Episode #22
The Corruption is The Point: Casey Michel on America's New Billionaire Oligarchs
"Oligarchy is a poison that kills democracy." Oligarchy is rule by the wealthy few. Sound familiar? In this episode of The Nerd Reich podcast, Gil Duran talks to Casey Michel, author of "United States of Oligarchy," to talk about how the billionaire class is waging an open war on American systems. As Gil points out, these tech oligarchs "claim to be leading us into the future with technologies like crypto and AI. But at the same time, it seems like most of their ideas are pretty firmly rooted in the past. It's just a high-tech version of very old oppressions." Casey breaks down how this isn't just a domestic problem. Foreign dictators are actively exploiting our broken campaign finance laws. "It's not just the domestic oligarchs that have realized just how open and available American politics are to those with the deepest pockets," Casey explains. "American politics have become effectively an open-air bidding racket." Buy "United States of Oligarchy: How America's Wealthiest Ally with Dictators, Weaken the U.S., and Destroy Democracy" wherever you buy book. Use this Bookshop link to support this podcast (and independent bookstores): https://bookshop.org/a/109206/9781250430113 The conversation covers: -The historical blueprint for destroying oligarch power - Elon Musk’s heavy reliance on the Chinese Communist Party -Jared Kushner's massive post-White House payouts. And more. On Kushner's overseas deals, Casey pulls no punches: "I struggle to think of a more prominent and obvious example of corruption in American history." How does this end? "The corruption is the point," writes Michel. And Gil warns: "The politics of the future is a war against billionaires and billionaire power. And anything that falls short of that is just prolonging the process." 00:00 Defining Oligarchy vs. Democracy 03:45 Historical Roots of American Oligarchy 10:00 Wealth Inequality and Political Power 12:30 Deep Pockets in American Politics 16:15 Foreign Money in US Politics 19:59 Jared Kushner's Role and Connections 26:15 Understanding Oligarchy vs. Conspiracy Theories 30:00 Elon Musk's Praise for China 36:14 Billionaire Influence and Elections 38:45 Future Politics and Oligarchy's Threat #Oligarchy #NerdReich #CaseyMichel #USPolitics #Billionaires #Democracy #PoliticalPodcast #jaredkushner #elonmusk
