Nader - 'only The Super-rich Can Save Us!' (2009) - Synopsis

UFPPC (www.ufppc.org) — Digging Deeper XCVIII: October 5, 2009, 7:00 p.m.

"Well, as long as we’re' talking basics,' said Max [Palevsky], 'let us dig deeper still'" (27).

Ralph Nader, “Only the Super-Rich Can Save Us!” (New York: Seven Stories Press, September 2009). [Thesis. In 2006, seventeen American super-rich led by Warren Buffett become the “Meliorist Society” and transform the country by overcoming “the word/deed perversity” (414), forcing companies to “share a little more of [their] wealth with the workers, to stop mistreating customers and blocking investor control and ignoring known solutions, to start meeting some of the long-neglected needs of [their] fellow Americans” (529).]

and employs solutions kept on the shelf by vested interests" and promoted by groups on "the Citizens' Utility Board [CUB] model" to "press for a redirection of major aspects of our political economy," while ignoring foreign affairs and defense (25, 27, 35; 24-36). Buffet sets up a closed-circuit telecommunications system for the group and ask each to undertake some initiative in the next month (36).

Author’s Note. Neither novel nor nonfiction, this work is “a practical utopia” (5).

Ch. 2. Various initiatives, all of them successful; the group adopts a parrot (a scarlet macaw named Patriotic Polly) as their mascot (37-64).

Dedication. “To the Meliorists . . .” (7). Acknowledgments. Claire Nader, Joy Johannessen, and John Richard (9). Dramatis Personae. “Warren Buffet / Bill Cosby / Barry Diller / Phil Donahue / William Gates Sr. / Joe Jamail / Peter Lewis / Paul Newman / Yoko Ono / Max Palevsky / Jeno Paulucci / Ross Perot / Sol Price / Bernard Rapaport / Leonard Riggio / George Soros / Ted Turner” (10). Prologue. Warren Buffet is moved by the Hurricane Katrina relief disaster first to help out, then to respond to the words of a “composed elderly grandmother”: “Only the super-rich can save us!” (13; 11-13). Ch. 1. January 2006: Initial discussions by "seventeen megamillionaires and billionaires" gather in Maui at "a small luxury hotel" rented by Warren Buffet (15-24). Americans all, they decide the next morning to focus on the U.S. rather than the world [but the need to “go global” eventually is recognized (188)] and embrace the idea of "creat[ing] an entire subeconomy that builds markets

Ch. 3. At Maui Two "Redirections Action Agenda" identifies areas for the group to work on (65-78). "[S]uccessful, selfmade people of wealth are . . . big on detail while keeping the big picture in mind. They are chronically averse to procrastination" (79). Soros researches CUBs and meets with Robert Fellmuth, a law prof expert on CUBs [and one of the original Nader’s Raiders] (78-81). The Congress Project will evaluate representatives and senators and form a Congress Watchdog group in each district (81-84). Warren Beatty signs onto the Promotions Projects to reverse tax cuts for the rich (84-87). A plan to reform the electoral system (87-91). An essay contest on the least and most just state in the U.S. (91-93). Pressure WalMart (94-95). Pot-In: Legalize industrial hemp (96-97). Sun God festivals (98-99). A National Trust for Posterity (100-01). Ch. 4. A plan to rebut the inevitable counterattack from corporations: a lecture forum for retired business executives and an attack on Wal-Mart (103-07). Warren Beatty’s bus tour (the People’s Revolt of the Rich) (107-11).

The People’s Chamber of Commerce (111-16). Congressional accountability (116-18). Exposing the inadequate regulatory framework (118-20). Exposing the hype over symbols while ignoring real injustice (120-22). Yoko Ono plans an appeal to artists (122-23). California’s tax restoration act passes over Schwarzenegger’s veto (123-27). The Wal-Mart offensive (127-34). Lunchtime protests over economic inequality (134-38). Ch. 5. Wal-Mart plots strategy (139-41). A plan to mobilize small investors (14143). Warren Beatty plans to run for governor of Calif. (143-45). Media coverage heats up (145-48). Wal-Mart’s board decides to change its labor policies (148-55). Group update (155-57). Proposal to change “for all” to “for some” in the Pledge of Allegiance (157-61). A single-issue Clean Elections Party (16165). Industrial hemp campaign (165-67). Sun God events (167-68). Ch. 6. Maui Three strategizes against the coming counterattack (169-88). The problem of putting “dead money” to work (189-91). They consider the name “Patriotic Meliorists” (192). Updates (193-95). Beatty campaign takes off (195-97). The “Buy Back Your Congress” campaign (197-202). Organizing billionaires (203-08). Maui Three wraps up (208-10). Ch. 7. Brovar Dortwist, leader of lobbyists, shares fears with his brethren (211-14). Peter Lewis testifies to a congressional committee on insurers’ interest in not reducing accident and death rates, cowing insurance executives into taking the Fifth (214-30). Media coverage (230-32). Plans for taking back the public airwaves (223-34). A conversation overheard in a bar indicates people are paying attention (234-36). Phyllis Schafly and John Bonifaz chosen to head up the Clean Elections Party (236-38). Lob Corsage, progressive, tells

