It is a time of overwhelming greed. It is a time of underwhelming altruism. The hoards of poor and destitute and abused are still at the gates but the gates have been replaced by a wall. The few that have managed to get over the wall or under the wall have found that their dreams of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness have been replaced by barbed wire fences and security police intent on finding and locking them up in cages. In truth, there are no streets paved with gold. The gold has long since been stripped by billionaires and the American dream has been supplanted by a Trickle-Down theory which the billionaires are cynically prophesizing.
Through the country stride two men. One man driven by money laden with stocks, bonds, and coupons for a cheap cup of coffee. The other man driven by compassion with a calendar always full of dates to help someone else out. One man has plenty of gold, the other man has plenty of time. No two men could be more different. One man represents the America that was. The other man represents the America that could be. The two men frequently cross paths and to some extent even like each other. There is no hatred between the two but a mutual inability to understand the other’s motives has always existed. Each thinks that the other is of unsound mind or to put it another way is “out to lunch.” This is their story then. I tell it from a neutral objective. Strangely, I like both men.
Tom is a white middle class male in his mid-seventies. Tom is driven by the almighty dollar. Hardly a day goes by that Tom is not trading or looking at his stock portfolio. Tom (everyone agrees) is “all about the money.” Tom is a Trump supporter. In many respects, he does not fit the typical demographic for a Trumpist. Tom has gone to college. He worked at a white-collar job and he has one of the largest houses in the town. Tom always dresses well, speaks well and never utters a vernacular word. Tom has never owned a motorcycle and I doubt he has ever shot anything in his life. He is the epitome of decorum and propriety. He has kept himself in good shape and looks physically fit. Indeed, he looks several years younger than his age. Tom is soft-spoken and is the last person you could think of who would ever get in an actual fight with anyone.
Tom prides himself on his frugalness, some would say cheapness. He will buy a coffee at the local coffee shop and when it is time to pay, he will search the internet with his smart phone to find a coupon that will allow him to get 50 percent or so off the cost of an already low-priced cup of coffee. But greed cannot be measured by cheap cups of coffee. In some respects, it is difficult to separate greed from fear. Many a conversation with Tom, I walked away thinking that it is not so much greed that drives Tom as fear. Fear that the immigrants might take his house away. Fear that women will take his job. Fear that minorities will get his share of the America pie. Fear that LGBTQ people will gain access to his bathroom.
If it is true that Trump supporters are driven by fear and greed, then Tom (regardless of demographics) is the quintessential Trump supporter. Tom defies the category of “Trump Deplorable.” You can have an intelligent and civil conversation with Tom on many a subject. Nevertheless, he defends Trump no matter what the issue. Trump is his God and can do no wrong. Despite Tom’s penny pinching, he is proud enough of his Trump affiliation that he has spent the money to purchase some Trump paraphernalia. He proudly wears both a Trump hat and a Trump t-shirt. This always puzzles me.
Tom has never suffered poverty. He lives well and has a beautiful lake front home with a mortgage long paid off. He drives a luxury car with a brand image. I am sure that neither NAFTA nor Globalism has ever been of undue stress to his finances. Quite to the contrary, Tom has undoubtedly benefitted from the good that has come out of these policies. Unlike the white rural blue-collar worker who saw his job and company go overseas, Tom has prospered in the 21st Century economy.
Ron is also a white male in his mid-seventies. Ron did not go to college. Ron was a blue-collar electrician until his retirement. Ron grew up on the wrong side of the tracks. Ron rides a Harley Davidson and when he was younger went on many a deer and elk hunting trip. He still proudly has an array of rifles that he seldom now uses. Ron has even won some rifles and given them away. Ron can be difficult to talk to. He is passionate about his position and not always willing to listen to others. You cannot always describe his discussions with others as civil and polite. Some people would describe Ron as uncouth. He cares little about fashion or image. He usually looks like he needs a good haircut. If you did not know Ron, you would have no difficulty in putting him down as a Trump supporter. You would be dead wrong.
