Beware The Broligarchy

In 1939, when WWII broke out in Europe, America’s military was ranked 19th in the world. With something like 174,000 soldiers, our Army was smaller than that of Portugal. By the end of the war in 1945, that number was nearly 12 million. The astonishing growth of our military, with all its defense contractors, lobbyists, and the like, inspired President Dwight Eisenhower to warn against the dangers of the “military industry complex” in his 1961 farewell speech.  And he wasn’t wrong: in 2023, our military budget was about $820 billion, accounting for 40 percent of military spending…for the entire planet. And every year, the Pentagon and their associated contractors demand more money.

With his farewell speech, President Joe Biden warned of the newest “industrial complex” taking over, namely the Broligarchy. He pointedly warned about the concentration of wealth and power at the top of our country, and its connection to the abuse of power (especially in the tech sector which consciously pushes so much misinformation).

Vladimir Putin’s Russia is a textbook example of this kind of rot. He’s spent his entire political career looting Russia, distributing the spoils to his top supporters. When Russia invaded Ukraine, the world saw the result of this long-term kleptocracy. The state of Russia’s military equipment and resources was shocking: broken, cheap, faulty, frequently non-existent. Because all the money had been going to the oligarchs.

Three of America’s (and the world’s) richest men have aligned themselves with the Trump administration: Elon Musk (worth 417 billion), Jeff Bezos (232 billion) and Mark Zuckerberg (205 billion). They have donated millions and clearly see it as an investment in even more policies and opportunities that will benefit them. Elon will actually have an office in the White House complex.

The Broligarchy keeps sucking up our resources, from labor to infrastructure. The “one percent” in America currently own 30% of our collective wealth (about 43 trillion). With tax policies that favor them, they pay very little (if anything) into the system that allows them to do business. In 2017, Trump paid only $750 in federal income tax. Amazon, despite raking in huge profits, manages to avoid paying billions altogether. And don’t even get me started on the insurance industry.

History has shown that this kind of system is unsustainable. Just ask Marie Antoinette. Oh, wait…

As we wait to see how Biden’s warning plays out, stay alert. Vote with your wallet when you can (I’m cancelling Prime). Make your voice heard. And brush up on your history, ‘cause it’s about to repeat itself.

Cindy Grogan is a writer, lover of history and "Star Trek" (TOS), and hardcore politics junkie. There was that one time she campaigned for Gerald Ford (yikes), but ever since, she's been devoted to Democratic and progressive policies.