Dylan Ratigan offered up some meaning for his new catch phrase he's been using this week, describing it as a system that takes resources from the cit
October 8, 2009

Dylan Ratigan offered up some meaning for his new catch phrase he's been using this week, describing it as

a system that takes resources from the citizenry and redistributes it to a tiny elite....a handful of weak, uncompetitive and outdated corporations and industries are purchasing control of the American political process in order to stay in business using their cronyism. It is coming at the direct expense of the rest of us, and is a total betrayal of everything that represents America.

The former host of the business channel CNBC spares no punches either in this article at the Huffington Post.

It is an interesting idea, somewhat reminiscent of the idea in economist James K. Galbraith's book The Predator State, which developed on more ideological lines. Galbraith related to Thomas Frank in the Wall Street Journal:

"The 'predator state' describes what happens when chicken coops are given over to foxes," Mr. Galbraith continued. "When consumer protection, worker protection, environmental protection, and policing against fraud are handed over to lobbyists. And when health care is run for the benefit of private insurance companies, whose business model . . . is to target coverage on the healthy and delay payments to the sick."

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