Ron is a generous man. He is one of the most generous persons I know. Ron is not rich. He has never purchased a brand-new car and he does not live on a lake. Ron does not have a great deal of money, but he will often pay for my coffee and the coffee of others at our table. Ron is most generous with his time. Never a day goes by that he is not doing a favor for someone. His generosity extends well beyond his immediate family. Three years ago. Ron and his wife were given an award as Volunteers of the Year. If anyone needs something or help with anything, they will call Ron. I do not think of myself as “ungenerous”, but I am loath to admit that I sometimes think Ron is too generous with his time.
Politically, I would describe Ron as an independent thinker. Ron gets a good pension from his former IBEW union and if there is anything he is proud of and will defend to the nth degree, it is unions. He despises Trump and the Republican politics of greed and Trickle Down. However, he does not defend the Democratic party either. He has said that the Democrats sold too many Americans down the drain with NAFTA and Globalism. It would have been one thing to pursue these policies if there had been some type of life jacket or safety net for the American workers displaced but the Democrats as well as the Republicans simply ignored the side effects of these policies.
Ron is no racist, no sexist, no hater of immigrants. If you talk to Ron about these subjects, you will find a man that is not fearful or belligerent towards others. Whereas Tom would lock America down, Ron would tear the walls down. Tom will deplore violent protestors. Ron will deplore the violence that lead to the protests in the first place. Ron loves to travel and meet new people. Tom spends most of his days in the same town that he has always been and traveling the same safe pathways that he has always traveled. Ron has taken several foreign students into his home on an exchange program and is always eager to hear stories about other people and other places. Tom has a child who is developmentally disabled that he is a loving and kind father to.
A tale of two men. Both men married. Both with families and children. Neither man a criminal or drug addict or law breaker. Both men admired by others in the community. Both men loved by their families. Both men with friends who speak and think well of them. Men who are on opposite sides of any imaginable political spectrum.
A time in America when the divisions seen to outweigh any points of commonality. When the divisiveness and polemics drive everyone either right or left. When disagreement is called evil and rudeness and bullying substitute for politeness and civility. When you are my enemy if your politics disagree with mine. When truth is now called a lie and facts are now called fake.
Ron and Tom still sit down mornings at the coffee shop and talk to each other. There is often passionate disagreement. Ron will storm and foam at the mouth. Tom will quietly state his position and seem somewhat amused at Ron’s vehemence. I am not sure who has the most difficulty understanding the other but watching Tom and Ron interact is something like watching a TV sitcom. Are Tom and Ron following a script that the rest of us do not know about? Perhaps there is a script written somewhere that we are all following.
“Aspire to decency. Practice civility toward one another. Admire and emulate ethical behavior wherever you find it. Apply a rigid standard of morality to your lives; and if, periodically, you fail as you surely will adjust your lives, not the standards.” ― Ted Koppel
The research that purports to explain the Trump phenomenon almost never goes beyond the “Right Wing” narratives for Trumps election. These narratives all point to abortion, guns, taxes, small government, immigration and jobs as the key factors in Trumps victory. Trump blames the Democrats for everything wrong in rural America and the Republicans have provided a compelling set of schemes that have convinced many in rural America that a partial solution to their problems lies in more capitalism. 
A version of this myth is the “Too big too fail idea” widely heard during the “Great Recession” and now during the Coronavirus epidemic. General Motors was one of the first giant corporations in America and even as late as 2019, it was ranked 13th on the Fortune 500 rankings of the largest United States corporations by total revenue. In 1952 during his nomination hearing for Secretary of Defense, Charles Wilson (former CEO of General Motors) was asked if he could make a decision as Secretary of Defense that ran contrary to the interests of his former company. He replied with the now infamous remark YES but that he could not conceive of such a situation: “because for years I thought what was good for our country was good for General Motors, and vice versa.” — 
The foregoing belief in the common interests that corporations shared with America came to epitomize the ideology of Corporate America. American corporations then used the media and astute public relations to convince the majority of US citizens that they are indispensable, and that the welfare of the average person depended on the welfare of the corporation. To put it another way, the interests of a giant corporation are claimed to be synonymous with the interests of the average person. “What is good for America’s Corporations is good for You.” “What is good for Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Exxon, Facebook and Pfizer is good for you.”
