And not even a possible fix while we are “self-trapped” in one of the boondoggles I mentioned at the *.
This is a escalating problem that no amount of attempted disassociation or isolationism or desperation or despondency . . . or money! . . . is going to “fix for us”.
We need to “fix” ourselves. And when enough people do, the ripple-effect will flow upwards. But this is certainly “long haul” . . . and most people are convinced that they/we are not up to it.
A big part of it for the simple reason, that we bought into the rampant capitalism you hint at. It owns us: and most of us owe outrageous amounts to it that will net us very little.
We’re anguishing that we’re stuck in a pit. A pit that we to some degree helped dig. So we spin around and around in circles at the bottom of the pit, looking for we-know-not-what.
@griz I have to disagree with you Griz. The government is out of control. The people are to a certain extent, but we, as a society, assign a job to be done on our behalf.
Being a public servant is a job that was created to SERVE as our representatives. I have my own job. I don’t have time to govern. I am governing my immediate responsibilities and I delegate a job to someone who is by definition there to serve as my representative.
THEY are not doing THEIR jobs. They are using their roles to make decisions and have been corrupted by the power to serve themselves. They serve their leaders who set the example. They serve their party that gives them critical mass to do what THEY want.
You could say it is the fault of the electorate for letting them, but do you have time to award contracts for who is going to make and fix your roads, make decisions associated with purchasing goods and services to support societal infrastructure…? I’d say your hands are full putting a roof over your head, paying your utilities and taking care who requires support for their immediate needs.
Only half of us care enough to vote. Those that do, for the right reasons, even less. Part of the problem is that our votes don’t count any more. To be in a party, you have to follow the leader, even when the specific people you represent do not benefit.
Partocracy has replaced democracy for the simpletons who need to see a left and a right to tell the difference and to think they have a choice. Those same morons don’t vote “for”; they vote “against”
all that being said, it is not the fault of the dummies. It is the fault of the manipulators that know how to play them and that goes beyond the politicians themselves to the ones that are even smarter that use their political puppets to score more “points”
@spitfire3dc
So you don’t think enough good people consistently injected into the political system and given our support . . . could change it?
What do you think could change it?
I find it helps to remember that a) we still love to play the same blame-game that Adam and Eve pioneered and b) that saying it’s someone else’s problem to fix it is a time-honoured dodge.
We need to guard that we don’t follow too closely on the American’s heels in “government blaming” — and the call to tear it down and trash it . . . rather than fixing it.
We also need to guard that we don’t become so desperate for a political “messiah” to come and fix things for us so we can get back to our own stuff . . . that we allow the election of one with feet of jello.
@griz To be totally honest; no.I don’t think it can be fixed. It is a flawed model, because to be other-centered, as an individual, is an exception, versus the rule.
Let’s look at the Kennedy administration. It had a focus associated with inspiring a nation to serve and it tried to set an example of service. There were things beneath that were managed to avoid that being the dominant illustration of what Kennedy represented, but it wasn’t a coincidence that he and his brother were stopped in their tracks by others focused on power and the subsequent “rewards” associated with same. Like c’mon J. Edgar Hoover? The Mafia? The CIA? or some anti Fascist patsy?
The point I am trying to make with this is that the inherent nature of Man, in the broadest sense, is self destruction.
We have had exceptional individuals who have become iconic in pursuit of more worthy goals, but it is like pushing sand. Look specifically at one of the greatest; Christ. His message has become so fucked up, by the fucked up, that Christianity is no better than any other extremist view.
The problem with the system as it exists right now is size. Size equated to complexity. Clarity is supposed to be established by words (law) and words ratchet up the complexity. Combine manipulated emotional response and a political system driven through favours and you have such a complicated process that it becomes similar to spinning your wheels in mud, or taking a 75′ rig onto a black ice highway.
