Townhall meetings on Social Security: the fix is in

Kind of sounds like the tactic used in education. Hold faculty meetings to give the appearance of teacher input about some new proposed policy initiative by administration. Convince the teachers they have a voice in shaping the policy. Then reject anything the teachers propose and force a mandated policy, which has already been created, down our throats and say we agreed to it. Never are the interests and expertise of the faculty taken seriously. The same will hold true for this idea as well.


Social Crisis in America. Coming Soon: Corporate Town Halls Against Social Security

Take for instance Social Security. The corporate-elite have written tirelessly on this subject recently. They agree that it should be reduced, and that you should wait until you reach an older age before receiving it. Working people disagree.
Thus, a series of national “town halls” has been organized to convince people of the “necessity” of this policy (usabudgetdiscussion.org). The stated purpose is to have a national “discussion” to figure out ways to best deal with the nation’s budget deficit.
But instead of the government organizing these town halls, the corporate establishment will – a fact that reveals much about the deterioration of democracy in the U.S.
The group organizing the national town halls is the “non-partisan and non-profit” America Speaks. But scratching the surface of this purportedly harmless group reveals a corporate snake pit. America Speak’s Board of Directors and National Advisory Board showcase an impressive list of corporate CEO’s, CFO’s, consultants, politicians, and elite law firms. Not a single voice from working people is to be found.
Even more revealing are the groups funding the town halls: all private, elite foundations, such as the W.K. Kellogg Foundation (Kellogg cereal), and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation (John D. was one of the wealthiest men in America when he died).
The Kellogg Foundation is most notorious for spearheading the attack on public education. Along with the Bill Gates foundation and others, the Kellogg Foundation gives vast sums of money to encourage the formations of for-profit charter schools.
The MacArthur Foundation is especially interested in Social Security. On its website the foundation explains its interest in the politics of aging, while giving support to the “bi-partisan” solution being proposed by Democrats and Republicans, outlined in the book, Choosing the Nation’s Fiscal Future, written by a variety of “experts” belonging to different corporate think tanks and other elite groups (www.ourfiscalfuture.org ).

Link:
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=19582