When a company makes and sells a product, it is no longer responsible for the effects of that product on either the buyer or the environment. Unless evidence can be shown that somehow the corporation either lied or had some kind of criminal intent in the sales process, the consumer and society are responsible for the negative effects that a product or service might have. For instance, oil companies sell gasoline but are not responsible for the effects of polluting the atmosphere by burning gasoline. Another example is the packaging that many companies use for their products. Amazon is notorious for over boxing even the smallest products. The boxes must then be thrown away or recycled in a landfill. However, the cost of this recycling is not born by Amazon but ultimately by the taxpayer who must pay for the recycling through taxes or direct payments. Meanwhile, Amazon makes a great profit by being able to take advantage of tax loopholes and escaping any costs. These costs are called in economic terms: “Externalities.”
Dr. Deming wrote reams about the failure of management to balance what he called the “Problems of Today” with the “Problems of Tomorrow.” I would typically hear when beginning a consulting engagement numerous reasons why “it could not be done.” One of the most common excuses was expressed colloquially as “We are up to our ass in alligators.” Another excuse was “We have too many fires to put out.” I was fond of reciting Dr. Deming’s comment that, “Putting out fires is not improvement. Finding a point out of control, finding the special cause and removing it, is only putting the process back to where it was in the first place. It is not improvement of the process.” — Out of the Crisis, W. E. Deming
I have sat in many boardrooms for many planning meetings, and seldom did I ever hear an executive worrying about the environment or the hidden costs of externalities. The oft assumed legal mandate of a corporation is to make a profit. However, corporate law states that a company does not have to pursue profit maximization at all costs. This is idealistic though since the tendency in the marketplace and short-term thinking push corporations to ignore other considerations and pursue profits at all costs. It is also much easier to measure profits than it is to measure a “good” to the environment or a “good” to the social system. Thus, generally profits will trump other considerations in running an effective business.
Most of what people learn about Marx is far removed from his actual ideas. Given that Capitalism has been diametrically opposed to the very name of Karl Marx, it is not surprising that he is routinely disparaged. Even at the University level, it is rare to find anyone studying Marx very deeply. Many educators and instructors describe Marx’s economic theories as “Totally Discredited.” Few people in America have any good words for Karl Marx. Any politician in the USA who might suggest that Marx ever said one good thing or had one good idea would court instant political death. Marx is the devil in our Capitalistic system.
Marx did of course hate capitalism. He saw Capitalism as a system that exploited workers and allowed the greedy to benefit at the expense of those less fortunate or less aggressive.
The antipathy directed towards Marx and his critique of Capitalism has discouraged any real in-depth understanding of the limits and myths of Capitalism by most Americans. Capitalism resides in America on the same level as Mom, God, and Apple Pie. Woe to anyone who would dare to attack Capitalism. In the United States, Capitalism is as hallowed an institution as Christianity. In fact, most Christians think that Capitalism and religion go hand in hand, which to a large extent they sadly do. Unfortunately, not all Capitalism is the same. In America, we have a home-grown version that is more appropriately called Corporate Capitalism. What is the difference you might ask? Well it gets even more complicated since economists define four types of Capitalism. These are: 
Over the past 40 years, the Supreme Court has radically expanded constitutional rights for corporations. The original charters for corporations written in the late 19th century, allowed corporations powers never before seen in companies. The abuse of these powers soon led to a considerable amount of legislation designed to reign in some of the most egregious of these abuses. Laws such as the Sherman Anti-Trust Act passed in 1890 to stop monopoly practices and the Clayton Antitrust Act passed in 1914 to stop unethical business practices were somewhat successful at ameliorating corporate abuses. Unfortunately, corporations were still left with considerable power to thwart the goals of democracy and good government.
Corporate interests easily dominate the interests of the common person. The common person has nowhere near the financial clout of corporations. In 2010, the Supreme Court passed the Citizens United Decision which gave corporations unlimited power to finance and support political candidates running for office as well as to lobby on behalf of any laws that they wanted. This decision basically upheld the idea that corporations had a right to free speech much like any citizen of the USA and that campaign spending was simply a manifestation of free speech. Corporations are now being treated as living breathing people despite the fact that corporations can live forever, and corporations are not organic entities. They are not born, and they do not die like any other creature on the face of the earth.
One of the most popular movies in the eighties was Wall Street. In the movie, Michael Douglas gave a “Greed is Good” speech which was actually applauded by audiences all over the United States. Some corporations have been sued by stockholders for not being greedy enough.
Aging Capriciously 