Obama Paved The Way For Donald Trump & Triggered The Fall Of Democracy

Aaron Bastani interviews renowned economist Joseph Stiglitz on his predictions of the collapse of American Democracy. In this interview, Mr. Stiglitz frames up the role past American Presidents including Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama played in teeing up the rise of a political space for a a political leader who seeks support by appealing to the desires and prejudices of ordinary people rather than by using rational argument–aka Donald Trump.

Obama’s presidency made several pivotal decisions that undermined and set back the interests of working-class Americans in favor of promoting the interests of corporations and the wealthiest 1%:

1. Bailed out big Banks instead of Homeowners and Small Businesses in 2008.
2. Removed the Public Option from his Healthcare initiative to appease big insurance companies.
3. Expanded the gutting of personal privacy protections and the development of secret mass surveillance systems started under the Patriot Act.
4. The first American President to order the assassination of an American citizen, suspected of terrorism, by Drone attack without any due process under the law.

Each of these decisions paved the way for:

• Accelerating the massive transfer of wealth to the top 1%, and the rise of staggering wealth inequality we are experiencing.
• The systemic takeover of government institutions, including the Supreme Court, by ideological extremists who want to take down government agencies charged with protecting the poor, the environment, and regulating businesses from unchecked influence by corporations and the wealthy.

Mr Stiglitz highlights key lessons we can learn from:

• The Carter Administration - Started the deregulation trend.
• The Clinton Administration - Continued deregulation. Lowered the Capital Gains Tax. Increased minority incarceration rates.
• The Obama Administration - Trends towards inequality were clear, yet still put forth policies that ignored climate change, weakened consumer protections, failed to strengthen state and local parties, and contributed to the overall growth of inequality.
• The success of the Chinese economy.

Enjoy!