Every great civilization has crashed and burned. It is obvious that we can’t learn from history. WW2 was supposed to be the last war. The death of millions is not enough to convince humanity it is a bad thing. There has never not been war being waged somewhere since WW2. We are a violent, selfish, wretched species as a whole with spots of give a shit people that are overwhelmed by a majority who can’t see past their own noses and can self justify violence out of their fears.
What is the solution? So simple. Be the change. Ghandi’s words. we need to just BE the change as individuals and accept that it is an impossible task to hope that everyone else will follow the golden rule, but do it anyway. Our time on the planet can be productive for our own personal growth, but in the big picture, the downward spiral can’t be turned around. It has too much momentum supported by a perpetual power plant of selfishness that just feeds energy.
Side note; In the first world, we have a mixed up idea of what brings happiness. We think having all the material things we want will bring contentment and subsequent happiness. But why did Tom Petty die of an overdose, or Roy Halliday, or Michael Jackson, Whitney Housten, Robin Williams…? Has anyone learned anything from that?
The closer one gets to material wealth, the further one seems to get from understanding Life’s real value. You in particular of a great example of seeming contentment. You seem to get pleasure in absorbing what is going around you in the moment and recording it as art. You may be thinking about that asshole that cut you off, but that is probably a minor portion of your time, versus looking around at the way the light hits that mountain, or the joy of seeing a sunrise and knowing it represents a victory in that moment that you are alive to see it.
Soul Pancake was such a great idea. But even with a concerted effort; it failed because of the overwhelming horde of negativity. It’s easier for people to be critical without providing solutions.
My solution is to accept the inevitable and make sure my individual corner is not shit upon.
@spitfire3dc
Consider thermodynamics.
Particularly the thermodynamics of the season we’re now in.
(yea, I know that’s a bizarre twist; but I’m more inquisitively bizarre than the average bear!).
The sun has already begun it’s concerted march back into the northern hemisphere. and It throws more and more radiant heat on the earth’s surface. Yet for another few months, we will have the impression of it getting colder — because of the “momentum” you hint at.
Things get warm for a spell, then cycle back to cold with a vengeance: and the sun seems to be a fool for investing increasing energy on the earth’s surface. The snow-piles (if you still have any!), cold bodies of water, and exposed rock (Rattlesnake Point!) gobble up the uv energy without really warming the air.
But then one day soon, all that “wasted” energy adds up, and warming occurs with a vengeance. And continues . . . until the sweat is once again dripping in our eyes and off our noses as we work!
If we as a people reach a “critical mass” of people who have changed themselves away from the lower “base default” of our species to be foolishly arrogant and self-centred, things will shift. They will have to.
But if the masses never do, we cannot expect those we draw from the masses to lead us/administer our governments . . . to change.
And this grassroots change will not happen while so many people are believing the lie that we are “powerless” and can do nothing to avoid following in the footsteps of almost every civilization that has come before us — as we are too busy taking care of our own materialistic and psycho-emotional empire
There is an almost palatable “force” that sets upon and tries to defeat good exercises like Lincoln, Kennedy, or SP. Or this group. Already people are jumping ship . . . or contemplating it.
But as I’ve said in another reply to @gina, we each need to develop a personal philosophy for dealing with the negativity (a.k.a dealing with people being people!); lest we be defeated by the lower aspects of our own nature.
And remember that in the long run it was not so much the warm-bodied humans who killed SP . . . as the cold lifeless ‘bots that people thought would be good to unleash there. They just over-whelmed the moderators trying to keep things conducive to positivity.
Now consider that while these electronic ‘bots are relatively easy to see . . . the negative spiritual ‘bots emotionally un-controlled people tend to unleash without realizing it can accomplish the same.
With the difference being, we have the ability to “re-program” ourselves — and to help others in this regard.
@griz a noble effort through writing to try to justify effort.