the Cato Institute that a progressive revival is underway, but the right isn’t worried (238-42). People to lead the CUBs are recruited (242-46). Ch. 8. At Maui Four the name “The Meliorist Society” is adopted (247-48). They decide not to link up with established groups (249). Bill Joy says GNR—genetics, nanotechnology, and robotics—make the task more urgent (250). A plan for a GM buyout (250-54). Various promotional and educational projects (255-59). Signs the media is catching on (259-62). Reflections on “moral philosophy” (265; 263-68). Ch. 9. A movement to change the national anthem to “America the Beautiful” is launched (269). An exposé of Wal-Mart (269-70). Maui Five cancelled (270). 400,000 Americans announce their incorporation: “People Are Corporations Too” (271). More provocations (272-75). Billy Beauchamp, Oklahoman and chair of the House Rules Committee, senses he’s history (275-78). Apr. 17: speakers attack the idea that corporations are efficient (278-89). The anti-Wal-Mart campaign (289-91). Events showcase the sustainable economy (291-92). Warren Beatty’s campaign gathers steam (292-94). The Congress Projects identifies good legislators (about 15% of the total) (29495). Ch. 10. Political campaigns (297-301). An upsurge of petitions to regulatory agencies (301-06). The corporate elites take counsel (306-10). Various initiatives (310-16). Planning for Maui Six (316-17). Plans to go public on the Fourth of July (318-21). The CEOs hire Lancelot Lobo to lead a campaign against “the Super-Rich Oldsters” (321-25) and meet with some Meliorists (325-28). The Daily Bugle is launched (328-29). Congress is nonplussed by a Dartford warbler alighting on the Capitol Dome (330-33).

Ch. 11. Maui Six considers “the Agenda,” a plan to pass seven bills (33551). Lobo and Brovar Dortwist work against them (351-57). Ch. 12. The Daily Bugle does an exposé on corporate welfare (359-62). Hearings on “America the Beautiful” (362-72). Wal-Mart on the defensive (372-79). Congress and lobbyists demoralized (380-82). Plans for parades, campaign contributions (382-85). Lobo proposes spies and a media campaign (385-89). Sub-economy and CUBs materialize (38994). The IRS CUB (394-96). June 21 lunchtime rally in D.C.; meeting with Sen. Frisk (396-403). Corporate elites confer (403-09). Ch. 13. At Warren Buffet’s home in Omaha, the Meliorists plan their unveiling on Jul. 5 (411-20). Lobo in attack mode (420-25). How meliorists raise money (425-28). The Fourth of July (428-32). A Jul. 5 press conference introduces the seven bills known as “the Seven Pillars of the Common Good”; Lobo falls in love with Yoko Ono (432-54). Lobo meets with his captains of industry (454-65). Rallies and marches in support of the “Seven Pillars” of “the Agenda” (465-67). The Agenda introduced in Congress (467-71). Wal-Mart capitulates, accepts unionization (471-75). A bill to address inequity in wealth distribution (475-77). Bernard Rapaport’s father is smeared as a communist but a rebuttal is effective (477-83). The corporate elites try to regroup (483-88). The Electoral Reform Bill and the Expansion of Dynamic Democracy Act (488-91). The president confers with Congress (49192). Ch. 14. Congress is in turmoil as the public tunes in (493-507). The press embraces the Meliorists, echoes their line (507-10). “For the time being, the progressives were keeping a low profile” (510; 510-12). Health care reform; Lou and Harriet ads repel reprise of Harriet

and Louise (512-19). Lobo locates the Maui base of the Meliorists (519-21). Labor leaders meet delighted with how things are going (521; 521-24). More congressional hearings (524-25). Lobo contemplates the low road (525-27). Meliorists challenge CEOs to debate (527-28). The corporate elites contemplate capitulation (528-38). Bill Joy detects Lobos’ bugging of the Maui hotel (538-42). Ch. 15. The Meliorists meet and strategize in Kauai (543-55). Lobo’s bugs in Maui have recorded an Alpha Sigma Phi reunion (ha ha!) (555-57). Willy Champ’s Clean Elections Party campaign rally against Oklahoma rep. Billy Beauchamp (557-82). Clean Elections Party activists convene, do workshops (582-95). Corporate elites discuss (59598). Individual Meliorists meet with individual CEOs one-on-one (598-606). Willy Champ and Billy Beauchamp hold a public discussion (606-09). Lobo takes stock of the debacle (609-15). Ch. 16. Record Labor Day celebrations (617-20). Lobo’s CEOs decide on a global ad campaign (620-23). Lobo’s “last-gasp smear campaign” fails (623-28). As bills are marked up in Congress, the corporate elites are demoralized (62836). Armand Armsbuckle, chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, announces he’ll support the Seven Pillars, but agrees to hold off for a week (636-41). Corporate lobbies in disarray (641-44). The president is also close to throwing in the towel (644-50). At the National Press Club, elite media contemplate the semi-debacle of the Solvents, a group of CEOs defending the status quo, and David Roader writes a column announcing the success of a “bloodless popular revolution against the bastions of corporate power” (656; 65059). The Congressional “Bulls” decide to go along with the Agenda, as does the president (659-66). Lobo and chief lobbyist Brovar in their cups (666-68).

