GameStop, Wall Street, and Democracy
If you wanted the American dream, you’re too late. Unless you’re a powerful corporation, in which case go right ahead.
I grew up learning about the free market in school. The free market is wonderfully efficient, isn’t it? Capitalism! The ability for any savvy investor to take advantage of market opportunities and become wealthy. It really is a wonderful thing. Unless, of course, a crowd of people are investing in an opportunity that goes against corporate interests. In that case, the crowd of people will lose. That’s exactly what happened in the GameStop trading incident this week. It is yet another example of Corporate America’s willingness to defy the will of the American people.
Today we live in a world where the wealthy individuals and corporations have more power than the government. Now, I’m not talking guns and tanks, of course the government wins when it comes to a contest of brute force. But when it comes to financial power, the corporations hold more cards. While congress can pass bailouts that affect a great number of people, corporations are largely the reason we need bailouts in the first place. While the courts can rule on disputes, corporations can afford the best lawyers. While the president can veto congress, he can’t veto Twitter for suspending him from the platform. This economy is essentially in the hands of corporations and the law…