I can’t really respond without further negativity, on my part, to offset your rose coloured version of gotta try, gotta do, so I won’t, because I want what you want and maybe wanting is enough as we go through our challenges
Here however is an applicable paradox. If we had a choice to live in a set apart community where each individual was entirely selfless; would we? I’d say I would, but that in itself is a selfish consideration. Selfishness is this very odd dichotomy where the actions associated with selflessness are generally driven by a selfish need to feel good about oneself. Its an impossible spiral, but I think its reality.
Its almost funny when you really think about it, if twisted humour floats your boat.
@spitfire3dc
I think you’ve hit on a critical point with the “feel-good”. It drives and consumes us.
Another interesting point perhaps worth some brain-power. It’s interesting how often I talk about our controlling some aspect of ourselves (selfishness in this case) both here and in the real world; and very quickly the conversation jumps to a point of utter abolishment/eradication of it. It’s like self-control is somehow not an option.
Thoughts?
@griz self control is always an option.The feel good you make reference to, may be more than a mental justification, or rationalization to manage our self esteem. It goes beyond that to me, where our chemistry determines our values.
Recently, I decided to look into why trolls exist. But I didn’t want an anecdotal kind of evaluation. I wanted something more concrete and I came across something that explained the behaviour scientifically.
Trolls on the internet are a mild form of sadist and a sadist literally feels pleasure at the expense of others’ pain. The pain doesn’t have to be physical. Just getting a rise out of a victim is enough for them to receive a dopamine shot into their system.
The feel good is literally FEEL good. Combine the sadist chemical rush with a bully who must make others feel worse so he can feel better in comparison and it is much easier to understand and ignore.
I’m not sure I tracked with your question here, but it triggered the thought so there you have it.
But hopefully back to your point; WE can, if we consciously want to, manage the triggers that set off our endocrine system. Maybe not all the time, or maybe not at 100%, but wanting to is half the battle.
@spitfire3dc
And where there is chemistry, there can be addiction. Most people can bring to mind someone they know who is addicted to anger; to hate; to affirmation; to adrenalyn (to pull just 3 out of a hat).
But back to the “control” vs “abolish” scenario. We are not likely going to “abolish” the chemical processes endemic to the species. (Just like a “society without selfishness” — for there are most certainly chemical processes at work here too).
The moral I was hoping to communicate, is that “It’s going to happen”. Unless we can perfect a dictator-style form of personal bio-feedback, we are going to be “triggered”. The urges are going to rise. The chemicals are going to be released (that give both “good” and “bad” feelings).
The “control”, is in “what will I do next?” with whatever sensations or thought processes the chemicals trigger.
Society is currently removing more and more of the “control rods” and the “nuclear reaction” runs out-of-control.
Unto addicting to the sensations. Unto letting them burst forth on society without any control or moderation. Unto letting them rule the day.
Unto letting them rule us.
I sincerely doubt I will EVER see a society in this physical world that is entirely without selfishness.
But it is certainly within our capability to produce a society where selfishness is managed by a people who have learned not how to “abolish” these darker aspects of our nature/chemical makeup . . . but how to control them once they’re triggered.
Consider that the “reaction” you master before it bursts forth . . . is indistinguishable to many from the reaction you never had. (And if someone cannot cause you to react, they cannot control you!)
I used to be a very “”opportunistic”” person, taking advantage of people leaving things “unguarded” (things physical, emotional, psychological, spiritual). I never “abolished” this response . . . which an excusing therapist might say was “groomed into me as ‘creative acquisition’ at an early age because of the desperate situation I grew up in”.
But I exercised conscious control over it when it reared it’s head. And over time I trained myself not “endorse and support” the urge . . . so the “reward” of it diminished.
And in time, I find the urge has almost completely gone. And when it is still there, it is more like an ant scurrying across the floor than the Loch Ness Monster somehow inserted in my livingroom!
(Now contrast this to the various processes in our society where people are told to “endorse and support” their urges — and how it totally runs away with them and in time supplants their entire identity!)