The Bulls announce they support the Seven Pillars (668-71). The trade associations admit defeat, get drunk, and scuffle (671-72). The CEOs give up, fire Lobo (672-74). The president decides to sign the bills of the Agenda, with pens and paper made of industrial hemp, into law at Mt. Rushmore (674-84). Congress repulses the business lobbies (684-87). The Meliorists meet the press at the National Press Club, ending with Patti Smith singing “People Have the Power” (687-89). Ch. 17. The Meliorists dine together in Maui and discuss the coming November elections and the work of the “subeconomy leaders ” or SELs (691-701). They review the work of the Congress Watchdogs (701-03). They have spent $8bn in all—half what Bill Gates Jr.’s foundation spent in six years (704-06). They tour Maui’s “east coast,” lunch at Hookipa Beach, and decide to fund six community centers on the island (707). An attempted kidnapping of Patriotic Polly inspires ads that overcome a billiondollar campaign by Lobo (708-10). The lobbyists go home; Lobo obsesses about Yoko (710-11). The Faces and Places of Injustice Tour (711-14). Hadrian Plenty, reform candidate for D.C. mayor, faces down a hate-talk radio campaign (71418). Elections clean house in Congress (718-20). Warren Beatty elected governor (720-21). Maui Eleven: the Meliorists reflect (721-26). Plans for the future (727-28). A crowd appears and thanks them (729-33). Yoko has agreed to have dinner with Lobo (733). About the Author. Ralph Nader has been named by The Atlantic as one of the 100 most influential figures in American history. He is the author of many books, including Unsafe at Any Speed (1965), Crashing the Party (2002), In Pursuit of Justice: Collected Writings 2000-2003 (2004), The Ralph Nader Reader (2000), Cutting Corporate Welfare (2000), The Good Fight: Declare

Your Independence and Close the Democracy Gap (2004), and a memoir of his childhood entitled The Seventeen Traditions (2007). [Additional information. Ralph Nader was born on Feb. 17, 1934. He has run for president four or five times, winning 2,883,105 votes (2.74%) in 2000, 463,653 votes (0.38%) in 2004, and 738,475 votes (0.56%) in 2008. His parents were immigrants from Lebanon; his family’s native language is Arabic, which he speaks. He graduated from Princeton in 1955 and Harvard Law School in 1958. He served in the U.S. Army in 1959, then began to practice law in Hartford, CT. He taught at the Univ. of Hartford (1961-1963), then moved to Washington, D.C., to work for Asst. Secretary of Labor Daniel Patrick Moynihan. His consumer safety activism, beginning with a focus on General Motors’s Chevrolet Corvair, inspired a legion of “Nader’s Raiders” who have published dozens of books. In 1971 he co-founded the NGO Public Citizen (resigning as its director in 1980) and he started or inspired dozens of other nonprofits. In the 1970s and 1980s he opposed nuclear power. Nader has never married.] [Critique. “Only the Super-Rich Can Save Us!” reflects Ralph Nader’s lifelong love of public policy and it can be recommended as a compendium of practical reform ideas. It is also a tribute to his enduring optimism—and, apparently, his love of Maui and Hawaiian desserts (34, 179, 262, 418). — In this cartoonish fantasy, heroic, selfless billionaires always agree (25859), cogent arguments convince whoever hears them, and every good plan succeeds. Nader’s novel is seen in its best light as an amusing roman à clef. He calls it a “practical utopia,” and behind almost every name is a real person whose contribution to or impact upon the American commonweal

deserves to be better understood: “Helen Promise” is Helen Thomas, “Jack Mangermond” is Jack Dangermond, etc., etc.; some good guys appear as themselves. The book has no pretentions as a novel. All the characters’ voices sound the same, and the author could have spared us the absurd and creepy love interest of Lobo for Yoko Ono. — Ralph Nader mostly ignores the aspects of society that make his scenario unfeasible, and downplays intractable problems (racism, climate change, militarism, dependence on imported oil and international loans, etc.). The fundamentalist religious right is ignored (though “the Bible” is mentioned at least once [535]) and illiteracy and ignorance are not problems here. The financial sector and the military-industrial complex and their domination of the economy are scarcely alluded to. The international scene hardly exists in this book and you’d

never know the U.S. is running a globespanning empire. There is no imperial presidency: the president is unnamed and has little influence (exceptions: pp. 491, 549). Iraq and Afghanistan are not mentioned, no foreign policy crisis occurs all year long, 9/11 and the War on Terror are not mentioned (though there is an allusion to “endless costly military quagmires in Asia” [549]), and militarism is nothing but pressure from defense industry lobbyists. Dollar hegemony, offshore tax havens, intergovernmental debt, and international finance aren’t talked about. True, one CEO does say in passing that “When it comes to big multinationals like the ones we all run, there is no nationality” (622), and the president says that “[g]lobal corporations . . . have no allegiance to the country that nurtures them” (647), but these perspectives are otherwise ignored. Who would have thought that Ralph Nader was such an isolationist?]