What is it with these guys who think that just because they've managed to amass great wealth they are somehow entitled to go around meddling in things that are really none of their concern. Such is the case regarding yet another billionaire bozo, some guy who Business Insider has now dubbed as being “George Soros lite.” This guy's name is Nicolas Berggruen, and he's a billionaire who just goes roaming around the globe, living out of various five-star hotels, and is someone who, apparently, has nothing better to with his time than to go about working to alter, and not necessarily for the better, the way Western governments operate. I guess everybody needs a hobby, but it would be much better for all concerned if this ass would just take up stamp collecting. Bloomberg’s Jeremy Kahn describes the roots of his rather nomadic existence this way: "…in 2000, Berggruen sold his houses, put his art collection in storage and gave away or sold most of his possessions, including his car. He says his decision to live a rootless existence wasn’t a means of dodging taxes; he says he pays them in the U.S." Look, this is just one more guy with a lot of money who views the world as being as his own personal little board game, and we're all nothing more than pieces on the board.
This Berggruen fella, from what I've read, made his billions by growing a $250,000 trust fund that his daddy, some wealthy art connoisseur, gave him, and is now, courtesy of those billions, being compared to that other billionaire boob, George Soros, because of some of his rather skewed to leftist policy positions, his supposed passion for politics and his urge for what is being called, a more "integrated" Europe. Plus, this very generous billionaire has, of course, devoted substantial funds to support many loony left wing causes and Democrat politicians in this country, yet another fact that makes a comparison between him and Soros all the more obvious and very much worth exploring. The Wall Street Journal’s Stacy Meichtry reports that Berggruen grew up in Paris, but has German roots. He spent his teenage years writing “utopian” constitutions and “occasionally clashed with authority figures.” Yup, just the kinda guy we want sticking his nose in where it isn't wanted or needed. It's individuals like this who represent a very real threat to the rest of us, they are a menace in the truest sense of the word. So somehow we're gonna need to devise some method of preventing them from inserting themselves into the political process in such as way that they are then affect some manner of influence over our elected officials.
These days he keeps himself busy by, along with trying to influence the political process in any number of countries, buying up debt-saddled companies and then turning them around to where they are making a profit. But it's his little hobby regarding his rather shady political involvements that are what we should really be concerned about. You see, he has already spent $100,000 to create a little thing called the Nicolas Berggruen Institute. Here’s more on the group: "The Nicolas Berggruen Institute is dedicated to exploring new ideas of good governance. The NBI is an independent, non-partisan think tank and consultancy engaged in the comparative study and design of systems of governance suited to the new and complex challenges of the 21st century. Our efforts seek to integrate the new possibilities of the information age with the best practices of efficient, decisive and meritocratic administration in Asia with the democratic accountability of the West. The knowledge society both enables and requires intelligent community, intelligent democracy and intelligent governance." It's always guys like this who think that their ideas are so much better than everyone else’s for no other reason than because they've been able to make a lot of money.
And apparently he’s supposed to be poised to make some major impact and if so, I doubt very seriously, that it will be one which most of us would view as being beneficial. The Institute’s "Council for the Future of Europe" has former Spanish and German heads of state and economic figureheads like Joseph Stiglitz on board. Berggruen even has connections to such pop culture elites as that idiotic bimbo Paris Hilton and famed Hollywood moron, Leonardo DiCaprio. Mr. Kahn writes: "Now, Berggruen is moving even farther afield in a quest to save the West from sinking into chaos. He says the stock market swoons of 2011, the brinkmanship in Washington over the debt ceiling and the euro-zone debt debacle are symptoms of the same underlying problem. “What you really have is a deep, deep governance crisis in the West,” he says." Ok, so I guess he figures that he's got all of the answers because he's rich. He seems to think that he's just so much smarter than us lowly nine-to-fivers who want nothing more than to be left alone by our government and to have our country left alone as well, and allowed to work things out on our own minus any outside interference from any passing rogue billionaire. Why can't he simply be satisfied with buying up broken companies and fixing them? What's this need to dabble in the business of sovereign nations?
When it comes to centralization, Berggruen and his group believe that it‘s necessary to bring together Europe’s political systems — this includes centralizing financial policies. He advocates greater powers for the European Central Bank and the European Financial Stability Facility so that the debt of private banks can be restructured and the debt crisis can be more readily relieved. But, unfortunately, it’s not just Europe that Berggruen is concerned with. It was reported that he would give $20 million to the State of California to assist in restructuring its political system. Additionally, he previously donated $250,000 to oppose a 2010 measure that would have suspended California’s global warming law (Proposition 23). The measure was inevitably defeated. All of this is nothing more that him sticking his toe in to test the waters and most definitely be viewed as what is the precursor for what is sure to be his increasing his involvement in the internal workings of this country. He should be seen, as is Soros, as being the threat that he is, not as some harmless benefactor out to do some good. Like his fellow billionaire, Soros, his guy, very clearly, as some ulterior motives here and that fact most certainly does not bode well for the future of this country.
In addition to his doing his best to achieve some level of impact on governance in the West and in California specifically, he’s also been known to fund the candidacies of such liberal imbeciles as New York’s Chuckie Schumer and even Barry "Almighty." Now I think it very safe to say that considering his rather painfully obvious penchant for liberal Democratic ideals, just like Soros, Berggruen is most definitely worthy of continued examination and possibly even some closer scrutiny. And even though it has been noted that he is including Republican Condoleeza Rice in his California plans, that fact should provide very little comfort to those who worry that his agenda will mirror the extremism often observed in Soros’ exploits. Look, Rice is no conservative, she never really has been. She was a weak Secretary of State who undermined George W. Bush on any number of occasions, so I would not put too much stock in the fact that her name has been mentioned anywhere in connection with Berggruen. Ya know, it's really bad enough that we have to keep a very well trained eye on any number of corrupt politicians, but when guys like Soros, and now this guy Berggruen, insert themselves into the mix, and for no other reason than that they might be able to purchase for themselves a member of Congress or two, or even perhaps a president, that should cause all of us some very serious concern.
Hmmm ... guess feeling "entitled" isn't just owned by one particular demographic group, eh? Guess we better toss in there career politicians, the current Resident, and on and on it goes. EGADS - we are surrounded by this crapola!
ReplyDeleteGreat read, Dan.